Through the Yucatán

And now my travel notes must come to an end. A bad cold and a fever left me stranded in Palenque for a couple days, after which I took a long bus ride through the dry scrub bushes of the Yucatán peninsula. We stopped in Mérida, a serene city just a short drive inland from the ocean. It seemed like it would have been a lovely place to visit, but I had run out of time. As it was, I had tried to cover far too much geography in one trip, and I had even known as much at the outset; but for me, travel always produces the irrational desire to see everything. The Yucatán is, of course, worth a vacation in its own right. I also would have preferred to travel deeper into Chiapas, toured the mountains, looked at the ancient murals at Bonampak and taken a boat ride to the ruins of Yaxchilán. Or I could have lingered in the state of Veracruz and explored Jalapa, where I’m told you can find more of the local coffee. Or I could have ventured into Oaxaca, having seen the television spots that advertised it was safe for visitors again. I could have retraced my steps to Mexico City, spent a good two weeks there, and then continued on to the monarch butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán and the colonial towns of the Bajío. Alas, but no.

When the bus arrived in Cancún late at night, I stumbled into a hotel and the attendants immediately begin speaking to me in English. As it had been nearly two weeks since I’d heard more than a few words of my own language, this was rather disorienting. On tables in the lobby there were menus (in English) listing all 30 types of margaritas you could order, and the guest rooms were built around outdoor corridors so as to envelop pedestrians in the sea breeze. My very brief impression of Cancún was that the local tourist board seemed intent on managing every detail of the vacationer’s experience, in order to ensure you never got lost or became uncomfortable. This strategy even extended to the airport, where road signs said good-bye in seven different languages and new-age woodwinds played background music over the check-in lines. I couldn’t stay long, but I am sure the beaches are very nice.

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Comments

[Wendy]

It was really wonderful to read about your trip through Mexico. Thank you for telling us all about it, and for showing us your beautiful pictures!