8 to 18 October 2015
Maybe this is too harsh of a title. Nothing bad has happened in the past week and I am still surrounded by beautiful people and scenery. But in this blog I want to write a) a bit about the problems that I still hear and see in this country and b) about this week’s places and experiences in the tourist stronghold of the Riviera Maya.
A) Other face 1
I first came to Mexico 17 years ago and I have been asking myself if I can see any differences, any improvements in its development, in the way people live. I can’t. When looking outside the window on my long coach journeys, I added a 7hour trip from Salina Cruz to Tuxtla, Chiapas, and a 25hour trip from Tuxtla to Cancun, I still see the same small villages with basic one or two storey buildings, mud patios and dirt roads. The length of the bus trips also speaks for itself in terms of road conditions.
Ok, Salina Cruz is definitely growing, there are new settlements outside town and a new shopping mall and cinema complex. Then again, is it really an improvement if people now buy overpriced mass produced vegetables and fruit from Walmart than going to the town market and buying it fresh from local farmers?
The security situation on the other hand, seems to get worse: My friends in Salina Cruz tell me of increased violence and examples of recent assassinations. Two weeks ago, a bus from Juchitan to Salina Cruz was assaulted and instead of just going for cash and valuables, they shot a student three times in the head. Another young guy was shot at point-blank range in Salina Cruz last week. My friends couldn’t understand as they knew him as a calm person with no known involvement in drugs or other criminal circles. There were no such stories when I lived there.
Personally, I have not seen any crime so far (touch wood…).
There was one awkward incident on my Tuxtla-Cancun coach trip. Many people got on the coach in Palenque, a jungle town with beautiful Maya ruins near the border of Guatemala. I had hoped for a free seat next to me to be able to have more room for the overnight part of the journey. However, this last seat was taken by a short indigenous man. I got ready to sleep. Half an hour later, the bus stopped, lights came on, and men in uniform came in, checking documents of various people including the man next to me. He showed his ID, but the officer wasn’t satisfied. Him and about seven other men were taken to the building outside: National Immigration Office. The bus took off without them.
Apart from being ripped off by taxi drivers a few times (speaking good Spanish makes no difference in this respect), the DJ in one of the clubs in Playa del Carmen wanted to earn a few more pesos by suggesting a ‘tip’ if he played the song I requested. The tip I offered was not generous enough, so my song was not played, but I could afford two more beers…
B) Other face 2
I got to Cancun on Friday and picked up my friend Georgette and her friend Abam from the airport. Georgette is one of my oldest friends in the UK and we have been on a few holidays together: I spent Christmas two years ago in her home town Yaounde in Cameroon and she came to see my home town Freiburg in Germany last year. Abam is Georgette’s high school friend and now a lawyer in the U.S..
The three of us went straight to Playa del Carmen south of Cancun. Less of a resort place, Playa del Carmen nevertheless focuses heavily on a beach and party crowd with countless bars, restaurant and clubs. There are also more western chains here such as Starbucks, McDonalds etc. Even though it is not my preferred Mexico, I had a brilliant party and beach weekend with Georgette, Abam and Renata and her friends. Renata lives in Playa del Carmen and visited me in London last year. I loved that we only went to the club after midnight and danced till 4/5am both nights Friday and Saturday. A nice change from London where a lot of clubs close at 2/3am. We also danced a lot at the beach and in the middle of the street when we passed a bar that played a good song. I also enjoyed a good conversation with Abam on Sunday evening in the roof top pool under the Mexican stars.
The full package holiday experience started on Sunday for two nights at the Park Royal Hotel in Cozumel, an island just of the Riviera Maya coast. It’s a big resort with several pools, bars, restaurants, private beach, entertainment etc. It could be anywhere in the world. Apart from the staff and some options in the buffet there is nothing specific Mexican about it. Although I am generally not a fan, I have to admit that I did enjoy sipping free cocktails in the infinity pool watching the sunset. I did enjoy the fresh salad buffet and the Italien three course meal with cheese selection. I did enjoy the excursions the hotel offered.
On Monday, we hired a scooter and rode around the island, entering the national park Punta Sur, where we saw a crocodile in the lagune and swam in crystal clear water (in the sea- without the crocodile).
On Tuesday, we booked onto a snorkelling tour. I am so proud of Georgette that she got into the water to snorkel even though she can’t swim and is afraid of water. We both loved the colourful fishes and deep blue water. The other 10 members on the tour were from a big cruise ship that had docked in Cozumel for the day and were mainly busy finishing the 72 bottles of Corona that were part of the snorkelling package. Ok ok, guilty- I did help with this task, too!
The last two days in Tulum were amazing. We stayed at a peaceful small guesthouse, Villas H2O, with very friendly staff, good breakfast and wonderful pool and gardens. During the day, we saw the beautiful Maya ruins overlooking the Caribbean sea and had a relaxing time at the empty beach eating more seafood. In the evening we partied with a group of Americans that are also off to Cuba this weekend.
I am flying to Havana on Sunday. Candice has spontaneously decided to join me for all of the three weeks! I am so excited. Everything in my guidebook sounds so good. Three weeks will not be long enough. I don’t expect to have much internet in Cuba, so you will get the update hopefully when I am in Colombia from the second week of November. Hasta la vista!
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