Day 35: Playa del Carmen to Home

January 16, 2024

We had of course taken care to check that our shuttle ride to Cancun airport was still geared up to collect us by the hotel at 5:30 a.m. By 5:35 with no shuttle in sight, Dodie was already predicting doom. She is just that style of traveler. Even I must admit that when the company did not answer their phone or reply to Whatsapp, I was beginning to wonder if we would need to negotiate a rescue with one of the (always) nearby taxis. Yikes, 55 km on the spur of the moment with all that luggage? It would have been really ugly.

Fortunately I spotted a likely looking van pulling up down the block. It was our lift, but the driver did not know the hotel. We loaded the stuff and soon left, but the driver was crawling through the streets of Playa - a "safety precaution", as he was playing with his phone the whole time. Once on the highway, we rocketed along in the fast lane, and I nervously tightened my seat belt. Still, this is normal for foreign (and domestic!) travel. I have careened along mountain roads in Nepal, with a kid on top of the vehicle, holding down the cases, so Mexico Hwy 307 can not scare me, right? I pointed out the road shoulders we were careening past and mentioned to Dodie that we could be out there on the bikes (in fact have been out there on the bikes), but she was not fazed. "Yeah, we have flashers" was her comment.

The slightly harrowing start was balanced by a super slick experience at the airport. Unlike at Vancouver, where our bikes in suitcases were declared "oversize" and we had to drag them somewhere special for a special search and xray, at Cancun they were just popped on the regular belt and away they went. No grief or checking about carry on size or "personal item" either. And at security, they asked about our batteries, but quickly said "yup".

Our only shock, but not exactly unexpected, was to see how far the airport had pushed the prices for essentials like water. It was not 2x or 3x the usual high in Cancun convenience store price, but 10x.

I am writing this bit while waiting at the gate, and I just got back from the washroom. Wow, no lady to hand you paper and expect some pesos. It's a bargain! I should visit more. Unfortunately I would have to feel I could afford food and drink to take better advantage!

I know my whining about various prices flys in the face of a worldwide trend. The luxury brands, like Gucci, Chanel, and the rest, are doing well. An they are fully represented here at the airport as well. It has always puzzled me that people buy such stuff. But here today was another slight head scratcher. There are vast quantities of semi-luxury chocolate bars on offer. Although chocolate originates in the tropics, it is not really a big thing here. For the Mayans, chocolate was a beverage. And even today, chocolate bars can not really be found in stores. Too melty. So who will buy Toblerone and Ritter Sport here at the airport? Europeans who were so deprived by all the tacos that they can not wait 6 hours to return to their lands of real chocolate? No, I have it, it's for Americans who may not expect to see Ritter Sport etc. when they get back to Walmart. Ok, I feel better. I hate not understanding. And if I can dig up $US 21 or maybe $US 24 , I could go buy some Ritter Sport (and not have to cycle to the factory in Waldshut, Germany - which we have already done.)

Water? Usual Cancun convenience store price is under 20 pesos. They want 6x as much here!

The flight on Flair Airline was pretty good, mainly because of a friendly and efficient cabin crew. But there was no entertainment system and not even USB power, and some weak food at insane prices. Flair has really outdone themselves, not only selling water for $3.59/l but proposing to sell you a paper cup for it, for 15 cents!

Every time we arrive in Vancouver, I notice new pieces of native art. None of them, however, seem welcoming to the traveler. I wonder if this is an in joke by the artists?

We usually get a better welcome than that given by these carvings, even from the stern immigration officers.

The first thing we notice in Vancouver is mountains, and snow. This is not flat, hot Yucatan any more! But at least there is no great amount of snow on the ground. The forecast calls for some tonight, but as I write this we are home with the wood stove going and a woolly sweater. Much as we may style ourselves world travelers, our deep adaptation is to the Canadian cool. I am really looking forward to going under my down quilt. Dodie is already there, since we have been up for the customary 24 or so straight hours. Tomorrow is another, maybe snowy, day! Stay tuned for a few more entries on this blog, and as we've been saying, in a matter of weeks an all new one!

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