Storytime: Tequila, Bat Poop, and Getting Scammed in Cancun

Now that it’s officially winter in Toronto, I know people are going to be booking their vacation to somewhere hot, like Cancun. So here’s my review/storytime of my visit to Cancun this past July and hopefully it provides you with some insight.

Picture this. Two smoll Asian girls alone in Cancun with no phone service or car and oh, we didn’t stay at an all-inclusive resort. Feeling worried yet? Well I understand your concerns. Surprisingly, I had the most amazing time – and I didn’t get robbed or murdered so that’s a plus. All I can say is that my Spanish music playlist totally came in handy, please follow it on Spotify (it literally has over 50 Spanish songs).

Interesting fact: Cancun’s tourism industry is actually in a decline because in 2017 they had a seaweed issue (I’m not making this up). There was apparently too much seaweed in the beaches due to global warming and because people are extremely superficial and want things to look photoshopped and ridicously perfect, people stopped swimming, going to resorts and going to Cancun. There’s been a 70% decline in tourism in Cancun, particularly in the hotel district. What does this mean?

Well it means several things:

• there’s TONS of availability at resorts and hotels (maybe not during March or December but all other months are quite free)
• restaurants are not busy and people will serve you and help you as if you were a celebrity
• lots of people are willing to sell items and package deals for excursions at a cheaper price
• anyone working in the tourism industry is extremely happy to see you because they need business lol

Disclaimers as per usual:

• I’m not a travel guide
• this was my first time in Mexico and in Cancun
• these are all just my opinions and are subject to change okay so if you get robbed in Cancun sorry mate that’s not my fault  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Flight

• First of all, wide open leg space wow game-changer!
• Second of all, the person in front of me could lean their chair all the way back and it wouldn’t affect me at all. I mean the only thing is if there ever was an actual emergency, you’d have to help other passengers.
• I slept for a bit since our flight was early in the morning and there was this couple beside me BUT they actually weren’t annoying, they just slept too. Well everyone did really.
• The one negative thing would be that it was absolutely freezing on the flight and I wore a hoodie and leggings and came prepared. Like it was definitely colder than flights I’ve taken on Air Canada. And of course you’d have to pay some ridiculous price to get a blanket that was thinner than toilet paper.
• Other than that, security was perfect and finding directions to the bus was easy. The airport layout is a 10/10, so straightforward. There were not that many English signs from what I can recall but it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s what. The bus was playing Glee (dubbed in Spanish) lmao on their TV and air conditioning, it was lit.

On the flight back, now that was a different story. Well it’s always depressing to be coming back on a flight from a vacation but anyway, Grace and I weren’t sitting beside each other but it was fine-ish. It was still cold lol so 😦 I was re-watching Stranger Things it was lit you know but then the couple beside me was well, really I’m baffled at how to explain what they were like……………I was sitting in the aisle, then a woman in the middle and her boyfriend at the window. The woman kept hitting and aggressively pushing the seat in front of her (which was Grace’s seat by the way…lol) for the entirety of the flight. It was just interesting to watch but also concerning, she also kept play fighting with her boyfriend…it was just a mess for them – but we landed and none of our bags got lost or anything, and we never had to see them again so that was nice.

Hotel, Airbnb, Resorts – the whole shabang

I’ll be honest, the closer it came to the day I was leaving, I started to get more nervous. More of my friends and family members started to mention missing girls, abducted and murdered tourists, and this overall sense of danger in Cancun and in Mexico. (I think they were just jealous I was going). However, these stories started to concern me. If you’re worried well fear not because I actually did some research prior to going. And fun fact: it’s not that bad! Also, I’m alive and not being held captive somewhere so I mean like come on.

Quick Facts:

• “In 2017, Acapulco had a homicide rate of 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in Mexico and the world. By comparison, Cancun had a homicide rate of about 33 per 100,000, a fraction of Acapulco’s rate but still above Mexico’s national average of about 25 per 100,000 inhabitants.” (sauce: https://nypost.com/2018/10/10/massive-military-base-opens-near-cancun-after-murder-spike/) So let’s hope you’re not part of the 33 🙂
• According to statistics alone, Cancun is literally safer than popular cities in America sooo yeah *proceeds to sip tea* (https://www.barcelo.com/pinandtravel/en/is-cancun-safe-2019/ )
• A working man, we’ll call Bob Meyer (fake name just in case this man decides to shut my blog down b/c of privacy issues) said, “Wonderful people and a safe place. I was careful but felt safer than walking around downtown Seattle (where I normally live). Very few street/homeless people out during the day and no one out at night.” And I really can confirm this, there are very few homeless people in the hotel district and in Cancun in general. There were also barely any people walking around in the evening.
• read thru this https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Cancun and please make sure to check online reviews of the hotel, airbnb, resort you’re staying at!
• PLEASE remember that the news highlights dangerous criminal activities and eye-catching stories on purpose. No news station will ever report the mundane nature of a foreign country, why? Because it’s boring and the news doesn’t circulate on boring stories. Yes, crime exists and I’m not ignoring that aspect but for the most part, if you’re thinking smart and in a tourist-friendly area, you will be fine.

