When I got the final itinerary for my Cancun press trip, one of the items simply said Selvatica. It sounded exotic and I hoped that it was a mall. So, I consulted my trusty Spanish/English dictionary and got this definition–
selvatica [sel-vah’-te-co, cah] adjective 1. Forest-born, reared in a forest, belonging to a forest.
So, maybe it was a mall in a forest. Boy, was I WRONG!
About 40 minutes outside of Cancun and way off the beaten path, Selvatica turned out to be an Adventure Kingdom. They offer things like Extreme Canopy Adventures (aka zip lining), with emphasis on EXTREME. The brochure called it a “white knuckle adventure” and also advised that “no cry babies are allowed.” Welp, that surely counted me out. I like my knuckles to stay mocha almond fudge colored and I WILL cry. So I sat it out.
And actually, as I saw the rest of the group walking across rickety sky bridges 40 feet above me, I knew that I had done the right thing. I agreed to go to Mexico. With the understanding that I would return intact. The group zipped across 10 lines, taking them about an hour. Some of them zipped upside down. Hmmph. I waited patiently while hanging out at the outdoor bar and checking out the wild animals. I found out from Alex, the operations manager that Selvatica has been there more than 5 years and that they also offer things like dune buggy riding and parachute jumping. Hmmph. They should have caught me 20 years ago for all that…
When they returned, the Selvatica staff piled us into old military trucks and bounced us even further into the jungle, to swim in a cenote. Again, I had no clue what a cenote was, but I was game for swimming. Turns out that a cenote is a nice, old fashioned watering hole. A natural pit or sinkhole. This one had cool, emerald green water. You could either take the stairs down to the water or there was another “zip line” thingy that would drop you off. I opted for the stairs.
One of the walls of the cenote had a natural opening and a cave had been formed, complete with a rock floor that was quite cool and refreshing to the touch. I loved it! All in all, Selvatica turned out to be awesome. I hope to go back. And maybe I’ll do the ziplining this time…Check the slideshow!
Disclosure: I was a guest of the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau and Aeromexico for this trip. They covered my travel, lodging, meals and activities. The fun (and opinions) were all mine!
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