Long Overdue...The Continuing Saga of Quintana Roo

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Firstly, I humbly beg your forgiveness for all the American colloquialisms I'm going to use and that I'm finishing up my online travel journal in Mexico over 5 months later. It was a wild trip! 😉 I kept a hand written travel journal, so I'm going day by day. I'll start where I left off, but firstly...don't stay at the Hostel Marpez. It's not a hostel it's really a cheap hotel that caters to various degenerates and scammers with 10 pesos left in their pockets.

It was just a really depressing place. As a single traveller, I love staying at hostels so I can meet up with people...safety in numbers. There was only one old creepy Canadian guy there and a couple of locals that were glued to the tele watching soccer and drinking beer. When people around my age showed up, they were with a large tight knit group and they all spoke Danish. They were very sweet, but I could tell they wanted to speak their own language. Can't blame 'em. You can view what I said by going to www.hostelbookers.com and looking up Hostel Marpez. I gave the "hostel" a 25% score posted March 2010. ANyway I don't want to gripe on about the place since I discovered the BEST HOSTEL I've ever stayed @ in my life in Isla Mujeres.

On my third day, I checked out Pescaditos which is located @ Av. Yaxchilan 69 in Cancun. This place is very famous for their ceviche and I understand why! I had a grande margarita with a grande pescado y camerones ceviche. It was huge!!! I paid $130 pesos. Not bad, but I'm used to cheaper prices in Mexico, but understanding that I'm in a city that was specifically designed to suck my gringo bucks right out of my pocket I accepted with hesistancy. lol SINGLE TRAVELLERS- This place is very famous with the locals as well and it's very easy to meet people here. Through my pigeon Spanish I met Estrella and Manuel who were chilling with a few beers after work. They were so hospitable and invited me to sit with them and insisted on buying my drinks! Okay... I had about 4 beers, but I'm a seasoned traveller and no matter how much I'm drinking my bag's wrapped right around me that contains a few pesos for the thieves...my real money hidden in a bra with a couple knives thrown in for good measure. It was nice talking to them, but I was cognizant that maybe they were up to something. Sorry, it's just when you're travelling alone and especially as a woman you have to take precautions. It also helped that the night manager stopped by from my hostel to grab a drink and he knew them so everything was good 😉

We continued to have a serious conversation...about what I just don't know since I cold only make out a few words they were saying. Apparently there's a real work shortage in Mexico City and Cancun's being flooded with people from the capital looking for work. There seemed to a bit if resentment, but I didn't come here to hear this! Still...it's good to know. The night ended with karaoke and my horrible interpretation of Juanes, "Malagente (I'm too lazy to look up the spelling)" and dancing to reggaeton at goodness knows where. It was on Yaxchilan Ave. though. A really cute guy dressed as a mariachi came out and sang beautiful love songs. At the end they walked me back to the Hostel Marpez, but not before stopping off for a popular snack in Cancun: a freshly made crepe filled with Nutella and sliced bananas all rolled up and piping hot. Yum!

The next day, I awoke with a hangover and a ferocious appetite for all things strange to my eager palate. I walked around Mercado 23, but frankly I wasn't impressed. Save your money. You can't really haggle here, but the only good thing about the large outdoor market was the cheap ass food court. I settled on a place with a couple of burnt tourists and ordered chillaquilles. It's basically scambled eggs with tortilla chips and salsa. Good stuff. About 10 pesos. You can't leave w/o trying all of the magnificent fruit drinks. I fell in love with large strawberry and watermelon drinks blended with ice. They'll put a lot of sugar in the drink, so tell them, "no azucar por favor" and make sure they're using ice made with purified water. Absolutely a life send when it's 80+ degrees out and the humidity is 100+!

Okay I'll end with tips.

1. Mercado 23- It's okay. You'll save money eating here instead of the "food deals" you'll see all over Cancun proper.
2. Pescaditos- Good for ceviche and people watching
3. Learn some Spanish and ask the locals where the party's at. You might be swooned by a sexy mariachi like I was!
4. End your night with a sweet treat- Nutella and bananas wraped up in a crepe.

My next adventure begins with the discovery of the quintessentially laidback Mexican town of Isla Mujeres which has the BEST HOSTEL EVER!!!! I can't stress this enough. Once you find this place you'll understand you keep hearing the same old story of "I came for one night and ended up staying fpor a month.' The perrrrrrrrfffect place to meet siingle trallers and exchange adventures, meet your future travel partner or even future mate!

And ladies and gents...good looking people from all over the world. Oh la la! The vibe is just amazing. Be patient and I'll tell you all about it soon.

Later gators,

ord2world

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