Being that it's a slow news day with Paul McCartney's wedding and the protesters down on Wall Street stealing most of the headlines, I figured I'd use today's blog to bitch about my trip to Cancun, Mexico. Don't get me wrong! It was my first time in Cancun, after all these years, and the view from our room was breathtaking! We had an ocean view room at The Westin Lagunamar Hotel right in, what they called The Hotel Zone of Cancun. I have to state right now that Cancun was absolutely beautiful! It was the natives that left a bad taste in my mouth.
So, we arrived in Cancun late Friday evening because we'd missed our flight thanks to an error by US Airways, an airline we may never use again, but that's for a whole other blog. Anyway, we arrived late, but the front desk told us we can grab dinner at the hotel restaurant still. We were excited and I ate like I haven't eaten in days. Everyone at the hotel was fantastic, so far.
I know this doesn't sound like a bitch-fest, but like I said, Cancun was absolutely awesome, except for one thing, and this would be my advice for anyone planning to visit beautiful Cancun, steer clear of the shopping down there! We wanted to buy some souvenirs for our families and ourselves, but to do that, you haggling skills better be top notched and second to none. With all of the goods that we bought from the famous Mexican vanillas to tequilas to some of the Mexican jewelry, we calculated that we got ripped off about a couple hundred dollars. Now, granted, we had to pay everything in pesos, which had an exchange rate of about 12.50 to the American dollar. These natives knew what they were doing when they ripped us off, and when we would try to turn it around on them, they would not have it. No sale! Unreal! So, steer clear of the flea markets in Cancun! They will suck you dry!
The rip-offs didn't even stop there! We went on our excursion to The Mayan Ruins or Chichen Itza, and on while we were on the bus, the tour guide told us that a few years ago, they allowed vendors into the Mayan city to sell their souvenirs, but then he proceeded to tell us horror stories about people who bought from these vendors. For instance, he told us of a woman who bought silver from one of these vendors and the silver turned her skin green, and there was another story about a person who bought a wooden carving only to bring the item home contracted with termites. So, the bottom line was to stay away from the vendors. As they told us these horror stories, we pulled into a place where we can buy souvenirs if we wanted to buy them. The funny thing was, all of these items were marked up to double of what we saw them for in the streets. Something was fishy! My girlfriend pointed out that the tour guides had to be getting a kick back from the items bought from their tourists. When we arrived at Chichen Itza, which was seriously breathtaking, we looked around at the goods these vendors were selling and they were no different than those from the flea markets or the souvenir shop we just stopped at. This angered us a little bit because now we realized that those horror stories were probably not even true!
I was done! I have nothing against Mexican people, but the morning that we left, I must not have spoken to one of them. I was so angry that they took advantage of us, the tourists. And since their tourism rate is down, which is something a city like Cancun should be aware of, I would think that they would treat their tourists a little bit better to keep them coming back for more. Would I go back to Cancun again? You bet I would! Would I shop there again or turst the natives? Hell no!
As seasoned Mexico Tourists, you should have spoken to us first. I could have told you all of this ahead of time, and saved you a ton of money, and several headaches. Including the "90 min" tour, which sometimes turns into 4 hours!!! Been there, done that. I wish I had known you were going!! Patty Wojno
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