Mi Viaje en Mexico

On Wednesday my sister and I met eachother in the Cancun airport. It was the beginning of what will be a three week trip in Southern Mexico.

Pathetic as it is, this is my first time seriously traveling outside of the United States. On the short flight from Miami I wondered about the culture and landscapes I was about to see. I was extremely excited. Cancun deflated my excitement in about 30 seconds. We took a cab through La Zona Hotela which somehow manages to be more American than most American cities. Multiply Vegas by MTV´s "Spring Break¨ and you get the main beach in Cancun. Senor Frogs, Jimmy Buffet´s Margaritaville, Bubba Gump, etcetera.

Luckily, Kathy and I are on a budget so we couldn´t afford to stay in La Zona. We spent our first night in a not too bad hotel in downtown ($40). The next morning we had a superb desayuno. El Cafe was muy fuerta. Por mi, juevos, queso, jamon, pan y mantequilla. We hopped an ADO bus for Playa del Carmen at noon.

Playa del Carmen is about an hour south of Cancun. The beach here is clean, quaint, and only partially Americanized. Near the beach is where tourists typically stay. The restaurants seem nice but they are expensive by Mexican standards. Inland a few blocks you will find mercados, lavanderias, and Mexicanos. Kathy and I booked a room in Urbana Hostel ($20) for two nights. We were glad to be away from the Uncle Sam vomit of Cancun and headed straight to the beach.

I sipped on a rum and coke while mi hermana sun bathed. We ate some camarones at one of the beach restaurants, shopped at Mega for groceries, returned to the hostel, and took a siesta. I woke up groggy and got caught watching Sin City for about 45 minutes. Then, I started to make friends. Carlos, who is somehow connected to the running of Urbana Hostel, played a guitar on the roof patio. A woman from Spain sang with Carlos and the rest of us joined in when we knew the words. There was Adriana from Italy, David from Monterey (a state in northern Mexico I believe), two more Mexicans whose names escape me, and a girl from Holland. It was a nice group sitting in a circle and it made me happy.

Kathy and I ate some quesadillas at a barbacoa ($2 each) which was served with modest portions of refried beans, macaroni (?), and salad. We purchased some cervezas on the way home and drank, sang, and discussed nothing too important till midnight and retired.

We got up at 7 the next morning in order to catch a bus to Tulum. We snacked on fruit and enjoyed some more delicious coffee before taking the 45 minute trip. Those of you who know me know I love coffee and consider myself somewhat of an aficionado of the lovely little bean. Well, I´ve had about six total cups of coffee so far in Mexico and each one has been outstanding. It´s dark, strong, and raw.

We went to Tulum to see some Mayan ruins and the beach as well. The ruins were really really old and semi-interesting. The beach was gorgeous but crowded. In fact, the whole place didn´t really sit well with me because there were so many tourists. I guess I don´t like to be reminded of what I actually am on this trip. We returned to the hostel by 1 in order to watch Mexico play Argentina at 2. We sat in a bar that I think was called "2 for 1" which of course refers to the ever present drink specials. David, Matt (from Holland), Kathy and I took full advantage of the special during the game. It was pretty fun. Mexican males poured into the bar. Many were wearing their work uniforms, and I some only stayed long enough for a beer. I suspect that many of the were working and could not watch the full game. Everytime Maradona was shown, they booed and it was raucous throughout. Mexico lost 2-1 in overtime. It was great socc - I mean futbol.

After sobering up with coffee and some quiet reading, I went to what is now my favorite restaurant in the entire worled. It is the Billy the Kid Taqueria about 4 blocks back from the beach. I ate 4 beef tacos for $1.60. They give you limes, onions, cilantro, and an array of salsa. Nothing fancy, but the tacos come quick and it´s the best deal I´ve found so far. I think the food will get cheaper as we distance ourself from the metropolis of Cancun.

Thinks were quiet in the hostel but my frat boy radar sensed that people wanted to party. I walked to the mercado with the girl from Holland and purchased a bottle of tequila, tostados, and limes for $9.00. I sat around the rooftop table with a great group of people. There was Oscar from Spain, Martin (who I will discuss more in a little bit), David, Lucas from Argentina, Matt, Diego and a Swede. They all warned me about the Tequila as if I had never drank it and peer pressured just about everyone to take a shot or two. We got drunk. We all went out to the club area about midnight. We went to a place called the Blue Parrot. There was a cover of $5 but you got two free beers so it was nice. From what I gather, it´s one of the nicest places in La Play del Carmen. The music was great (everything from Hanson to Snoop Dogg to Salsa) and the beachfront dancefloor was fun. Martin and I seemed to know how to have a good time better than most. W danced with a few girls from Mexico City and danced liked idiots just to make others laugh. We must have toasted each other 40 times before the night was over. I sweated a disgusting amount and made it into mi cama about 4.

This morning, Kathy and I had juevos y cafe, purchased a ticket for Chichen Itza, and went back to the hostel. Every single person asked me if I had a good time the night before and was I hung over. Yes and no were my truthful answers.

Martin es mi amigo but he makes a living as a guide in Akumel which is a resort area 20 minutes from Del Carmen. He showed up around one, and guided me, Kathy, David, Oscar, and Diego to "un lago pequeno". We took a van collectivo the Akumel. Martin got us the snorkeling gear for free and led us to the most fantastic lago pequeno I have ever seen. It was a rocky shallow lake that was really just a super secluded bay from the Carribean Sea. The fish were amazing. We must have swam for 2 hours. The parrot fish were huge, the water was clean, and you could actually hear the fishes eating (click click) when they bumped head first against the boulders. I´m not a biologist but they were probably eating lichen like stuff off the rocks. Absolutely beautiful. At times I felt like James Bond exploring the underwater mini canyons.

Next, we went to see a cenote, which is a limestone cave spring thingamajig. On the way I saw some Mexican poverty. All along the highway from Akumel to del Carmen there are sea resorts where white people live, whom are mostly Americans. For every huge resort on the beach, there is a corresponding shanty town on the other side of the high way where the workers live. The towns look dirty and are apparently completely dependent on the resorts. Lots of dogs. Walking to the cenote I got a close look at one of these villages. Looking at a bamboo structure with tin roofs I asked Martin, Casas? Si. I was shocked. I talked with Martin a little bit about the economy. He was such a jovial guy but he was clear that the economic segregation of the area made him angry.

Tonight I packed and will read a little bit. We go to Chichen Itza to see the granddaddy of Mayan Ruins tomorrow. I am excited to get away from the Cancun area. Everyone has sad Chiapas is the best so Kathy and I are budgeting more time for it. I have so much to write but I am tired.

A couple things. My spanish is much better than I thought. If I had 3 months I think I could be pretty fluent. My understanding has already improved (people everywhere talk pretty much about the same stuff). I speak better when my inhibitions are down. There is a certain clarity when you don´t know a language well. So far, mis amigos speak a little English, I attempt Spanish, and we seem to communicate pretty well.

The coffee really is unbelievable.

I am enjoying the time with my sister. We make a good team.

Oh, tengo sueño. Buenas Noches.

John