DAY 1: Before the Wall is Built

WELCOME TO MEXICO!

A couple months ago, Chan asked me if I wanted to go to Mexico for a few days. I hesitated, my status as an unemployed bum looming in the back of my mind. But Chan said the plane ticket would be $232 and spending ten days here would cost only an additional $500. Which is ridiculously cheap.

So, what the hell. Why not? You can always earn more money. Memories are much more valuable.

Plus, it feels like I’m defying Trump somehow. Fuck you and your wall.

(No, it doesn’t actually make sense if you really think about it, so I’m not going to think about it.)

So, here I am in Mexico, with Chan and two of his high school friends, Dennis and David. Four dudes about to bumble around the Yucatan Peninsula, hopefully without getting into too much trouble in the process.

We left Logan International Airport at noon and landed in Cancun four and half hours later. Cancun is one of the most popular destinations in Mexico, the Mecca for American college seniors, and a total tourist trap. So when we arrived in Cancun, we immediately took a bus and left.

We ain’t going mainstream.

Instead, we headed to Playa del Carmen. Although admittedly still somewhat of a tourist trap, less so than Cancun.

Bright lights, colorful shops, and lots of tourists. They even had the holy trifecta of McDonald’s, Victoria’s Secret, and H&M, along with a plethora of other stores.

It actually reminded me of a shopping district in Korea called MyungDong. Except everything was in Spanish. Duh.

As you can tell, was raining when we arrived in Mexico. Unfortunately, the weather forecasts cloudy or rainy weather throughout most of our stay here, but hopefully our luck will change.

At least it’s warm.

We dropped off our bags at the place we rented through AirBnb. It was a 15 minute walk through light rain, but worth the cheap price.

Not a bad place. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a balcony. And free Wi-Fi.

Plus, it had inspirational shit on the walls. And no, I do not care how you look in my pictures.

We hadn’t eaten anything besides a quick breakfast before the flight, so we eagerly went to get some real Mexican food. We were not disappointed.

Simple but delicious tacos at Don Sirloin. I think we ate around 5 each.

After regaining some energy, we decided to simply walk around the area with no real destination in mind.

That’s one of my favorite things about traveling. Going off the beaten path and exploring the local area without a plan. Not enough for it to be dangerous, but enough to get your heart pounding, your senses tingling. It’s fun wandering. How else will you find hidden treasures, places that aren’t on blogs and websites, people who aren’t simply trying to sell you a souvenir? To truly appreciate the beauty of a unknown community, you need to get a little lost.

And that’s how we got mugged.

JUST KIDDING. We’re fine.

We eventually found our way to the beach. And even at night, it’s beautiful.

The moon was amazingly bright this night. Very romantic. In fact, we interrupted a few couples…oops.

After walking down the length of the beach for a while, we headed back to the AirBnb. It started to pour. We ran through the rain and got absolutely soaked. In a sexy way, though. Definitely.

I’m worried about tomorrow, as we’re planning to take a ferry out to Cozumel Island and traverse it on bikes. We’ll probably do it even if it rains, but it would be nice if it didn’t.

Piece of advice to those planning a trip to Mexico: bring a rain jacket. Umbrellas are too cumbersome, but rain jackets are perfect for traveling. Especially ones that can also cover your backpack that contains a laptop because you insisted on writing a travel blog like an idiot.

Anyways, we have a long day of exploring to do tomorrow and I need all the sleep I can get. Until then!

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