Mexico

Just Another Escapade in Cancun!

I spent the majority of my life battling depression and during the holidays it got worse as I was often alone in my bedroom hoping the day would go by fast enough that I would not noticed or feel the pain. For my 30^th birthday this year I simply refused to remain in my bedroom waiting for people to call or shoot me a birthday text like every year. I also was not about to invite others to want to be with me or celebrate me.  I intended to just be, being alive while enjoying the process, the growth, the obstacles, the joy, the solitude and so forth. This must be the time I was created for; to practice loving myself as much as I love others; which also mean to cater to myself as much as I would do unto others.

I always wanted to visit Mexico but other countries seemed to be far more interesting to me. I assumed much like to rest of the Caribbean it was a place to relax, let go, have fun and with very little to see or do. Throughout my short years of traveling I have learned to stay true to what makes me happy. A part of me wanted to stay at a resort but the explorer, the frugal in me was not impressed.  I opted out of booking a resort like must people. You could not pay me enough to spend one hour sitting in an unknown territory while an entire culture is waiting for me to explore and indulge.  I arrived early Friday to Cancun and usually when I travel alone I tend to stay right in the midst of the chaos among people and here in Mexico it was Cancun Hotel Zone just a few steps away from Mandala Beach, the City, The Frog, Pallazo and Coco Bongo. If anyone ever visited this section in Cancun you can imagine the time I was expecting to have. I really thought I was going to be a tourist for the first time ever. Little did I know the journey I was embarking…

The Hotel Zone is about 20 minutes from the airport. I drove past the resort before entering the Cancun attraction zone. My host Mario who also works at resort and is a photographer welcomed me with local drinks. Soon after we started talking about the culture and how much I could cover outside of the tourist zone. He contacted a taxi driver also name Mario who during my stay became my personal driver. My sociology teacher in college during our classes abroad often encouraged us to social map the neighborhood whenever we arrived somewhere new. It became a habit throughout the years. So after our conversation I decided to walk around town assessing what Cancun was had to offer. I am use to working 20 miles a day so everything I wanted to see or do was within proximity. Buses on the hotel zone go back and forth quite often for just $1 US and they were well maintained. Most of the public beaches are within proximity. I wanted to attend the beach party at Mandala to only find out that their beach had the same access point as Forum beach a free public beach. Of course you do not get a chair, meals nor drinks. Delfines beach was about a 30 to 40 minute walk towards the resort it is the only public beach in Cancun with dedicated umbrella section, the famous Cancun sign and less Sargassum seaweed compared to other public beach. Many young girls wandered the boardwalk selling crafted Mexican souvenirs. I can be a very impulsive buyer at times. I am well aware that I must wait to purchase souvenirs outside of the tourist zone but once again without fail I purchased a lot of nonsense from vendors at Coral Negro for exorbitant cost. Found better souvenirs for a fraction of the cost in the later leg of my trip. After a few hours I needed rest, on my way back decided to stop at Hacienda Sisal Mexican Grill for a late dinner. The place seemed to be very popular and most people in the waiting entrance made reservation. . It is one of the only authentic Mexican restaurants on the hotel zone with a refined atmosphere. I was lucky to be seated within just a few minutes. I had the Mexican Empanada and Lobster and Shrimp TortillaI must say it was a delicious meal.

On Saturday I had breakfast at 7:30am then booked a tour on the boardwalk to Isla Mujeres. The guide got on the bus with me and later said he had to go his friend would meet me on the dock. Though I was confused I remained on the bus since he asked the driver to stop at my destination. A few minutes later the driver decided to stop and told me to get off and pointed towards a Marina. As soon as I got off he made a U-turn and left.  As I walked to where he pointed I realize I was no longer near the tourist zone, I stopped someone passing by who told me that I was too far and could not walk to where I need to go. I only realized then that the driver asked me to get off because I was the only person left and he wanted to get back to the tourist zone for new passengers. Since it was still early and my phone worked I googled the direction to a cab back to the hotel zone and hopped on the ferry at Ultramar to the island. It took about 20 minutes to arrive. I was obviously capable of doing it on my own. There just about a few things to do on the island away from the commotion in Cancun. I liked snorkeling, eating the fresh seafood, the yoga class, walk around Centro and admire the Sea Wall Murals. Other available activities were to rent a golf cart or bicycle to explore the island, get a massage swim with Dolphins, Whale Sharks or Sailfish. I was only there until 1pm before I headed back to Cancun for the next activity.

Through xcaretexperiencias.com one of the only reliable online offices who also have a local branch was 2 minutes from Hotel Krystal. I did not read the full email they sent earlier during the week or else I would know that they were able to pick me up I started panicking and decided to give them a call. I could not get anybody from their office. I gave the booking info to my host and he directed me to how to get to their office. I got to the office a bit agitated as always when things do not go as plan. A young feller asks me for my booking info and later showed me that the company requested to meet me at the office. Luckily they sent a car to escort me to Explor at Riviera Maya just about 45 minutes away.  I got to the highly anticipated excursion, one of the 2 reasons I even came to Mexico. I was not prepared for the amount of walking involved but I am always willing to partake in anything and everything that will help me burn some calories. I did enjoy walking through the caves to my destinations. My favorite was the hammock swing and splash; luckily the park was not crowded and was able to go on the swing several times without having to wait in line. My second interesting activity was driving an Amphibious Vehicle through the jungle. I enjoyed the ride through the caves, under the waterfall, over the bridge and through pull of water. It was my second time zip-lining so I was not too thrill although the added twist of having to slide in a wet tube and land on water was very exciting. After, I swam through a stalactite river of 430 yard deep inside ancient caves. I was giving the option of 5 minutes or 30 minutes. Thankfully I chose the shorter way because swimming alone through a dark cave river as deep was a bit alarming. Lastly I rafted through two river circuits paddling with Mayan traditional hand paddles. After 4 hours went for a buffet style dinner with everything you can name. I loved the corn bread, seafood mixed, hibiscus juice and a Jamaican punch. While waiting for my driver I slept on the hammock in the outdoor rest area. In the evening I rested for a while before making my way out to Coco Bongo since I wanted to be awake for my birthday.

