Cancun and Puerto Aventuras

I spent 2 nights and days in Cancun getting acclimatised to Mexico. Its much hotter then home and the return of humidity was welcomed. While breathign in Alberta is much easier then Montreal, the humidity is somehow a warm blanket of old feelings. It also allows for things to burn much slower :) And there is a smaller threat of forest fires even in the dry season (around the Yucatan, I know there are firefighting programs in Jalisco, in partnership with the gov of AB)
In Cancun and possibly elsewhere too, you can have a beer onthe bus, not even wrapped in a paper bag. But for some reason on Sunday (Domingo) you can´t buy a beer in a store after 2pm, and 5pm in Walmart!

From the tourist entrapment of Cancun I headed to Puerto Aventuras to join my sister for a week in a resort. Puerto Aventuras which is between Cancun and Tulum is a gated community consisting of a marina, resorts and condos. My cab driver had to give his cab license to the guard and have it returned upon leaving.

The resort-Hotel Sunscape is an interesting place. Upon arriving I was thrust a serving of juice and cookies and about 50 people said hello to me. It was very welcoming until you tried to say more and realized they are only paid to say hello. Although after a bit of time some folks did open up. The room was swell and the beach and pools were great. One could snorkel and see hundreds of fish right at the beach of the hotel.

That night at about 4:30 am kiddo showed up. (that´s Jess my sister) We spent a week together exporing the mayan riviera and playing or reading or tanning non stop. I was also introduced to strawberry margueritas...yummy. I got to enjoy my own and the half of Jester´s that I had to take away before she fell over and was done for the day! We snorkled in the ocean and in a lagoon, a mix of frsh and salt water as well as in a cenote (cinotay) which is underground, one was an open sinkhole of fresh water and the other was a cave. The sinkhole had catfish and a cliff i somehow mustered the courage to jump off of.


We also went to playa del Carmen where we met up with a friend from highschool, (Hi Joel) and his sister Jen. We went on a ´´double date´´ with our sisters. As for sticking with mexican time, we only had to wait 2 hours for him! If you ever have to meet someone in mexico buy a car or jog, would be quicker than some of the transit! Thanks to Mr. Lester and the internet he was able (in montreal) to help co-ordinate our meeting up!

We ate a restaurant suggested by a van driver and it was the neatest place i had yet seen in mexico or almost anywhere. A restaurant and lounge in a cave! Stalagtites and all. It needs to be visited to be properly appreciated, but when I was living in Playa I went back there 3 more times! It aparently goes on for kilometers! The name is ALUX and any cabbie will know where it is. (On Juarez, 4 or 5 blocks west of the main road)

After Jess took off I headed to Playa del Carmen to stay in a Hostel and learn to Scuba dive...