First Stop, Cancun

We kicked off our month in the Yucatan with a quick stop in Cancun. If you don't know how Chantal and I like to travel, we like to stay out of the tourist traps in general. We steered clear of the all-inclusive resorts that Cancun offers, and opted for a convenient location for a day en route to our second stop, Isla Mujeres.

After minor delays in the airport, a quick ADO bus ride, and attempted taxi negotiation, we landed at Hotel Del Sol. This is not your 5-star hotel with pools and jacuzzis, but it has air conditioning, a great rooftop deck, and 24-hour Mexican music videos on the television. More importantly, it's right across the street from Puerto Juarez so we'll have an easy transition to Isla Mujeres. There's an OXXO convenient store across the street and a local restaurant called Mandinga. It's a cheap taxi or bus ride into the city, but generally a quiet area with more locals than tourists. 

View from Hotel del Sol rooftop 

El Meco

I woke up the next morning to Chantal saying, "I have a plan!" Here we go, Day 1 is about to get interesting. There are ancient Mayan ruins 2 miles away ("1 mile-ish" according to Chantal), and we "adventured" our way there on foot. 30 minutes later, we showed up to El Meco drenched in sweat, payed 55 pesos each, and walked around the Mayan pyramid and other ruin buildings. Massive iguanas inhabit the area, and at one point Chantal and I felt like we were getting surrounded. The site was basically empty, and it is a rare, must-go if you are in Cancun and want to get out of the tourist areas.

This day also happened to be World Cup Semi-Finals, and I really wanted to watch the Croatia vs. England game. After asking local taxi drivers, we landed on La Taberna in downtown Cancun, which reminded us of a Mexican Hooters. It was packed for the game and tequila was flying as Croatia won 2-1 in extra time... Go Croatia, beat France!

We enjoyed the rest of the day by wandering through downtown Cancun, exploring our way all the way back to our hotel. Day 1 complete, with 9 miles clocked.

Street art in Downtown Cancun

The streets of Puerto Juarez

We'll be on Isla Mujeres until Monday, so check back in- we'll be diving and hopefully seeing the whale sharks!