Postcards from Riviera Maya Chapter 1: Murphy goes to Mexico

Okay, so I know by the time I finish this series of blog posts, you will be amazed and maybe just a little bit jealous of how truly amazing this trip has been. I can’t wait to start telling you all about it, so much so that I am sitting here in my hotel room tapping away on my computer instead of walking on the beach. Again. But when you think about the awesomeness, also think about the dorkiness and misadventure that precedes it, because they kind of go hand in hand.

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The hurricane hitting the resort five days before I was supposed to land didn’t phase me much. I took it as a good luck omen, in fact. I was feeling less positive when I realized at about 3:30 on Sunday afternoon that after a leisurely wander through Manotick to the Mill, the used book sale and then to the Hodge Podge Shoppe for ice cream and candy (see, I have paradise in Manotick as well as the Riviera Maya) I had somehow lost my bank card. With exactly 12 hours to go before the car came to take me to the airport. Did I mention it was Sunday? And that I’d intentionally only bought about $50 worth of pesos, planning to just take out more from the ATM when I arrived in Mexico?

Long story short(er) (ha, too late!) I figured out that the Barrhaven TD Canada Trust was open until 4 pm on Sundays (did you know that? A bank open on Sunday?) and the time that I figured this out was 3:51 pm. The drive from Manotick to Barrhaven is about 10 minutes, give or take. I took – liberties – with the speed limit on Jockvale and still arrived at about 4:02. I flung myself at the glass, and by flung I mean knocked politely while making myself look as harmless and desperate as possible, and tried to get the people inside the bank to stop shaking their heads “no” at me and gesturing for me to go away.

Mexico, baby!

When one kind soul finally was foolish enough to get within hearing range, I shouted my story through the glass at him. He took a long look at me, and then started unlocking the doors, at which point I burst into tears of relief. Doug at the TD Canada Trust in Barrhaven, I have been a Canada Trust customer since I was seven years old and your kindness has ensured that I will be a customer for the rest of my life.

The blue cat

So that was exciting. And then when I finally did get to the airport and checked in, Air Canada had other ideas because my ticket said my name was Daniellemonique and my passport said my first name was Danielle. The travel arrangements had been made before my passport arrived, and I assumed it would have my middle name on it. Air Canada almost didn’t let me fly, but this time I resorted to jocular good humour and engaging smiles to get her to adjust my ticket and let me check in. Since my return ticket was with another airline, she cautioned me that the Mexican authorities would absolutely not do the same favour and told me to make sure it was fixed before I returned.

Sunrise on the Mayan Riviera

So that too was exciting. And then our flight from Ottawa to Toronto was delayed by almost 30 minutes when a passenger became too sick to fly, but his baggage had already been checked. The 60 minute buffer between the Ottawa-Toronto and Toronto-Cancun legs of my journey shrank to less than 30 minutes and the window was so small that the pilot requested all Cancun-bound passengers depart the plane first and RUN to the departure gate.

Blankets and handicrafts for sale in Puerto Morales

So I’ve been to Pearson a few times but in and out of Ottawa International Airport quite a few times, and I figured that since both the Ottawa arrival and Cancun departure were in the same terminal, the gates would be in close proximity. Ha! If you ever need a little exercise in the morning, just run the length of Terminal 1 some time.

Tulum panorama 1

I tell ya, it was a pretty darn exciting start to my vacation, considering I hadn’t even left Ontario yet!

The two lighthouses of Puerto Morales, Mexico. One is leaning due to hurricane damage many years ago.

(Do you like the pictures? All of these were taken with my iPhone, I haven’t even started sorting the ones I took with my Nikon – Amy, brought the big daddy after all! 😉 I’ve just been stuffing random photos into this post to make you jealous. Wow, I have so much to tell you!!!)

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

One thought on “Postcards from Riviera Maya Chapter 1: Murphy goes to Mexico”

  1. Awesome pics so far!

    I’m jealous. We’ve been to Mexico a number of times and Playa del Carmen is still one of our favourites. Check out Xel Ha if you get the chance. Snorkeling with the fishes – way cool.

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