The only thing that is stopping you from where you are to where you want to go is your comfort zone

Dhaval Gaudier

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Mexico for almost a whole week now. I still feel like I’ll be returning to work next week with some interesting stories to tell about my vacation. It hasn’t sunk in completely that I’m unemployed, and that I won’t be returning to Tennessee anytime soon. I wonder when the ‘vacation’ feeling will go away.

I know many of our family and friends have been worried about us, but in all honesty, we have been doing very well here. We landed in Cozumel on August 10th, and we stayed in the ‘downtown’ area about a mile away from the airport. After being cooped up in a plane and the airport all day, we decided to walk to our hostel rather than take a taxi. After a 20 minute walk in what felt like 100-degree weather, we easily found it. Our hostel was small and intimate, and our host Jorge was exceptionally welcoming. It wasn’t fancy, but we had a room with two double beds, a private bathroom, and the most glorious air conditioning ever (or maybe we were just really, really hot).

I don’t know what I’d expected, but Cozumel was a very laid back little island. COVID restrictions had halted the cruise lines, so there weren’t nearly as many tourists as I’m sure they are used to. Most of the homes in the area were small and run down. The businesses weren’t much more than street fronts with roll up doors, and the restaurants were open air with only a handful of tables. You could smell the foods and see the chefs preparing them as you walked down the street. Most motorists transited town on mopeds, scooters, or bicycles, and many people just walked. There are bars on every window and gates outside every home, but I never felt unsafe here.

On our second day, we decided to head to the beach. On the way to the marina, the atmosphere of the town changed as the businesses in the high-traffic areas targeted the tourists coming on/off of the island. We’d gotten used to the laid back feel of the downtown area, but this marina area was much different with rhythmic music blaring, large crowds moving through the town, and souvenir shops at every turn. We also began to notice big shifts in prices. Three tacos in the downtown area would cost you about $3; in the marina area, the same plate of tacos was about $12. Near the beach, we met Alex, a local tour guide, who spent about half of an hour talking to us about Playa Casitas, the Mayan Indians, and the history of the island. Afterwards, we swam in the shallow water by the shore where Henry was grateful he had brought along his goggles so he could watch the thousands of little fish swimming among the rocks.

We left Cozumel by ferry on day 3 and landed in Playa del Carmen. We only had time to walk around the touristy area for a bit before we boarded our bus to Cancun. Again, we stayed in the downtown area and we walked the 15 minutes from the bus station to our hotel. We’d found a great deal on a nice hotel, so we splurged for a little bit of luxury for the two nights we’d be there. The hotel was fancy and beautiful, and it had a stunning pool. But being there made me miss our little Cozumel hostel. I loved the big thick towels, but I missed the warm welcome and the family feel.

Cancun was very different from Cozumel. It was a bustling area, and even the downtown area where we were staying had the toursisty feel. When we’d walk out of the hotel, we were bombarded with local businesspeople asking us to look at their menus, go on excursions with them, buy their wares, etc. It was uncomfortable, and I didn’t like it. Once you got through them, the rest of town was really nice. We rode the city bus to the beach in Cancun for an afternoon, and it was peaceful and absolutely stunning there. The beach had the beautiful, white sands I love, and the turquoise water was refreshing We played for several hours in the waves, and after getting a little too much sun, we headed back home. We ate in a food court in a park for several meals, and watching the kids play and the people interact with one another made the city feel a little more intimate and pleasant.

