Cancun - See you soon, Central America!

After this wonderful day on Holbox, I headed to Cancun for my last two days in Central America. From there, I wanted to take my flight north. As always, I had booked a hostel, but I hadn't planned the rest of my trip. That's why I decided to leave Holbox before breakfast to have enough time to get to Cancun and possibly do something there.

On Holbox, I immediately got a ferry and then walked to the bus station in Chiquila. However, it was closed and it turned out that the next bus would not leave for another five hours. I hadn't expected that! But by now I was hungry and I especially needed a coffee. I got both (even if it was just bad coffee) in a small street kitchen.

After asking some taxi drivers about the best way to get to Cancun, I decided to take a slightly more expensive Collectivo to Playa del Carmen, from where I wanted to take a bus to Cancun. I also had to wait for this Collectivo for another hour, but the ride went smoothly and in Playa del Carmen, I found another Collectivo to Cancun just one block away from the first one. It only cost me a few pesos (so little that I asked the driver several times if he had actually given me the right price).

And so, in the afternoon, I finally reached my hostel in Cancun. It was incredibly hot - even hotter than on the island. Cancun itself is not particularly beautiful. Similar to Tulum, Mexicans live in the city itself, where there are offices and shops (but no real city center). Tourists prefer to stay on the beach, where most of the hotels are located. My hostel was not far from the bus station in the city.

My plan for the next day was simply to buy some gifts for my hosts for the next few weeks and otherwise sort out my luggage for the flight. But for now, I was glad to have arrived in the cool dormitory and to take a cold shower. In the evening, I treated myself to some tacos. (Who knows when I would get them again?)

The other guests in my hostel were really nice, invited me to play a few rounds of 'Uno' in the evening, and asked if I wanted to join them at the beach the next day. Of course, I couldn't say no! (And who knows when I would go swimming in the sea again?) And so, I spent the morning with a Russian, a Mexican, and an Argentine at one of the few beach sections in Cancun that don't require payment and don't belong to a hotel. In the afternoon, I went with the Russian and the Mexican to one of the large souvenir markets and did the rest of my shopping. On the way back, I just wanted to quickly buy my ticket for the bus to the airport the next morning. This ended with me wandering around Cancun in the blazing sun for an hour because I couldn't find the way to the bus station, which in turn gave me a little sunburn... But I should also show that I had spent some time in Mexico! :)

Then my backpacks were packed again, all the souvenirs were stored away, and I got a few hours of sleep before I made my way to the bus station at 3:30 am and then took the bus to the airport. I was a bit nostalgic about leaving Central America after a few months. I would definitely miss hearing Spanish all around me. And ahead of me was a 14-hour journey via San Francisco and Seattle to my first stop in North America: Vancouver, BC, Canada!