Bob and Heather in Mexico

Day 6

Yet again, very little sleep due to the wind. Anyone who has been in a storm in a tent can attest that it’s hard to sleep.

Dawn has arrived on our last day.







This morning I write in my journal and watch birds dive into the ocean for fish. After a short while, my 3 friends with machine guns wander by again. This time I wave, and they wave back, so I assume I won’t get shot.

No spontaneous activity today – we have a flight leaving in 24 hours (7am out of Cancun). We secured another free ride on the tour van back to Tulum at 9:30am. We’ll walk to the bus station and catch one to Playa Del Carmen, were we can stay for the last night.

Pack our bags, say goodbye to our little home, and head to the kitchen. We eat a slow breakfast until our van arrives at about 9am.



Load up along with the nice Italian/Brazilian couple we met yesterday. During the ride into town, we learn that they are traveling exactly as we are – by backpack, moving from small hotel to small hotel via public transportation. The one difference – they are doing it with a baby, and seemingly make it look easy. Much respect.

The van takes us directly to the bus station, where the next bus to Playa Del Carmen is an Autobus Segurndo, or 2nd class bus, but is leaving immediately.



We hop on, and it turns out to be only marginally less comfortable than the first class bus we’ve been taking. The trip takes about an hour to Playa, as the 2nd class bus makes many stops along the highway to pick up locals. We are the only tourists on this particular bus.



Back in Playa, we begin our hotel search. Hotel Kinbe is full. Hotel Posada D’Margo is full. Hotel Caribe y Sol is full. Finally, at Hotel Posada Freud right on 5th avenue, we find availability for one night. Since the room isn’t ready yet, we drop our bags off and see if we can arrange for transportation to the airport in the morning. A very helpful woman at a nearby shop lays out our options, but it seems that a taxi is the best bet that early in the morning. So a taxi it will be.

Head back the hotel, room is ready, and is quite nice. No A/C, though, and not much of a breeze, so the fan will be our friend.





We change into our swimsuits, stop at a mini-mart and pick up a 6-pack of Sol, and hit the beach. We order up some food, break out the beer, dig into our books, and enjoy a long afternoon.





Back to the hotel to change, and off for some souvenir shopping. We spend a couple of hours wandering through the small shops, bartering with the owners, which both Heather and I rather enjoy. Shop owners will make you feel like you are starving their family when you suggest a price. It’s a fun back and forth, and a good practice of the language.



We find a place to eat our supper, a nicer Mexican/Italian place with good food and strong margaritas. Making out way back to the hotel, we watch as an early-20s French man stops one of the mariachi bands on the street and asks to see their violin. He proceeds to play the most incredible bit of classical music from this seemingly very cheap violin. A crowd quickly gathers in a stunned silence to watch this young guy and his performance.



We finally get back to the hotel and call it a night, since we have to set the alarm for 4am. We quickly discover, though, that our hotel faces an outdoor restaurant with live music. Unless we want to shut some windows and create a giant oven, we’re forced to listen to the band, which we do from 9pm to 3:00am. What band plays for 6 hours? They must have gone through every classic rock song known to man. The lead singer didn’t even speak English, he only know the words phonetically. They finally pack it up at 3, and we fall asleep for a very quick night.

posted by Bob @ 10:23 AM