Cancun Birthday Trip #2: Downtown Cancun/Misinformation with a Benefit

   This is part 2 of our trip to Cancun, Mexico where we celebrated (early) Tom's 50th birthday.

Bus ride back to the hotel

MISINFORMATION WITH A BENEFIT -  There are several new time shares being built north of the Cancun hotel 16 mile strip. We learned about them on day 2. Here's how:


  When we arrived at the airport  there was a desk that said "transportation information." So, we were looking for info on where to pick up our shuttle and walked to the desk. There we found a very personable Mexican guy who noticed I was wearing my Superman ring and said he's a huge fan (his co-workers agreed). The guy told us where the van is located, but then asked if we booked excursions to attractions yet. We had not, and didn't know what was around so we let him tell us about some of them.  One was perfect for us: it was called "Xplore."  It had zip lining, a water slide, boating through underground caves and amphibious vehicles. Tom has been wanting to zip line  and do a water slide, so we were sold.
   The guy at the desk said, "Just come see our new hotel and we'll give you a discount on an attraction." He assured us it would take 90 minutes and that this new hotel just wanted to get people to see their place and book a room on their next visit and tell their travel agents, etc.We agreed (the discount for the tickets was substantial and the guy kept saying it was a hotel and not a time share).

Sunrise part 1

THE PRESENTATION -  The next morning at 7:15 a.m. the same guy that talked with us at the airport "information desk" showed up at our hotel with a cab and drove us to the "new hotel."
   There we met a nice retired gay man named Ray who first took us to breakfast in the "hotel." Over a brief breakfast he talked about the place and all its amenities. We mentioned dogs and he has 3 dogs as well, and has a partner there in Cancun, so we had some things in common. It was then that we finally learned that the hotel is actually a time share based on points, and all for a mortgage of $20k.Despite that, out of curiosity we didn't say anything and wanted to see the place (of course, Tom had architectural interests in mind and I wanted to know how sturdy it would be facing a hurricane like Wilma that socked the area hard in 2005).
  The place was gorgeous and the rooms were amazing.  So were the amenities. However, we had never even been to the Cancun downtown area, and this was our first real time in Cancun. We know nothing about the area, economy, transportation, food, etc. and there were too many questions, so we politely declined - besides, we have a financial plan and that doesn't fit in.
    The 90 minute session turned into 3 hours! But we did get tickets to Xplore for 1/3rd of the cost and the place was nice. It was mis-information (or a scam) from the airport... so people need to beware. We weren't upset though. It was a nice place and we met a couple of nice people and got tickets to Xplor at a great price.

Sunrise part 2

EXPLORING DOWNTOWN CANCUN AND MARKET 28 - One of the places we were told to see was "Market 28," so on the way back from the time share meeting, the cab dropped us off there. Market 28 is in downtown Cancun,and it was full of trinkets.It seemed that the Walmart was the center of town. Now this is first impressions, but the  downtown area is run down, dirty and very poor. We learned that a cab costs $16.00 but the bus to and from the Hotel area to downtown should take the R2 bus for $1.00. 

View from our balcony

We found Mopar in Mexico!

MOPAR AND DOWNTOWN CANCUN - Our friends and neighbors Nathan and Stacey have a great dog they named Mopar. Mopar comes from a combination of the words: Motor and Parts. While near "Market 28" we came across a car that said "Mopar" so we had to take a picture for them!


NEXT: XPLOR AND UNDERGROUND CAVES!