Learn Spanish While Exploring the Riviera Maya
If you want to bask on a tropical beach, explore ancient Mayan ruins and swim with the dolphins, Playa del Carmen, Mexico is the place to go.
It's also a great place to learn Spanish.
Playa, a charming town in the heart of the Riviera Maya, is about an hour south of Cancun. Once a sleepy fishing village, Playa's population has doubled in the last few years as tourists, mainly Europeans, have discovered it's oyster-white, powdery beaches and laid-back lifestyle.
This large foreign influx of visitors has created a vagabond traveler ambiance that attracts many do-it-yourselfers, but if you're more the all-inclusive resort style vacationer, take heart: the beaches of Playacar, an upscale, secure neighborhood on Playa's south end, are lined with resorts such as the Riu Palace Riviera Maya and the Wyndham Azteca.
By day, visitors stroll Playa's vibrant pedestrianized 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida) lined with trendy shops, restaurants and boutique hotels. By night, Quinta Avenida's bars and restaurants light up with music, dancing and conversation.
But that's not all. Playa del Carmen is a town with the perfect location: It's the jumping off point for ferries to Cozumel (if you're into snorkeling, that's the place for you), and it's not far from the stunning Mayan ruins at Tulum, Chichen Itza and Coba.
Last month in an effort to see and do all of these things I flew down to Cancun and caught a bus to Playa. But my trip wasn't your typical beach vacation -- I was there to learn Spanish at the Mexican branch of Sprachcaffe, an organization that runs twenty-five language schools around the world.
I arranged to arrive three days early so I could visit some of the world-renowned archaeological sites in the area. The folks at Languages Abroad, the agency I used to book my class, were kind enough to arrange the extra nights stay for me at one of the school's apartments.
Over the weekend, I booked two tours with Infocenter Excursiones. The first was a trip to the breathtaking ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum, built overlooking an ocean that ranges in color from the deepest green to an unforgettable aqua. Then we drove to the ruins at Coba, where we rode bikes through the jungle, stopping to explore Mayan ruins that we passed on the way to climb Nohoch Mul, the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The second tour took me to Chichen Itza -- a spectacular and spiritual place, even during the thunderstorm which struck forcefully towards the end of our visit.
On Monday it was time for school. I hadn't studied Spanish before, so I was a little nervous, but I relaxed as soon as I met my German classmate Jenny and my teachers, Fernando and Paco.
Having taken language vacations overseas before (German at Actilingua in Vienna, and Czech at The Boland School in Brno), I find that there are some real bonuses to learning a language in another country:
- It's rewarding to speak the language with the locals outside of class -- they always seem happy that you are trying.
- It's a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world. There were students from Norway, Mexico, Germany and Korea at my Spanish school.
- If you are alone you don't feel lonely when taking a class. There are other students to eat dinner with, explore the area with or chat with during class breaks.
- It makes for a less expensive vacation. The prices for a language school vacation are reasonable if you opt to stay in an apartment or with a host family. Of course you have the option to stay at a hotel or resort, too.
The school in Playa had a relaxed atmosphere that was conducive to learning, and the classes were fun and challenging. I had signed up for the intensive class (six hours per day instead of four) since I was only going to be there a short time. It was a lot to absorb all at once but I was amazed at how much I learned by the end of the week.
After class, the school offered a variety of extra activities, like salsa dancing and cooking classes. One day we even took a trip to Puerto Aventuras to swim with the dolphins. A few times, we watched popular Mexican movies.
And starting in December 0f 2008, the school is moving to a brand new building just around the corner from where I was.
So, if you are thinking about taking a language vacation overseas, go for it! It will be a vacation unlike any you've ever had and you'll come home with a skill that will enhance your life.
If you want to learn more about Mexico, here are a few places to start:
Note: To learn one of 30 languages in 50 countries contact Languages Abroad. They were very helpful when booking my language vacation. They offer courses from one week long to several months or more.
Photos by Melody Moser: Playa del Carmen beach; Tequileria; Tulum; Courtyard at Sprachcaffe.
