Category: Quintana Roo

Today marks the penultimate day of the Mexico leg of this trip as I jet off to Havana, Cuba midday tomorrow. Apart from the usual end of trip group dinner, we all had the day to head off to all points of the tourist map on our “Pat Malone’s”.

I went on a bit of a 200 Peso taxi town tour for a couple of hours, before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to my hotel room for an arvo of paying bills (yeah … yeah, I know I’m adulting while on holidays), finalising Cancun & Havana transfers and some Netflix chill out.

I have to admit it, I really didn’t get any of the vibe or buzz that others reckon Playa del Carmen’s good for, other than it’s JAFTT – Just A Farqin’ Tourist Trap. But I did love the artists work lining 5^th Avenue during the later part of the evenings.

We all trundled off in a hired bus at 7PM and headed to Carboncitos, to be wined and dined on a travellers last supper where email addresses and auf wiedersehen’s were exchanged.

Speaking of perceptions – what did I think of Mexico?

Let me just put it out there to start with: we travelled over 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) by road and admittedly we were nowhere near the states bordering the US, in which the drug cartels and people smugglers seeming operate unencumbered by law enforcement, but not once were we robbed, assaulted, accosted, threatened or ill at ease – even with my 4AM morning walkabout’s.

A couple of interesting observations

• The Mexican diet consists of huge amount of carbs & starch laden ingredients
• Mexican food is not inherently spicy – you add the amount and level you want
• Salsa to us westerners is not the same for Mexicans; it’s not a diced tomato affair, it’s the accompanying sauces you add yourself
• Street food is fine – eat where it’s popular with the locals. My gastric issues were from a restaurant had plenty of positive online feedback
• The further you head south into Mexico, the more fruit and vegetables you will see on your plate
• As much as I wanted to like Mezcal, it’s not as smooth on the taste as people rave about
• I’m head and shoulders taller the most of the Mexican, same-same as most Asian countries I’ve visited
• The locals who I’ve interacted are hardworking, honest and funny people who are genuine in trying to help, even with our limited knowledge of each other’s languages
• The only weapons to be seen were in the hands of the Federale’s and State/Local law enforcement, who seemed to have a presence on every street corner

It’d be fair to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, even while not feeling 100% for the last couple of days.

A fair amount of the trip success goes to the “Lithiunian Legend” our G Adventures CEO – Irmante “Jumanji” Sungailaite, who was fun, knowledgeable, patient and great peeps. At times their job is like herding mercury with a toothpick and I for one certainly appreciate all the hard work and effort that often goes unheralded and I thank Jumanji for being her good self.

With nearly two weeks on the road in Mexico, today was the first “sleep-in” day for the trip, in that we had a 10AM departure. With my gastric issues of the past few days, my body decided this was also the opportune time to let me sleep in until just after 7 o’clock – so I must be pretty crook for that to occur.

The plan for the day was to take a couple of hours and cruise into Playa del Carmen and then have the afternoon to ourselves before heading out in the evening for an included tour dinner.

All up it took us just over 3½ hours to get into our accommodations at the Portea Hotel, about three blocks from the Caribbean Sea.

I spent the afternoon exploring the so-called highlights of 5^th Avenue including the beach and if you turned down the volume, you’d swear you’re in any over-commercialised, touristy area in the world – not my go at all.

I simply turned onto 5^th avenue and walked barely 100 feet and was offered drugs, women, “special shows”, food, drink, tours and a facial – a facial FFS??? What tha??? I suppose it makes a change from the God Botherers who were looking to convert me earlier in the trip.

G Adventures has an in-house social project which encourages and supports locals in both improving themselves and their community and generally sometime during the trip, a visit is scheduled that is usually in the form of an information session/demonstration and a meal.

Tonight’s Planeterra Foundation visit took place in a local suburb at the El Hongo site which is bringing the arts to the local youths, which hopefully inspires them to take part in programs to develop their skills and give them confidence for a brighter future.