I figured my vacation to Mexico would prove mildly erotic. Heat, beaches, sun, frozen banana drinks. Who wouldn’t be turned on by such delights in the middle of winter?
But it turned out the biggest turn on from my first trip to Mexico wasn’t any of the above. It was the Jungle Maya Native Park Tour.
I’m not that surprised by my new very, very specific kink. My sexuality always creeps in through mysterious ways. A friend recently said to me, “I would love to see life through your lens one day.” Whether he meant it as a compliment or confusion, I’m hoping this unique ‘review’ gives him and you that insight. Because while it may seem the whole of my turn-ons are odd or laughable, when they are broken down, I think you’ll find you recognize them in yourself too:
Jungle Maya Native Park Tour
5 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommend)
My day at the park began with a bouncy truck ride into the jungle. The lack of seatbelts and windows made it a very precarious journey but the barely 8-minute drive didn’t disappoint. My body was forced into an up and down, ‘hold on to your butts’ gyration that left my rears moved. Limbs from the trees teased me with their weak attempts to smack my shoulders, tricking me into thinking me, not the jungle, was in control.
But when I arrived in the jungle, the me I thought I was, the me who thought she was simply having an exciting adventure day outside the resort was shed. After being led Inside a candle lit cave, a shaman priest waited for us, blessed us, prayed for us, covered us in his cloud of incense. Dios bo'otik. His ritual let us know we were ready and it was time. Time to go deeper into ourselves and into the earth.
Because what was next on our journey was a 30-foot descent into a cenote. Not by stairs, no. By ropes, chains, human hands, and the force of my own repelling body. Certainly not the longest journey down into the cave but just long enough to require a sacred trust. A trust that required eye contact, communication, and calm. A trust in those above and below me. A trust in gravity, a trust in letting go.
Greeting me at the end of my descent was a swim in a cave of wonders. The cool waters of the cenote immediately healed the heat of my body that worked so hard towards this reward. My original fear was transformed into bouts of laughter that echoed. How did I get here? How is this real? I was as dizzy as the bats that circled above me.
But before I completely melted away into the waters, I had to leave my magic bath to suit up for ziplining. The ropes and chains meant to protect me were once again carefully tightened onto my body by hands that weren’t mine. My only job was to let it happen, confirm my comfort by a ‘Si’ or a nod of my now swimming head. The ropes and chains made me feel something other than human. With each step they clanged and clashed and reminded me that a part of myself had indeed lost control.
When it was my turn to fly in the trees, some words of caution were passed before I was chained to the wires I now had no choice but to trust. Three, two, one, tres, dos, uno, adios and I was off. As I flew, I realized, it was the first time since beginning my adventure I was alone. But before my mind spun into a place of worry, my body was jerked. The ropes decided it was time to land. In a blur, I was unhooked, freed, and rushed away as someone else sped in. I watched them from a few feet away. I grew jealous. I wanted more.
And the jungle was ready to give me more. Not from high above in the trees, from inside another sacred cave of wonders. I never snorkeled before and I certainly never snorkeled in a cenote. My nerves were settled, though, as our leader promised to stay in front with a guiding flashlight.
These waters were as cool, welcoming and beautiful as the last, but this cave was more confining than vast. At least from above. From below was all the vastness in the world. My first look down startled my floating body. I screamed. We all did. But with our mouths now filled by our masks, our screams sounded like muffled moans of pleasure. I was both comforted and horrified by the light of our leader. It’s appearance confirmed how small my body was in this space. Tears sprung from my eyes when the new experience finally sunk into reality. I shivered in fear, I laughed in amazement, I wanted out, I didn’t want it to end.
But when the light of our leader disappeared into the light of the cave’s exit, I knew it was over. All of it. The tour of a lifetime had ended and it was time to towel off. Our original skins were handed back to us along with picture packages and souvenirs. Adios amigos. They asked us to return. I said I would and I will. Not in the way they requested, no. But I will return every time I let go. Every time my body is moved. Every time my limits pushed. Every time I lose control.
Oh yeah. The lunch was good too.