Spirits restored, we head back north from the Cancun sun. It is hard to describe how restorative a trip to the tropics is for me, The Caribbean Sea is a special place and Cancun is no exception. When we snorkeled, we saw sea turtles and coral, sea fans and fish of every flavor. The air was clear and blue and the breezes caressed our lazy bodies.
We really enjoyed our time here. For the most part people were really nice although we did encounter the infamous police shakedown- averted the payoff with timely advice from CancunSouth.com. We saw Mayan ruins and beautiful beaches. We heard great mariachi music and chatted with taxi drivers, waiters and anyone else that would have us. The food was good, especially in the local hangouts. We recommend Tacolote for the price, atmosphere and the food. We’re especially fond of the mariachi band there, one member of whom captured our hearts with his persona so similar to a proud rooster.
One cockteleria (a place that sells drinks) that we stopped in on Isla Mujeres afforded a fabulous view of fishermen coming in with their days’ catch. We watched them over seviche of conch and a cold brew. One boat was full of barracuda. The fisherman was very pleasant and chatted about this and that. He gave the eggs of the barracuda fish to the restaurant we sat in.It is apparently a delicacy, one that we did not get a chance to try this time around, and looked similar to shad roe but pale. Other boats brought in lobster after lobster. I thought it might be fun to take some back to the condo with us but they wanted 500 pesos a kilo (about $16 a pound). A bit rich for our blood. Not to mention that we are spoiled with our homerus americanus (Maine lobster).
My cousin was the epitome of the perfect hostess. She shared her Royal Resorts condo with us.A casual spot in an excellent location without the tourist trappings of so many others. Her space is right off the pool, near the restaurant within a minute of the beach. After all the sub zero days we had it was heaven on earth. Just in the waters of her beach I saw cowfish and gar in the grasses. There were small sailboats and a dock to watch the sun rise and set on. We were all of the same mind to relax and detox so our days were full of plenty o’nuttin’ if we wanted it that way. We were ambitious a couple of days and went to the Mayan ruins of Tulum, Akumal, a lovely beach south of Cancun, to Puerto Moroles for a day visit, and took the ferry to Isla Mujeres across from Cancun. The rest of the time we sunnned like iguanas, swam in both ocean and pool and actually read a book.
I am putting in a slide show to show you how nice it is there. Need to getaway? Cancun, a definate contender. If you stay away from the big hotels and tourist restaurants drunken Americans are easily avoided. I suppose it is worse in the Spring but there are enough good things that I think our common view of Cancun being like Key West are easily dispelled.
It was a spirit saver to us and we return to Maine with an optimistic outlook. (We are also plannning our next trip!)
