Tulum, Tequila and Tacos

Let’s start in Guatemala which I left a couple of weeks ago. I took another long bus (9 hours) through Belize to get back to Mexico.

I wish I had spent more time in Belize as it looked really beautiful. The 20 min break in Belize City was not really helpful. All in all it looked liked Jamaica, a lot of black people with a funny English. If it weren’t that expensive I would have spent more time there even though I guess driving through mainland Belize was enough for me. It didn’t really seem to offer a lot, not like the really beautiful islands where I didn’t go.

Anyhow I got back to Mexico and instantly felt welcomed. It’s that weird sensation you only experience when you’ve been traveling for a long time. I got kicked out of the bus in a city I’ve never been before and yet everything felt familiar. It felt right to be there. I was instantly happy. And didn’t even care that the taxista dickhead charged me 50 pesos more than he had said in the beginning.

The city of Chetumal, around 30 minutes from the border, does not feature a lot: nothing to be more precise.
Yet it’s a nice place.
When I crossed the border into Belize I didn’t change all my money as the rate at the border always is shit. I thought I will find a better rate in Belize City or somewhere else. Well, I didn’t.
Then crossing the border into Mexico I was suddenly stuck in Mexico with Guatemalan quetzales and Belizan dollars but no Mexican pesos. Because money is the root of all evil.
Luckily, oh god I’m so smart, I kept a bill of 500 pesos in my passport as I knew I would come back.
In the hostel in Chetumal, one of my dorm mates was to go to Belize so we exchanged money which was good for the two of us.
Now I only had 500 quetzales left which is around 70 US$ or 55 £, so I went into the mall, which is only 15 min walking away but in that heat it feels like a fucking odyssey. I managed it only for the woman in the booth to tell me they don’t take quetzales. Like wtf ye cunt. Take my fucking money.

Because of that I went to a Chinese girl and got me some fish with rice.

After that I went to Bacalar to team up with Andy who I met in Valencia quite a while ago.
Camping. I didn’t bring a tent. No worries, I could rent one. Didn’t bring a mattress. No worries, they have one for free. No pillow, no sleeping bag, no nothing. Worries. You don’t have to worry about stuff when you’re too drunk to think. Which is basically what happened the week I was there.
The one night I wasn’t drunk, I slept surprisingly well, I found out there was a big fucking stone right under my ass. Maybe that’s why I slept so well every night.

The lagoon in Bacalar is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve been to on this trip. Unfortunately, Bacalar itself has not a lot to offer. You relax every day, get smashed every night, repeat.
That’s why I have no clue how Billy and Paige can stay there for one whole month.
Anyhow, Andy and his squad left a couple of days after I came. I wish I could tell more about the adventures we had but we didn’t do much all in all.
Anthony was about to come but as everyone else he got stuck in Tulum. Luckily, Martin stayed in Bacalar. Together we got a massage which was pretty much the highlight of what we did together.
But he made me realize why it is so great to have one good friend who also speaks German in an English or Spanish speaking environment.
It was like that with Lukas in Milan, Andy in Valencia, Alex in Buga, Ilona in Riohacha, and some more. It only works when there is only one more who speaks German as you joke around in English and Spanish but keep the really dark and dirty jokes within the two of you. It’s perfect. I’m sorry for all of you but that’s how it is.

Finally the handsome Greek bastard came and it was as in the old days in Colombia. And again I wish I could say more but Bacalar is not the place to create life lasting experiences. I had an awesome time but as Martin said after a while there you get mad as there is NOTHING to do.
And, for me, I needed a real bed.

Now I’m back in Tulum. Where it all began. Well, Mexico began here. Well, it began in Cancún but let’s not talk about it.
I came back for a couple of reasons: I didn’t want to wait in Cancún or Playa de Carmen for my flight as they both suck, I wanted to buy some presents for my friends and family before flying back to Europe and for the best burger in the world.

Out of convenience I booked the same hostel that I went to the last time just to find out it is boring as hell here (nobody’s here). Nevertheless, I was excited for the burger. I remembered they don’t start before six, so I was waiting in the hammock. It was seven already (Mexican six) so I got up. Walking towards the Oxxo store, water was filling my mouth, my belly started to grumble, my hands to shake and I couldn’t think of anything else.
And when I turned around the corner, there it was: a fucking taco place!
I lost my shit. The whole day, no, since I got back to Mexico I’ve been waiting for this moment just to see the burger guy isn’t there.
Broken hearted and hangry as hell I went into the Oxxo store just to buy one of those nasty sandwiches. I felt ashamed while eating it. I sat on the sidewalk where the burger guy used to be.
I even asked the guy in the Oxxo store but he didn’t know what I was talking about, so yeah…

Couple of hours later I was still hungry so I went out to buy some hot dogs and then went back to the Oxxo to buy something to drink. And bam there it was. Burger guy was back. I felt betrayed. I wasn’t hungry at all and didn’t want to waste any money for a burger I probably couldn’t finish. Old me would have done it for sure.
But I felt relieved that they were still there and I thought, OK, tomorrow is another day.
So I was starving the half day on my second day here in Tulum. I went to the Oxxo a little bit later that day but they never came. I went there every half hour just to be let down every time and in the end I had some 2nd class tacos for way too much money.

Now it’s the third day and also my last night here in Tulum. Thanks to my airline it’s not my last night in Mexico as I now got an extra 12 hour stay in Mexico City. Thanks a lot.
Today would be my last chance for that burger. I don’t know what I would do if i didn’t get it. I was thinking earlier that maybe it’s not too bad if I don’t have it as then it will remain in my memories as the best thing ever. Otherwise this might be destroyed as I’ve been praising it for the last two months.
See, how mature I am now.