Again, I am the only foreigner on the bus. In fact, the only tourists I saw today were the same couple from the pyramid. Izamal is a day trip for most people and a destination at which to stay resort style with a rented car for others. I wish I had picked up a book to read. The iPhone is useless for reading without Internet. 5 hours with nothing to read. What a waste that is because for 20 years I have mourned having time to read.
The bus arrived at 2;40. I zipped up the backpack straps and carried my pack onto the bus taking the first seat on the non-driver’s side so i can have leg room and a view. My pack is on the floor in front of the seat beside me. Space permitting and with a stop in Villadolid I am more comfortable having it on the bus. We departed for Cancun quickly.
This bus has the same plush seats as the last two but no television and no music. We are on flat open land with low brown plants and sometimes trees. I can hear the wind as we speed through it on our narrow 2- lane country road. We slow down considerably to pass approaching cars. And now, 1/2 hour later, we are in a town and our first passenger, a woman with bags, gets off. We pass several such towns. People recline their seats and sleep. I slept for about an hour.
With a bit of cash no one on this bus to Cancun needs to go hungry. There was almost some jumping on to sell food. It started with candied peanuts at the station. I bought 4 at 1 peso each. Later there were ices. I wanted them but didn’t gamble them. I passed on cakes. Then later a young boy and his mother had corn in the husk. I was just thinking it might be a nice gift for the man who brought my iPad when the bus driver opened his piece and started eating. Raw, I wondered. I bought some. 3 for 20 pesos. It turned out to be hot. So he is getting 2 pieces. I really enjoyed being the taste tester. Later I bought a peanut brittle candy from a young boy alone, again as a gift. The piece looks disappointing. The funniest was when we passed another bus going in the opposite direction. The bus drivers waved and talked a bit through their windows. That part is common, both on this bus and on the busses between NY and Boston and all over with drivers. But this time three woman with food ran out of that bus, across the street and into our bus, laughing. It was fun to watch. I have no idea what was in one woman’s bowl as it was covered. Another had Fritos and Chips etc.
One thing I am enjoying is the mix of houses along the occupied roads. Side by side stand a cement Mexican style home, a traditional Mayan thatched roof home, and perhaps another that is a mix of the two with cement and then a thatched awning. The Mexican homes vary from broken looking shacks to beautifully painted homes in perfect condition, and again they may be just doors away from one another.
It is 7pm now and getting a bit dark We are close. We stop frequently for people standing alongside the highway. Some ride just 10 minutes. I have shared my seat with several people, usually asking a person with a large package to sit. I squeeze my feet a bit but it isn’t for more than an hour and then I get to stretch out again.
At 8:00 we were still approaching Cancun, making frequent stops to let people off and pick up more folks. It was after 8:30 when we got to the ADO station.
While on the bus I realized I had not written down Phil’s hotel and did not know where in 200 hotels it was located. I found the email from mom and created notes for myself. Then I went back into the friendly hotel across from the bus station and a guy there located Phil’s place. I grabbed the next bus (8.5 pesos) to the hotel zone. The women at the hotel desk were excited to hear the phrase word, iPad. I was excited to see my bag and have the iPad. Then we called Phil and I had a nice visit until 11pm. After that I took at r-1 bus again back to the bus station and checked into Mundo Jovan Hostel. ($14 for a 10 bed dorm.)