It's been three months on the road, and here I am - on vacation from my vacation. Playa del Carmen is the sort of place where thinking is neither necessary nor encouraged. It's the sort of place where conversation is generally held in English and tends to revolve around the blurry parts of the night before, the various means of spending money, or where the best place to start another blurry night might be. It could be any resort town, in any country, on any continent in the world.
Playa is best (only?) enjoyed sitting on the beach, margarita in hand, listening to the subtle waves of the Caribbean while watching the seemingly hand-chiseled bodies walk by. It is no place to learn about Mexican culture (I write, as I look across the street to the largest Wal-Mart Supercenter I have ever seen), but it seems to make an ideal spot for all those 9-to-5'ers to come, saturate themselves with tequila and triple sec, and forget about their lives for a week. And, I suspect, that's exactly why there are so many people here.
Playa is best (only?) enjoyed sitting on the beach, margarita in hand, listening to the subtle waves of the Caribbean while watching the seemingly hand-chiseled bodies walk by. It is no place to learn about Mexican culture (I write, as I look across the street to the largest Wal-Mart Supercenter I have ever seen), but it seems to make an ideal spot for all those 9-to-5'ers to come, saturate themselves with tequila and triple sec, and forget about their lives for a week. And, I suspect, that's exactly why there are so many people here.
2 comments:
Your outlook and insight is intriguing. I would like to hear more and see some pictures of where you've been. I am not particularly interested in the typical touristy type brochures that are put out by the travel industry where you're hanging out with other wealthy travelers who are hanging out. I could just stay in a 5 star hotel in Florida and get fine service and nice weather. I want to see the country. Keep the adventures rolling.
I'll tell you what em effer, you seem to have hit the nail on the head, but at a bad angle, which bent the nail in half rather than sinking it, leaving a nasty looking dent in the wood. A little putty and sanding will fix 'er right up.
I suppose someone could call me a "9-to-5'er", because those are generally the hours I work, but I would disagree with whomever said it, due to the nature of my work. And I may have saturated myself, but I stuck with Johnnie Walker and White Russians. But I sure as hell did forget about my life for a week.
I would agree fully that it's not the place to learn about mexican culture, and knowing your traveling history, I know you are a trustworthy authority on that. But I will say that there is culture to be found, even at a mid-level all-inclusive resort. I met hundreds of people from all corners of the world with some pretty amazing stories. I was fully expecting to be surrounded by a bunch of middle class white americans, but they were easily the minority, which was awesome. At one point I was having drinks with a group of 10 people that represented 5 different countries.
I'm not saying it was any replacement for busing from town to town, but it was pretty interesting nonetheless.
I kinda forgot where I was going with this... must be the weed. but I'm digging the writing. Keep that shit up fool. Word.
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