Most of the time you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get less than what you pay for. I personally don’t stumble across too many bargains. But, I was looking for a last-minute bargain in accommodations as I headed to Cancún, Mexico. I have learned that Airbnb (Air Bed and Breakfast) is a pretty good place to start. But, finding a place for two weeks during peak tourist season in a high demand tourist location was not so easy.
Cancún has lots of hotels, lots of luxury hotels. I don’t imagine they were filled to capacity, but a vacation in one of them would not be a vacation in my mind. I don’t want to be near tourist shops and bars. I don’t go in search of air-conditioning, pools and a spot by the beach. Okay, had I realized just how hot and humid Cancún was in July, I might have added air-conditioning to my list. (I ended up spending an awful lot of time about six inches from a fan.)
It would have been my loss.
My priority was a budget room in the home of someone who spoke Spanish. My Spanish is terrible. Don’t ask any of the very polite people who lie to me and tell me differently. I know the truth, but I’m not afraid to use it anyway. And, putting myself in a situation where I must practice is an excellent thing in my mind. Hmmm . . . I don’t know anyone else in the United States who feels the same way as I do. Maybe that’s why all those luxury hotels are so busy? And, maybe that was why I was only my host's third American. None of my friends would want to rent a room in someone’s home.
But, they would have missed Lucas.
Lucas is a young man from Argentina who lives in a two-bedroom home between two important tourist destinations in the center of the city, Walmart and Mercado (Market) 28. I don’t often frequent Walmart back home. I went there often in Mexico. It was the closest grocery store that I knew of and it was delightfully air-conditioned. As for Mercado 28, it’s the main tourist souvenir market in Cancún. Merchants were too aggressive for my shopping tastes. I came to the city for dental work and not souvenirs. I avoided Mercado 28.
As I said, Lucas’ home was very convenient in the center of the city. I looked at several possible locations on Airbnb, but his was the first one that was available all of the two weeks that I needed. I didn't have a lot of choice, but it was meant to be. So, I made my reservations, had a place to stay in the neighborhood and home that I wanted, and paid around ten dollars a night.
Lucas worked from home on his phone, but I never really understood what the job was. Still, this made checking in at any time very convenient. When my ride pulled up in front of his home, Lucas walked out to greet me. He said, “Welcome, my friend” and gave me a hug. Yep, I was in a Latin culture from the start. And, I felt at home.
Both bedrooms were rented. Across the hall was a fellow from Mexico. Both of my roommates spoke English and Spanish. We spoke a lot of both. Many sentences, at least out of my mouth, used a combination of both languages.
Fortunately for me, the Mexican guy had recently moved to the city. He had a full-time job. He had no use for any kind of a guide. I felt that I had a lot more of Lucas’ time and attention than if circumstances had been different. And, it is very nice to have that kind of attention when in a new environment.
I had a personal guide to the money exchange, Walmart, pharmacy, laundry services, tailor and anything else I might have wanted. Most of that “anything else” was food related, and certainly my kind of priority. Of course, I asked Lucas about his favorite food back home. What would he want his mother or grandmother to make as soon as he visited them? I didn’t expect the answer I received. Gnocchi. Time ran out before we could actually make the dish, but I did get the recipe and it had a delightful surprise. (Recipe coming)
My new amigos helped me find some dishes that I never would have discovered on my own including tacos, chimichurri sauce, enchiladas, pazole and mango frappes. All of those would be delicious any time, but they were so much better with friends.
Now, you know your landlord is going above and beyond any kind of expectations when he volunteers to paint a mural with you. And, he brought a friend! Lucas and Nadia were the only two people to help me on mural 57. They had a great day – we all did -- and I had an even deeper appreciation of my new friends.
I am not tied to my telephone with an umbilical cord like most people on the planet seem to be. It is not just a problem with young people. I noticed on one plane ride this trip that every person in first class had their phones out as people boarded. Lucas, a typical twenty-something, certainly had his own addiction to his cell-phone. He told me it was his best friend in Mexico.
I know I didn’t blast Lucas with my pet peeve, or beat him over the head with it, but he picked up on it over our two weeks together. I HATE cell phones during a meal. During that twenty or thirty minutes, the people you share a meal with should be the most important people in the world to you. Every other problem, every other person, can wait that amount of time. Unless it’s life or death, it’s not going to matter during the meal. And if it is life or death, what could you seriously do in twenty minutes? Put the phone away!
It didn’t happen right away, but I noticed that before my two weeks ended, I had made a bit of an impact on my friend. When we ate at home together, he left his phone alone. And, one time, when he went out with a friend, he left his cell phone at home on purpose. I didn’t think that was possible.
Now, I must admit, Lucas influenced me as well. I’ve never seen the need for a smart phone. I continually humor people wherever I go with my "antique" (eight-year old) flip phone. But, Lucas had a really cool phone. It was the first time I’d ever seen a phone that didn’t need a pass code. He turned his phone on with his fingerprints. That may be old technology to people used to smart phones, but I’d never seen it before.
Okay, that technology fascinated me, but it was one of the apps he had that could be a game changer in my life. He had the Google Translator app and it was simply stunning. You can speak into it in English and it automatically translates the sentence into spoken Spanish. Okay, on my desktop computer, I can change text from one language to another, but I’d never heard of this capability on a smart phone. And, on top of that, if you hold the phone up to a sign, magazine or book in Spanish, it will change the text into English right before your eyes. That would make for such an amazing difference in my travels. Yes, Lucas, there might be a smart phone in my future.
I carry a book with me when I travel. The people who cross my path sign it. Most people only write their names. Special people must write me a message. They really aren’t given a choice. I’m glad Lucas waited until my last day in Cancún to write in my book. It gave us time to develop a friendship that I hope continues for many, many years and visits. He began his comments with words that summed up the experience for us both. “We started off as friends and ended up as brothers.” Now seriously, why would I want to stay at a luxury hotel?
