When we first arrived at Hard Rock Riviera Maya for the annual Travalliance Media summer conference, I was already well-prepared for what the resort has to offer thanks to Tim Wood's dispatches from his trip back in March.
What I wasn't prepared for was the stunning array of wildlife around the property. I don't want to give the impression that the place is overrun or anything, but if you venture outside the labyrinthine walkways that connect the various buildings, you'll find little surprises waiting for you in the treetops and along the paths. Surprises like:
Iguanas
I'm a little bummed that this is the only photo I have of the lounge lizards that live at the Hard Rock. This little fellow pictured above is probably the smallest one I saw on the trip. During our initial golf cart ride in from the lobby, we passed through a herd of them, the biggest of which could have easily supported a saddle and an adult of light build. Remember the scene in Jurassic Park where they pull up in the Jeeps and see the Brontosaurus for the first time? Pretty much the same thing.
Spider Monkeys
This I was not expecting.
Although they're somewhat shy, there are several spider monkeys frequenting the treetops along the edge of the resort. Enough so that the resort does encourage families on the Hacienda side to plan a few monkey-spotting adventures.
My monkey-spotting adventure happened quite by accident as I was walking to the conference one day, and I was fortunate enough to get some video. Especially because no one else had seen the monkeys, and you get some strange looks when you tell colleagues you're late to a meeting because of monkeys.
Agouti
My first thought on seeing an agouti was that it was like seeing a chocolate Easter Bunny come to life, since clearly this rabbit was missing its ears.
Turns out it's an agouti, a Central American rodent comprised almost entirely of parts from other animals. It's kind of a big chinchilla if you look from the front, but also sort of a rabbit if you look from the back and possibly a deer if you just look at the legs. The end result is something that should be running around in the background of a Star Wars movie.
Raccoon
Please don't think that there are a lot of raccoons at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya.
There was precisely one, and TravelPulse editors Tim Wood, Ryan Rudnansky and I happened to stumble upon it after leaving Club Heaven at some irresponsible hour of the early morning. I learned a few things in that encounter. First that raccoons, which are generally fairly cute creatures with their little hands and the way they wash their food, turn into demonic terror beasts after you've had a few beers. Second, that editors are not generally that brave in the face of unexpected wildlife and Ryan Rudnansky is the fastest man alive. That's not to say all of us three grown men didn't flee in terror in the face of tiny adorable danger, I'm just saying dude's fast.
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