Sunday the big 30 Yay…. I booked an excursion online through my favorite travel site Viator. Viator is a site much like CheapTickets and Expedia tailored for airport transfers, booking tours and activities in nearly 2,500 destinations. Thousands of options are offered from supposedly pre-vetted vendors. I often used their itineraries to plan my journey while traveling, for inspirations and booking activities offered by the country I plan on visiting. Unfortunately Mexico was not the ideal place to book an expedition ahead of time.  I booked a “Chichen Itza, Valladolid and Temazcal Tour from Cancun” through the site and my vendor was Altustours. We agreed for pick up at 7:30am yet by 8 I was still waiting at the lobby. To prevent a repeat of yesterday decided to call their office but no response. I called Viator soon after but they also could not get in contact them. They send emails and kept me on the phone for over an hour. Like the day before I located their office on the web and hopped on a taxi and in less than 20 minutes I made it to a plaza. Walked up the steps to their suite number; I would not believe my eyes. It was not a tour agency just an office and nobody present knew who they were. I ran after my taxi to bring me back. Tears started running down my face. I was disappointed and angry. Got to my room starting blaming myself for such mistake; thinking I have to spend another birthday complaining despite my effort.  I went as far as travelling; during one of the things I love the most just to avoid the emptiness. But life was catching up to me; history was bound to find me attempting to set myself free.

Despite feeling down at 10am went to my host explained what happened hoping in had a solution. He contacted his friend to take me in order to help. The friend asked for $390 for a roundtrip for the same excursion privately. The thing about Mexico all excursion lives at 7:30 am and anything past 8am is considered late. I asked myself if $390 plus food for a day was worth it. The reason I even selected Mexico was for the pyramids and Mayan villages. I cried for too many birthdays, I walked town determined to find another activity to past time. I stopped at an agency across from Xcaret office the guide offered swimming with sharks. Another checkmark on my bucket list why not. Then walked Mario the taxi driver I mentioned earlier. Told him my story how I would never go back to Mexico nor recommend the place. He grabbed me gave me a hug and said: “algunos somos honestos y queremos ser Buenos” the thing is Mario does not speak English but he was trying. Guess what? Good Samaritan still exists. For $250 he agreed to give me the Mario tour. It was his grace and kindness that got me to blindly follow him of course I had my Guardian Angel above watching over me. Mario is a real estate agent in Mexico his company went out of business; he then resorted to driving a taxi. He is an older man in his 60’s with 2 beautiful grandchildren. He had their pictures tape on the dashboard.

By 11am we were on the road to Valladolid and Chicken Itza or so I thought. Our first top should have been Chicken Itza but Mario decided 3 hours later to make a quick stop. I must say I am always in for a good adventure. We boarded a ferry for about $80 pesos and 30 minutes later there it was Holbox (pronounced hol-bosh) part of the Yum Balam Reserve  a town of colorful homes, street dogs, clay textured sand, greenish water. He smiled and added “Happy Birthday Josefina! (What he called me instead of my English or French name depends on who you ask and the spelling). I told you I would give you the tour of your life.” We had lunch. I was excited by now; mesmerized by the small town of fishermen still in its rawest state. I told Mario that everything happened for a reason as I never heard of Holbox before that day. This morning needed to unfold exactly how it did for me to vent to Mario who obviously had a lot more to offer that I could have discovered over the internet. We walked through the plaza gazing at shops of textiles, embroidered clothing, bags, open-air bars, restaurants, fruit-and-vegetable market for an hour. He decided to take my picture at the beach before we boarded the ferry back to the car. Less than 2 hours later we made it to the long awaited Chicken Itza. Mario’s brother is presently a guide there and gave me a private tour for an hour.

It was already past 6 o’clock and part of my request was to visit a Mayan village and a cenote. Mario offered to stay overnight of course I had to pay for his hotel stay. I also paid for every meal while we were there; the man was just too kind. He called his family to inform them and our tour continued. We then proceeded to Valladolid, the colonial town in the center of the Yucatán Peninsula. We said our prayers at the Convent of San Bernardino of Siena followed by the Cathedral of San Servacio at located across from Valladolid Central Square. We had Yucatecan from Taberna de los Frailes while listening to traditional songs accompanied by marimbas. The night there was quite different from Cancun loud music, drunks and fast paste environment. We strolled down narrow streets savoring the quiet evening and the endless stream of Mayan activities.

Monday before heading back to Cancun we spent our morning swimming with catfish at X’keken located inside of a cave illuminated by minimal sunlight through giant stalactites and stalagmites hanging from the top of the cave. Our last stop was La Hacienda Selva Maya cenote; it was well maintained and more developed. A lifeguard allowed monitored the guest jumping from the steps into the water of 148 feet deep. The restaurant at the facility served authentic Mayan food by far the best Mexican meal I had doing all my stay in Mexico. By noon we headed back to the city for a four hour ride before Mario dropped me off at the airport for my flight back home.

Yes I really go above and beyond doing my travels to see and do as many things as possible. I often say that I need a vacation form my vacations. This is the main reason I do not like to invite people to tag along. The long weekend was truly an adventure and by far my best birthday celebration. I really don’t need people to be happy and live and this journey was another reminder. All I need in this life of sin is me and my passport… Happy 30^th Birthday to the Nubian Queen