I started My Fantabulous Voyage in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I booked a flight from Dallas, Texas to Cancun, Mexico. Cancun is about 45 minutes from Playa Del Carmen. Arriving at the Cancun airport was an adventure in itself. Well, primarily outside the airport was where the adventure started. Everything else about the airport is the same as flying into any airport in a foreign country. I went through immigration, got my luggage, then went outside to find my prebooked driver.
The Cancun airport had what seemed like hundreds of taxi drivers standing outside the door as you exit. The drivers were yelling YOU NEED A TAXI, CHEAP RIDE, COME HERE, I CAN MAKE YOU A GOOD DEAL, etc. They were all trying to overtalk each other to get my attention. I made sure I kept my belongings close, while also trying to find my driver. Along with the taxis, there were other private drivers, hotel shuttles, an airport terminal shuttle and the Ado bus all in the same waiting area. The area was very crowded.
My transportation was booked ahead of time. I used booking.com and paid about $35 for a ride from the Cancun airport to my hotel in Playa Del Carmen (PDC). Booking.com partnered with MeTransportations for that particular ride. I’ve used booking.com several times and noticed they use different transportation companies. MeTransportation and booking.com sent me a text message and a whatsapp message telling me to meet them outside at the Margaritaville bar after I got my luggage. Walking outside was slightly overwhelming. I saw all the different taxi drivers and wasn’t sure which driver was mine. MeTranportation sent me a text message telling me my driver would have on a pink shirt. As a side note, I saw a lot of companies holding signs with the person’s name they were looking for. That’s definitely something I would ask for in the future. Margarittaville is close to the airport exit door and would be very hard to miss.
Once I found my driver I followed him to our vehicle. It was a big 8 passenger van for me, my suitcase, my duffle bag and my backpack. The driver spoke very little English and I spoke very little Spanish. So there wasn’t much conversation on the ride to the hotel. Leaving the airport wasn’t bad but driving on the highway to PDC was slightly scary but exciting. Driving in Mexico is very different from driving in the US. Cars would ride side by side in ONE lane. Driving very close to the vehicle in front of them and beside them was common. I felt like I could reach out the window and touch the person in the next car. Whenever we stopped at a red light motorcycles would drive between lanes and cars. At one point my driver was driving on the median as though it was an extra lane. I soon realized this was normal driving and I was safe. The traffic was heavy close to the airport but thinned out the further away we drove.
The driver dropped me off right in front of the hotel. I looked around and saw a street full of fences, gates, cars, and motorcycles. Nothing looked like your typical US hotel. Luckily, a member of the hotel staff saw me pull up and came outside to meet me. After I signed in the hotel staff member took me across the street to my room. I loved my room. There was a big bed, a canopy around the bed, a couch, two wooden chairs, a table, water cooler, a mini fridge, microwave, hot plate, dishes, pots and pans. Everything I needed for a two week stay. Some of the walls were made from big boulder rocks. It reminded me of an old western movie or something you would see in the middle of a jungle. It felt like I was in nature somewhere.
This non-traditional hotel had a shared community room with a bigger kitchen, a full size stove, full size refrigerator, lounge area, pool, beautiful trees, and plants. It was in a quiet neighborhood in Edijol, PDC. Nearby was a grocery store, mcdonalds, a bus stop, several restaurants, and several laundry services all within a 10 minute walk.
By the time I got to my hotel, settled in and unpacked my suitcase it was too late for me to leave and find something to eat. Ordering from UberEat seemed to be the next best option. Even though it was my best option it was still frustrating. I was hungry and wanted something to eat as soon as possible. Everything on UberEats was in spanish. The name of the restaurant was in Spanish, the menu was in Spanish, and the description of the food was in Spanish. It seems obvious that everything would be in Spanish since I was in Mexico. When you are hungry and have to google every other word in google translate the experience becomes the opposite of fun. After clicking on several restaurants that had things I didn’t eat or I didn’t want I eventually found something and had it delivered.
That day was one of the most tiring, exciting, scary, exhausting, exhilarating days of my life. It was the first day on the first stop of my new beginning.
Additional Pictures:
Flowing With My Spirit 