CANCUN NO RESERVATIONS

At first we were going to Cuba.  My young Mexican friend (A House in Bucerios) worked with a guy who had a large house in Cuba.  We could stay there free.  It was an exciting idea to me as I had never even thought about going to Cuba, since Americans are forbidden to travel to Cuba.  Then I found out that the house was not in Havana, but on an island off Cuba.  There is no internet in Cuba and the island where the house was had only a few phones.  How would we get there, how would we make contact?  Then I learned that the U.S. imposes at $10,000 fine for any American illegally going to Cuba.  My Mexican friend said,  "Oh don't worry,  they won't stamp your passbook".  There were too many unknowns so I said,  "I never travel anywhere without a reservation".  We decided to go to Cancun instead.

 The flight was arranged, but we needed a hotel.  I was told that it was better to stay in Playa del Carmen, as it is smaller and nicer than Cancun.  Again, my friend was sure we could get a nice "cheap" hotel as he had a friend who was a concierge at a local hotel here.  Both hotels he recommended were in Cancun, so I went to the internet.  There were 175 choices in Playa del Carmen, everything from $63, to $600 a night.  Too many choices and I did not know where the hotels were or anything else about them.  My "no problemo" friend convinced me that we would just rent a car and drive to Playa del Carmen and being Mexican he could get a nice cheap room.  So, off we flew "with no reservation"

The plane trip went smoothly, then we arrived in Cancun to pick up the car I had reserved.  Before I left I printed out the confirmation, e ticket code and flight schedule.  I also printed out the confirmation of the car reservation.  After recieving my boarding pass, I put the confirmations in my back pocket.  I was wearing jeans for I was not carry anything so I had no other place to put it.  It stuck a little for the jean pocket is small.  When we arrived in Cancun, I reached back, and it was gone!  Had it slipped out while I was seated in the plane, or did some one take it ?   I was not even sure what car company I used, and we were in a room of about 50 car rental places.  I  also had no flight schedule or e ticket code.  We fnally gave up and rented a car from National.  I was told that I did not need a passport when traveling inside of Mexico.  This is true, unless you want to use an American credit card.  After giving the car guy my most pained expression, I produced a copy of my passport that I always carry.  He took it.

Off we went to Cancun.  The main Mayan ruin that I wanted to see was closer to Cancun, so we decided to spend two nights there (good thing I did not book rooms in Playa del Carmen).   The Hotel Zone is really a very long sand bar or barrier reef that surrounds the entire city.  We passed one expensive resort hotel after another.  It looks more like Miami Beach or Honolulu than anything Mexican.   Then came a row of shops "Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Baccarat, Tiffany's".  All the very expensive shops you can imagine.  I was beginning to panic about finding a "cheap hotel"  Then sure enough at the very end of the strip he found a cheap Mexican hotel just as Elvis said we would.  Yes, his real name is Elvis (his mother must have been more enamored of Presley than she was of her parish priest)   The incredible aqua blue color of the water  due to the fine white sand, is brilliant.

We went to downtown Cancun.This looks more like Las Vegas with a little Tijuana thrown in.  Thousands of young partying kids and one club after another blasting music.  Girls dancing on table tops, a sort of floor show going on in the mall across the street.   Cancun is about 3 times the price of Puerto Vallarta.  One margarita and one coke was 160 pesos   It was really not my "thing".  Next day we drove out to Chichen Itza.  It is over two hours on the toll road (which cost $30. each way).  The cost of admission surprised me as well.  It is a huge complex of temples and ruins covering acres and acres.  It was once a very large city.  The size and height of the pyramids is amazing considering they are thousands of years old.  Much of the sculptured rock is just awesome.  Besides wondering how they built these huge structures, there is the question of water.  It is not located near a river or lake.  No one knows.

The next day we moved to Playa del Carmen and checked into another cheap Mexican Hotel.   Then off to see the ruins of Tulum.  It was not as large a complex, but still very impressive.  It is also located right on the ocean as it was a prosperous trading town.  It was still a thriving city when Cortez arrived.  The Mayans used canoes up and down the coast to trade.  I could not find out if either set of ruins had had much reconstruction or not.  In any case they are quite amazing to see.

Next day we went to Xcaret (a sort of zoo and water park).  It is very beautiful as the grounds are as gorgeous as the San Diego Zoo (not much in animal life).  There are many smaller Mayan ruins within the park, but it's main feature are the underground rivers that you can float through.  I explained that I have claustrophobia and cannot submerge my face in water.  Elvis insisted and said that most of the time you are only chest deep and you wear a life vest.  He rented the whole scuba gear (which I could never have put on) and off we went.  I went in first as he was adjusting his gear.  At the first tunnel, I was apprehensive but went along anyway.  You cannot stand up but sometimes you can cling to the rock walls.  As the tunnel grew longer it also grew lower.  At one point the ceiling was barely one foot above my head and only water beneath.  No sign of Elvis and I began to panic and thought I was going to die.  But I did not and made it through.  Some of the river flows out into the open and it is quite beautiful, but too long (almost a mile).  He went on two more rivers, I sat and had my beer.  They have  a sort of Mexican rodeo, but at night there is a Spectacular.  The amphitheater is enormous, holding thousands and thousands of spectators.  The show is the history of Mexican, beginning with the Mayan and Aztec.  They best part for me were the games.  It is played with a rubber ball (Mexicans were the first to discover rubber)   and sort of like soccer, except you cannot touch the ball with anything but your hip.  It was amazing.  Then it was played with a ball on fire and sort of hockey sticks.  Quite amazing.  Then came Cortez, the Spanish, Maximilian, and the revolution.  I could not photograph the show with my old Canon camera, but tried to get a picture of Montezuma in his green feathered head dress.

We spent some evenings in Playa del Carmen.  It has some charm, but not as much as Puerto Vallarta. It is also more expensive, but not as bad as Cancun.   They have a sort of Malecon, but it is not on the sand, but a block above (there is no board walk)  This pedestrian street resembled Venice Beach with a little more Tijuana thrown in.  One end of the street ends in a modern shopping mall with fountains (very nice).  The next day we took the ferry to the Island of Cosumel (about 40 minutes).  It is not a big island in fact we rented a little sort of enclosed scooter circled around the island.  There isn't much to do there except scuba diving.  Elvis loved it.  After my experience with the underground river, I was having no part of it, so I had my beer and cigarette while he went scuba diving.

It was fun, I enjoyed seeing it all, but would not go back. I still do not like traveling without reservations, but Elvis was right.  I could not have made the trip without him.  He acted as guide, driver and translator.  You would think that a resort town that deals mainly in American Dollars, people would speak English.  They do not!   Nothing has the charm of Puerto Vallarta, and it is much cheaper.  I will do more traveling in Mexico (with my passport) but will always be glad to be back home in Puerto Vallarta.


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