Another tourist shuttle van took us from Belize City to the Mexican border town of Chetumal. These vans are so convenient, getting you through immigration easily and smoothly. Gotta luv ‘em!!!
From there, we took the local bus to Cancun. Wonderful buses, these Mexicans have.
I’m sure Cancun is a big tourist spot for many people. Beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins. I should’ve made the best of my time there and enjoyed what the city had to offer. But I just wasn’t interested… I’ve had enough beach (at least for now) in Belize, and I’ve been to the ruins already. Granted that was many, many, many years ago when I was MUCH younger; and not that I remembered anything. Still, I didn’t feel like it. Especially after I heard that I wouldn’t even be able to climb the pyramids at Tulum and Chichen Itza anymore.
My sole purpose in the Cancun stopover was to organize a trip to Cuba. It’s supposed to be cheaper from here than from Mexico City.
Mission accomplished – the day after I arrived in Cancun, I went to the travel agent and booked a roundtrip ticket to Havana for the following morning on the infamous Cubana Airlines. Me scared…
I also prearrange hotel accommodations for the first and last nights, as well as airport transfer, since I’d only have 5 days in Cuba.
And tried to figure out the money situation. Like Iran, I wouldn’t be able to use my ATM or credit cards there. They don’t take US-issued cards. The Japanese ones might work, but I read that they charge a hefty 20% fee on transactions. Ouch!
That leaves good old cash. Because US dollars are automatically penalized at currency exchanges (discounted 10%), Canadian dollars and Euros are the best bet. Of course, I didn't have either. It would be pointless to get Mexican Pesos and exchange them for Canadians or Euros; that’s like double exchanging for me. Whatever, I’m just going to take a load of Mexican pesos and the Japanese yen I had left.
Nothing else to report on Cancun. When I wasn’t figuring out Cuba, I basically read Golgo 13 comic books (yes, I was staying at another Japanese guest house), or chatting with the hostel owner. The guy reminded me of my dad…
Oh, we did a “shared meal” one night, where we all chipped in some money to make a meal. The menu for the day (Japanese, of course) was kakiage, salad, miso soup, and rice. Funny how the males did most of the cooking!!!
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