Merida and Isla Mujeres, part II
Thinking back to a few days ago, back when it was still just me and Sharon in Merida, is much harder than it should be. We've arrived at the conclusion that time moves much more slowly in Mexico. We're not quite sure why that is, but everyone else seems to agree with us as well.
On our second evening in Merida we met two guys from Italy named Marco. That's right. Two guys. Both named Marco. For some reason I think that's really funny. We met them at the hostel and talked for awhile, then we went out to the downtown area of Merida with them for dinner and a couple of drinks. It was pretty amusing. One of them harrassed a poor woman who was trying to sell him something, in his weird Spanish/Italian mix: "If you can figure out who Marco is I will buy one of your flowers." The lady tried to figure it out what the hell he wanted from her and got so confused that at one point she pointed at my sister and asked, "is she Marco?" Needless to say, he never bought a flower.
That evening we watched a lot of people dance. People were dancing Salsa in the streets and we also went to a Salsa club after dinner. They were so impressive! Obviously the people who go to those clubs are particularly good, but I also got the impression that most people know how to dance, at least a little. I watched them and then thought of how we dance in the US and in Israel. It's really not dancing together as couples at all, just dances near each other, or sometimes hugging and swaying to slow music. But here... here they need to communicate with their bodies. The man leads and the woman seems to understand from his subtle gestures what she needs to do. And they move together in perfect unison. It´s really amazing to watch. Also, apparently men are allowed to move their hips here without the fear that they will look "gay." It's kind of amusing but cool to see.
The next morning, Sharon and I began our trip to Cancun to meet Sharon's friend Mor, and then move on to Isla Mujeres. It was only supposed to be a 4 hour bus ride to Cancun but we somehow managed to only get tickets for a bus a hour and a half from when we got to the bus station, then wait at the wrong terminal and miss our bus, so we had to buy new tickets for a bus two hours later. So we wasted a lot of time. We got to Cancun about 4 hours later than we had planned but luckily Mor's plane was running late. So we still had time to go on a mission to find me a backpack before she got there.
Since *somone* told me that I didn't need an actually travellers backpack for this trip, I just brought a really nice and durable rolling suitcase. It cost me $120. But soon after we got here I realized that would't do. There are just too many stairs and uneven roads and walking through crowds is a bitch. So when we got to Cancun we headed to the "American Mall" there to find me a backpack. We did. It wasn't even that expensive, so I'm happy. It's a little small, but I'll deal. Now I just need to find a post office to send my old suitcase home. I hope that's not too expensive.
Anyway, the American Mall was kind of a trip. It was exactly what it sounds like. I kind of wonder why tourists want to go to places like that when they're in another country. Why bother going away if you just do the same things you do at home? Though I suppose lots of Americans come to Cancun just for the weather. They're not particularly interested in seeing the culture.
After the mall we met up with Mor and finally headed to the island! We took a cab up to Puerto Juarez and ferried from there. Then we managed to (just barely) find a hostel to sleep in for the night. Barely because New Years is coming up, so everything here is booked solid. We had dinner and ran into a couple of Israeli guys who were also trying to find a place to sleep. Turns out those guys are doing pretty much the same trip as Sharon and Mor, starting from Cancun and flying back from Panama 3 months later. So possibly we have companions for the rest of our trip, off and on :) It's good to have more people, plus they're cool (we've been hanging out for a couple of days now, and are sleeping next door to them in a hostel for the next couple of nights) and they know more Spanish than we do!
We didn't do very much that night, except eat and walk around the main street where all the restaurants and vendors are open in the evenings. After midnight everything closes though, except for on bar behind a very popular hostel called Pocna. We went there and immediately realized how many Israelis there are on this Island. The first song that was playing when we got there was in Hebrew. There was Hebrew everywhere, mixed in with the English and Spanish, and when we were walking down the street earlier we even found an Israeli restaurant with middle eastern food and a menu in Hebrew. We guessed that at least 40% of the people at the Pocna party were Israeli. Guess it's popular spot... and after a couple of days we can see why.
The weather is amazing. The beach is amazing! Clear turquoise water that is far less salty than the water in Israel. The sand is white and soft and for some reason it doesn´t get hot in the sun, so you can walk barefoot and feel it between your toes without burning your feet. And there's a cool breeze so it's not even too hot. The sun doesn't feel particularly strong but we're getting pretty good tans anyway. It's just... perfect. I could spend all day there. In fact, I think I'll go see if the others are awake now so we can go!
