It’s my one and only night in Cancun!

Why only one night?   Well, I’m just not a resort/destination kind of guy.

Give me a trip to Chiang Mai over Hawaii and a trip to Belgrade over Disneyland.

Just the way I’m wired.

So, why the hell am I in Cancun then, you ask?   Well, turns out flights to Havana, Cuba from here are super cheap.   Like $95 cheap.

And thus began another travel day to get here from San Cristobal.

I lazily woke up late, grabbed some breakfast down the street and checked out of my hostel at noon.

A quick $3 taxi ride and I was at the ADO bus station for a direct small bus (140 pesos, $9) to the Tuxtla airport which is about an hour out of San Cristobal.

A seamless checkin and security screening and I boarded my 4pm flight for Cancun.

When you arrive at Cancun you instantly can tell how much more touristy the place is than the other cities I’ve visited in Mexico.

The dead giveaway is the number of places that advertise what US exchange rate they’re giving.   The “Hooters Coming Soon” billboard was a pretty good sign too.

You also suddenly notice that you’re not the only non-Spanish speaking person around which is kinda nice and sad at the same time.

Anyway, around 7pm I boarded a direct bus from the airport to the downtown bus terminal (72 pesos, $5).

Since I’m heading straight back out to the airport tomorrow afternoon, I chose a hostel close to the bus station.   Like, really close.   Less than a 2 minute walk.

I checked in and was happy to see aircon in my room.

By now it was just after 8pm and I was starving.   I asked a guy staying my room if he knew of a cheap place around here to get Mexican food and he pointed me in the right direction.

The REALLY right direction!

Just down the road from the hostel is an amazing outdoor food court.   Stall after stall of great Mexican food awaiting me.

For me, it was literally heaven.   So much so I went to three different places and order three different plates.

First I went to the stall with the biggest line and order one my favorite Mexican meals – Huarache, a Mexican style flatbread topped with cheese and your choice of meat.

Next I chose a Sabute.   I didn’t know what it was but the picture on the sign made it look kinda like a Chalupa and, turns out, they are very similar meals.   Basically it’s a puffed deep-fried tortilla topped with cabbage and meat.

Then I grabbed what I thought was a tamale but what I got was not good at all.   I ate a couple of bites and tossed it.

Oh well, then can’t all be gems…

Oh, and of course, I went to one of the stalls selling churros for dessert!

I headed back to the hostel to take a much needed shower.   The bathrooms, like many hostels, are unisex.   The difference here is there’s no door that locks when you’re in there.

So, here I am stripping down to get in the shower when a girl comes in to do the same.

Awkward!

She gave me a minute and I popped in the shower and then she came back in and popped in the shower next to me.

I then proceeded to have a full on conversation with the girl, Trish from California, as we showered in stalls next to each other.

Gotta say, I’ve stayed in over 80 hostels and this was a new one for me.

We just had a normal 15 minute conversation about travelling as we were naked to each other with just a thin piece of plastic wall separating us.

Later on, fully dressed again, we continued our conversation as she just came from Cuba and was on her way to Oaxaca.

Before I knew it, it was midnight and time for this pumpkin to go to bed.

Another travel day tomorrow but then leg two of my trip starts as I’ll be in Havana, Cuba!

At the end of the day, I got exactly what I wanted from my one and only night in Cancun – good food and talking to a naked girl in the shower.

Score!