Our "Beers of the World" Poster... (Walmart Sucks)

When I moved into our hostel, I decided to hang some posters to give the place some life. I scooted over to Walmart, the only place I knew might have some.

The selection wasn't great. Of 30 options, half were Disney cartoons & the like. Still, I managed to find a few choices I thought Jen & I could live with.

I chose the Black Eyed Peas...

The Supermarket Sausage Incident

So.. Jen & I went shopping at a supermarket (Chedraui) today & picked up some groceries. Among our discoveries was some "salchicha zwan viiena." They are very tasty, only about $5/kilogram, & may be named after a cool band...









Apparently, however, you need to be very careful when you buy this stuff. You may have noticed that I wrapped the tray in a plastic bag before I snapped the photo above.

Ants in my... Hostel

I've written before about our hostel here in Cancun (Hostel Kankun), easily the cheapest hostel in Cancun. Indeed, it may be the cheapest hostel anywhere in North America, if not the world. It is certainly the cheapest I've ever encountered in a big resort town.

Reviews are mixed, naturally, with many complaints about bugs. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I moved in & noticed very few 4,5,6,7, or 8-or-more-legged critters.

Having said that.. attentive readers may have noticed something curious about that last comment: the word "noticed." On closer inspection, it seemed the room was teeming with tiny (I mean teeny tiny little) ants. It reminded me of a story Jay Leno once told about leaving a chocolate cake unattended in a dingy apartment & later suddenly *noticing* that it was moving.

Ewww!

Learning Spanish -- Funny Spanish Language Bloopers

As Jen & I learn Spanish (slowly), we have made a host of Spanish Bloopers. I'll share some of these here & update the page if (when!) they happen...

I've also heard many funny stories about other tourists. I'll relate some of those in a separate post.

Ok, here we go....

Extending My Travel Guard Health Insurance

Before arriving in Mexico, I bought an "emergency medical" policy with Travel Guard Insurance. It was, I have to say, by far the least expensive policy I found: under $2/day for $2 million in coverage & no deductible (I think). Nice.



Travel Guard Insurance Home Page

Meeting Mario (Drunk Scooter Guy)

One of the reasons I wanted to move to Cancun was to learn to kitesurf. The area has lots of wind (except during the summer) and miles of beaches, mostly with onshore or side-onshore conditions. Still, for a beginner, Cancun's beaches are less than ideal, because it's dangerous to launch unless you have a few line lengths (100m+) of empty beach & clear space downwind. That's hard to find here.

Anyway, one day I went to Chac Chi Marina (in the Hotel Zone, at km 3.5) because another blogger had recommended the beach there as a good place for beginner kitesurfers to practice flying a big kite. There are buildings to the West (which is usually downwind) but the beach is often deserted (as you can see from the photo below).



Beach near Marina Chac Chi, looking South

Amazing Cancun Prices

Jen & I recently met a Kansan at Walmart who seemed to think that prices in Cancun are higher than those in his hometown. Really? 

Even at Walmart, whose prices are nowhere near the cheapest in Cancun, you can get:
- a 2L bottle of local tequilla for 20 pesos
- a 1L bottle of fruit juice (grape, strawberry, mango, guayaba) for 8 pesos
- 250ml of Philadelphia Cream Cheese for 13 pesos
- a 250 gram bag of local brand nacho chips for 10 pesos
- a 500 gram bag of Tostidos for 25 pesos
- board games from 100 pesos

The magazines in the photo average 40 pesos (about $3). Flip flops? ~$2.



Walmart Cancun

Hostel Quetzal

Hostel Quetzal is a fantastic hostel. It has won several awards, including HostelBookers Award for Excellence 2010. If we could afford it, Jen & I would probably live here. We've joked about dropping by sometime to see if we can crash one of their parties, or one of their dinners, prepared by a professional chef!

 

Hostel Kankun Rooftop

I've written elsewhere about our great hostel, Hostel Kankun.

Here are some shots of the hostel's rooftop patio. 

Hostel Kankun - Cheapest Hostel in Cancun!

I thought I should post a little note about our first hostel in Cancun, Mexico. For short-term guests, it's a good cheap place to sleep. Stay long enough, however, & you may have issues with the owner.

Hostel Kankun
End of Calle Maranon, West of Yaxchilan Ave
MZ 7, Lote 26, Supermanzana 25
Cancun, Mexico
CP 77509-CR-77511
HostelKankun@Hotmail.com