Da Airbnb aka Please Sponsor me Airbnb

I stayed at an Airbnb which was close to Mercado 28 (Market 28) for all you sad non-Spanish speaking gringos, jk that’s me. The Airbnb I was at was actually not in the hotel and resort district but very close to it. I wasn’t aware until actually exploring the neighbourhood, but the place I stayed at was in a very quaint but upper-class area. All the houses in that area were gated, had some formof extra security, and there were a lot of dogs ready to alert their owners. Every time Grace and I walked by, the dogs were adorable but started to bark like crazy. The Airbnb I was at also had a lot of security measures which I was grateful for. Like two gated doors, this security man or janitor (or both??) who always sat in this designated seated area, it was solid.

One negative aspect of the Airbnb was that the air conditioning was set on a timer by the owner which we couldn’t change on our own unfortunately. On the bright side we were out of the flat during the day time when the AC would be off. The kitchen was useful, especially the fridge and microwave. It had a lot of open space and we wished there were more places to place our items other than the kitchen table and couch. The TV wasn’t working for some reason but c’est la vie.

Quick story break. There were these gorgeous trees and flowers all around our street and Grace and I were taking photos of the trees/flowers as well as taking turns of taking pics of each other for the gram. Then this car turns into the street and parks and this older couple hops out. We greet each other cordially but we have no idea who these people are. It was kind of awkward to continue taking photos with an audience but the man starts talking about the history of these flowers then offers to take a photo of the two of us. The photos turned out great and him and his wife were just so sweet.

I know most people warn you to not talk to strangers but this exchange was just so genuine and wholesome 😀 The first photo below is the one he took.

Other than the place to stay, Airbnb actually has an “experience” section on the website. I don’t know if this will be true for all the other locations that Airbnb operates in but all the activities that Grace and I booked were through Airbnb. All the tour guides and hosts were so knowledgeable, safe, and friendly. I felt like I was in good hands for all the different things we did, just wanted to put that out there.

“Why not stay at a resort?”

That’s a valid question for sure. I think you need to decide what you want from this trip or vacation and answer these following questions:

• Do you want to relax and do nothing? Or do you want to walk a lot, plan your own activities and explore the city?
• Do you want to cook and eat on your own? Or have a planned meal schedule situation?
• Do you want to interact with locals? Or do you want to just kumbaya under your own yacht in the middle of the ocean?
• If you got kids or young children or parents you’d want to just yeet somewhere for awhile, then I totally get staying in a resort because everyone can do their own thing while staying somewhat together in a safe environment.

I think personally for me, I really like checking out new places and doing a mix of lounging and exploring. I loved going to new restaurants where you can eat a variety of different cuisines and explore new neighbourhoods. I liked checking out things outside of the hotel zone and doing things on my own accord. I really think going outside of the “tourist bubble” is something everyone should try at least once in their life!

Sightseeing and things to do

If you didn’t know there’s actually a bajillion things to do in Cancun outside of the resort. Here’s what Grace and I did:

1. Go paddle-boarding. We booked this activity on Airbnb and our guide was super friendly, took photos of us, took care of all the equipment as well as bringing water. He taught us how to paddle-board (it’s actually really easy and this is coming from someone who hates walking up the stairs). We did this activity with a Swiss family and it was chill just exploring together lol. Apparently there’s crocodiles and I watched Crawl right before the trip so haha that was fun trying not to think of the worst scenario possible while paddle-boarding 🙂
2. Go to Isla Mujeres (aka Island of Women once again for gringos). This island is literally like 20 minutes away by ferry. It’s pretty cheap to buy a roundtrip ticket. There’s a bunch of stuff to do on the island; there’s hotels, beaches, museums, and a bunch of restaurants on the island. It’s quite a small island – it’s literally 7 km long mate and you can walk around the entire island in just one day pretty much. We did a free walking tour booked again through Airbnb. We saw several churches, statues, ate at several open-markets, and even saw this Mexican graveyard which reminded us of the movie Coco and no, we’re not being racist because even the guide said that the movie does resemble the graveyard aspect. The graveyard was actually the most interesting part of the tour for me! We also stayed at the beach and chilled around there. Watching the sunset by the beach was such a nice experience. You can go snorkelling, whale watching, and rent a boat on this island.
3. Go to the beach obviously. We briefly checked out the beaches in Cancun but the beaches are much nicer and emptier and cleaner on Isla Mujeres. There were also 0 waves, tons of places to sit and lounge around, and eat along the shore areas.
4. Check out Mercado 28 or any of the other markets. The open markets are interesting and there’s tons of tourist trinkets as well as food stands.
5. Experience Coco Bongo and all the craziness that’s to come with it. Coco Bongo is like New York City meets Las Vegas. Honestly, there’s no words to explain the experience lol don’t worry it’s not a cult. Check out their website for more details >:)
6. Visit some cenotes! What are cenotes? It’s kind of hard to explain but sort of like underwater caves? Now the cenotes were such a highlight on the trip for me personally, since I’ve never gone cave-diving, underwater cave swimming, or cave exploring period. We went to 4 different cenotes (which is more than other guides) with our guide and 4 other girls were part of the tour. I felt completely safe since we had to wear a lifejacket and our tour guide was always with us the entire time. I learned a lot about Mexican history on our way to the cenotes and even inside the cenotes but the guide wasn’t boring at all, it was interesting and funny actually just doing something outside my comfort zone. The guide gave us snacks, all the equipment necessary, and made sure we were safe.

