We had plans, then we changed them to meet some friends, then they canceled and we change plans again, but when one is in Margaritaville plans don't matter or mean much. What was that famous statement from the movie the treasure of Sierra Madre - "We don't need no stinking badges." Well in this case, "We don't need no stinking plans."
After a morning swim in the pool, clouds began to roll in and we had a rainstorm for several hours. We decided to take a break from the life of luxury on the Cancun beachfront strip of resorts to go into the city of Cancun itself. We were the last ones top leave the pool area. It was the strangest and funniest thing; there were at least 30 to 40 people in the pool and another 40 to 50 sitting around it. As soon as it started raining everybody ran out of the pool to get under the umbrellas or run back to their rooms - so they wouldn't get wet - ?!?!? WHAT! You get out of the pool so you don't get wet by the rain!? A couple of us hard core tourists hung in there until lunch time and then the rain got harder and we decided to take a lunch break.
All the streets in Cancun have Mayan names; Palenque, Yaxchilán, Coba, etc. Many buildings are in pastel colors – what’s with the pastel colors? Many of the places in the Florida Keys, where we went to last year with Adan and Vivian, were also painted in pastel colors. Is it a beach thing? Why can’t houses in Romeo or Utica be painted in pastel colors instead of the dirty flaking brick?
After a morning swim in the pool, clouds began to roll in and we had a rainstorm for several hours. We decided to take a break from the life of luxury on the Cancun beachfront strip of resorts to go into the city of Cancun itself. We were the last ones top leave the pool area. It was the strangest and funniest thing; there were at least 30 to 40 people in the pool and another 40 to 50 sitting around it. As soon as it started raining everybody ran out of the pool to get under the umbrellas or run back to their rooms - so they wouldn't get wet - ?!?!? WHAT! You get out of the pool so you don't get wet by the rain!? A couple of us hard core tourists hung in there until lunch time and then the rain got harder and we decided to take a lunch break.
All the streets in Cancun have Mayan names; Palenque, Yaxchilán, Coba, etc. Many buildings are in pastel colors – what’s with the pastel colors? Many of the places in the Florida Keys, where we went to last year with Adan and Vivian, were also painted in pastel colors. Is it a beach thing? Why can’t houses in Romeo or Utica be painted in pastel colors instead of the dirty flaking brick?
Cancun
is a large city with lots of people. I’m
sure there are shopping centers and other services in the outskirts, but driving through downtown, it seemed like any other large city - lots of traffic, lots of people, no parking anywhere, people jay-walking almost getting run over, in other words, it felt like home. Driving to central Cancun one drives in a beautiful boulevard about 15 miles long called Kukulcan. It is the "hotel district" where the most wealthy hotel chains and restaurant chains in the world have invested billions to build this play land for the rich and working class where you can spend a week for anywhere between $2K and $20K or about 5% of their annual income depending on how rich they are.
But once you get out of "hotel row" you enter the real world - banks, stores, car dealers, auto repair shops, banks,etc. About 60% of Cancun residents are Mayan and it is great to see and walk among so many great people with so much history and culture. Anyway, from what I see, the city seems to function properly, streets are clean, services seem to work properly, the traffic lights work, restaurants get their food, garbage is collected. I wonder if the city government have the interests of the residents in mind or do they cater to the tourists? After all the main business here is vacationers, so everyone is geared toward the tourist business and the big-time corporations who own the resorts and hotels. I hope some of the profits are going toward the welfare of the residents and workers. But I don't think so, they probably get as much as the as the people of Detroit get from the auto industry – nada! It seems that many people come to Cancun to work and the only ones with roots in the area are the indigenous people who do not seem to be benefiting from all the wealth being left by the tourists.
But once you get out of "hotel row" you enter the real world - banks, stores, car dealers, auto repair shops, banks,etc. About 60% of Cancun residents are Mayan and it is great to see and walk among so many great people with so much history and culture. Anyway, from what I see, the city seems to function properly, streets are clean, services seem to work properly, the traffic lights work, restaurants get their food, garbage is collected. I wonder if the city government have the interests of the residents in mind or do they cater to the tourists? After all the main business here is vacationers, so everyone is geared toward the tourist business and the big-time corporations who own the resorts and hotels. I hope some of the profits are going toward the welfare of the residents and workers. But I don't think so, they probably get as much as the as the people of Detroit get from the auto industry – nada! It seems that many people come to Cancun to work and the only ones with roots in the area are the indigenous people who do not seem to be benefiting from all the wealth being left by the tourists.
The
City seems to lack culture. It is
sitting near center of the Mayan culture that flourished for a thousand years
and left their majestic evidence of a highly developed culture in their old
cities. I do not see any cultural
centers in downtown Cancun, There are a few small museums with small collections, no science museums no well-known universities
and centers of learning - just lots and lots of hotels; cheap hotels, expensive hotels, tall hotels, everyone trying to service you so you can leave the maximum amount of your money. Hotels are the only buildings builds with the permanency of the Mayan pyramids and
buildings. I guess the archeologists in the year 3014 why so many buildings for self worship were built during this period. Of course, they will probably be underwater if people don't get some control of global warming.
Not too many of the native residents seem to have the high paying service jobs in the hotels and resorts. They seem to have the lower paying jobs, the secondary service jobs that support the industry that supports the hotels. That tells me that there is a favoritism to immigrants from other parts of Mexico and other countries. The situation in the real Cancun does not seem the best for the natives – the Maya descendants in the area.
Not too many of the native residents seem to have the high paying service jobs in the hotels and resorts. They seem to have the lower paying jobs, the secondary service jobs that support the industry that supports the hotels. That tells me that there is a favoritism to immigrants from other parts of Mexico and other countries. The situation in the real Cancun does not seem the best for the natives – the Maya descendants in the area.
Well
we found a nice place to eat Bubba - Gump a restaurant named after he character in the movie Forest Gump. great place to eat. We also went to lots of interesting little shops, not
too many U.S. tourists frequenting these establishments.
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