In Honor of Cinco de Mayo

Las Nubes de Holbox

It seems like many of the blogs I follow usually start with the poster apologizing for not keeping it more up-to-date.  Before I started this endeavor, I was the reader who would think to herself, 'Why can't this person just get their act together and post on a schedule?'  And then I became a blogger, albeit still in the most minor of leagues.  When I started, I hoped to post once a week.  Well... I guess I fully step into the part-time blogger universe in apologizing for not posting more often or even remotely following my original schedule.  The thing about being the one who has to write is, well, writing.  I can't claim to have a job that takes up all of my time and effort.  I can't say that I stare at a computer screen all day at work and the last thing that I want to do is look at one at home.  I don't have children who demand all of my energy.  The only thing that I can claim is that while I knew that there would be ups and downs to this life change, I didn't really think about how that might affect my blog.  While I am perfectly happy to write about all the funny, absurd, or random things that I observe and get to participate in, I am not as inclined to record the times when I feel lonely, sad, useless; generally out of sorts.  I've been feeling that way a bit lately, blame the weather I guess, so I haven't been too keen on writing 'A Sad American in London'.  No one wants to read about that!  But the weather has been getting better and I am dragging myself out of my funk, so here we are together again.

I really shouldn't be suffering from such doldrums as J & I recently went on our first trip since moving to London.  What fabulous European destination did we travel to?  MEXICO!  That's right.  Despite being a stone's throw away from the continent, we traveled across the pond to the United States and Mexico.  The reason was a good one, though.  J's sister was getting married on a small island north of Cancun called Holbox.  I must say that if you ever get the chance, the island is quite the experience.  If you take the correct road (more on that later) it is only about a 2 hour drive from the Cancun airport.  You drive through several small rural towns and arrive at a port city, Chiquila.  There you can park your car at a reasonable rate for however long you may need.  Find our friend, Mariano, and he may give you a good deal.  Beware, he may be 10 years old, but he is quite the wheeler dealer!  From Chiquila it is about a 20 minute ferry ride to the island of Holbox.  Once there, your transport is by golf cart.  These aren't just any golf carts, they're pretty souped up and go at a decent speed.  As there are no seat belts, be sure you hold onto the rope attached to the roof of the buggy in order to keep yourself from flying off the back as you head to your destination.  We stayed at the Hotel Las Nubes de Holbox.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Tranquil does not even begin to describe it.  No TVs.  No telephones in the room.  Just you and nature.  This is not to say that hotel is not very nicely appointed.  It is.  The service and food are excellent.  The wedding could not have been held in a more perfect setting.

One item of note.  If you are ever going to attend a Peruvian wedding be sure to do several things.
#1) Do not be jet-lagged.
#2) Train like you would for an athletic event.
#3) Make sure you have at least 2 pairs of dancing shoes, because, baby, you are going to need them.

The ceremony started at 6:30 PM and I think it was close to 4:00 AM when the last party goers decided to call it a night.  We partied through 2 meals, one at 8:00 PM and one at 2:00 AM.  At midnight, all hell broke loose for "Crazy Hour".  Crazy Hour seems to occur just as everyone is starting to loose a little steam.  But as shoulders are starting to sag and feet are starting to hurt; suddenly, confetti is being thrown, silly string is being sprayed, someone's handed you a balloon and slapped a hat on your head and off you go again!  It was a fantastic celebration and the culmination of 3 days of fun for J's sister & her fiance, their family and friends.

Your fearless blogger.  Hot stuff, I know.

If you ever go to Holbox, a couple of things.
#1) Use the Google Map directions, not the directions with the handwritten map given to you by the guy at the rental car company.  The Google Map directions are correct and true and will not add an hour onto your trip by taking you on the longest possible route to the Libre.
#2) The Libre.  Take THE LIBRE.  Do not take the CUOTA.  If you happen to somehow end up on the Cuota, you will drive a good hour out of Cancun before you hit the toll.  Once you do hit it, you may be bewildered having thought you were on the Libre the entire time.  The toll of $35 will reassure you that no, you have taken the Cuota.  The toll taker will then inform you that you must continue on to the next town, about 20 minutes away, and connect to the Libre from there.  This will require you to drive another hour back towards Cancun before hitting the connection to Chiquila.
#3) Make sure you have a working phone on you.  This will come in handy if your car malfunctions and you need to get in touch with the rental car company.  If you don't have a working phone, pray to God you have a companion who has watched enough 'Top Gear' to be able to fix it on his (or her) own. 

But above all:
Once you arrive in Holbox, if you have fallen victim to scenarios 1-3, let all of it fall away and enjoy the beauty of the place.  Because, really, it is all worth it.  Especially if you are joining friends and family in celebration.

Since I have been so remiss in posting, I am hoping to do a double post this week.  This past weekend was a Bank Holiday here and J & I had a ton of fun doing very London-y things.  We are still not quite up to snuff on all of our Bank Holidays so we were unaware that we had one.  Which in turn meant that we didn't plan.  And that is the one thing around these parts, if you want to take advantage of all that Europe has to offer at a reasonable rate, you have to act fast and act early.  All part of the learning curve.  So now, we know.