Taco, Taco, Burrito, Burrito ! A quick stop in Cancun

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Well my peeps,

It's been a wild ride since I last blogged however, there is much discussion that needs to be had ! So before I talk for hours about how great my time in Cuba was, we need to deal with 'that which comes before'. In this instance, that would be Cancun and although I only had a couple days there, it turned out to be a rip roaring success.

To be brief, blunt (and as some would view it) rather rude, Cancun is a haven for all the vastly overweight 50-somethings from Canada and the US looking for a quick escape from the harsh winter climate. Consequently, the unequivocal beauty of the Caribbean: it's white sands and its bright blue waters is unfortunately spoilt by the sight of 'Peter Griffin' walking down the beach in his budgey smugglers and gut around his ankles looking like someone who Sigorney Weaver had discussions with in 'Gorillas in the Mist' (and I ain't talking about the Africans hunting the gorillas). Furthermore, the situation is not aided when his wife - a shrivelled old prune of a woman with the worst tan that you've ever seen (be it fake or 'overcooked') - walks up beside him in all her finery: a 1970s bikini which highlights the fact that her breasts, like her husband's gullet, now also hang down around her ankles. Still, some would view it as considerably 'romantic' that two people could have so much in common ... or be so naive about their appearance. But hey, people in glass houses ... I know, I know. Ahhh, the perils of travelling to a tourist hot spot !

So let's ignore 'Peter and Lois' for a minute and recount the good times ! I stayed at a great hostel in the heart of the city and caught the bus out to the five star resorts to laze by the beach for a few hours. The JW Marriott looked delightful and let me tell you, here's the one good thing about not looking like a local - no one challenges you no matter where you go or what you do (read my Cuban blog to see how readily I was putting this to effect in Havana). Consequently, I spent a few lazy hours relaxing under an umbrella on a deck chair by the Caribbean waters getting my local nouse up on Cuba. I could have lay there all day however, adventure was to be had !

I thus wandered down the beach for about a km or so until I came to a Mayan ruins known as 'El Rey'. These were 'so-so' (indeed, these are not even in the same universe as Chitchen Itza) however, they did provide me with a decent insite into the Mayan culture - the most interesting thing to note was how their method of construction (at this site at least) differed from the Incas: the Incas appeared to be far more detailed and precise in their masonry (just my opinion). Still, El Rey was quite well laid out and had signs in english explaining which building served what purpose. An interesting side note was that the place was swarming with iguanas - hundreds of the little, (or rather large) suckers !

I forgot to mention that my breakfast, lunch and dinner revolved around a wikkid little empanadas / tortilla / taco stand that I stumbled across near my hostel. For $US1.50 I received two of anything - I personally loved the quesadillas with rajas (spicy chillies ... fart fart fart) - served with a mountain of salads, salsa, sour cream and gucamolé ... yum yum yum ! I washed it all down with a 'Coronoa familiar' ... a litre bottle of Corona for yup, $US2 ... bargain (of course, no beer at breakfast thought ... that would be evil !).

In the afternoon, I thought that 'cultural enlightenment' was on the cards so I took a stroll to the museum of Mexican culture - reportedly (according to the Guide Book) the best of its kind in all of Mexico. This little gem detailed the cultural histories of all Mexican tribes and even came with a free audio tour ... provided on a cassette walkman (hello 1980s !).

From here, it was back to the hostel and time to be a socialite. I headed to the rooftop terrace - as it was a rather pleasant evening - and kicked back with three Norwegians, an Aussie lass, a dude from the NYC and a Mexican guy. The Norwegians were great banter and turns out that two of them had lived in Bris-vegas so we had plenty to talk about: Aussie muzak (they were big fans) and nightlife. The American was from Harlem so plenty to chat about there whilst the Oz lass was good for a laugh as well. That leaves us with our firebrand Mexican friend. It must have been something about my stench, however, he just didn't like me. The fact that he didn't speak very good english (and I speak next to no Spanish) didn't make things very easy - especially when I told a few jokes to 'lighten' the mood ... in hindsight, I think he probably thought that everyone was laughing at him. Anyhoo, he told me that I reminded him of 'Edward Longshanks' (from 'Braveheart' ... the little fella loved that movie). I told him that he reminded me of 'El Mariarchi' and that's when things really went downhill ! From then on in, he labelled me 'Cortez the Killer' ... there's a great Neil Diamond song (cum DMB cover) about him so check it out ! Continuing on this line, I sorta ignored him from then on which only exacerbated the situation.

In the end, the Norwegians played 'peacemaker' and ushered 'Nacho Nacho man' downstairs ... only he left wearing my thongs ! However, he left behind his Berkenstocks ! I win I win I win ... he get's my $5 Rip Curls and I get his $50 (5 million peso) Berks ! Choofed in my good fortune, the New Yorker, the Oz lass and I decided to have a 3am taco ... hey, everyone knows that I always need a cheeseburger before hitting the hay ! Great taco however, the big mistake was having the 'burn-a-hole-in-your-rectum' chilli sauce on it ... repeat repeat repeat ! My stomach was churning ! Arrrghhh ... never fear, an interesting and rather successful evening none-the-less.

And there you have it, two days, a fair bit of Cerveza and a fair few tacos ... Jennifer Lopez (and her 'taco flavoured kisses') would be proud ! Check the pix out on Faceass.

Onwards (and upwards) to Cuba !

Hasta luego.

Derek / Babs

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