Our last week in Mexico

We’ve just finished our final week here in Mexico, and as I’m writing this we’re on our way out to Vancouver. It’s a little sad to be leaving this country. Our time in Mexico has been very good. We really enjoyed the culture of this country. We got to see busy vibrant cities, old ruins of ancient civilizations, deserts, jungles, and beaches, and we got to really dig into the lifestyle of the people that live here. We will never forget the flavorful food and the unique atmosphere of Mexico.

In our final week here we were joined by Joh’s parents. We had a really nice time with them on the island of Isla Mujeres. It was really good to catch up and hear all about what has been happening back home. We spent many hours relaxing, talking, going for walks, playing cards, eating in good local restaurants, and touring the area. On one day we rented a golf cart and spent a lot of time driving around checking out all the hot spots on the island. We also spent one day touring the Cancun resort area, and on another day we went to XCARET, which is a big entertainment resort around an hour away. There we got to explore some underground rivers, see dolphins, jaguars, and other animals, and at night there was a big cultural show with traditional cultural games, music, and dancing. It was also neat to share with them all that we had discovered about the local culture: trying new foods and drinks, speaking Spanish, and discovering the other idiosyncrasies that define the people and places in which we have been travelling. It was difficult to say goodbye to them yesterday, but we will be back home in one month so it won’t be too long before we see them again.

After dropping them off at the airport, we had one final day in Mexico, and we had the opportunity to meet up with our friends Dan and Rosy who were on their honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, which is just a one hour bus ride away. We arrived there around noon, grabbed a cheap hostel for the night, and then went downtown Playa del Carmen to meet up with them. They were there to meet us, and it was really great to see them again, and hear all about the wedding we had missed and all about how they and all of our friends have been doing for the last 7 months. We spent the day walking around the town, stopping every so often for nice cold cervezas and spicy tacos. We had a great meal at a local sidewalk restaurant too and then spent the night walking around the busy vibrant streets of downtown Playa del Carmen.

So after a night in Playa del Carmen we’re now on a bus back to Cancun airport to catch our flight to Vancouver. It’s quite surreal to think that we only have a few hours left in Mexico, and then we’ll be back in Canada. It will be quite something to be back to an English-speaking society. We’ve put in quite an effort learning Spanish over these past 7 months, and now we’re done with it. It’s a bit of a shame as it’s been a really interesting experience. After our upcoming time in Canada and America, we’ll be heading to Asia, so it is very likely that we’ll ever need our Spanish again, except for maybe some holidays in the distant future. Speaking English all the time is going to be a little weird too. I will no longer have to rehearse conversations in my head ahead of time. It will be so easy just to walk up to anyone and start talking and just naturally completely understand each other.

Anyways, I guess that’s it from Mexico. ¡Adiós!