I arrived, with Jesse, in Chetumal around midnight. We took a taxi (50 pesos because it was late) to the hostel and were greeted by Mike, the Portuguese manager. It was late so sleep was the main agenda at that point.
The next day turned out quite different than we’d planned. I needed money because my credit card had been rejected in Tulum when I bought my snorkel so I had to use pesos, and now I needed cab fare, food, and to pay the hostel. (I should have paid the latter on line.) i’d expected the money would just work out, but cash machines, banks, and friends to lend you a few bucks are not everywhere, and were not in Bakalar, I was told. Jesse was still tired and wasn’t into going to the city center so I was only own.
Getting Money
I found my way to as main street and found a cab. Happily I was quoted the real, fair price of 20 pesos. There were two banks in town. I tried my debit card and the first and it was rejected. I went to the next, Banamex, and it was rejected again. This worried me. Was my PIN wrong? Was I making the wrong selections? It wasn’t until considerably later that I realized these banks may not take my card’s network. But will that happen again in other countries?
No one in the bank spoke English and my limited Spanish didn’t help me. I got very lucky when a woman offered translation help. The bank would it change a $100 bill and I did not want $100 in pesos. This amazing woman walked two blocks with me to money changers and stuck with me until we found a place that gave me so pesos and some dollars back. It was nearly 3:00 when I got back to the hostel.
Change of plans
Jesse decided he really should go back to his Mexican town to await his friend. I wasn’t into going to the lagoon at Bacalar myself. So Jesse left in the early evening and I spent the night.
At 8:00 pm I had Computer Talk Radio to do. We told listeners my Mac was stolen and took the entire first hour discussing what I experienced and how I dealt with it to share the lessons. I was happy to tell people how great PayPal was, sad to say Adobe is not set up to help a person properly.
As soon as I hung up my Skype call with Benjamin, Carolyn Goulding called. It has been about a year since we really got to talk, so that was great. Carolyn knows travel. I joined her in her world trip so long ago.
About two hours later, Mike and his friend were practicing music. What a voice his friend has. I enjoyed the night.
The next day I arrived at the port to take the ferry to Caye Caulker, Belize. Saying goodbye to Mike was like saying goodbye to an old friend. I hope we will meet again.
I should say something about the Chetumal Hostel because I liked it. It is too late now though, so I will add that later.