Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: June 2024

Mexico Travel Journal Pages

I recently went to Mexico with my daughter for a week in May.

We stayed at an all inclusive resort on the Riviera Maya, that is the Caribbean sea side of the country on the east coast.

I had been to Mexico twenty years ago and at that time I had four kids and a husband so it was quite hectic.

This time it was grown ups only.

There was a steady cadence to each day.

Breakfast

Around 7am we went for breakfast with lovely fresh fruit and cooked eggs, meat and pastries.

The coffee was excellent.

Poolside

After breakfast we moved to the poolside and chose a different spot each morning.

The pools were sparkling and cleaned every day.

The water was warm and inviting.

Lots of lounging around…

Lunch

For lunch we could take a walk back to the restaurant.

Alternatively, we could choose from a cheeseburger and all the fixings tomato, lettuce, chili, pickles and a side salad.

That was available at the poolside burger grill kiosk so you didn’t have to walk far.

Dinner

For our evening meal we chose a different restaurant within the resort each night.

They had Mexican, Thai, a steak house, Spanish, Teppanyaki, American Country and Italian.

Each eatery was its own experience.

Entertainment

The after-dinner entertainment was varied.

Some evenings were singing and dancing and on others, jugglers and a fire show.

I was not up to the late-night events every night and I frequently turned in early at around 9pm.

My daughter stayed out later for some shows, but that is youth.

There was a fabulous Full Moon gracing some of the early evening skies.

• More on Sketchbooks

Travel Journal

I took my travel sketchbook with me as I had plans to make a sketch journal of the trip.

The book is an A5 size that’s about 5 by 8 inches.

The pages are plain with no lines or dots.

Travel Art Supplies

I took a few art supplies, but not too many.

These days I never check a suitcase and everything I need for a week’s vacation fits into my cabin overhead bag.

Pencils and Pens

I had tree pencils an HB, 2H and 4H.

Eraser

A small eraser.

Faber Castell Pitt Artist brushs in grey, beige, light blue, dark blue and a dull green.

Travel Paint Set

A travel watercolor paint set by Schmincke. It has twelve color pans.

Paintbrushes

Three paint brushes:

• A fat number 16 for water only.
• 2 x number 4 brushes, one with a red handle (for warm colors) and one with a blue handle (for cool colors).

Layout

For my sketches I wanted to simply capture what went on in the day.

The drawings did not need to be everything we did, but just the essence of what happened, the mood and the highlights.

I thought I’d do about five small sketches on each page which then grew into three two-page spreads.

Each page has a little story block with a small sketch.

I like this idea because then you can do micro and the macro views.

First you zoom in for a closeup of something and then pull back for a wider landscape view.

Subjects

I tried to have one sketch for each of the seven days that depicted what we did, ate and experienced.

Wildlife

There was far more wildlife that I had expected.

So, a few animals popped up in the journal.

I’m not good at drawing animals, or humans for that matter.

The creatures we saw were:

• Cats.
• Coatis.
• Lizards.
• Alligator signs, but thankfully no actual snappy sightings.
• Woodpeckers.
• Big birds.

Foliage

In the gorgeous rolling gardens were planted forests of palm trees.

I believe they were coconut palms, but I’m not sure.

The flowers on the shrubs were bright red and pink, bold and huge. This was a hot place and the plants reflected their environment.

No wishy-washy pale blues and pinks here as we often see in Vancouver.

The broad leaves were tropical, shiny, emerald, large and flat.

Weather

It was hot with around a high of 32C each day. On one scorcher it went up to 34C.

The UV (ultraviolet) index was through the roof at UV12.

I’d not paid much attention to this number before as back home it is only ever UV3.

The days were filled with sun, sun, sun and not a cloud in the sky.

Sketch Spreads

Below are the sketch pages I made.

I am simply a hobby artist and my goal is to capture some of my life through my art.

I hope this inspires you to make a travel sketch journal for your next trip.

Left Page

Top to bottom.

At the airport, the swim-up rooms at the pool, a map of Mexico, temperature 32C and a coati.

Right Page

Mexico name, rooms they moved up to, ice cream, poolside, thermometer, drinks and burger lunch.

Left Page

Blue drink, lizard, lazing by the pool gazebos and palm trees.

Right Page

Evening’s entertainment a Fire Show, Mayan sculptures, we watched an online stream for a friend’s graduation at UBC (congrats Marco) and the Air Canada airplane tail logo.

Left Page

Teppanyaki dinner show with my daughter and I, a blue sticker from resort, a stray cat we called Senor Pickles and another Mayan sculpture.

Right Page

Large leafy palms, fancy cocktails, the UV index number and the Caribbean sea beach with a “beware of the alligators” sign over the river.

Final Thoughts

I’ve done a few travel journal pages before.

The thing is that I don’t travel much really.

But now, as I develop my hobby art lifestyle whihc includes a sketchbook almost every day, I’m looking forward to capturing some more memories in my travel sketch journal.

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

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