Pre-travel blog we visited Cancun and absolutely loved it. Cancun has gorgeous beaches with crystal clear water and really thrilling adventure theme parks. Grant recently quit his job and had about one week before he started his new one. One week is an eternity when it comes to our travel schedule and so we took full advantage of the time off. This will probably his last trip for a while and so he got to choose where we went so Cancun 2.0.
He did score an amazing round trip flight from Tijuana to Cancun for $108 so even if it was a bust it wouldn’t be a costly one. The morning of our flight we packed, said goodbye to the dogs and went to the cross border express; a pedestrian bridge that connects the southern-most tip of San Diego to the Tijuana Airport. We made our way through the random checkpoints. At the last stop I crossed under a rope since there was no one there. The guard gave me a stern lecture about how if his boss was there, I would be sent back. Grant was smiled at and told thank you for following the rules.
The flight was normal until our “seat mate” joined us last minute. Grant sat in the middle next to a very social man that would not shut up. He kept talking and talking. You know it’s bad when Grant is taking out his headphones and the guy is tugging on his shoulder to get his attention. Eventually, we made it to Mexico City for our hour layover. We ran off the plane to avoid the guy only to run into him again in the restroom. Of course, Grant’s friend wanted to continue talking. We got away and since he was heading to Colombia it was a clean break this time.
The next flight was completely empty, so Grant had an exit row to himself and I took one on the other side. Upon landing we were quickly accosted by tour companies, taxi drivers, and rental car agencies. We made it to the gate the same time these chain-smoking foreigners did. They were literally lighting up in the airport, on the route to the car, at the official rental car agency. They even asked for a smoking car. To which the rental car said, “no and they would be charged.” Clearly, not deterred they asked… “Can you hook me up with a good smoking penalty fee?” The thought that it would be much easier and cheaper to get a nicotine patch didn’t seem to cross any of their minds.
Our hotel was in Riviera Maya area where we had stayed last time. At 10pm this area is pretty much dead so the drive there was fine. We were staying at the Hotel Amarte, which is a “4-star” eco resort. Grant thought it was a Motel 6 in the jungle with fewer amenities. Of course, when the lady checking us in offered options Grant took her up on it and we all went together to find the room that was just right. It was literally like Goldielocks and the 3 Bears where we would go into the room, Grant would lay down on the bed and then onto the next room. First room to hard. Second room to hard. Third room to hard. Eventually, it was decided that all of the beds were exactly the same and Grant choose the last room.
Sunday, we woke up and proceeded to XCARET! if you have ever heard or even looked up Cancun this is the first thing that comes up. The park itself was a zoo, with an underground river and a cultural show to tap it up. At different points there were some great photo opportunities, so we tried to take full advantage. Grant climbed a pyramid looking structure and I was able to get some great photos. I tried to do the same thing and out of nowhere a tourist guide started to yell at me for some reason. Other people were doing the same thing, so it was not as if it was inappropriate. When we tried asking her what was wrong, she just walked away.
We finished the park a bit early but wandered around to stay for the show. The show was actually really fun and quite dangerous. Our favorite stunt was the fireball game, which was like hockey but with a flaming fire ball. We left a smidge early to avoid the traffic and ate at a local restaurant on the way back.
The next morning, we got up and headed towards Cancun. Right before we made it in there was a police check point. We get stopped for a random check or so we think. Turns out it’s not a random check, but rather a shakedown. The officer alleges that we were speeding, and I was utilizing my cell phone. Both “very disrespectful actions” according to the officer. This was a red flag because I know I was not speeding, and I made Grant do the navigation so my phone was put away. We politely shared that we disagreed, and that I was not using my cell phone. He said okay okay...not two tickets just the speeding tickets. Red flag #2. He said we would have to go to the police station to clear this up tomorrow. Red flag #3. Clearly this was not a normal stop. He had his phone out like he was recording, but it wasn’t on. Red flag #4. That’s when I said that may be a problem because we leave tomorrow. We are only here in town to check out the beach and then one of the parks. (Lie)
This is when the real “shakedown” started. He lost his leverage because he knew we were leaving soon. He said...all can be forgiven if you pay me. Grant and I had exchanged $40 back in TJ so we dug that out of our wallet and handed it to him. I made sure to make it look like I was really trying as I pulled out even the little change. He took the money and yelled...no ticket to the other officers. He whispered that he is going to erase the evidence, so no one knows. Of course, we said...thank you thank you, while inside we were like “corrupt a**hole.”
Now penny-less we set out to find parking in Cancun. There were spots guarded by people expecting tips, which normally would be fine but not so much now. Laughing I told Grant I made a friend, but he was not amused. We found the JW Marriot and somehow convinced the security guard to let us in to eat food. The facilities were gorgeous, and this allowed Grant to calm down as he was quite angry about the situation. I was able to pull out cash for an absorbent amount of money at a local ATM so we were fine.
After driving to a public beach to wander around we decided to drive to Tulum, which was a little out of the way but close to our evening theme park XPLOR Fuego. On the way I stopped at a gas station to pick up some waters and snacks. Of course, when I paid 200 pesos and my total was 32 pesos they tried to give me 101 pesos as change. I just held my hand out as I am cheap and know my foreign currency. Not batting an eyelash, I just coldly looked at the cashier and said, “mas,” or more. It worked. Thank you all my former Spanish teachers for teaching me one word I remembered and could actually use in Mexico. She pulled the receipt from my hand and reviewed the change. She corrected her mistake.
After about an hour and a half we made it to the Tulum ruins. The park was only open until 5:00 pm and it being 4:00 pm we had a mad dash to see it. At the ticket counter, there was a notice that said “extended hours” from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Breathing a sigh of relief we knew that we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, our interpretation of the sign was not the same as the man who started blowing his whistle informing us, we had to leave. There was not a question of extended hours there was a question of how fast he could herd us to the exit. The good news is that we saw a lot of the park; the bad news is we did miss a few things. I think it’s better to have seen a little than nothing at all.
Hopping back in the car we made our way to EXPLOR Fuego. It’s a theme park that is open at night that is lit up by tiki torches. The park itself consists of 4 main attractions, which are ATVs, zip lines, paddling through a cave on a raft, and then swimming through a dimly lit cave. We had done this before, and it was our favorite part of our previous trip. This time was equally fun and would recommend doing this park.
