With a grateful soul – About colours, flavours and aromas.

Chichen Itza, August 2024

I remember when I was eleven years old my mother bought a compilation of encyclopaedias on ancient civilisations. I also remember being totally obsessed with Mayans. The way they dressed, bursting with colour, imitating the animals they saw every day in the jungle; their constructions, which were not only huge and beautiful, but also a sign of the intelligence of pre-Columbian civilisations; their polytheistic beliefs, which always sounded more logical to me than monotheistic ones; and, of course, the absolute connection with the nature that surrounded them, sometimes even taken to extremes.

So when my father proposed to my sisters and me to go on holiday to the Riviera Maya, even though it was the middle of August and I don’t really like heat and humidity, I was thrilled.

The place certainly exceeded my expectations. The list of inspiring things is too long to list here. It was not only beautiful to look at. Yes, the landscapes, the cenotes, the ancient cities, the handicrafts, everything was beautiful without a doubt. But there is one thing that stayed in my memory, stuck like a stake in my heart: the smell. There is no other scent like copal.

I left Mexico with a full heart (and belly), a peaceful mind and a new tattoo on my arm that reminds me every day that my soul is more than grateful.