OH MEXICO!

In September, Steve, Reed, and I embarked on our first family vacation. We went to Riviera Maya in Mexico, about 10 minutes south of Playa Del Carmen. It was amazing. Reed and I had never flown before, so it was interesting trying to maneuver DFW for the first time with nerves and a 4 year old, but thanks to some wonderful pharmaceuticals (for me), it was a very pleasant experience. We arrived in Cancun and had a 1 hour transfer to our hotel. Our room was on the top floor of the ocean front building and we had a postcard perfect view. The grounds were immaculate, the beach was soft white sand, and the water was the clearest blue I could imagine. Reed of course found the kiddie pool where we spent most of our time. It had awesome water slides that Steve and I also enjoyed until Steve got in trouble with the lifeguard, oh well! The food was outstanding, shrimp and pineapple everyday! The only thing was the music. If I heard Marc Anthony's "I need to know" one more time, I was going to rip the cord off the speaker!
We decided to take a day trip to Playa Del Carmen one day and hitched a ride on the Collectivo (that's the Mexican version of a public bus). Well, let me tell you you haven't lived until you've taken public transportation in another country! I'll paint the picture. The "bus" is about a 9 seat van that is shaped like an aardvark. None of the seat belts work, on any seat. The music is the equivalent of national public radio, only in Spanish, and blaring across speakers that hum and vibrate. We get on with 6 other people at our hotel for the 10 minute ride. The van takes off and I mean it takes off, like an airplane. The speedometer is in k/hr, so we have no idea how fast we are going. I'm acting as a human seat belt for Reed, squishing him into the side of the bus with my body and draping my arm across his chest, because that would help in an accident:) Then we screech to a stop, swerving off onto the dirt shoulder to pick up 3 more people who take the last 3 seats. Can I just say, I don't think the whole deodorant thing has caught on there. We take off again and pass several people on bicycles, who are probably much safer riding along side a Mexican highway with crazy buses flying by than actually being on the crazy buses. We arrive in Playa Del Carmen and the bus drops us off in what can only be described as the "ghetto". The first step off the bus we see gang signs and graffiti on the fence. We began walking at a very brisk pace toward the ocean. We don't know where we were going, but anywhere was better than the "bus station". We did some shopping and decided we would spend the $20 on a cab back to the resort. We hail a Nissan Sentra and hop in, grateful for the air conditioning and deodorant the driver is wearing. Low and behold, the seat belts aren't working in the cab either. So I sit in front and Steve and Reed sit in back and the ride back to the resort is very uneventful. Moral of the story, spend the extra money for a rental car if you are going to drive anywhere! Overall it was a fabulous trip and we can't wait to go back.