There is a tropical sliver of Mexican land where nature’s most healing colours have been thrown together on this segment of its earthly palette. This is the Riviera Maya on the region’s Yucatan Peninsula.
The finger of land juts out on to the Caribbean Sea and upon it are 112 miles of lush, green tropical rainforest and mangroves, fringed with bright, palm-dotted, soft, sandy beaches, which in turn are lapped by the bluest-hued sea.
There is mystery in the region too. Nearby are the Mayan ruins at Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza and a myriad of places where you can swim in cenotes (pools created by sunken limestone) and explore the caves.
Some 20 years ago, a team of biologists explored what lay underneath the land at Mayakoba. They stripped away the limestone to uncover a criss-cross of freshwater rivers. In the newly found sunshine, the mangroves grew tall and large and soon new species of birds and wildlife made this 240-acre pocket of the Riviera Maya their home. As did three luxury hotels and a PGA golf course.
Fairmont has created its own little piece of paradise within a 45-acres area. Accommodation is mostly in the jungle, overlooking the river and trees, and some — the most expensive — is right on the beach. These are the two-storey white cassitaswith Mexican-style designer suites containing luxuriously deep bathtubs. Get up early enough and you may find a party of blue-backed Yucatan jays frolicking around your balcony.