If you’ve ever been to Barton Springs in Austin you will know that it is pretty awesome.  It is natural spring fed from deep inside Mother Earth, with waters that run a cool 68 degrees year round.  They say the waters are healing.  Fluffy, green grassy knolls dot the landscaping around Barton Springs.  People flock there in droves when the weather in Austin is especially hot and humid.  And when you exit the springs you can walk up to a large mural that tells the history of the springs.  In the story of the springs you can read about how basically the springs were stolen from the Native Americans who lived here before Austin was settled.  It puts things into perspective a little bit.  Have a good time!

I feel the same awkward exchange while in beach front Mexico.  I love Mexico.  I know that their #1 industry is tourism.  This industry makes money for these people.  What this means is that people who are not native to these beachfronts flock down to them anyway, and pay money to get to enjoy the properties and amenities that most of the locals could never afford.  In Mexico they promote this industry.  They want you to feel good and have a good time so that you come back and bring your friends.  This exploitation of the land is big bucks, and it is a relief for foreigners who come to escape their different lifestyle too.

I went to Playa del Carmen last weekend.  On the bus that picked us up from the Cancun airport the tour guide made a big fuss.  He handed out ice cold Corona beers and we cheered and had a grand ole’ time in the air conditioned bus that took us down the highway from the airport in Cancun to Playa.   When we stepped into the entry of the Royal resort in Playa del Carmen we were immediately ushered into our plush chairs where we were served a bubbly glass of champagne to sip while we were getting checked in.  No need to carry our luggage of course as they had plenty of bell hops that brought them to our rooms upon check in. 

When you went out by the pool to relax you had people catering to you with drinks (it was all inclusive) and frozen toothpicks of grapes with frozen sugar dripping off of them.  At night there were live performances of Top 40 popular songs in the United States over the decades (a majority of the tourists were from the US).  A trio of my female friends on the trip stepped out during the day to shop on the famous 5th street of Playa.  “Charlie’s Angels!” one of the shop owners called out to my trio of friends.  “Hahahaha!” they laughed to themselves “we DO look like Charlie’s Angels!” until a few booths later a different shop owner called out “Charlie’s Angels!” and then a few shops down a 3rd: “Charlie’s Angels!” They soon begin to realize that this random reference to a long-defunct TV show wasn’t an accident.  These people were taught to say such a thing to female tourists to make them feel special. 

Another special twist is the way Playa del Carmen makes you feel (and smell) better after a rain.  It had rained the day before our visit, which means that the streets are normally filled with sewage.  To combat this the city of Playa del Carmen throws urinal cakes all across the edges of the sidewalks to help absorb the odors.  Otherwise the street sewage smell would be overpowering.

Then there are the truly personal moments.  I bought a vacation package while I was at the resort (this package isn’t just for Mexico but all across the globe) and as a “thank you” my vacation package booking agent offered to take my friend and I out on his catamaran.  Less than 2 hours after being safely tucked on shore of the resort we found ourselves in the middle of the Caribbean sea with huge waves crashing around a small reef.  Our guide plunked us in the water with his snorkeling equipment and the two of us, my friend and I who are TOTAL land-lubbers, we had to sink and gasp and toil for our lives in the choppy sea to see the tiny starfish and sea urchin that our sweet new friend wanted us desperately to see.  At times the tide was so high we could barely keep our heads above water but nonetheless our new guide wanted us to get closer to the reef so he eventually grabbed my hand and literally dragged me as he swam against the crashing waves towards the reef (my friend was somewhere far behind us struggling to breathe and swim in the choppy seas) but what a tour!  Thank you friend for reaching out to two American tourists.  “Amigos” is very true, yes we are. 

The next day my friend and I tore our own jet skis across the sparkling blue Caribbean for around 30 minutes (my jet ski of course blinking a red “warning” light that the guide promised was just because it was “loco”) until our young guide decided that we weren’t having a good enough time so he had us take turns on his jet ski that he then started doing crazy tricks with, donut holes and top speeds flying over waves all the while never flipping the jet ski or accidently losing one of us in his wake.  Of course as we came to shore he immediately started talking tips, and explaining how he works on tips, and so my friend gave him a $20 American bill for the two of us which he accepted with thanks even as he looked at my hand when I came to just give him a hug (more tips??). 

Then at night, while our sun burns recovered, we had coffee in the coffee shop where the young 20 year old barista made “Mayan coffee” which basically meant that we sat at bar stools while she turned off the lights and used containers filled with alcohol and coffee to light large flames of coffee that eventually cooled and was very tasty.  Tipping of course was necessary. 

To say that we didn’t have a good time would be lying.  To say that we didn’t enjoy exploiting the resources of what Mexico has to offer would be lying.  Do I feel guilty that I came there and couldn’t really speak the language?  Ye—I mean no.  No?  Right?  Just relax and no worries and just have fun??  Okay, okay, okay.  I did.