Waiting for Transporter Technology

(originally written 7/3/10)

Except for hour-long flights to and from San Jose, I hate flying. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Unfortunately, I love being in new places.

Yesterday's plane ride was not the one to change my mind. For starters, we had to get up at 4am. I'd only gone to bed around midnight and had not slept well. In fact, I felt like I'd only fallen asleep when Tech Support turned the light on.

I do like seeing that city that early in the morning. We were almost the only car out. We passed another taxi. I resisted the urge to wave.

After that it all blurs into a dull misery of lines and small seats. I dozed for most of the ride to Phoenix. On the plane to Cancun I read about people dying in cold and miserable Sweden. Our seatmate turned out to be an ex-patriot. Once a marine who'd been to South Asia, he now lives in Playa Del Carmen with some dogs and a bunch of chickens. He doesn't eat eggs, he just likes the company.

When we arrived in Cancun I was instantly overwhelmed. Seemed like everyone wanted to talk to us, sell us something, etc. We pushed through the mass and found our ride after a wrong turn, and after an hour and a half of driving through the jungle, we were shown to our little cabana by the sea.

It was beautiful, and hot, and wonderful, and I was too exhausted to really appreciate it. My head hurt, and nothing felt familiar. We took a walk on the beach, discovered a conspicuously empty sushi bar, naked people, and the pleasure of warm water on our feet.

At night it got dark, real dark, since there is no electricity. We lit candles and giggled as we slid across the inclined floor from our rustic bathroom to the main area. I settled under the mosquito net and fell asleep at about 8:30pm. Even though I woke up a few times, by morning I felt better.

First thing we went down into the water. Perfect temperature. No good for boogie boarding though. We saw more naked people, these ones less burned than the ones from yesterday. A topless lady exercised with a hula-hoop while her robust husband took pictures. Though this was not my crowd, I was having a great time watching them.

After a breakfast that involved jalapeno peppers, we headed back to our Cabana. Today's plan is to take it easy.

When I sat down to write this, a dozen feet from our front door, some kids were playing. They chased a very large lizard past my chair. When I looked up I noticed there were more, half a dozen, sunning themselves on some rocks nearby.

I've never been into lizards -- I don't even like dinosaurs. But now I get it. These magnificent beast-lizards are nothing like the drab little tail droppers I grew up with. They are handsome iguanas. And if you stand still enough, they'll get pretty close.

While standing on the rocks watching the lizards we spotted another naked man. He flailed inelegantly on the rocks below, an odd counterpoint to the beauty of nature we'd been admiring.