Going to Quintana Roo

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A link to and English interpretation of carnival events:

http://www.playa.info/playa-del-carmen-forum/71338-carnaval-

2014-a.html#post2034126

February 12, 2014 – Wednesday – I’m at Easterwood Airport here in College Station waiting to catch a 9:20 flight to Ft Worth from whence I will catch a 1:25PM flight to Cancun. I should arrive in Cancun at 4:05 and from the Cancun airport I will catch the ADO bus to the ADO terminal in Playa del Carmen at 5^thstreet and Ave. Juarez. From there I should have a 6 block walk to the Tres Mundos Hostel where I have reserved a private double room.

I went through security here at Easterwood and the security smurf there must have thought he was saving the world of something. They x-rayed my messenger bag and then dragged everything out to look at it piece by piece and then put some of it into a tray again to x ray it again. I guess I look like an international terrorist or something???!! And of course we all know that College Station Texas is a hotbed of terrorist activity and drug smuggling.

Oh well……I guess it provides “job security” for some minimum wage smurf.

In any case after clearing “security” I was allowed to go to the loading area for my trip. My plane left on time to go to Ft Worth. For some reason on the day I booked I could not just go to Houston and then Cancun. I had to go to Houston and then Atlanta and then Cancun or to Ft Worth and then to Cancun.

So I chose Ft Worth. When I got to Ft Worth there was going to be a 3 hour delay waiting for the plane to Cancun so I would have plenty of time there to get to my gate for the next phase of the trip. Also plenty of time to get something to eat while waiting.

What this meant was I had a few opportunities that I could have taken advantage of if I had not had checked luggage but just carry-on luggage. Since I was traveling alone I was offered to step up on an earlier flight since there was a seat available, but I could not do so since I had to have my luggage with me when I got to Cancun to go through customs. Another offer came up for a $300 voucher if I would take the next flight which left an hour later but I couldn’t take them up on that because I had checked luggage as well. Next time I am going to make a real effort to have just carry-on luggage.

In any case my flight was delayed 40 minutes coming in from California and so if I had gotten a later flight I would have only been delayed 20 minutes, presuming that the later flight was on time.

While waiting for my flight I filled out the obligatory FMM card for traveling to Mexico. They had them on the counter at the gate. It has a top portion for your flight going into Mexico and a BOTTOM portion that must be filled in with your information on your returning flight. Every time I arrive in Mexico there are crowds of people getting in the way who have not filled out the bottom portion and have to fill that portion out when they arrive and before they can go through immigration.

http://www.bajabound.com/before/permits/visa.php?r=mexonline FMM card info.

So when my flight finally took off I had an uneventful trip and when I arrived, I walked past all those people being stopped and having to fill out the bottom portion of the FMM card in the hall. There is a fee but it is included in the airfare.

When I got past immigration and on to customs I pushed the button they told me to and the red light lit up so I had to get my bag checked. What it was, which was as I thought was I had my usual ziplock of sugar for making my tea and after the girl checked it she let me go. I guess in an x ray a ziplock of sugar looks the same as a ziplock of cocaine or something.

So after getting through security I proceeded on through the arrivals area ignoring all the timeshare people who were offering all kinds of thing but were really trying to lure people into “free” offers on timeshares.

Once I got out the door I turned immediately right and saw the line of ADO buses and walked over about 30 yards to a booth for getting my ticket for taking the ADO bus to Playa del Carmen.

It ran me 140 pesos, about $10.70. The buses in Mexico are better than any I have seen in the US and so I had a comfortable ride to Playa.

Arriving in Playa I turned down all offers of a taxi and dragged my suitcase off down 5^th Avenue and then up the hill on Calle 6 to the Tres Mundos Hostel where I rented a private room I had reserved. I had played it safe and just rented a room in the hostel for the first week till I got my feet on the ground and had a look around. I paid for my room in dollars and only got an 11pesos to the dollar rate.

NOW…..that is what I did because I still had to figure things out. Here is what I should have done differently. When I arrived at the ADO bus station in Playa I should have gotten some money out of the Santander Serfin ATM just inside the south door of the ADO bus station. They have a special no fees arrangement with the Bank of America. Money is dispensed in Pesos so then I would have had pesos to pay for my for my room at a better exchange rate. The next day I would have exchanged my dollars at one of the many exchange venues on 5^th Avenue. I did the math on my receipt from the ATM and the exchange rate they gave me was 13.2 pesos to the dollar.

After getting some pesos instead of being stupid, stupid, stupid, and lugging my suitcase etc. to my hostel I would have gotten a cab to the hostel. Cabs are super cheap in Playa. I've heard they are supposed to charge only 25pesos for zone one but they all want 50 pesos. So what we are talking about is only $4.00. I just pay the 50pesos and figure the extra $2.00 is just their tip. The bottom line is it is stupid to lug luggage up a hill when you can get a cab for just $4.00. What I was told about it supposed to be 25 pesos might be outdated anyway.

After I got checked into my room at the hostel I walked down to 15th avenue which had different places to eat on it and had some pollo and queso with a coke. There were several places there so lots of choices.

Quite frankly the private room in the hostel was quite a disappointment but I figured it would serve while I looked for something better. The hostel was reasonably quiet and the staff was friendly.

So that was my first day in Playa. Pretty much just used up in getting there. The plan for the next day was to get settled in and then go to the Wal Mart on 30^th Avenue for necessaries.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g150812-s301/Playa-Del-Carmen:Mexico:Arriving.And.Departing.html

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Photos

ADO buses at the airport
Coming out the door at the airport turn right and you will see the ADO buses lined up.

Banyos upstairs at the station
It would have been nice to have had a companion to take turns with. No way was I going to lug my suitcase up those stairs and besides I couldn't take it inside the restrooms but would have had to "check" it into a luggage holding area for a fee. In any case the fee for using the restrooms is 5 pesos and you must get paper from a large roll by the wash basins. There is none in the stalls.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Welcome to Mexico
Looks like you've learned a lot in a short period of time. The color of the water there is so amazing. We will look forward to your blogs.

[Sojourner1208]

Quintana Roo
Thanks. I had an anniversary of a sort. My 400th blog. I've been pretty busy since I got here but now am laying back a bit and will get my blogs caught up.

[Lynne]

Money
Hi William Good to see you on the move again. We foind hat getting some money out of an ATM in Mexico was paying a high fee and exchange rate. But heyho you gotta have money sometimes. And sometimes you just have to get a cab - and not struggle too much. Have a great trip. Lynne

[Sojourner1208]

taxi
A good portion of the reason I travel is so that I will get my walking in each day. It’s more interesting walking a different path each day. Still with cabs so cheap and after they keep giving me so much food every time I eat out, it is very uncomfortable walking on a full stomach. So I walk down to 5th street or up to 30th street to eat and then take a cab back.