Tulum to Mexico City

Today we got up early and packed our things. We checked out of our resort and started the 2-hour drive back to the airport. The speed limits are all posted at the side of the highway and they frequently change. Anytime you pass by the entrance of a big hotel, it slows down to 40km/hr and then is right back to 80 or 100 a few seconds later. Needless to say, most drivers ignore the slow-down-zone. And I was getting comfortable enough to start ignoring it myself. Except well, I forgot about the fact that there are Mexican police parked by the side of the road every 5 minutes or so - there are a lot of them around.

Anyways, so I go zooming past one of them, and sure enough, he pulls out and gets on the highway after me. I am sweating bullets now because I can't speak Spanish and I have heard that the police are uber-corrupt down here, and I pretty much want to do anything I can to avoid them. To my surprise though, he goes more slowly than I was expecting, and as it turns out, pulls over a van that was travelling behind me. Needless to say, I drove the speed limit thereafter pretty fastidiously.

After we get to the airport, we check-in, go through security, and settle down to eat some lunch. I hate to admit it, but it was fast food. We didn't really have time to sit down at a restaurant, and convenience food IS rather convenient. I don't think I need mention that I regretted this decision later - kinda goes without saying. :P

The flight back to Mexico City was uneventful. They served us "cracker peanuts" for a snack. The Spanish translation on the package means... "Japanese peanuts"? I don't know. But they were peanuts coated in this cracker-like substance and there was some kind of spice (wasabi, maybe?) in it that gave it a slight kick.

We got to the airport and took the shuttle to Terminal 1 where my hotel was supposedly located. After a few glitches (one information agent insisted that there was no Hilton hotel at the airport), we found it, checked into my room - there was a strange smell but otherwise it looked pretty nice - and headed downstairs to check Ted into his flight back to Europe. While waiting in the incredibly long line for the KLM check-in, I had many close encounters with the woman behind me who seemed to think that "personal space" was just an expression. Ah well, I was too tired and too Canadian to do anything about it.

Ted & I grabbed a snack before he left, and then I was by myself in Mexico City again. This time however, I was feeling much less nervous. I went upstairs, talked to the concierge at my hotel (named "Jesus") and he arranged a tour of Mexico City for the next day. It was exactly what I wanted: they picked me up at my hotel, toured me around a few sites for the day, and returned me back to my hotel. Nice! All this for $55 USD. I'm in.

Another thing I love about the hotel is that it has free Wi-Fi and free 24hr Business Center access, which means I can get on the internet as much as I want in the next 36 hours. Yay! Right now though, I badly need a shower (the salt-water shower I took at the cabana in Tulum just doesn't cut it), and sleep. Last full day in Mexico tomorrow!