After managing to put together 5 days off from work, at relatively short notice, one fine Thursday morning found me seated on a plane to Cancun, Mexico. Not being the "touristy" type, i was eager to get out of Cancun as soon as my flight landed, only to find out that my luggage had been misplaced. Two hours already wasted at the "Lost Luggage" section at the Airport without any news about my bags, i was left with a t-shirt, a camera and a few odd items that i had carried on the plane with me. Armed only with a map, a Spanish vocabulary limited to "amigo", and some kind instructions from the lady at the Rental Office, it was already starting to get dark as i drove off in the white Volkswagen.
After a couple of hours drive, reached the tiny village of Piste. Seemed liked i had carried 'bad luck' as a passenger all along with me. Not long after i entered the narrow, dimly lit streets of Piste, a stray dog caused my rusty driving reactions to go amok...and Boom, i have a crashed car to deal with. A quaint old hotel run by an American lady who moved to Mexico 25 years ago provided me with a place to sleep for the night.
I was up early next morning, and the rental agency agreed to send me a replacement car, although they had no idea of when it would arrive due to the distance i had put between myself and Cancun. Spent the morning at Chichen Itza, which was a brisk 1/2 hour walk from the hotel. The architecture was very interesting, and being there at the crack of dawn, it was a really nice couple of hours when i had the place almost to myself, before the tourist buses started to arrive from Cancun.
The rest of the afternoon was spent between gulping down bottles of corona, lazing by the pool, making friends with the local cats, a nice meal at a roadside shop, and wandering around town.
The replacement car arrived arrived just after 4pm, and by 4.30 i was on my way to Tulum. En route, stopped for a couple of hours at the beautiful city of Valladolid, and also to replenish my count of underwear, which was ONE at that point.
However, it was not a long wait before i had to experience yet another twist to the tale. A policeman stopped me, for no apparent reason, and as with almost any other country in the world, insisted i make him richer for the day. With 90% of my money now in his hands, he was happy to let me go. Another couple of hours drive, now questioning myself vehemently about the wise decision to travel alone, finally arrived in Tulum after dark.
And nothing could have made me feel better at that point. Untouched beaches, lined by wooden "cabanas", on one of which i was supposed to spend the night. Although it was already dark, the night was warm and the moon was up. As soon as i put my stuff in my allotted cabana, i was in the water. An hour passed, and i was back on dry land, sipping beer with some backpackers. Dinner followed, and another couple of hours alone by the beach, catering to my mind's thoughts. For some reason, i found it hard to fall asleep that night. Maybe, after all, i didn't want to loose the moment.
Another early morning, and after a swim and light breakfast, headed for the ruins at Tulum. Standing at the edge of the sea, it was much more impressive, at least to me, than the ruins at Chichen. It was a lot of walking, but the spectacular views were worth the effort. By late morning, my job done at Tulum, i was well on my way back to Cancun
After returning the car at the airport, got the local bus to Peurto Juarez, and then onto to the ferry that will take me to the famed Isla Mujeres. As if to stand by its name, the island boasted couple statues of naked women. I checked into the Pocna Hostel, and spend the reminder of the day exploring the fairly small Island. Hardly two miles across, one could spend the whole day idling away at any of its many beaches. Almost spent the entire couple of days in the water, only to get out to eat, sleep and wander about the islands colorful streets. The freshly fried fish that are usually served by the beaches were especially inviting.
On the final day, with my flight scheduled to depart around noon from Cancun, i had one last swim in the crystal clear blue waters. Traveling alone almost forces you to meet new people, and it was with one such person i was to share my trip back to the airport. With obvious disappointment, we boarded the ferry back to mainland, and then the bus to Cancun. The sadness of the trip coming to an end was momentarily broken by the delicious roadside Tacos that we were able to buy by pooling together some of the last few Pesos we had.
The flight to NYC departed on time, and i sat by the window looking back at the events of the last few days. A lot of things went wrong during this trip, but such is travel. If i had one chance, I'll do it all over again.
