Research Results From Cancun

This is a photo I took of the view from our balcony at the Fiesta Americana hotel in Cancun. We just returned from a one-week research trip, focused on attempting to prove the theory that the closer one gets to the equator, the warmer the climate. In this blague, we report today the results of our groundbreaking research, which supports the theory. It was 80-85 F each day we were in Cancun and the surrounding area. We further confirm earlier research that it is painful to go from very warm temperatures to colder ones, such as one finds in St. Louis, in just a matter of hours. We may never be the same.

We (Lisa and I) decided to not over-do things on this vacation, so we only scheduled four major events. The first was totally unplanned, but lead to the next three. Event one was scheduled while we were still at the airport. We arrived without transportation to our hotel, figuring we could just find a shuttle. That didn't work out, but a nice man (one of 30 or 40) dressed in a blue shirt and khaki pants greeted us as we exited the airport. We thought he was an airport official. As it turned out, he and all those dressed like him were timeshare salesmen. The Mexican government gives them a huge space in the airport, with a long line of podiums to work from, so they look totally official. Our guy (Jose) told us he would show us how our transportation to the hotel would work, so we listened. He got us a taxi, and then told us about all the major attractions in the area. Then he started telling us about all the discounts we could get, and what to watch out for so we wouldn't get ripped off. Very helpful. Before long, he was promising us so many goodies I knew there had to be a catch--and there was. All we had to do to get the goodies was to give them 90 minutes of our time, to hear a presentation on their vacation club. No obligation! We were on vacation, had no schedules yet, and the goodies sounded good enough that we succumbed.

For our "90 minutes" (which turned out to be 1/2 day), we got: 1) a free cab ride to our hotel (value, 300 pesos, although they charged us 600, but that was ok because they gave it back); 2) a free cab ride to a wonderful resort; 3) a free buffet breakfast (I had tacos, Lisa had watermelon juice, we both nibbled on bacon, everything tasted great); 4) a free shuttle ride to a destination of our choice after the presentation (we went back to our hotel but stopped at Walmart along the way); 5) two free tickets to Xcaret, which included two-way transportation, admission, a fantastic buffet lunch (I had tacos), and a wonderful show at the end of the day; and 6) one free ticket to Chichen Itza (the second ticket cost $90) which included two-way transportation, lunch along the way, a visit to a 60-foot deep sinkhole that was filled with water where you could swim, and admission to this World Heritage Mayan site which I'm sure you know all about.

So, we thought we got an ok deal for spending time with all our new friends at the timeshare presentation. Everyone was so nice. That is, until we didn't buy a timeshare. When we said "no", we were accused of having come to the presentation with a closed mind, and everyone stopped smiling at us. Hey, is it our fault we didn't have an extra $149,000 with us?

After the adventures to Event two, Xcaret (pronounced Eece'-kah-rhet, at least by some) and Event three, Chichen Itza (sounds sort of like chicken pizza with a Spanish accent), we decided to brave the flea market (Event four). That was quite an experience. We took the city bus and told the driver where we wanted to go, Flea Market #28. He said ok, but then didn't tell us where to get off. But we overheard some fellow mid-western Americanos, so we just followed them. The market was huge, there must have been over 500 spaces selling pottery, leather goods, jewelry, all manner of souvenirs, etc. Everything is overpriced, but that's because you are expected to negotiate. Lisa doesn't like to negotiate, so she would find what she wanted and then I would be her agent. After we got our rhythm down we made a good team, as she would walk away as I negotiated, which really made the vendors nervous and they would get to their best price very quickly. Most everything can be bought for about 1/2 the asking price at the flea market. Even the restaurants would offer freebies if you acted disinterested--we got free nachos with our lunch (I had tacos).

So overall it was a great trip. I think next time Lisa will insist on a nicer hotel (ours had tile floors and hard beds), but that water color--hard to beat, no matter which hotel you stay in! When we arrived home, I had just one thing on my mind--I asked Lisa to pick up some tortillas so I could make one more batch of tacos. Viva los tacos, Viva Mexico!