Okay so I know I told you all that I would write a travel blog on this trip but as per usual I have not really found the time to sit down and start it yet! But I figure better late than never right?
I have to begin with saying goodbye to Marc at Calgary airport, it was hard to do and really sad but I could not help but be excited to be starting out on another new adventure...
I flew from Calgary to Cancun via Salt Lake City at 6.30am on May 22nd and arrived to the bright colours, blue skies and humid heat of Mexico at around 3pm the same day. Thanks to the very helpful staff at the tourist info area in the airport I found my way to downtown Cancun on the ADO bus without any dramas and then made the short walk to my hostel (no cockroaches or bugs to be seen, hurrah!) where I promptly jumped into a nice cold shower and stood in front of the fan for a few minutes to cool off. It is so easy to forget how draining the humidity can be after a winter in the cold, snow-covered mountains of Lake Louise!
I went out walking around and exploring the downtown area for the afternoon and found a lovely little place to have dinner and a few Coronas while I watched the world go by.The next day was an early start when I caught a bus out to the hotel zone of Cancun where I wandered through the posh lobbies of some of the nicer hotels before finding one that did not mind if I went through their pool area to reach the beach. Unfortunately the beach is all built right up to the edge with hotels and restaraunts which slightly detracts from the beautiful white sands and clear turquoise waters. I spent a few hours soaking up the rays and enjoying the sound of the surf for the first time in ages before carrying on with my footpath exploration of Cancun. As expected it is very touristy in the hotel zone which is like mini-America and everything is nearly double the price of what it is downtown.
Sadly when I awoke the next day to check out and catch my ferry to Isla Mujeres I discovered that my lily white winter skin had turned a wicked shade of tourist red! Despite liberal amounts of sunscreen I had managed to burn my legs pretty badly and much to my horror looked like the stereotypical English tourist. So, very ashamed, I put on some longer pants to hide my legs a bit and set off to Puerto Juarez. The ferry was super cheap and only takes 15 minutes to get to the island. I checked into Poc Na hostel which is only a short walk from the ferry dock and it is as nice as I hoped it would be. Located on the beach with big dorm rooms and great common areas as well as a bar on the beach with live music from the locals, staff and other random people most of the day and a band every night it is close to everything and very friendly. Wishing that I had not got such bad sunburn I relegated myself to a hammock in the shade for my first day and lazed away the afternoon by enjoying the cool breeze off the water and the sounds of some of the staff playing african drums and guitar.The rest of my days on Isla Mujeres while waiting for Nadia to arrive were filled with sunshine and beaches, a few bike rides and walks around the island and in the evening cheap drinks and dancing with some girls that I met at the hostel. Once Nadia arrived on the 29th May we had a great time catching up and talked non-stop for a couple of days while we lay on the beach or lounged around the hostel. We found a dive shop that was offering really cheap rates for 2 reef dives that was able to give Nadia a quick beginner Scuba course so that she and I could go diving together. The course was only 1 hour to teach her the basics but it was ok as the instructor accompanied her the whole time on both dives. His name was Eduardo and we have decided that he was like the Mexican version of Cletis from the Simpsons (mean girls that we are!)He had abouth three teeth in total! See Facebook for photos. and I am sure that the majority of you will agree with me. Anyway, despite Nadia being a little wary of a shark encounter we really enjoyed the dives and saw stingrays, a sea turtle, a massive sea crab under the coral as well as heaps of beautiful coloured fish.
On June 1st we caught the ferry back across to Cancun and then jumped on a bus to Tulum after deciding that we needed to do something a little more taxing than lie on the beach until my birthday. Tulum town itself was not that fantastic but the first place we stayed at had a bar upstairs and after we got back from dinner we had the hilarious experience of bumping into the guy that DJ'd for it. He was decked out in a yellow sweatband, tight white t-shirt and some very sexy tight yellow nylon pants. He was mucho enthusiastic at the thought that there were actually people staying in the rooms and that we might venture upstairs to help him get the party started. After swallowing our laughter Nadia and I lied through our smiles and said sure, maybe we will pop upstairs later in the evening and then scurried off to our room. A fantastic decision on our part as we later heard the thumping beats of remixed Michael Jackson songs and a variety of other badly pieced together snippets that had Nadia conjuring up visions of a bare dancefloor but for a couple of tubby Mexican girls in spandex outfits barely visible through a haze of dry ice and our DJ friend concentrating intently on his work in the booth! In fairness to her spandex comments I have to say that it seemed to be the fabric of choice regardless of size/shape for girls in Tulum. The next day we moved to a different hostel down the road where our host Fernando (who reminded me of "I am very very sneaky sir") was endlessly helpful and kitted us out with bikes so that we could go and explore the Cenotes, the beach and the ruins. The ride to the first Cenote was really hot and by the time we arrived we truly appreciated the fresh, clear, cold water in the caves. The ruins were pretty spectacular too, set right on the beach and over-run by Iguana's it was a good spot to wander around before yet another swim. That night we got back to the hostel and Fernando had rented Apocalypto for the guests to watch which I think was pretty thoughtful of him even if it is a fairly brutal movie about the Mayan people.
June 4th saw us returning to Cancun to check into the hotel that Nadia had booked for my birthday which was a nice little place just off the main street of the hotel zone. The next morning for my birthday I treated myself to a trip out to Chichen Itza to check out the ruins and to stop along the way for a swim in a huge cenote. When I got back to Cancun I was spoiled with a cake and a card from Nadia and we had brought a 2 litre bottle of Bacardi for 21 Pesos! Marc, Mum, Dad and my brother Leith all called to say happy birthday and then Nadia and I headed out on the town. My present from her was a ticket to the Coco Bongo Club. Basically the way it works is that you pay US$35 to get in and then they literally pour booze down your throat all night. Even in the line up outside while you are waiting they are walking up and down giving out shots of tequila. Once you get inside it is like a giant stage show with singers, dancers and acrobats on balconies and hanging from the ceiling etc. They encourage everyone to get up and dance on the bar and the bartenders get you to lean backwards so that they can pour tequila directly from the bottle into your mouth. It was crazy. One of the bartenders that Nadia and I were served by alot made me a flower for my birthday out of a straw and a serviette so I felt pretty special. Our walk home was highly amusing in the way that only late night drunken strolls can be. Nadia convinced me that we should buy hamburgers from a street stand along the way and then had me in hysterics when she tried 3 or 4 times to take my picture in fromt of a VW but couldn´t hold the camera still. As you can imagine the next day was a write off and we basically laid on the beach all day.
