My seven-year-old daughter Grace and I were at the top of Coba -- at 130 feet the tallest pyramid in Mexico's Riviera Maya.
Making the ascent was as an accomplishment and a bit of a study in overcoming fears.
But the descent was proving to be another story.
Looking up during the climb and braving the height was one thing.
Looking earthward while coming down was another story entirely.
That's when the sense of vertigo and being unconstrained on a steep and ancient pile of ruins kicks in.
The Mayans that build this pyramid about 1,200 years ago to get closer to the gods didn't bother to install handrails.
Navigating the erratic steps required a look-straight-ahead-definitely-not-down stare and a modified side-step criss-cross.
Once back on land we could reflect back on the feat, without mention of any of the fear, and gloat to the rest of the tour group that steadfastly refused to conquer the pyramid.
When faced with heaving up the equivalent of a 15-storey building, a lot of adults in our group chickened out because they are freaked by heights and that eerie unsafe feeling you get while climbing up the wide open face of a pyramid.
So it was that much more gratifying to reach the top and view the accomplishment through the eyes of my daughter.
She was awed by our climbing prowess, the 360 degrees vista of surrounding jungle and the scariness of peering down the steep series of steps we'd have to descend.
We found out we'd almost missed this thrill because the pyramid had just re-opened after a six-week closure for renovations.
Mexican officials are also toying with the idea of permanently closing Coba to clambering tourists because it's such an important archaeological site.
Frightening fewer tourists was not mentioned as another possible reason for permanent closure.
The pyramid was part of the Coba Mayan Village tour ($110 US) my wife, daughter and I did on a one-week holiday to the Riviera Maya.
The Riviera is the Caribbean Sea stretch of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula bracketed by Cancun to the north and Tulum to the south.
The region is the most accessible sunspot for Canadians with Transat Holidays offering non-stop flights to Cancun and all-inclusive accommodation packages from 18 Canadian cities, including London.
Better yet, starting at about $1,000 per person (all taxes and fees included), a week-long flight and all-inclusive package is heavily discounted from what it was last season.
Mexico's tourism industry has been hard hit by the recession, swine flu and competition.
While that's a challenge for airlines, packagers, resorts and tour operators, it's great for bargain-seeking travellers.
And Mexico hasn't changed through it all.
It's still the sun-soaked escape from winter Canadians are looking for, complete with luxurious all-inclusives, fascinating and fun excursions, friendly people, nachos and tequila.
After our pyramid antics, the Coba Mayan Village tour took us to an authentic Indian settlement.
In transition from ancient to modern culture, they live in thatched roof huts with TVs.
It's where Mayan matriarch Eleutheria taught us now to make the Mexican staple food tortillas.
Her nimble fingers scooped out ground corn soaked in water and lime and worked the glob into perfectly flat and round tortillas with a dizzying finger-press-and-palm-shaping motion.
We did our best to follow along with lumpy, irregular-shaped results that still tasted good after quick flips over the fire.
Then we were off for a swim in a cenote, which is the exposed section of an underground river.
Revealed after a hike, the cenote lay there in the twilight flat and so clean that you could see the bottom.
The Mayans believe cenotes have special cleansing and healing powers and are very proud of them.
Lucky for us they are willing to share them with tourists.
This however is where tour group liability kicks in.
You had to wear a life jacket to go into this pristine body of water, even if you were a proficient swimmer or had no intention of going over your head.
I guess the days of anything goes in Mexico are over.
The cenote theme played out again at the end of our Rancho Bahia horseback riding tour ($68 US).
The dip in the fresh, clean and cool water was welcomed after trotting along jungle trails and climbing an observation tower.
The view from the tower encapsulates what the Mayan Riviera is all about from a tourist's perspective.
In the foreground is undisturbed jungle with a soundtrack of exotic bird song.
But a little farther away heavy equipment works away to ready the golf course and villas for the Gran Bahia Principe.
A little more in the distance is the Caribbean Sea and the string of mega all-inclusive resorts that follow the coast.
Yes, there's wilderness and untouched areas to make Canadians feel like they've gotten away from it all to a tropical paradise.
But there's also the giant hotels where we can stay, eat and play in luxury.
More water play ensued at Xel-Ha (pronounced Shell-ha), which just happens to be the world's largest natural aquarium formed where the Caribbean meets inlets, underground rivers and cenotes.
General admission of $75 US gives you access to snorkelling, river rafting, hiking, caves, cliff jumping, rope swings and rope walks over water.
Grace also opted for the $109 US extra indulgence of swimming with dolphins.
The dolphin she played with was named Kukulcan, after the feathered serpent god of Mayan mythology.
The name crops up everywhere in the Riviera Maya.
We also shopped at Kukulcan Plaze while in Cancun, a mall that offers the only-in-Mexico mix of high-end boutiques side-by-side with cheap souvenir and convenience stores.
The luxury resorts we stayed at - Grand Melia in Cancun and Gran Bahia Principe near Akumel - have spectacular white sand Caribbean beaches and elaborate pool complexes.
At all-inclusives, the package price not only includes hotel room, but all meals and drinks, kids' club and many activities.
IF YOU GO...
TransatHolidays.com
RivieraMaya.com
Honda announced a donation to the Red Cross of more than $300,000Use sense when travelling to Mexico
