So far so good-we arrived in Mexico without a hitch, apart from having a 5-hour wait in the dismal surroundings of Miami International Airport. It seems the whole place is tinged with a dull shade of yellow, even the people. Oh, and the nutter that sat across the isle from us on the plane. Partway through the journey, she started wailing like a possessed banshee, pretending to be sick and being extra weird. She was a very strange American. She was carted off in a wheelchair when we arrived in Miami.
We headed to Cancun in a shared taxi, which was a quarter of the price of a normal taxi. As we drove towards town, it was incredible to see the prominent strip of magnificently grand hotels, evidently destinations for the rich, with golf courses and vast gardens. Following this were huge purpose-built plazas, clearly built primarily for the tourist market, with bright neon lights and imposing English strap lines.
There seemed to be little reference to what we imagined Mexican culture embodied, apart from the few hints in hotel architecture and the beaming images of Mexicans on the taco bar advertisements.
Our hostel was absolutely sweet, Soberanis in downtown. We thought it was going to be a hostel, but we ended up in our own room, with a double bed each, air-conditioning, and a telly-all for around a tenner each a night. Breakfast was even included, and after filling up on the first morning, we were keen to put an end to our milk-bottle complexions- to the he beach it is. We hopped on the R1 bus and asked, in Spanish of course, where a good beach was.
We ended up at Delfines. It was absolutely stunning. There was sparkling blue and turquoise sea and wide beaches of fine white sand. It was perfect, and there was hardly a soul on the beach (well, it was about 9am!) It is supposed to be the rainy season, but it is scorching! Though a little windy, it takes the edge off the heat and is perfect.
The second day, we took a short boat ride to Isla Muujeres as recommended by a club chico on the beach. This is where we encountered "Techno Nan" and "Funk Gran." They were definitely American, as "Techno Nan" was over 70 and sporting fluorescent yellow-hoop earrings, while "Funk Gran" had the funkiest visor I have ever seen, blue with pink stars, teamed with some unforgivably huge octagon-shaped, pink-tinged glasses, giving Deidre Barlow a run for her money-the duo was complete. Then they cracked open a couple of beers. It was only 10am. Go on, I was waiting for them to get the tabs out.
The island was, again, very tourist-orientated, but beautiful. There was a lot to see and do, but we just headed to the beach. Caz and I are just relaxing and doing sod all for the time being. The Longuras beach was lovely, as the water was much calmer, and we even saw a pelican fishing for its dinner, which seemed to have a tag-along Mexican gull mate that followed it everywhere. We called them Peli and the sheep.
Tomorrow we go to Pelenque; it is supposed to be a beautiful little village, with some ruins not too far away. The coach journey is actually 13 hours. I am thinking happy thoughts; I know it will be amazing when we get there.