We made a spontaneous decision to head to Mexico whilst down a few drinks in Ibiza. The best travel decisions have always been the impromptu ones. It did mean a short 2 day turnaround in London after which I was on a surprisingly comfortable budget flight to Cancun, heading out a bit earlier whilst Emma was busy attending a wedding in the UK.
I set off super early from Heathrow and after the long haul TUI flight, aboard which I was served a vegan lasagne (change is happening!), I was in Mexico City. A slight hiccup in being forced to book hotels for at least half of my trip at Border control before getting let in (thank you Booking.com free cancellations). I spent the first night checking into Nomads Hostel. A quick dinner and some attempted dorm Spanish small talk later I was in bed early ready for another big travel day mañana.
I'd heard wonders about long distance ADO buses in Mexico and excited to try them out, I booked an early one to Chichen Itza and another on to Merida leaving at 4pm, giving me several hours to explore the ruins. The ADO buses did not disappoint, they are like the land yachts of public transport minus sea sickness, a first class flight without turbulence. Cruising past cacti at sleep inducing smooth speeds, whilst in a slumber as soothing Spanish-dubbed films played on screens scattered around the bus.
Chichen Itza was incredible. It always feels pretty surreal seeing something you've seen in countless pictures and postcards up close in real life. As I walked around, I got a sense of how the Mayans might have lived in the Mesoamerican city, learning about the sacrificial ball games they used to play, their connection with PachaMama (mother earth) and the huge amount of respect given to a Cenote. A cenote is effectively a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting when a collapse of limestone bedrock exposes groundwater, which the Maya would use for water supplies, and occasionally for sacrificial offerings.
Disregarding the online discouragement to visit Chichen Itza in the middle of day I was graced with 40 degree heat, although I didn't really have a choice with the bus timetables. Thankfully, like mass produced ultra processed ice cream and unlike Emma Duckworth, I didn't melt in the blazing Sun, welcoming the opportunity to top up my diminished Vitamin D from the brief UK stopover. At least I could walk around the ruins, like a Mayan ruler owning the place, with very few people in my peripherals, thanking my ancestral evolutionary advantages in handling the heat and UV light.
After few hours rest in the much welcomed ADO bus with A/C on full blast, I arrived at Che Hostel in Merida. After checking in I met Pip. We had some weird intuition that we were both from Bristol and could tell she was someone I'd get on with. Later learning she was also from Hiatt Baker a few years younger made me think that the Hiatt Baker Hall of Bristol University really does generate the highest quality people. But writing this I realise it's just a classic case of comfort in familiarity.
Pip had organised a budget Cenote tour for the following day and with travel funds diminishing it was an easy sell. Although after taking the packed hour long collectivo at only £1 return, I realised I was getting too bougie for hardcore backpacking and would have preferred the private taxi for a tenner.
A collectivo is shared physics-defying shuttle bus that departs from a specific destination once it's packed beyond it's physical dimensions and travels at ridiculously fast speeds thus simultaneously challenging the laws of space and time.
The Cenote tour didn't disappoint. With Pip, a couple of Dutch guys and Noah, a Swiss German backpacker who I gelled well with, we hit up 3 Cenotes and had a wonderful lunch. Exploring roads very much off the beaten path and very much on a beaten up path. After some seriously bumpy rides, we were rewarded with Cenotes as our own private pools, complete with dive boards for some jumping and relaxing, providing refuge from the serious heat.
That evening, in an attempt to avoid the influx in the hostel of 40 or so squealing teenage students from Mexico City, we went out for drinks in the town. When you travel as a newly met group that haven't figured each other out together, personalities and cultures can clash. A french 6 month-er is totally different from a 2 week-er Dutchie on the backpacking circuit. The former might be a free-spirited, nature loving hippie who enjoys interpretative dance during sunsets and the latter a super efficient and insultingly direct corporate professional who enjoys techno in dark warehouses until 7am. An clash between the two types happened following the perceived treatment of our waiter that could have easily been explained through some cultural understanding and empathy. Rather than use my age old travel wisdom (cringe) to try and defuse the situation and explain the lack of ill-intent towards the waiter, I instead let it play out, drank my beer in enjoyment and then used my age as an excuse to leave the awkwardness saying I was tired for bed. Either way it was a great day and night and I was happy to make some friends on the Mexican backpacker circuit.
I headed to Bacalar on an early morning ADO and upon arrival at party hostel, Che Bacalar, I was required to make a split second decision to join a boat party leaving 5 mins later. In a panic I dumped my stuff into my amazing pod dorm bed, changed and ran to a cash point making it back with in time to be offered my first beer. Dripping with sweat, dehydrated and with no food in my system I was immediately drunk. What followed was pure debauchery as the hostellers danced, flirted (not me of course) and played volleyball on and off the 3 conjoined boats, music blaring. All this whilst getting bottles of tequila poured down our throats in the middle of Laguna Bacalar. At this age and stage in my life it's probably convention to turn my nose up at activities like this.. but honestly I had loads of fun and thought how it's good to act young and 'immature' often.
With a new crew forming we headed to dinner straight after the boat party. My first bits of food of the day were the 6 tacos at Mr Taco. This, along with a party sized guac for me alone, I had ordered big. With the air not only full of mosquitoes, but also alcohol-fuelled young lust, it turned out I wasn't the only one with a big appetite. As I gorged on my massive meal of Guacos, people's faces were also on the menu. First my ever deforming face being eating away by mosquitos and a second a German girls face being devoured by a fellow German guy, literally opposite me on the table. Either way, neither was enough to put me off my food as I drunken ate myself into a food coma, ready for bed.
My desire to sleep was refuted by my new friends but as they prepared for the night ahead, I pretended to go and change and instead passed out on my bed. Unfortunately I woke up at 1am, thirsty as ever with the only source of water downstairs by the pool/bar area. I hovered over the landing and saw them all there! Wearing all black and disguised in glasses I made a sneaky attempt at the water dispenser but got caught in the process! They insisted I join the game of ring of fire. I immediately noticed the seating arrangement of boy girl boy girl, and thankfully it wasn't long before they were all having their late night face snacks in the various corners of the hostel, which was my cue to finally to go to bed.
Pip and Noah joined the same hostel the next day and it felt nice to see familiar faces on top of the friends that I'd made. We all went to Los Rapidos, which was essentially a beach club with a beautiful flowing river that you could walk up and float down wearing a life jacket, taking breaks to eat and drink whilst watching others do the same. Feeling a little dusty from the night before this was heaven and an amazing way to rejuvenate for the night ahead.
In the evening, I closed out my hostel party boy persona with a huge party at Jak hostel with all the new friends on the Mexican Hostel Circuit. We'd bought some cheaper supermarket drinks before going in and opted for some drink-while-you-think game of heads up, sitting on a bench across the road, before heading in and partying the night away. It wasn't long before I was back in my Attenborough documentary observing mating rituals as the various human pairings from the previous night had been shaken up with a few partner swaps. Something in the avocados, I reckon. With an early flight and excited to see Emma the next day I left early and said goodbye to my new friends. After a fun couple of days at a party hostel I made a mental note to attempt to convince Emma to stay in one for the last leg of our trip! Let's see how that goes..
ความคิดเห็น