Cancún has lots of hotels, lots of luxury hotels. I don’t imagine they were filled to capacity, but a vacation in one of them would not be a vacation in my mind. I don’t want to be near tourist shops and bars. I don’t go in search of air-conditioning, pools and a spot by the beach. Okay, had I realized just how hot and humid Cancún was in July, I might have added air-conditioning to my list. (I ended up spending an awful lot of time about six inches from a fan.)
It would have been my loss.
My priority was a budget room in the home of someone who spoke Spanish. My Spanish is terrible. Don’t ask any of the very polite people who lie to me and tell me differently. I know the truth, but I’m not afraid to use it anyway. And, putting myself in a situation where I must practice is an excellent thing in my mind. Hmmm . . . I don’t know anyone else in the United States who feels the same way as I do. Maybe that’s why all those luxury hotels are so busy? And, maybe that was why I was only my host's third American. None of my friends would want to rent a room in someone’s home.
But, they would have missed Lucas.
Lucas is a young man from Argentina who lives in a two-bedroom home between two important tourist destinations in the center of the city, Walmart and Mercado (Market) 28. I don’t often frequent Walmart back home. I went there often in Mexico. It was the closest grocery store that I knew of and it was delightfully air-conditioned. As for Mercado 28, it’s the main tourist souvenir market in Cancún. Merchants were too aggressive for my shopping tastes. I came to the city for dental work and not souvenirs. I avoided Mercado 28.
As I said, Lucas’ home was very convenient in the center of the city. I looked at several possible locations on Airbnb, but his was the first one that was available all of the two weeks that I needed. I didn't have a lot of choice, but it was meant to be. So, I made my reservations, had a place to stay in the neighborhood and home that I wanted, and paid around ten dollars a night.
Lucas worked from home on his phone, but I never really understood what the job was. Still, this made checking in at any time very convenient. When my ride pulled up in front of his home, Lucas walked out to greet me. He said, “Welcome, my friend” and gave me a hug. Yep, I was in a Latin culture from the start. And, I felt at home.
Both bedrooms were rented. Across the hall was a fellow from Mexico. Both of my roommates spoke English and Spanish. We spoke a lot of both. Many sentences, at least out of my mouth, used a combination of both languages.
Fortunately for me, the Mexican guy had recently moved to the city. He had a full-time job. He had no use for any kind of a guide. I felt that I had a lot more of Lucas’ time and attention than if circumstances had been different. And, it is very nice to have that kind of attention when in a new environment.
I had a personal guide to the money exchange, Walmart, pharmacy, laundry services, tailor and anything else I might have wanted. Most of that “anything else” was food related, and certainly my kind of priority. Of course, I asked Lucas about his favorite food back home. What would he want his mother or grandmother to make as soon as he visited them? I didn’t expect the answer I received. Gnocchi. Time ran out before we could actually make the dish, but I did get the recipe and it had a delightful surprise. (Recipe coming)
My new amigos helped me find some dishes that I never would have discovered on my own including tacos, chimichurri sauce, enchiladas, pazole and mango frappes. All of those would be delicious any time, but they were so much better with friends.
Now, you know your landlord is going above and beyond any kind of expectations when he volunteers to paint a mural with you. And, he brought a friend! Lucas and Nadia were the only two people to help me on mural 57. They had a great day – we all did -- and I had an even deeper appreciation of my new friends.
I am not tied to my telephone with an umbilical cord like most people on the planet seem to be. It is not just a problem with young people. I noticed on one plane ride this trip that every person in first class had their phones out as people boarded. Lucas, a typical twenty-something, certainly had his own addiction to his cell-phone. He told me it was his best friend in Mexico.
I know I didn’t blast Lucas with my pet peeve, or beat him over the head with it, but he picked up on it over our two weeks together. I HATE cell phones during a meal. During that twenty or thirty minutes, the people you share a meal with should be the most important people in the world to you. Every other problem, every other person, can wait that amount of time. Unless it’s life or death, it’s not going to matter during the meal. And if it is life or death, what could you seriously do in twenty minutes? Put the phone away!
It didn’t happen right away, but I noticed that before my two weeks ended, I had made a bit of an impact on my friend. When we ate at home together, he left his phone alone. And, one time, when he went out with a friend, he left his cell phone at home on purpose. I didn’t think that was possible.
Now, I must admit, Lucas influenced me as well. I’ve never seen the need for a smart phone. I continually humor people wherever I go with my "antique" (eight-year old) flip phone. But, Lucas had a really cool phone. It was the first time I’d ever seen a phone that didn’t need a pass code. He turned his phone on with his fingerprints. That may be old technology to people used to smart phones, but I’d never seen it before.
Okay, that technology fascinated me, but it was one of the apps he had that could be a game changer in my life. He had the Google Translator app and it was simply stunning. You can speak into it in English and it automatically translates the sentence into spoken Spanish. Okay, on my desktop computer, I can change text from one language to another, but I’d never heard of this capability on a smart phone. And, on top of that, if you hold the phone up to a sign, magazine or book in Spanish, it will change the text into English right before your eyes. That would make for such an amazing difference in my travels. Yes, Lucas, there might be a smart phone in my future.
I carry a book with me when I travel. The people who cross my path sign it. Most people only write their names. Special people must write me a message. They really aren’t given a choice. I’m glad Lucas waited until my last day in Cancún to write in my book. It gave us time to develop a friendship that I hope continues for many, many years and visits. He began his comments with words that summed up the experience for us both. “We started off as friends and ended up as brothers.” Now seriously, why would I want to stay at a luxury hotel?
RSS Feed