Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen to Cancun, Mexico   December 28, 2023

I was packed and walking to Central Park by 9 o’clock for my 11 o’clock ferry departure. It was very windy and only 24 degrees, a much nicer temperature than the 35 yesterday.  They were doing some road construction so my plans to sit in the park were foiled. There were five big ships carrying a total of 20,000 people but maybe I was there too early because very few Cruisers were milling around. I found out that about 34% of cruisers do not leave the boat at ports. I decided to go into the ferry terminal and just wait.  At about 10:30 we started to board and in no time we were on our way to Playa Del Carmen. The water was very rough and sometimes the windows were completely covered in waves. As when I went to Cozumel, the workers were walking around with plastic bags in case someone had to throw up.  It reminded me when I was with a group of students and we were going from the mainland of Italy to Capri.  The boats had been cancelled because the water was so rough but all of a sudden there was a hovercraft that we could take. I have never seen green people and what a mess!  Many had to lie down for the whole trip and we had a girl who took two or three days to recover. She could hardly walk once she got off the boat.  I remember feeling like I was going to throw up but I didn’t thank goodness -

There are ferries every hour so this one wasn’t crowded at all-

Once in Playa, I walked quite a few blocks to catch a colectivo to Cancun.  They go when they’re full and the bus of course has a schedule. The bus costs double what the colectivo does but that’s not why I took it. I feel less like a tourist in a rattling van. I was sitting in the front by the door and a man wanted to also sit in the front so I made him sit in the middle. I understood what he was saying for the first 10 minutes but then all of a sudden my head just went click and I couldn’t understand a word he said. I have a cold, I feel very tired and rundown so that didn’t help with my Spanish comprehension-

Once at the bus depot in Cancun, it took about 15 minutes to walk to my room. I have a really good feeling here in Cancun but unfortunately the streets are not on a nice grid like Merida and Playa Del Carmen. They weave all over the place and so it’s hard to figure out where you’re going without constantly looking at Google maps.

I like my place – 

It has all I need and super hot water!

I walked to a burger joint for lupper and it was less than mediocre. From there I walked to the supermarket and they probably had 200 tomatoes that were all rotten. Along the way –

I am in an area where there is lots happening and so I am looking forward to discovering more tomorrow. I only have two days left and one will be going along the hotel zone and beaches. Hopefully I feel a little better tomorrow and if not, I will wait until Saturday to go exploring.