Cancun

Every year, my best friend Tori and I take an international trip to escape the monotony of our jobs. Cancun set the bar thus far and just might become a permanent vacation spot.

Everything was amazing—from the service to the food. Absolutely incredible and a money well spent. Unlike Acapulco, Cancun had much less panhandling and annoying beggars trying to sell you their junk.

We really didn’t spend that much time on the beach because our hotel had a huge pool area where most of the spring breakers gathered. Entertainment was provided daily, from stretching classes to pool volleyball and we pretty much spent a majority of the time soaking up the sun, from which I am now peeling. Black people don’t peel.

The sun wasn’t as intense as in Acapulco or as weak as in the Bahamas. I thought it was a nice balance and it certainly turned my skin a rich coffee bean color. The waiting staff, bell/bus boys and other hotel staff where very pleasing, accommodating, and in some cases, strikingly clean cut. 95% spoke English, so communicating wasn’t any trouble.

Our big trips didn’t happen until the following weekend after we arrived. The first was a bar hopping tour, where a group of us spring breakers had a tour guide who took us to the local bars. We were told we would be visiting 4 bars and be done by 3am, but instead, we went to 3 and were left alone around 11pm.

Tori and I were hoping for more of a dance/club scene, but instead, there were obnoxiously drunk college kids crammed into a bar than anything. Not quite a pleasurable experience and a waste of 75 bucks.

We ended up leaving at 11pm because we weren’t doing anything and we aren’t big drinkers, so there was no point in bar hopping. Unfortunately, what was marketed to us was different than what we actually experience. I should have known.

I believe the next day when I went to ride an ATV and Tori went horseback riding, both of which occurred on a private beach and in “the jungle.” Well, it wasn’t much of a jungle, but that’s what they called it. That was pretty cool. I got bored after a while because the thrill of being on an ATV faded by the end of the day and my hand was starting to blister from hanging on so tight. Yeah, it was scary for a while and keeping my balance on rugged terrain was a challenge.

That third day was spent in Xcaret, an ecological park about 2 hours from our hotel. It was a long ride. Again, the marketing was off. We were told we would return around 5pm, but it turns out, the trip actually ended at 8:30; due to drop us back off at 10:30.

Xcaret was cool for the most part. We saw some awesome sights and did things we would have never done had we not gone. Floating in underground rivers, watching a simulated Mayan ritual and walking through a butterfly pavilion were some of the highlights. I even went inside a bat cave and saw a live manatee for the first time ever.

By 5 or so, we were pretty much done with the place and kind of farted around until the bus was ready to pick us up. That pretty much concluded our series of day trips. On Monday, we went to the markets to do some shopping, but there really wasn’t that much original goods to buy, so I passed.

It was hard to pack up and get ready to come home. Cancun probably made for the best vacation I ever had. We met some cool people… the pool boys, Josue and Pablo, in particular and some doofy kid from Wisconsin named Nico.

And no, I didn’t get laid.