Category Archive for Mexico + Central America
Karisma El Dorado Royale: 10 reasons to stay at this Riviera Maya, Mexico beach resort.
2016 is already becoming a year of globe-trotting! I spent the first half of January at the sunny Karisma El Dorado Royale in Mexico.
My travels are typically quite gruelling, but this one was different. For once, I got to kick back and enjoy the beaches, wellness, and all the avocado smoothies I could drink.
And I was overjoyed to reunite with my partner in crime, Yukiro Dravarious. Enjoy our Mexican photo diary, which describes 10 reasons we had a royal time at El Dorado Royale!
1) The warm weather. Even an icy Goth queen brightens up under warm skies and palm trees. What a treat to wear sun-dresses in early January, while we saw our friends battling the snow in Tokyo and suffering from -15 degree temperatures in Sweden…
2) Easy access. We flew into Cancun from NYC, a quick and inexpensive flight. Karisma’s partner Lomas Travel picked us up, and within an hour, we were settled into our rooms.
I put on my white sun hat to walk around, and came across a cute white pagoda that matched my outfit. Which brings us to reason number three…
3) There’s so much to explore. The grounds of El Dorado Royale are huge, and all guests have access to the adjoining resorts too (Casitas and Generations Riviera Maya). If we didn’t feel like walking all the way, we could call for a shuttle or hail one down.
4) This ocean view! Our room was steps away from the private beach and waterfront.
Yukiro wore appropriate shoes for the sand — giant, studded platforms (similar to these black platform shoes.)
This photo says it all. I loved walking barefoot in the sand, and watching the birds fly over the ocean.
In January, the weather was warm, but not overly hot or humid. (I wore a white cut-out dress similar to this one by Cushnie et Ochs.)
5) Healthy food galore. We had all-inclusive access to the restaurants here — and especially loved the Health Bar. It was our type of dream scenario: you could order as many green juices, smoothies and salads as you wanted!
6) Meeting new friends. We said hello to this big, sleepy iguana. And we enjoyed chatting with the staff, some of whom went out of their way to make our stay a pleasure.
There’s never a dull moment when we travel together. Yukiro dominated this game of chess, naturally.
Ding dong, the Queen is dead.
Meanwhile, I lazed on the lounge beds — and sipped a margarita or two.
7) Wellness activities. Every day, there were at least a dozen classes we could participate in, for free.
Yukiro and I felt energized after a Pilates routine that incorporated large exercise balls. We aimed to do yoga every morning on this pier… but to be honest, we never managed to wake up in time for the 8am session…
8) Tequila tasting. We learned about the various types of tequilas and sipped each of them. Energizing, in a different kind of way!
Our daily schedule looked something like: berries and yogurt for breakfast, Pilates class, fresh fruit smoothies and salads for lunch, 80-minute massage at the spa…
… followed by a nap by the ocean, margaritas and tacos for dinner!
And all this took place in this beautiful beach environment. (This is the east coast of Mexico, in the Riviera Maya.)
Outfit Details: My dress is similar to Cushnie et Och‘s, and I’m wearing this wide brimmed sunhat
Guests often come here for a destination wedding. Yukiro pretended to be the evil mistress of ceremonies.
9) Day trips to Tulum. While we had fun vogue-ing and relaxing, we also wanted to experience the Mayan ruins and Mexican art near us. The resort’s location made it convenient for us to explore the culture of Tulum. (I’ll show you our excursion in an upcoming article.)
Gracias to Karisma El Dorado Royale for inviting us to stay with them in Quintana Roo, Mexico! I’m not usually an “all inclusive resort” type of traveller, but Karisma changed my mind.
But wait: what’s the final reason to come here? The food is above and beyond anything I expected. It’s worth dedicating an entire post to the restaurants, so this is what I’ll do next.
I leave you with this sunrise shot, with the silhouettes of palm fronds.
Have you vacationed in Mexico before — if so, where? Aren’t you glad to see Yukiro back on the blog?
SHARE & COMMENT
IS IT DANGEROUS TO TRAVEL TO MAZATLAN, MEXICO? WATCH MY DAY OF THE DEAD VIDEO SERIES: SKULL ART, HAUNTED HOTELS.
At long last… my Gothic Mexico video series is out, on Huffington Post! I’m so proud of these travel videos (kudos to my talented filmmakers, Melissa Rundle and Eric Bergemann).
Watch as I explore Day of the Dead, skull art, and a haunted hotel in Mazatlan. And will you do me a favor, to make me smile? Simply click the Like button below, thank you.
Every year, Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead to honor those who have passed and what sounds like a morbid holiday is quite the opposite. All of the imagery, from the skeleton facepaint to orange marigolds, conveys that “the dead can dance.”
I had the pleasure of celebrating Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos in the coastal town of Mazatlan. In this 3-part video series, I dive into Mexico’s dark arts and culture.
Mazatlan is split into two districts. The luxury resorts are in the Golden Zone, while the Centro Historico holds art galleries and theaters from the 1800s.
I joined an art walk in the Historic District and was mesmerized by the temporary altars. These stands were decorated with real or paper marigolds, photos, favorite foods and belongings. Each had at least one sugar skull, with the name of the dead written on its forehead.
Many of the stalls in Pino Suarez Market sold skull art. The iconic skeleton lady traces back to the Aztecs, who worshipped a god named “The Lady of the Dead”. In modern times, she is known as La Catrina.
Despite the dark themes, the visuals felt uplifting. The colors and active poses reflect the Mexican folk view that life and death are balancing forces.
There’s even a food for the occasion: Bread of the Dead. Sold in Panama Bakery, it’s airy and sweet, and has a cross-bone on top. Watch me taste it in the video here.
In the second episode, I tip-toe around the supposedly haunted Hotel Belmar. During the Prohibition, Hollywood stars like Cary Grant came here to let loose. Sometimes, the revelry got out of hand: the Sinaloa Governor was murdered during a hotel ball. Guests have reported inexplicable noises, and visions of a woman in white. Do the ghosts of the past still walk these halls?
Check out the video to find out!
Night falls, and the Day of the Dead parade begins. Locals gather in Old Mazatlan for the annual procession. They’re put on elegant costumes and painted their faces like skulls. With folk music and firecrackers, the dead have come back to life.
In the final video, I enter the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, known as the most beautiful church in northwest Mexico. Finished in 1899, there are Gothic and Baroque influences throughout. Light shines through stained glass, forming an outerworldy glow. Locals come here to light a candle, and pray among the gold statues and carvings.
I also give a tour of my hotel, the Riu Emerald Bay. The all-inclusive luxury resort opened only two years ago. Each room has a balcony that overlooks the beach.
I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention the recent tragedy: last January, Canadian tourist Sheila Nabb was severely beaten in the elevator of the Riu.
The attack renews warnings to be cautious when traveling in Sinaloa. However, my film crew and I never felt unsafe at the resort, which has staff members checking the wristbands of everyone who enters. We kept to the tourist areas and went out in groups, and felt perfectly safe the entire trip.
Many are now avoiding the region, and it’s unfortunate. My videos give a glimpse of the exhilaration I felt here — dancing with spooky stilt-walkers, speeding along the coastline in an open air taxi. With safety in mind, I hope travelers will return to Mazatlan and experience it for themselves.
I hope you enjoy our work — we loved making these videos for you!
Please take a second to view/share them; just click here for the series. Mucho gracias, and more videos to come.
LA CARMINA
