Day 21, 22, 23 and 24: Arrival in Mexico - Cancun

After a long journey, with a layover in Atlanta (6-hour wait at the airport), we finally arrived in Cancun, Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula in the late afternoon. But we were not yet at our accommodation. We still had two hours on the bus, which was stuck in rush hour traffic, and a taxi ride before we finally arrived at our AirBnB. After a quick inspection and a refreshing shower, we both fell into bed and tried to catch up on the missed sleep.

The next day began with a self-prepared breakfast (Manfred had already gone shopping in the morning), including freshly squeezed orange juice sold by locals on the roadside. After that, we slowly made our way to visit the nearby beach. This beach, La Palapa Beach, is mainly visited by Mexicans as it is not necessarily the most beautiful and largest beach in Cancun. Here, we also missed the eagerly awaited blue Caribbean Sea, probably because the beach was right next to the kilometers-long port of Cancun. Nevertheless, we ventured into the water and were pleasantly surprised at how warm the sea was here. We spent the rest of the day shopping, cooking, and catching up on sleep.

The following morning started again with fresh fried eggs, toast, yogurt with muesli, delicious fruit, and a refreshing coffee. After that, it was time to pack again, as we had to change our accommodation. The new accommodation was at the other end of the city, so we had another bus ride with our luggage in the small local buses. Two hours later, finally arrived at the new apartment, we immediately went back to the beach, but this time to the famous white beaches of Cancun. The beach is overwhelmingly beautiful and the water was super pleasant. We played with the waves, snacked on chips at the beach, and enjoyed the sun. Although there are public access points to the beaches, a large part of them is inaccessible as they belong to the adjacent hotels, which stretch for kilometers. In the evening, we went to a classic local restaurant and enjoyed our first truly Mexican meal (Enchiladas and Quesadillas, as well as nachos with guacamole). Two hours later and with a full stomach, it was time to get back on the bus and return to our accommodation.

The first night in our new AirBnB was very pleasant as these rooms were much cooler than our previous accommodation. On this day, we learned about the birth of Emil Johann, the son of a very good friend of ours. With this great news, the day could only be great, so we packed our things and enjoyed it at the rooftop pool. We made some phone calls and planned the next few weeks of our trip, as well as our upcoming diving trip the next day. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a Mexican-Venezuelan dish at a small restaurant in downtown Cancun.