A serendipitous trip to Akumal, Mexico!

Thinking back on my life, there are already so many serendipitous moments scattered throughout, whether it is how I ended up having the best senior year in high school, meeting my boyfriend after three years of knowing each other, meeting my college best friends, or going on my trip to Mexico everything has always worked out.

This trip has meant so much to me; it's already changing my life.

To properly understand this story, we need to back up a little to last year—my first year of college—perhaps the worst year of my life. Maybe we will go into that one day, but that's all you need to know for now. I lived on the seventh floor of my building, and in each wing resided my two (now) best friends and roommates. I remember the day Taylor Swift announced her tour dates, Sandhya said, "Let go to the New York show!" And In our brains, why not? Why wouldn't we make a trip out of it and explore New York City together in the summertime?

Then, we have Marisa—my inspiration for many things and the one who always has my back in every situation. We are very like-minded, and I'm so grateful to have such a raw and genuine friendship with people like Marisa and Sandhya. Marisa has stated on multiple accounts that her grandparents own an estate in Akumal, Mexico. At the time of the first year, that was merely a suggestion, but I knew I had to go ahead with it this time.

Fast-forward to the day of our flight to Cancun. We woke up at 5 am, and our flight was at 8 am. We went outside our San Francisco home and tried to dispose of garbage, but it wouldn't be San Francisco without nearly getting attacked, would it? Thankfully, we made it to the airport without mishaps, and everything was in place. With the help of a smile, Marisa and I were upgraded to Premium seating!

After we got off the plane, we were greeted with Richard's lovely smile—her grandfather. After a one-hour drive, we had already gotten down to the juicy details, and I had asked him his best relationship advice and what kept him and his high school sweetheart together all these years. His answer was- communication. No brainer. Knowing and navigating the way a male's brain and emotions would and making it harmonize with a female's brain is the key to success.

We met Marisa's grandmother when we got to their lovely home in the mile-long strip of Akumal. The funniest, kindest, and most sarcastic woman I've ever met. If I got an ounce of her humor, I'd be the funniest person I've ever met. We start the night with drinks, appetizers, and unique conversations. Then we enjoy amazing chicken enchiladas and relax for the rest of the night. We spoke for almost three hours, and spoiler, this happened every night.

We woke up bright and early the next day, and the power was out. It was a blessing in disguise. It was so fun to be disconnected from the world on the first day of the trip, and it set the precedent for the entire vacation. Unplugged

We sat by the pool for the day while her grandfather very kindly went to find bikes for us to rent. Once we went a little stir-crazy, we decided it was time to see if everyone else was without power. We went to a local restaurant and got a drink and appetizers. This set the bar high. The bang for your buck in Mexico is unmatched. The portions were huge and only 10 US dollars.

We then walked along the beach and decided the best way to end this outing was to get ice cream. I got peanut butter, brownie, Hello Dollie, fudge, and almond-filled ice cream. After that sugar rush, we decided to bike back to Marisa's childhood vacation home. We jumped into the pool and went swimming for a couple more hours. This is where we may have messed up a tad. We got BURNT. But again, did we mess up or enhance our tans a little more? We then went back and did the best thing a girl could do- shower and get ready after a long day at the pool. We put on our dresses and headed out to Pescador for dinner. This is where the title of this blog makes sense.

Richard and Arlene have had quite a life—I'm convinced they've lived multiple lives. They talked for hours about their serendipitous adventures wandering the world together and how they made friends everywhere they went. These friends were extraordinary and brought life to me just listening to them. It almost motivated me to do more, and I'm only 19, but that is all the more reason to do so. After closing that restaurant, we prepared to wind down for the night.

The following day, we woke up and ran to get ourselves a coffee. I have a coffee rating on Instagram called "mariamscoffee," so if you want to know how that was, head over there!! Then, we changed clothing and got ready to repeat our day. We read our books and fed iguanas with the leftover papaya. We snacked for lunch with the beautiful Arlene's crab, potato, and chicken salad. We may have fallen asleep for a few hours under the sun, but once we woke up, we showered off and got ready for dinner. That night, we went all out. We look angelic, if I do say so myself. We went to Jungle Fish Beach Club, the most amazing place and experience ever. We walked in, and immediately, her grandfather got a warm welcome from old friends. There was a live band, and everyone was enjoying the beachfront dining.

I got the fish tacos and hope I never forget how amazing they tasted. After that long night of talking, eating, and singing, we went to bed.

The following day, we had breakfast at Jungla with her grandparents and again talked and talked and talked. This day, we started at the pool, but then some hours later, we went down to the beach (for free.. somehow) and lounged there. We dove into the water and dried off after. After a long day in the sun, you can guess what we craved—ice cream. We shopped for a bit, got some snacks, and headed to the pool. We ate the snacks as we swam and then sat out enjoying the evening. We had a relaxing night at home where we had stuffed peppers and talked about everything. They asked me about my boyfriend, and I told them the long version of how we met. They were so happy and joyous about the young love I had found.

The next day, we woke up, ran some smiles, and got .. you guessed it- coffee. we then just sauntered through the area. We had no direction; we just walked and walked and walked until we somehow ended up back home. We laid out by the pool and enjoyed the intense rays of sunshine. We then went to Buena Vista and had the most incredible food. The nachos were impeccable. Then, we biked all around and refilled our snack stash. Then we swam around and did our daily shower and quick change. This Thursday, Marisa and I were only there for dinner. We chose the Italian restaurant, which was amazing. Not to mention, the cocktails we had were top-notch. We wanted to keep the party going, but the party did not happen in Akumal. It's bedtime by 9 PM. So, we got some ice cream and headed to bed.

The next day, we stumbled to the sunrise and walked to get coffee afterward. We enjoyed our last breakfast/brunch with Marisa's amazing grandparents. After that meal, we went to lay out by the pool, and we were surprised with fresh coconut water and meat. After we hydrated ourselves, we went snorkeling. The fish all around us are so mesmerizing to look at and truly beautiful. Once we finished doing that, I tried to climb out of the water onto the rocks, and I happened to take a tumble and hit my shin. But again, it's not what happens. It is your mindset. I got right back up (after it stopped hurting) and climbed right on out of the water. Granted, I still have a bruise a week later, but now I carry a little bit of Mexico with me everywhere!

After this, we walked a long 3 miles in the blazing sun and enjoyed some smoothies to reward ourselves. Then we got our pretty dresses on and went out to dinner for the last time. This.. was also the best dinner I've had. Who knew that Mexico would be home to the best Pad Thai I've ever had? Ugh, I still dream about this meal.

We sat here for hours and closed the restaurant until 10 P.m. After we went home, we started packing everything up and settled into bed.

As we woke up, we said our goodbyes and saw you soon and hoped to see Mexico very soon again. This trip taught me so much. It was my first time traveling internationally without an "adult" and it was an amazing first experience. My horizons were widened and I've never been so thankful for a trip. I'm truly so excited to see what other adventures I go through.