On our second evening in Merida we met two guys from Italy named Marco. That's right. Two guys. Both named Marco. For some reason I think that's really funny. We met them at the hostel and talked for awhile, then we went out to the downtown area of Merida with them for dinner and a couple of drinks. It was pretty amusing. One of them harrassed a poor woman who was trying to sell him something, in his weird Spanish/Italian mix: "If you can figure out who Marco is I will buy one of your flowers." The lady tried to figure it out what the hell he wanted from her and got so confused that at one point she pointed at my sister and asked, "is she Marco?" Needless to say, he never bought a flower.
That evening we watched a lot of people dance. People were dancing Salsa in the streets and we also went to a Salsa club after dinner. They were so impressive! Obviously the people who go to those clubs are particularly good, but I also got the impression that most people know how to dance, at least a little. I watched them and then thought of how we dance in the US and in Israel. It's really not dancing together as couples at all, just dances near each other, or sometimes hugging and swaying to slow music. But here... here they need to communicate with their bodies. The man leads and the woman seems to understand from his subtle gestures what she needs to do. And they move together in perfect unison. It´s really amazing to watch. Also, apparently men are allowed to move their hips here without the fear that they will look "gay." It's kind of amusing but cool to see.
The next morning, Sharon and I began our trip to Cancun to meet Sharon's friend Mor, and then move on to Isla Mujeres. It was only supposed to be a 4 hour bus ride to Cancun but we somehow managed to only get tickets for a bus a hour and a half from when we got to the bus station, then wait at the wrong terminal and miss our bus, so we had to buy new tickets for a bus two hours later. So we wasted a lot of time. We got to Cancun about 4 hours later than we had planned but luckily Mor's plane was running late. So we still had time to go on a mission to find me a backpack before she got there.
Since *somone* told me that I didn't need an actually travellers backpack for this trip, I just brought a really nice and durable rolling suitcase. It cost me $120. But soon after we got here I realized that would't do. There are just too many stairs and uneven roads and walking through crowds is a bitch. So when we got to Cancun we headed to the "American Mall" there to find me a backpack. We did. It wasn't even that expensive, so I'm happy. It's a little small, but I'll deal. Now I just need to find a post office to send my old suitcase home. I hope that's not too expensive.
Anyway, the American Mall was kind of a trip. It was exactly what it sounds like. I kind of wonder why tourists want to go to places like that when they're in another country. Why bother going away if you just do the same things you do at home? Though I suppose lots of Americans come to Cancun just for the weather. They're not particularly interested in seeing the culture.
After the mall we met up with Mor and finally headed to the island! We took a cab up to Puerto Juarez and ferried from there. Then we managed to (just barely) find a hostel to sleep in for the night. Barely because New Years is coming up, so everything here is booked solid. We had dinner and ran into a couple of Israeli guys who were also trying to find a place to sleep. Turns out those guys are doing pretty much the same trip as Sharon and Mor, starting from Cancun and flying back from Panama 3 months later. So possibly we have companions for the rest of our trip, off and on :) It's good to have more people, plus they're cool (we've been hanging out for a couple of days now, and are sleeping next door to them in a hostel for the next couple of nights) and they know more Spanish than we do!
We didn't do very much that night, except eat and walk around the main street where all the restaurants and vendors are open in the evenings. After midnight everything closes though, except for on bar behind a very popular hostel called Pocna. We went there and immediately realized how many Israelis there are on this Island. The first song that was playing when we got there was in Hebrew. There was Hebrew everywhere, mixed in with the English and Spanish, and when we were walking down the street earlier we even found an Israeli restaurant with middle eastern food and a menu in Hebrew. We guessed that at least 40% of the people at the Pocna party were Israeli. Guess it's popular spot... and after a couple of days we can see why.
The weather is amazing. The beach is amazing! Clear turquoise water that is far less salty than the water in Israel. The sand is white and soft and for some reason it doesn´t get hot in the sun, so you can walk barefoot and feel it between your toes without burning your feet. And there's a cool breeze so it's not even too hot. The sun doesn't feel particularly strong but we're getting pretty good tans anyway. It's just... perfect. I could spend all day there. In fact, I think I'll go see if the others are awake now so we can go!