I be in Mexico...

Well, here I am in Playa del Carmen. I was a little nervous about my layover in the Mexico City airport, but it went pretty smoothly. The trick is to keep your eyes and ears open for other passengers who are connecting to the same flight so that you can just follow them. It was quite a trek from the gate where I landed to my flight to Cancun, but I made it with a few minutes to spare. So there were no problems…other than the downpour that was happening when we landed in Cancun. The skies were dark gray and it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

Because of the rain, I was glad that I had arranged for a Best Day shuttle to Playa del Carmen. There was another couple in the van who were on their honeymoon and we dropped them off at one of the many posh resorts between Cancun and Playa. Every time I’ve gotten the Best Day shuttle, it’s been in a different location at the airport. Even so, they always have the same efficient administrative record keeping system in each location which is always good to know. At least this one didn’t have the pile of papers perched precariously on the edge of a trash can.

I’m staying at the Luna Blue hotel which is very close to all the action downtown.

My room is very nice, clean and comfortable. The bed is soft and the water is hot (although you have to wait a little while for it).

And from the other side of the room…

The small bathroom…

With the even smaller shower…

Here’s my little patio…

I kind of feel like I’m living in a tree house…these are the SECOND set of steps I have to go up to get to my room. (I hang on to the railing very tightly.)

Here’s a little quote above the bathroom door…

A view of the hotel grounds…

And the little bar…

This is the view from my patio. The landscaping is VERY lush which makes all the patio areas very private.

When I got to my room at about 6:30 p.m., I was standing on my patio and I heard someone say, “Greetings from the other side of the tree house!” I waited for a few seconds, and said, “Are you talking to me?” because I couldn’t see anyone anywhere. The response was, “Of course! Who else would be I talking to up here?” Long story short, there were a few friendly Canadians staying there and they invited me over for a cerveza…which turned out to be about 3 cervezas, a few glasses of wine with some shots of tequila. Those crazy Canucks!!

This is Canuck Bernadette and a friend…

I don’t remember the names of this group but they were a hoot…

And here’s me and Canuck Tom. (It’s a horrible picture of me, but after a day of traveling, the cervezas, wine, tequila, and walking in the rain…well, you know what I mean.)

I was so looking forward to some good food, but it poured pretty much all evening, so we went to eat at a little place right across the street…then wished we hadn’t. It was terrible. Oh, well…it was a fun evening.I’m writing this the day after I got there and have done some exploring. It is VERY different from Isla, to say the least. It is very American and Europeanized which doesn’t appeal to me very much. I know I should give it a chance, but so far, I haven’t seen any of the old Mexico charm that I love so much. On Wednesday, I plan to head to Chichen Itza and Valladolid and might end up staying there a night or two because I think it’s going to offer more photo ops that I haven't seen so far in Playa.

More to come!