Blogs from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, North America - page 36

28 Décembre 2007 - 07 Janvier 2008 Me voila donc arrivé à Playa del Carmen!Cette petite ville de pêcheur,située à 65km au Sud de Cancun,est en train de se transfomer en pole touristique attirant principalement la haute classe mexicaine.Cancun étant devenu un géant touristique submergé par les hotels de luxes,on voit se developper depuis quelques années le concept de la Riviera Maya.Pour simplifier quand nos amis mexicains se sont appercus que Cancun était largement saturé ils ont tout simplement decidé d'exploiter les 130km de plages qui longent la cote vers le sud.Des kilomètres de sable blanc à perte de vu où se construisent des petits hotels à une allure hallucinante.La Jet Set mexicaine s'y refugie donc dès que possible ce qui a entrainé une explosion des prix:location ou achat,tout a au minimum triplé durant les trois ... read more

I'd been having a week of shattered myths. First, I’d learnt that it’s never tequila that has the worm, but mescal. Then, after a visit to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, I discovered that the trumpet is not, in fact, a traditional mariachi instrument. Cooped up in a hotel in the Santa Fe neighbourhood I had come across little evidence of the clichéd Mexican male - the office workers and Sunday strollers of this relatively affluent district revealed a dapper dress sense and a penchant for pink. And where were all those macho moustaches? Mexican men seemed to be pursuing a campaign of upper lip liberation. I was beginning to doubt that the Mexican Hat Dance actually involves hats (it does) or that ‘La Bamba’ originated in Mexico (it did). Would any of ... read more

I haven't done a blog for quite awhile because things have been pretty much the same - morning class, with me being absolutely lost, and afternoons at the beach. The tan is finally coming a little. Someone thought I was Mexican yesterday and started speaking in super speedy Spanish (which I know Brian will love - Gringsta). Right when I thought I might lose some weight here, we found this amazing little Mom & Pops place that serves a dish called Puntas de Res a la Mexicana. Stewed beef with tomatoes, onions, peppers, white rice (nobody serves Mexican rice) and these amazing black beans. I'm going to get some as soon as I'm done writing. I've run into a few Americans (even some people from Cedar Rapids) but mostly everyone is European. I bought a football ... read more

First off, thanks for the messages. I like to hear whats going on back home. We got the Patriots game last night, although it was Mexican announcers instead of John Madden (which come to think of it might not be such a bad thing, and probably just as difficult to understand). I began classes today, from 9-12. Im VERY happy that I didnt add the optional two conversational hours from 12-2, because three hours of a language you cant understand is more than enough each day. I've met lots of interesting people at my school as well. The classes are limited to five people each, and my class has a Dutchman, a German, and a Swedish guy. They are a bit more in the class mode as some of them are learning Spanish for their jobs. ... read more

After several days in Playa, there are alot of things that are becoming clear. The first one is that I have to stay up until 6AM to get a chance at the computer. The other one is to never argue with a homeless Mexican guy with no legs who claims Iowa is his home town - he will chase you down the street in his wheelchair and tell you to f#$% off. True story. The last couple days have been interesting. It rained again yesterday, so there wasnt a whole lot to do. After spening too much time in the room I found that I could pass the time by watching the ants crawling up the wall in the room. I did get to visit Walmart again, which is much better than any American Walmart. After ... read more