My journey to Cancun wasn't exactly plain sailing. I wasn't even sure the airline was going to let me check in, such was their insistence that I need a visa to travel to Mexico, and I had nothing but my passport and my boyish good looks and charms.
I do have previous for just expecting to waltz into a foreign country without a visa, but thankfully this time wasn't one of them, so I resisted the temptation to say "I told you so", and eventually landed at Cancun. The airport was hotter than hell, everyone was shouting at me in foreign, and I got offered enough taxis to start my own cab firm. I decided to be an authentic traveller and get a bus all the way to my hotel, but after witnessing what can only be described as a scrum at what may or may not have been the right bus stop, I ditched all ideals of being authentic and ordered an Uber to my hotel.
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| It's not every hotel room has a bath in the middle of it. |
The next morning didn't start much better. Waited more than an hour for my tour to arrive, and upon texting them to say WTF, they informed me that I hadn't told them where I wanted to be picked up, therefore I'd missed out and nae joy. I furiously sent them a portfolio of evidence to the contrary and they fell strangely silent. Luckily, at that point, a minibus turned up to take me to the big bus, and the tour could start.
The tour was definitely worth waiting for. First up was a 3hr drive to Chichen Itza, the centre of the Mayan civilisation. The tour guide was very knowledgeable (it helped that he was Mayan) and his English was great. Chichen Itza itself was fascinating - it's not the biggest Mayan temple but the whole site functions as a massive calendar, which is why it's one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World.
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| Chichen Itza. Until recently, tourists were allowed to climb it. |
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| One of the three "triangulation" temples. Sadly, one was pulled down in the 1960s to make a hotel. |
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| Site of the Mesoamerican ball game. The echoes in this place were brilliant. |
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I attracted quite a few odd looks, but at least I didn't get heatstroke or sunburnt.
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From there, we were bussed to a cenote for a big buffet lunch (which was delicious, even though I'd no idea what half of it was), and a dip into a cenote (a warm plunge pool formed by asteroids millions of years ago). I've not even got my toes wet on this holiday (mainly cos I can't see a thing without my glasses), but I went for it and I'm glad I did. It was beautiful and the weather was just the right temperature. And nobody objected me to "bombing" off the diving platform.
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| Got any chips mate? |
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Sadly, I didn't get a photo of my scrawny, pasty white body in the cenote.
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The final stop was a quaint wee town called Valladolid where my shite phone battery protested at having to work for more than half a day and turned off.
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The old church. Unsurprisingly built out of a demolished Mayan temple.
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Since I only had one full day in Mexico, this tour was definitely the best way to spend it. I still can't help but think I'd done Spanish at school. Anyway, time to board this minibus with wings and head to Belize.
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| Is this an international flight or are we going crop-dusting? |
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