Where Fear Meets Fun
Journey Beyond Borders 🌏 A Journey Through Mexico's Adventure Parks
Each adventure park in Mexico taught me something different about myself - my fears, my limits, and how I handle unexpected challenges. Here are three stories from my time in Playa del Carmen, three moments of adrenaline that turned into bigger revelations about who I really am.
📍 Playa del Carmen, Mexico | 09/30/2022
Xplor Park
I lost a sandal in the jungle, found myself
I met an American at the hotel who joined me, and we traveled together in a colectivo, which is basically a local shared taxi. I call it a Mexico hack because most tourists don't know about it and pay a fortune for taxis or transfer companies. Too bad - they charged us 20 pesos per direction (about $1), literally free, and it goes almost everywhere.
So after becoming that generic girl who puts a story within a story, let's get back to the park.
You enter an enormous jungle with long, winding paved paths. There are zip lines that go above the trees. From up high, you can see the landscape for kilometers. Definitely not for the faint-hearted - I already mentioned adventure sports insurance.
There's rafting in stalactite caves, driving open rally cars, areas with hammocks, and lots of lakes. It's not a cheap attraction - tickets cost $100, and many people skip it because of that. In my opinion, it's worth every dollar. There's a huge buffet (!) full of all kinds of food you can imagine, local and otherwise, very high quality, all-you-can-eat style. Let's just say you don't leave hungry.
On the last zip line that ends in a lake, one of my sandals fell off. The operator told me all shoes eventually make it to the lost and found department. I walked around for a few hours without shoes, and honestly? I felt even more connected to nature.
Maybe it's just in my head, or maybe it really is related to the sensation, the genuine touch with nature. Like between people - seeing something beautiful and then touching it, feeling it, definitely brings you closer. Disconnecting from my phone also contributed to the atmosphere. I left it in a locker all day, which is why I only have 2 pictures from there - at the entrance and exit.
📍 Playa del Carmen, Mexico | 11/08/2022
Hel-Ha Water Park
Between inner tubes and currents, I learned not to fear falling
I met two cute girls of Asian descent here. They were speaking a language that sounds like Japanese or Chinese - sorry, I can't tell the difference. And then, when I politely asked where they were from, they answered Canada. It's clear as day they're not originally from Canada. But I felt uncomfortable asking further. The mystery remains.
There's a diverse crowd here. The park is accessible for people with disabilities, though I'm not exactly sure how, but suddenly people in wheelchairs appeared in the middle of the jungle. And one blind man. Now, it's amazing that he's living life and not letting anything stop him, but imagine being in paradise with breathtaking views and having to imagine what it looks like. I can't imagine how he feels right now.
There's a very high and quite fast slide here with breathtaking views that you can't photograph because this is Mexico, and you have to pay. Either pay for photos for your friends, or your friends pay for a plane ticket here.
I'm here alone on an inner tube, swimming against the current (literally). And look, I'm making progress. Guess I am strong (metaphorically). There are also zip lines into the water and lots of small cliffs to jump from. Who knew falling could be so exciting?
Now I remember that lately I've been dreaming about falling quite frequently. In all kinds of situations, even just slipping off the sidewalk and waking up from the falling sensation. Am I afraid of falling? Theoretically? I thought about it deeply, of course, and realized I'm afraid of enjoying myself too much without work on the horizon - it feels irresponsible to me. Everyone knows what happens when you just spend money without bringing any in. It runs out.
A deep fear of reaching that point, but it's so far from my reality, so just relax. Productive internal dialogue.
I'm currently in a middle state that's a bit challenging. On one hand, I'm not here for a short vacation, so I don't eat at restaurants every day and try to manage properly like I would at home. On the other hand, long-term work and affordable rent can only be found when you're truly staying for an extended period.
Before flying to Mexico, I evaluated all my options because, after all, I was flying into the unknown. In my most pessimistic scenario, where I wouldn't find work at all and just 'waste' money, I told myself I could handle it. After years of working double shifts, maybe I even deserve 3 months in Mexico without worrying about anything.
I calmed down. A little.
Trying to remind myself to love me, because sometimes I forget. And then understanding how responsible I am for even thinking about this, and how grounded I am. Really calming down, because I won't let myself fall.
📍 Playa del Carmen, Mexico | 12/08/2022
Xavage Park
How I discovered that extreme is a matter of perspective
I received a ticket to Xavage Extreme Park as a gift. How fun! Truth is, I wanted to go but was hesitant because they say it's REALLY (!) extreme. After skydiving, bungee jumping, and countless zip lines, how extreme could it be?