On day 5, we rode the bus to Chiquila, and wow what a change that was! The town had only one paved road. The bus hit tree limbs as it navigated the narrow street, and the bus station was only as large as the space the bus needed to turn around in. People here rode bicycles or dirt bikes with buggies affixed to the front of them. The taxis were three wheeled vehicles with one three-person seat in them. With the help of a local resident we were able to find our hotel on one of the gravel side roads. It was very cute, but we were the only guests at the 10-room facility. We had to hunt down the maid to get checked in. She called the owner and we waited about 10 minutes for him to come by and check us in. Our host was very nice, but he promptly let us know that there was a problem with the room we had booked. He said the previous occupant had accidentally taken the key with him, and it would be a few days before they could get it back. We were welcome to stay in the room we booked without a key if we liked or he could move us to another. We chose the other. The hotel also had a restaurant, but unfortunately, the chef cut himself and had to be taken to a hospital, so instead of enjoying dinner there, we ventured into town and found a delicious meal at a stand on the side of the road. Breakfast was included with our room, so on Sunday morning, we enjoyed a hot breakfast cooked just for us by the hotel staff. They really worked hard to treat us well, and we loved their hospitality as well as that of the town.

Yesterday, we rode another ferry to Isla Holbox and easily found our hotel. Again, we were told that there was a problem with our room, but they were able to put us in a different room which worked out better for us instead. This hotel is also very nice. Our room has a kitchen, and because of the prices of food here on the island, we’re cooking several of our meals here instead of going out. We have already explored the beach here twice, and we will be going back there again later today. Henry has also been eyeing a little park we found on the way to the beach yesterday, so we may stop by there again as well. It’s a cute island, and there isn’t much to do except lay back and relax, which is just what we need right now.

We’ve had lots of questions from home, so I’ll try to answer the most common ones for you.

I must say that the food here has been better than I expected. Unlike Brian and Henry, I’m not much of a fan of Mexican food, so I was concerned about my ability to find sustenance while we were here. So far, that’s been a non issue. We have been very pleased with our meals so far. We aren’t big breakfast eaters, so we’ve gotten food from the markets for breakfast most days and that has also helped to save us money. Brian says he’s proud of me for ordering my meals without really knowing what is coming on them (the menus here are generally not descriptive at all). I’m not very adventurous with food, so this is a stretch for me. I’ve had to pick a few things off, but nothing that was too bad. Henry has liked his food as well, but he’s decided to start letting Brian order for him as nearly every meal, he ends up liking Brian’s food more than whatever he ordered.

One thing I’ve found interesting is how much more seriously Mexico is taking the COVID precautions than we took them at home. You cannot enter a store or restaurant here without walking over a shoe cleaning mat, getting your hands (and sometimes your belongings) sanitized, and wearing a mask. Its obvious that they are working hard to keep people safe here. They need the tourists, and if the travel industry gets shut down again, they will suffer even more.

We haven’t felt unsafe anywhere we’ve been. People have been very friendly to us, and most have been eager to help us. We haven’t had any issues with not speaking Spanish, although it has been comical communicating with folks occasionally. We’ve ridden in a taxi, 2 ferries, 2 city buses, and 2 long-distance buses with no issues. We’ve also ordered multiple meals, bought ice cream, purchased deli meats from a grocery store, and stopped for directions several times. I have been surprised by how few English speaking natives we’ve seen/met on the trip so far; I think it will be nice to have a good old fashioned conversation soon.

We have stuck to our budget pretty well so far, and I hope to post something on that in a few days. We did have one instance where we felt like we got taken advantage of, and that was in a pharmacy when we were buying sunscreen. We were in Cancun, and we were tired and in a rush. We walked into a pharmacy to buy sunscreen, and it was stored behind the counter. We ended up paying $17 for a small tube of sunscreen. If we’d been more careful, we would have recognized the high price and found a better deal elsewhere, but we’ll treat it as a lesson learned. We’re still getting used to converting pesos to dollars, but we will definitely be more careful now.

This week I’ve experienced lots of firsts. Not all of them were great, but nonetheless, I’m glad I had them. It’s scary to be in a different country surrounded by people who don’t speak your language and to rely on their help and your instincts to get by. Of course we knew that’s what we’d run into before we left. Compared to my expectations, this hasn’t been so bad, really. We originally had planned to start our trip in Europe where life would be a little more familiar to us, but with COVID, that just wasn’t feasible. This is much more out of my comfort zone, but I’m so grateful we had the chance to start out here.