Concrete Craziness

Saturday, 13 December, 2008, Cancun

I arrived last night actually slightly ahead of schedule, and entry into Mexico was a breeze. This is not the Mexico I'm used to. The airport was modern, and except that Spanish came above English on the signs, I didn't really feel I've left the United States. Yes the airport staff was Mexican, but so it is too in many American airports.

I had no trouble getting a collective taxi, which is much cheaper than a private taxi, and the driver and others I encountered seemed pleasantly surprised that I spoke Spanish.

Some of the other passengers were tourists going into the hotel zone, so I got to see it. Rarely have I seen so much concrete in one place. The hotel zone sits on a long peninsula separated from the Mexican centre of the city. It was high-rise hotel after high-rise hotel, with palm trees decked out in lights. I have never before seen a resort like this – it reminded me a bit of Las Vegas, with less glitter, only slightly, but seemingly more immense. Perhaps it was like Miami Beach, which I've never been to. I passed a few loud party scenes with dancing gringos and English-speaking DJs, and lots of alcohol flowing.

The hotels where we dropped passengers had glittering lobbies, doorman, and high walls and gates. Everything to protect the tourist experience from the Mexican experience.

Soon we entered the more Mexican looking city center, and the atmosphere completely changed. It's not an old colonial style Mexican city, but rather a city thrown together in the 60s and 70s with cheap concrete block construction, but this is where Mexicans live and work. My hotel, the Terracaribe, is quite acceptable by basic Latin American standards. The room has no window, except to the central corridor, and the walls are concrete painted white, with tile floor and surfaces. There's air-conditioning, hot water, and even semi-reliable wireless Internet, and it's relatively clean.

I got a slow start this morning, desperately needing some sleep, but soon I will try to catch a bus to Chetumal near the Belize border.