Go South, Senoras, Go South

We´re in the bus station in Chetumal, Mexico waiting for a connecting bus to Corozal, Belize. It´s been a full day trip and more to come....

I forgot to tell the most memorable story of our first night in Tulum. We stayed at the hostel, The Weary Traveller, and spent most of the night fighting bedbugs and too-cold AC (one sheet, no blankets for the bed and no air circulation without AC). The bedbugs were persistent and Frances awakened numerous times throughout the night scratching and complaining.

We moved the bed away from the wall but discovered later from Brett, my world-traveling younger brother, that there were numerous other strategies to fight this plague had we known about them. After moving the bed so that it touches nothing else (i.e., walls, bedside tables, etc.), place glasses of water underneath each leg of the bed. Huh, there were plastic cups under each bed leg. Next, coat the legs of the bed with vasoline. Bedbug escape strategies continued but we decided that our best plan was this: Never stay in another Weary Traveller again.

We´re leaving our comfy bus experience behind the further we go. Our bus this AM from Tulum to Chetumal did not have a TV or assigned seats so people squeezed in whereever they could fit. What a relief to NOT have a TV. Quiet conversation is what I heard--bueno. The price for two for 240 kilometers was $11.80US so Frances calls these bus fares "the best deal in Mexico."

I wonder whether we´ll have similar nights in Belize. In Tulum the music started about 4:30pm and played for several hours. Then political campaigns circled the neighborhoods with loudspeakers and music announcing various candidates for presidente. I usually woke about 3:30am to the sound of dogs fighting and cats howling. Then back to sleep until the roosters started crowing at 4:30 to 5:00am. The birds start singing loudly about this time as well. At night the animals are loud--including party animals--but traffic is quieter. We liked the sound of the jungle in the city. Will that continue? We´ll soon see. We are definitely in paradise compared to the below zero temps and snow in the world that we left behind.