Another reason for returning to Mexico was that in 2014 Cirque du Soleil had opened a new show in a dedicated theatre near Cancun. As well as riding coasters and search for good graffiti I'm also a fan of Cirque du Soleil shows and this one would be my 20th. Every time I get down to 3, they open another so it's a goal I keep chasing and which gets me around the world some more.
The 3 I'm now missing if you're interested were two travelling ones in South America and Japan and a permanent located one in Vegas, which opened after I'd blitzed that city in another trip.
Located opposite the Mayan Palace Hotel complex, Joya opened in November 2014 and is the first Cirque show to offer a dining experience along with the show. The dinner is optional but you don't get the full experience if you only come in for the show itself, something that our Cancun contact confirmed. When I first tried to get the tickets I noticed that we could only buy an even number of tickets which isn't good if there are only three of us, so I gave the feedback on Facebook and got a response saying it would be looked at. Low and behold the site underwent a change soon after offering single tickets. Sweet!
The venue is beautiful and I can only imagine it cost a fortune to construct, especially as the land prior to this was marshland and forest.
The interiors were stunning too. Before entering the theatre you can have a drink at a bar and buy gifts from the gift-shop. A lot of locals had made the effort to dress up for the show. I was still wearing my dust covered safari trousers from earlier in the day. So much for having a sense of occasion.
Entertainment during our dinner came in the form of a great Mexican band who rose up from beneath the stage and put on a lovely set occasionally accompanied by some of the singers and orchestra who'd perform later in the show. It looks like we got a good seat too!
The food was superb and we were very spoiled.
The highlight of the meal was the desert which came in the form of a box with 4 dishes and the ingredients of each were written into the lid in the form of a periodic table.
Needless to say I devoured all four.
I think we're enjoying ourselves here.
There are no photos of the show itself because a) it wasn't allowed b) I wanted to enjoy it not record it and c) I didn't want to spoil it. My favourite act was the juggler who opened the show who made very clever use of ultra-violet light and a little bit of trickery to turn a single red ball into an increasing number of blue balls that flew around the theatre and above our heads. The show being fixed here, has a number of other effects that ensure uniqueness and a stage that takes on many forms (do you like how I'm being intentionally vague?)
and keeping this spoiler free I'll say that the show didn't disappoint and the three of us had another Cirque experience under our belt.
On getting back home Cirque announced that the South American travelling show was moving to Mexico next. Typical. They also announced another new show themed around the Avatar film which was due to travel around the US during 2015 and 2016 so that's four I now have to find. I love this hobby!
Tomorrow it was time to do another UNESCO site
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