CANCÚN

CANCUN

My time in Cancun has come to an end. The next city is Valladolid, near which lies if not the most, then certainly one of the most sought-after Mexican attractions for many tourists – Chichen Itza – the ancient Maya pyramid.

As for Cancun, I can say this: I expected something more... expensive from the city itself, with a pretty wrapper, since it is, after all, a coastal city, a fairly significant tourist spot, and on a federal level it's probably not among the least important. In reality, it turned out to be a perfectly ordinary little town – cozy, easy to understand; in a week I even got somewhat used to it. There are a few markets, two for sure, and lots of street vending reminiscent of the well-known "Chinese" markets in Russia or flea markets, only here it can stretch for an entire street. I saw homeless people a few times, sometimes sleeping right on the sidewalk, on a basketball court bench, or somewhere else.

In some ways it reminds me of Sochi, except Cancun, unlike it, is not a city on a river, but it has the same sea within relatively walking distance from the center, and if you drive a bit north, you'll reach El Meco – an ancient Maya city, which, by the way, isn't always open (check Google Maps – if it says closed, then that's most likely the case).

I won't say this is my final impression of the city – it's hard to draw conclusions when you're not a full-fledged tourist, but working a full-time job and only going out on weekends. But that's my first impression.

Transport accessibility also needs comment. Back home, I'm so used to all sorts of DoubleGis, Google & Yandex maps, which show bus routes and metro lines, not just driving or walking directions. It's very convenient and makes getting around the city much easier. You get so used to it that you stop appreciating it )) But in Mexico, at least in Cancun, that's not the case. As long as I can remember, when I didn't have a car, navigating without navigators with bus routes was simply impossible for me.

The Mexicans themselves are generally friendly folks – I didn't see any evil force )) in them. Among those I managed to interact with. They're people of a southern psychology, maybe even southeastern, mostly quite short in stature, which makes them look very sweet. Perhaps I've only seen Maya blood so far, and those living in the capital will be different in some ways – we'll see.

Prices for groceries – I didn't feel a difference. I mostly pay with a Tinkoff dollar card where I can. Same goes for housing – it's probably even cheaper than, say, in Saint Petersburg. I rented a nice studio with just about everything except a washing machine (even a coffee maker), not far from the beach, for 7,500 rubles a week. Though the neighborhood itself leaves something to be desired – it's somewhat reminiscent of a ghetto, where only gangsters on the streets are missing to complete the picture, but perfectly ordinary people live here, tourists like me, and no one tried to cause me any trouble.

Some Mexicans (I think, occasionally) understand Russian – so I was told by a citizen of this city with whom I had the honor of having dinner three days earlier. For some reason he started speaking to me in Russian right away – apparently, it's written on us somewhere which country we came from )). By the way, I personally identify Russians before I even hear Russian speech. Something still sets us apart from other white people. Or maybe it's just birds of a feather... One distinguishing feature is that on some genetic level we hate wearing masks. That idea just doesn't take root with us, alas. But here everyone – locals, Americans, and Europeans – wear masks properly, even pulling them over their noses. Heroes, what else can I say.

They live here, from what I can tell, more slowly, less hurriedly, they even speak slowly, for which they deserve a special human thanks from those starting to learn Spanish, even though Spanish itself is a fairly simple language in its logic and phonetic clarity. It's much easier to understand by ear than, say, English, maybe even easier than German – I mean by ear – and way, way simpler than mumbling American. You need to learn it here if you're staying long; English among the people here is, to put it mildly, not great.

And lastly – the week wasn't without its adventures. But about those some other time, not now. Right now I'm in Valladolid, sitting on a white chair on the street, clacking away at the keyboard, typing these lines for you. I hope I managed to convey my impressions to you directly from the scene.

The sea, by the way, is great – white sand, clean water, warm, almost no waves when I swam. The weather is hot but bearable. Though, unaccustomed as I was, I caught a bit of a sunburn after a hike to El Meco at high noon 😄

#ArthurOHarra #Cancun #Канкун #ПутешествиеПоМексике