However, one thing I just will absolutely not get over is the fact that I have zero, zilch, nada, no photos of the cenotes 😦 cry with me. I feel like I’ve been scammed. Just google “cenotes”, look at how gorgeous it is. I know! I WAS THERE. I HAVE NO PHOTOS THOUGH. So here’s what went down, Grace and I didn’t have waterproof cases for our phones and there’s obviously no place to put your phones since you’re literally in water the whole time. So the girls we were with took photos of us and they were supposed to send the photos via email…yea it’s been like 4 months and nothing. Also, our tour guide took photos of us as well and we have contacted him multiple times and also…nothing. So RIP to those photo memories. I even jumped off some high ish areas and have zero proof of that so sigh. To the tour guide and girls: I hope you’re happy. My face is in your phone.

Another quick story. Don’t start licking things in a cenotes please. This one woman in a different tour guide started rubbing something against her face and I think kissing it (?) when our guide said, “hey don’t touch that, hey lady, that’s bat poop!”

I have never experienced secondhand embarrassment so strongly before.

FOOD

Obviously for me, food is like the most important part of anything, of life really. I have three loves and they are Mexican food, cilantro, and hot sauce. My stomach was delighted the whole time. Grace and I literally googled restaurants near our Airbnb or wherever we would be at and just checked the reviews and menu and really just hopped to whichever seemed the best. We’ve never been super disappointed with any of the areas and in fact, when we went all the servers were extremely accommodating. I have never had fish this juicy since Mexico and I’m really sad about that.

Tips!

1. Take the local bus: it’s literally only like 50 cents (not Canadian cents but like Mexican peso cents). The buses come frequently and the bus driver is so friendly, they literally let you know when your stop is. The TTC could never. You save lots of money by taking the bus and can explore the city/town very easily.
2. People won’t speak English to you: meaning less people speak and understand English fluently in comparison to what you may assume. If you’re outside of the hotel zone you should know basic Spanish phrases. Google translate was helpful but you’re going to have to get creative and stay patient. People are extremely willing to help you though!
3. The fresh fruit juice sold in empty water bottles are actually really good. They’re fresh and sweet!
4. Learn to negotiate. Taking taxis can get pricey and there’s an abundance of them, you don’t have to take the first one that comes your way. Try negotiating the price.
5. Buy lots of snacks, bring sanitizer around, and drink lots of water
6. If you’re thinking of going to Chichen Itza, please know that you’re NOT allowed to go up the steps or go into archaeological site which is very disappointing I know. They changed the policies recently so make sure you know that before booking your tour.
7. This is going to sound random but don’t do drugs if you’re unsure of the drug policy and laws surrounding narcotics in a foreign country! We were at the beach and a group of tourists close to us started smoking weed and were forced to leave by lifeguards. We also witnessed a random guy literally waiting for the bus getting arrested because he had illegal drugs on him. Seriously, staying in a prison cell overnight is not a cool travel story especially if the police grill you in another language. However, I do know of a good lawyer so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
8. I personally enjoy smaller tours because it feels more intimate and safe. I’d honestly recommend checking out the tours that are offered on Airbnb, especially the ones that are free!

Concluding Thoughts

I loved Mexico and will definitely go back. I really want to check out Mexico City, Cabo, Puebla, and Guadalajara. The food is just uGHHHH love love it. There’s actually not that many creepy men lol or not as many as I expected. Also, after Greece, I felt immune to any sort of sexual comment so yay. I definitely think exploring the nature areas in Cancun were more exciting than lounging and I would totally recommend doing something outside of your comfort zone in moderation aha. Seriously, Airbnb if you want to sponsor me I am DOWN. Seriously. Please let me know what you want me to write about next. Or leave criticism, I mean it’s a free country.