It’s A Jungle Out There! More Travel, eggs

We have transitioned from high desert Mexico where we spent over 4 months, to the jungles of Yucatan Mexico. We are now in Playa del Carmen on the Caribbean coast. The featured image is the entrance to our deluxe condo. We have also transitioned from really nice accommodations to something now that is even nicer, and would be mistaken for a great condo in the U.S. For the first time in 50 years of coming to Mexico we are told we can flush the toilet paper. Everywhere else I have stayed in Mexico does not have sufficiently good sewage drainage to accommodate this. This is a different Mexican experience for me. I will send many pictures tomorrow. We truly are surrounded by jungle and though the temperature was 85 for a high today, with high humidity, it was much more pleasant than at the Oaxacan coast. a month ago.

That we are here is compliments of our friends in Colorado, Jeannie and Pete, who offered their condo to us for $50 a night. They bought the condo when there was very little to the town of Playa del Carmen, and now we benefit. Although our condo feels very modern it is right next to a building built by Mayans hundreds of years ago then refurbished as a hotel, and now converted to condos. Pictures of the old building and 2 of the inside of our condo are below. A bit of a contrast.

We traveled from Oaxaca to Playa del Carmen courtesy of Aero Mexico airlines. I know of many people who have reservations regarding traveling in Mexico. I understand that, but I also am impressed with how many consumer friendly advancements Aero Mexico has made in the past few years. Judging by our interactions yesterday, Aero Mexico has mad a profound effort to hire bilingual employees. In an unfamiliar airport that can alleviate a lot of stress. Even with an increased ability to communicate in Spanish, the certainty of knowing I am doing the right thing is a wonderful luxury. Just a few years ago I had to deal with uncertainty and even surliness at times in Mexican airports. Not yesterday. All of the flight attendants on two separate flights were also bilingual, and friendly. They seemed happy to pass out snacks, and rather than have one, or at most 2 choices; their snack basket had 5 choices. They didn’t make pass any judgment if you wanted 2 or 3 snacks, or asked for more later. I have not seen that attitude on domestic flights. There were people on the ground when we got off of our first flight to make sure we made our connection.

What I am driving at is that, while I feel the attitude of service is suffering quite often in the states, there appears to be a profound effort, at least on the part of Aero Mexico, to provide great service. That eliminates one of the fears I have heard expressed about traveling to Mexico. Do you like eggs? Here is another reason to travel to Mexico.

After less than a day here it is noticeable that the architecture is different than that in the middle of the country. There is less colonial influence and more Mayan Aztec influence. There will be more pictures as we get out to some of the ancient sites around us. For now….