The Periphery of the Mind

Of all the places we went, Cozumel was likely the worst.

After we got off the boat at the island of Cozumel, we had to take a second shuttle boat to the mainland. Every step of the way was fraught with beggars and vendors, who spoke enough English to haggle and negotiate, until you tried to use words like "no" or "I'm not interested" or "please go away". As an example, I saw stone chess sets for $40 in several places, and was able to negotiate one guy down to $30 for his sets. The same sets that were being sold for $24 if you knew where to find them. And while some go for $80 or $100 on ebay, others are going for ten bucks. Guess which ones people actually bid on.

"But it's a third world country," I hear some of you think. Well, it may be third world, but all of these "beggars" had cell phones, and one photographer team had a nice looking Apple iBook. Everything was obscenely expensive, thanks to inflation from tourists' dollars, and I wonder how people could afford anything. But at least the Bimbo trucks were running.

Anyway, enough ranting.

Cozumel is pretty, but it's also a tourist town. The mainland is a different story. In the tourist areas, you see a lot of pretty hotels, and rather ugly beaches. Gorgeous water though. Outside of the tourist areas you see the poverty, and the damage from hurricanes and storms from years past. The bus we rode from the mainland dock to Tulum carried us through a lot of this, as a Mayan tour guide on the bus tried to tell us about her culture and the area; I don't think anyone cared, and on the trip back she said she'd just let us sleep.

After a detour to a tourist trap/auction house, we arrived at the Mayan ruins of Tulum, as protected by more beggars. A four-foot tall Mexican man kept jumping up and shoving straw hats on my head, while demanding five dollars. At first it was kind of funny, but as he was following us, getting more insistent or desperate, it was actually a little unsettling. A short walk through incredible humidity, and I suspect an open sewer, and we made it to the ruins. And they were actually kind of neat, despite swarming with people.

Maryanne took a lot of photos, and we ultimately ditched our guide. Giant iguanas were everywhere, and nearby was a gorgeous beach, marked off by short fences everyone just stepped over. I guess when your local population averages 4'6", a three-foot fence is more of a deterrent. The buildings were neat, but largely inaccessible, and there were all sorts of plants everywhere. On the way back, there were several pole-climbers and drummers near the entrance asking for money. If somebody is trying to entertain me, and succeeds, I don't mind giving them a few books, so I gave them a tip.

We rode the bus back, and the boat from the mainland back to Cozumel, and spent some time in the "tourist's port". Maryanne tried some "real authentic Mexican food" and seemed a bit underwhelmed. I think she said it was good, but not that good. We managed to make our way past the beggars once more, and ate at the Pacific dining room on the ship. One of the few good meals we had at the Pacific.

Oh yeah, and for those who were concerned about whether or not I'd get sick on the vacation.... The boat ride out from Cozumel to the mainland was a bad two bagger, but a nice fellow tourist gave me some medicine to rub behind my ears on the way back that worked wonders.

posted by dj  # 12:48 PM