Cancun - Wednesday ~ Friday

While we were up early and eager to head to Cancun, a few things needed to be done before we left.  We had told J&J we would be ready at 11 am.  They didn't realize that we were now on Central time and were ready to go at 10.  I also pointed out that Beth was coming and a 1/2 hour later than the agreed time was the standard.

We left for the ferry about 11:30 with luggage and the dogs.  Cabs around the island are usually readily available and reasonable.  Depending on the driver a ride from the marina into town is anywhere from 15 to 40 pesos.  Just about everything in Mexico is negotiable so I think we average 25 pesos for a one way ride.  The ferry is a very nice ferry, quick, clean, air conditioned and is 150 pesos per person round trip. 

We arrived in Cancun at Puerto Juarez.  The customs office is about 400 yards north to which we had to pay a visit to finalize our import paperwork, another $ 50 and we would be done with entering the country.  With that done, we hailed a cab and headed toward the Westin which is located on the south side of the hotel zone.

J and Beth checked us in and the room was beach front and very nice.  We all relaxed a little, took showers in a fantastic dual head shower and got ready for dinner.  Beth and I had told J & J about Hacienda Sisal which has a buffet, open bar and Caribbean show on Wednesdays so we were all looking forward to it.  We headed out about 6 to wander around town and be at Hacienda Sisal at 7:30 for the show.  We took the local bus from the hotel up the hotel zone and stopped at one of the markets.  We all "window" shopped and looked at everything like typical tourists then boarded the bus back to Hacienda Sisal.  We were seated promptly but things have changed since Beth and I were here in Feb.  Apparently the open bar only lasted until 9, call brands were extra and it wasn't crowded.  This is the off season here and I guess everyone is making budget cuts.  The food was pretty good and the show excellent.  Here are some pics of the show.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures but Beth had the camera and after a few drinks, she isn't exactly steady.

After dinner we headed back to the Westin for a good nights sleep via the local bus.

Thursday:
I got up early and headed out to downtown Cancun to secure parts needed for the boat.  I left the hotel about 8:30.  I caught the local bus downtown, hit Home Depot, a couple of big stores, Nauticos, a marine supply store and an electronics store.  Sounds simple but in Cancun, when its hard to get directions in English, this trip took about 6 hours, 5+ miles of walking, several buses and a few cabs.  I got almost everything on my list but would have to return to one of the stores the following day.  All of this was in 95 degree heat.  Needless to say by the time I returned to the hotel, I was exhausted.  I jumped in the very nice shower afterwards Beth and I took the dogs for a walk on the beach.  During my absence, apparently Beth, J & J were concerned that I was gone so long and had no way to reach me.  While I did try to call them about noon, the call wasn't answered.

One of the waiters took the picture and cut off a couple of heads.

After a bit of relaxing, we all got ready to go out for dinner and to see the Cancun nightlife.  We went back to Tacos Caminero.  The guys at the restaurant remembered us and were great to us.  This place is HIGHLY recommended !!  After dinner we went to the club area and J&J signed up for a Chitineza tour on Wednesday. There was a guy walking around with a monkey, several people dressed up as movie characters and one guy had a big snake.

We went to one of the bars advertising 2 for 1 drinks across from Coco Bongo.  It was loud but good music and dancing.  We had our two drinks and J & J headed back to the hotel and that is when Beth got up on stage and started dancing.  She danced until her legs were rubber and then we headed back to the hotel. ( Sorry, no pictures of the dancing but it was a spectacular show )

I believe I am the weak link in this armada.  My knee has been getting worse mainly because I don't have the opportunity to rest.  Between the rough crossings, the long walkabouts and the general climbing around on the boat, the knee is as bad as it has ever been.  Beth, J & J, know this and walk slowly for me and we take transportation when we can but part of life on a boat is walking, jumping and being quite active.  I am currently researching a stem cell therapy that "regrows" the cartilage in the knee.  It is a much less invasive procedure than actual knee replacement surgery and shows tremendous promise.  I feel that something is going to have to be done soon.  Beth and I have discussed pausing our adventure here until it is fixed.  At this point its just discussions.  If anyone knows anything about the stem cell therapy, let me know.

Friday:  We all slept in a little, enjoyed the great shower for the last time and headed back into Cancun.  We wanted to do some shopping before we took the ferry back to Isla.  We went to Las Plazas de Americas which is very close to a standard mall about 1/2 the size of the Mall of Georgia.  They have a huge grocery store and J & J stocked up while Beth just bought a few necessities.  I went to the electronics store and completed my purchase.  We packed up everything into a cab and headed to Puerto Juarez to catch the ferry.


We were all glad to see our boats again and looking forward to spending a quiet evening at "home".