The guide at the entrance explained the recommended order of attractions - it's best to start with the ropes course which takes between one and two and a half hours, depending on which course and how fast you are. Continue to the zip lines, and only then move on to the water-based attractions.
Knowing myself, I usually breeze through things, but here I was a bit apprehensive. At the entrance, they instruct you on how to connect the safety harness and switch the carabiners as you progress through the course, so the responsibility is entirely mine. Of course, there's staff at each station who can help, but generally, if I came here - I'm a big enough girl.
There are several levels of rope courses, and the guide explained that I could only do the first two because I didn't have closed shoes. Some people at the entrance were discussing which course to take: "Let's start with the highest and hardest, worst case we can drop down a level midway. What about you?"
Me? I start with the easiest, like a person with common sense, worst case I can move up a level. At first and second glance, it looked like a massive torture device suspended in the air, where people mainly torture themselves.
I started the first course, the one that supposedly 10-year-olds can do. It's a bridge made of wooden logs, like in the movies, where I'm connected only by a rope that holds me. Oh my God. This is the easiest course?!?
Okay, I can handle this, it's probably really easy, and a little adrenaline has never stopped me. I started walking.
Okay, it's not so terrible if you do it slowly, oh look, it's over, cool.
The next part of the course is skateboard planks suspended by ropes along the path, much less stable and much more frightening. Shit.
Come on, I can handle this, this is why I came. I got through that too. I reached the next part, where there's no stable floor anymore, and actually no floor at all.
Along the course, there's a climbing wall almost at a 90° angle from the ground, like I saw in Ninja Israel. Really?! How am I supposed to get past this??? Breathe.
I tried to place a foot, I really tried, but I realized this wasn't for me. Apparently I don't have an issue with extreme activities when they last just a few seconds, but this kind of sustained fear, being afraid for two hours straight? No thanks.
I tried to go back but couldn't figure out where to connect the carabiners, so I called for a staff member. "Hi, how are you? Everything okay?" "Yes, everything's fine, I just want to go back, this isn't really for me." "No problem, I'll help you."
He connects my carabiners with a special piece and returns with me along the path.
"Where are you from? Enjoying Mexico?"
I imagine he probably thinks I'm stressed, so he's trying to distract me with conversation.
"Are you here alone? Don't you have a boyfriend? Do you like Mexican guys?"
What? Wait, let me get this straight, are you hitting on me right now?!
I think I started laughing at the situation. I wandered around the complex a bit and suddenly noticed that the vast majority were muscular men and toned women, the kind who came to work out and push themselves, not to enjoy themselves. The rest were overweight people huffing quickly - sorry for the generalizations.
I moved on to the zip line section. At the entrance, I asked how long it takes. Have I become a coward now? Get a grip.
You do the zip line lying down in a sack that covers your entire body. The guides describe it as a "human burrito". It's probably their standard joke that they repeat countless times a day, but it works because when I'm flying at high speed in this sack, it's funny to think of myself as a burrito.
The first time I felt positive fear, good excitement, but as the zip line progresses, it gets faster and less stable. Thoughts like "Final Destination" immediately pop into my head - what if I fall or something comes loose? I try to immediately dismiss these thoughts because I know thoughts create reality.
On the next zip line, there were two Americans ahead of me. Let's just say they were from the second group of people I described. If they weren't afraid the rope would break, I certainly had no reason to fear.
Afterward, I continued to the kayak rafting attraction. The guide explained that if someone falls into the water, you need to be really careful because the current is strong, and there are rocks at the bottom that can injure us, but this never happens so relax. Oh really?
Yes, of course I was the only one who fell, and if that wasn't embarrassing enough, then came the act of lifting me back into the kayak - I felt like a sack of potatoes, but the heavy kind from back in the day.
I continued to the famous motorboat. The boat reaches really high speeds, the driver does 360° drifts, and it's super fun! (Proud of myself for avoiding writing that the boat "sailed," because while that might be grammatically correct, it doesn't accurately describe the situation, and it's not "driving" either, right?)
You finish these attractions completely soaked, which could be really fun if the water wasn't freezing. These places usually make me sick in a very literal way.
In my journey through Mexico's adventure parks, I discovered that every experience has two sides - fear and pleasure. Sometimes they mix together until it's hard to distinguish between them. I learned to recognize my limits, when to push them forward and when to listen to my body saying "enough."
And above all, I learned that it's precisely in moments of losing control - that's where real growth happens. Mexico's adventure parks taught me not just about adrenaline and thrills, but about independence, flexibility, and self-acceptance.
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