Cancun
March, 2004
Aristos Hoteles. Our home for 7 days in Cancun, Mexico. It was clean, inexpensive as far as Cancun is concerned, and for those are used to staying in European hostels, an almost luxurious room.
We had a balcony overlooking the ocean, AC (which we didn’t use, but it was comforting), and our own bathroom. For those of you who are used to American traveling and hotels, you probably would have been disappointed. However, this girl’s only complaint was the ancient and uncomfortable mattresses.
Here is where Sarah (my vacation buddy) and I really lived - on the sugary, white beach. Seven days of sun, warmth and books. Did I mention it was usually 85 degrees or more?
Here is me doing my daily sun worship. Behind me you can see the very developed coastline. The great thing about Mexico is that no one can own the beaches (something Americans should consider). This meant we were free to stroll up and down the peninsula (and get whistled at by the many Mexican construction workers).
More beach. The beach was fabulous and the water gorgeous, but dangerous. The water was so rough that we couldn’t swim in it. It was even unsafe to body surf for 5 of the 7 days. A guy was fished out of the water and ended up dying on our neighboring beach. What a crappy way to end your vacation.
Here I am drinking it up on the Isla Mujeres (spelling?). We took a ferry out in order to feel like we had explored a little. We just ended up reading and sunning our selves on a new beach. At least on the island one can swim because the water is very calm and shallow. And finally, we were able to eat and drink cheaply: two meals and 6 margaritas for $17.
This is Sarah, my fellow English teacher and Cancun roomie. This was the super market (more like convenience store) nearest to our hotel. We were too cheap to drink at the bars so we’d get ourselves a nightcap from El Manglar and take it back to our balcony. We wonder if “Manglar” has any relation to the word, “Mangle.”
Here we are on our last morning in Cancun. We missed our husbands (but not desperately), had read around 9 books each, and could have handled even a few more days on the beach. Although Hotelera Cancun is a soulless, characterless little strip off Mexico, the beaches and sun were awesome. And we both agreed that we two girls who are used to traveling and backpacking kind of liked a vacation that only involved the exertion of putting on sunscreen and the stress of deciding upon the next book to read.