Cancun, Mexico

The final stop of our trip was Cancun - more as a couple day "safety" stop after Cuba to ensure there were no suspicions from the immigration officers as we crossed back into the US from Mexico. This was also probably the most depressing stop of our trip for two reasons. The obvious of course was that it meant the trip had come to an end - our year of adventure passing so quickly. The second was the instant reality check that we were about to endure major reverse culture shock. We had become accustomed to the backpacker lifestyle - living simply, frugally, openly and easily adapting to the variety of countries and cultures we encountered. Many of those countries of course were "developing" nations without much of the excess and luxuries we have in the US.


The moment we arrived at the Cancun airport, we were surrounded by vacationing Americans dressed in stylish beach attire, many of the women adorned with large diamond rings and nice jewelry. All the Mexicans spoke fluent English (something we also were not used to) and the price of our shuttle to our hostel in downtown cost more than what we'd been paying for a room. As we waited in line for the shuttle, people were already cracking open beers and getting ready to party Cancun-style. We sat in the backseat of our van and couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable taking in one glitzy resort after another on the main strip of beach, the fancy malls inviting you to shop till you drop, and the dozens of chain restaurants all boasting a fun, party theme. There's nothing wrong with a fun vacation to relax and let loose, but coming from where we'd just been, it felt a bit overwhelming and excessive. This didn't feel like Mexico, but an extension of American luxury where your every need, want and desire is catered to if you're willing to pay the price.

I found myself missing the mountains of Patagonia, sitting outside our little tent with a cup of tea/coffee in our tin cups and eating (for the fifth day in a row) our instant oatmeal concoction before setting off for a day on the trail. I found myself missing the thatched hut on the beach in Samoa where we could open our little tarp door and take in the aqua blue ocean and watch the local kids play. I found myself missing the hammocks along the rivers in Laos where we'd lounge for hours reading and playing cards with our fellow travelers.


Our budget was pretty tight by the time we arrived to Cancun, so we chose a reasonably priced hostel in downtown as opposed to a hotel along the beach. It was a decent little place with good access to the local bus to the main strip of beach hotels restaurants. We were already beginning to anticipate the transition and so didn't feel particularly motivated to explore. We spent a lot of time in our little room finishing our books, journaling and talking. We did venture out to the local market for some shopping, but didn't find much of interest. We also made a stop at the post office to ship our Cuban goodies we found back to the US. And we did go one evening to main strip to enjoy a last dinner at Margaritaville. We didn't actually feel motivated to go to the beach...we'd spent a lot of time on beaches and were feeling more like hibernating and being low key.


We did spent one day taking a tour to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. It was fascinating to see the ruins, learn the history and imagen what life must have been like in this place during the height of Mayan civilization. We also stopped off for some swimming in a huge sink hole with a waterfall, which was lovely.


In general, though, we were feeling antsy and anxious. The trip had pretty much finished and, despite some reservations about what it would be like to go home, we were eager to return and see what the next phase of life would bring. We were very much looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends and enjoying our upcoming wedding reception in June. We were excited about finding a new place to live and decorating it with all the cool treasures we'd pick up on our travels. And we were eager to see what the next phase of our careers would look like and how we would put into practice what we had learned and taken away from our trip. So, when we boarded our flight to Colorado, we were ready. Our first stop would be a visit with my family and friends on the Front Range and then a long drive back to California. It'd been a helluva year!