Sunday's Notes

I'm definitely in Mexico.

There are some things that just scream Mexico to me, little sights and smells, and they're here, even in the touristy area. I'm definitely in Mexico.

Every place in the world has its own little idiosyncracies, those things that make it unique, those things that stick out in your mind. I haven't left the touristy area yet, but I've noticed a few things. There are a lot of Chevys (Chevies?) here. Peugeot and VW seem to be popular as well.
And I think it's cute that Pizza Hut, Hong Kong Express, and Hooters do food deliveries on motorcycles. I love how the Route 2 buses tell you, right on the windows, that they will take you to Wal*Mart (in mainland/downtown/Centro) Cancun.

The touristy area of Cancun is on a long, narrow 7-shaped island which connects to the mainland by short bridges at the ends of the 7. There is only one street that runs down this island, the Kukulcan, and everything fronts it. There are some monstrously large hotels here; they're so big that they look close enough to walk to but 20 minutes later they don't seem any closer! In these regards Cancun reminds me of the Las Vegas Strip.

Many of the big hotels have the following flags flying out front: Mexico, USA, European Union, Canada, and Japan. I wonder why?!!! I'll bet over 95% of their money comes from those places.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I bought a little waterproof case to wear around my neck, just big enough to hold a hotel key, credit card, and some money. Very handy to have around, especially if you want to go swimming and don't want to leave your stuff unattended, but someone needs to make one with a strap so you can wear it like a wristwatch. I'd totally buy that.

I give that invention away free. I've also designed a fairly good device for single people to get suntan lotion on their backs. Invention marketers, contact me!

Today after breakfast I took the bus to the El Rey Ruins, populated today by hundreds of iguanas. I think "iguana" is Spanish for "ugly freakin' lizard". Anyway, the ruins are small and unassuming but still interesting; the Maya must be/have been very small because their doorways are so short! I took some video and a couple of pictures, at least one of which will be in today's Pics of the Day.

Then I started walking back. Just a couple kilometers away is Aquaworld (through whom I will probably at least go parasailing) and I didn't see the need to take the bus. I walked partly along the beach, partly along the Kukulcan.

And why get on the bus then, after already walking part way? So I kept on walking. And I did this for over 11 km, in water shoes. I won't make that mistake again. My feet feel like they've been beaten.

I walked through a couple of the fancy hotels during this time, kinda putting the Holiday Inn Express to shame, but that's OK. I don't spend that much time in any hotel. I also walked through the local artisans' market, where I was offered weed, extasy, and "Mexican viagra". I turned down all three. And kept on walking.

Tomorrow I'm going into downtown Cancun (on the mainland, not the touristy area).