The flight down was great. Once again I had one of the last empty seats next to me, but this time, the guy on the isle asked if his wife-to-be could sit in the empty middle seat. Of course I obliged. This couple was the cutest little thing on their way to Cancún for a destination wedding. The husband-to-be Chirha and I stuck up conversation pretty much the entire flight. His parents, sitting in first class, supplied the three of us with ample 'complementary' vodka. I am now invited to a Indian wedding on Saturday at 3pm, a couple of miles down the strip from the place I'll be.
After deplaning with three different forms in hand, immigrations and customs went extremely smoothly. No search and confiscate this time. Finding the public (cheap) transportation at the airport is not exactly obvious. There are all kinds of signs for vans, taxis, and buses. Everyone asked me if I needed transportation, and I asked for the public bus. They all pointed at the shuttles and said $15 USD or $150 MXN. Finally, a nice taxi driver pointed to the very end of the terminal when I politely refused his taxi service and asked about the public bus. Here, the cost to reach Cancún centro is $40 MXN. This equated to $3.30 USD based on the lousy exchange rate I got from the bank in the aeropuerto (airport). My $40 pesos purchased me a ride on a lavish, first class air conditioned bus designed to take me much further than the 25 minute journey to downtown Cancún.
It had occurred to me that I really didn't have a good idea as to how to get to my first destination after being dropped off at the central bus station. I had a clue based on some Google maps, but I never printed them out, and the maps I had with me lacked in detail. The street I was looking for? Not on my maps. I asked a few illiterate locals outside of the station as to where I am and where my lodging is, which got me pointed in the right direction, but I still had no idea where I was going for sure. Also of a benefit, most streets do not have signs unless they are fairly big. After walking up and down blocks for about 45 minutes with my luggage and backpack in a foreign country, it started raining. Ok, it was starting to pour. I found shelter with another local and asked how far away I was from this place. Eventually after asking about 3 others, he figured it was about 2 blocks away. $2 tip for this guy.
I'm starting out at Hostel Quetzal which came fairly highly rated on TripAdvisor. Edward the host was very polite and speaks perfect English. After paying the $260 MXN for the 2 night stay, he showed me around the facility. Approximately 13 beds in a dorm, 3 shower stalls, bathroom, kitchen, livingroom, dining room and a nice little garden out back.
The narrow spiral stairs leading up to the sleeping quarters may prove difficult to navigate after a few drinks.
At this point I'm rather thirsty and hungry. After locking up my stuff in their nice sized lockers, I ventured out around the block to find sustenance. Pescadito caught my attention, with cameron o pescado (shrimp or fish) ceviche for $70 MXN. Probably the most expensive thing on the menu, but the medium size dish was quite worth it. De-veined shrimp, avocado, tomato, onion and cilantro all tossed in lime juice. Quite refreshing.
This place also had Montejo, a local Yucatecan beer which is quite tasty in my opinion. Interestingly enough, a bottle of cervesa is only $4 MXN ($0.33 USD) more than the refrescos (soft drinks). Have I mentioned that I love México?
After lunch, a quick trip to the mercado netted me a pack of smokes and a 6-pack of beer for $81 pesos ($6.70 USD)
Across the street from the hostel is a small park. Someone commissioned some interesting, yet nice artwork with old satellite dishes.
Currently I'm sitting on the roof of the hostel with my beer, stealing WiFi from someone to write this. More pictures later when I can find a better signal.
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