At least it isn't snowing

I tend to be a worry wart...  I was worried about the snow storm which passed through northern Ohio the day before my departure.  I was constantly checking the weather forecast which said that the winter weather advisory would expire at 1:00 A.M. on Friday morning.  "OK", I told myself, "that should give them plenty of time to clear the runways before our 8:30 A.M. departure."  I constantly checked the flight status, and was relieved to see that our plane was coming to Cleveland from California, and not someplace hit by the storm.  Then I worried about the taxi.  I called the night before for a taxi to take me to the airport at 6:00 A.M.  The lady said that because of the weather, they couldn't guarantee that the taxi would arrive on time.  Great!  At 10:00 P.M. the night before, I was outside in the bitter cold, snow blowing the driveway so that the taxi would have no problem.  And I set the alarm for 4:00 A.M. in case I needed to clear the driveway again.

As it turned out, it was a lot of worry about nothing.  I didn't need to run the snow blower again in the morning, the taxi arrived a few minutes early, and our flight left with only a minor delay.

As I mentioned previously, accompanying me on this leg of the trip, are Nancy, one of my former teaching colleagues, and her husband Fred.  They will be with me for 10 days, and I will be their tour guide and interpreter in Yucatán.

Usually on my trips to the Yucatán I fly from Cleveland to Houston, and from Houston to Mérida, the capital of the state of Yucatán.  But this time we booked a flight from Cleveland to Cancún.  We did this for three reasons...  1) the airfare was cheaper  2) it's a non-stop flight, and 3) in spite of having to take a four hour bus ride from Cancun to Mérida, we would probably arrive in Mérida earlier than if we took the evening flight from Houston to Mérida.

(image from the web)

Our flight was to arrive in Cancun at 11:30 A.M.  At 1:30 P.M., ADO (the bus company which runs first-class bus service throughout the eastern half of Mexico) has a bus which goes directly from the Cancun airport to Mérida.  That was our plan... and that was where our plan fell apart.

Some years ago, I had flown into Cancún, and at that time, ADO had a ticket desk inside the airport terminal.  But now you have to go outside to the platform where the buses depart to buy your ticket.  (OK, this is where I am going to start ranting!)  ADO is a top notch company, and I would recommend travel on their safe, reliable, and comfortable buses to anyone.  But their organization at Cancun airport is totally inept, asinine, and several other more colorful adjectives that I do not wish to use here lest my blog receive an adult rating!  There was one young lady working at a podium on the platform dealing with ticket sales for all the buses that leave from the airport.  Her computer was not working properly, so for every ticket sale she had to contact the office by walkie-talkie for availability of seats.  We were waiting in line for at least twenty minutes, and then the heavens opened with a tropical downpour that was to continue for an hour.  The canopy over the bus platform offered little protection from the wind-whipped rain, and we were soaked.  (I would have sent Nancy and Fred back into the terminal to wait for me, but re-entry was for authorized personnel only.)   Finally it was my turn in line.  All the tickets for the 1:30 direct bus to Mérida were sold out!  Instead we had to take the shuttle bus to the main terminal in downtown Cancun, and take the 3:30 bus from there.

The "upside" of this was that our tickets were for a "Platino" bus.  Let me explain the different levels of buses.  The normal ADO first class buses are very comfortable, clean, and vastly superior to traveling by Greyhound in the U.S.  ADO also has what they call "GL" buses which are more luxurious, and finally there are the "Platino" (Platinum) buses which are the top of the line.  Travel on the "Platino" buses is even more comfortable than first class on a commercial airline.

Nancy and Fred were impressed with the "Platino" bus.

 

As comfortable as the bus was, it is still a long, boring ride, and we were glad to arrive in Mérida at around 7:30 P.M.  A short taxi ride brought us to our hotel, Luz en Yucatán, one of my favorite hotels anywhere.  (I'll write a post about it another day)

 

After settling into our rooms, we headed out to find someplace to eat.  Just half a block from our hotel is the little Plaza de Santa Lucía.  On my last couple of visits, the colonial plaza had been undergoing renovation, but work is now complete.  A number of sidewalk restaurants and some interesting shops are now located on the plaza.  It is a very charming spot.

 

 

We had supper at one of the new restaurants on the plaza, a place called "Apoala".  It's a tad expensive by Mexican standards, but the food was very good, and I would add it to my list of recommended restaurants in Mérida.

 

It's amazing how a good meal can put one in a better frame of mind after a long, frustrating day of travel!