• Menu

Flying to Mexico for Mark’s First Backpacking Trip

No more freezing to death, no more slipping on patches of black ice, no more windchill and no more winter… we are in Mexico!

After our flight was cancelled on Wednesday, we were rebooked on a 6 a.m. Ottawa-Montreal flight, then Montreal-Cancun. We woke up at 3 a.m., took a taxi at 4 a.m. and headed to the Ottawa Airport without any coats but wrapped into a cheap blanket we had bought the day before. Lo and behold, we were able to catch the 6 a.m. flight to Montreal!

Mark didn’t find it weird to wake up in the middle of the night and was more awake than any of us… he ran around the airport’s waiting lounge for an hour!

Our ride to Montreal was a “chicken plane,” a tiny propeller, barely a step above a helicopter. We walked to the aircraft, took a seat randomly and waited there, the door of the plane opened (thus freezing). We then spent thirty minutes at the “de-icing bay” (yes, there is such a thing in Canadian airports) and were able to leave. It was a short 25-minute bumpy flight but the view above Montreal at sunset was truly amazing.

Once in Montreal, we rushed to our gate. We were on standby and didn’t have any seats assigned. Luck was with us and we were able to catch this flight too, and we got to sit side by side.

Five hours later, we landed in Cancun. It’s hot and humid… and rainy. But I don’t care… I feel alive! The smell, the sounds… I’m like a kid, everything is new and fresh.

We rented a car at the airport and drove to Cancun Centro. A quick bite later, we stocked up on supplies at the supermarket and had some street food.

Cancun hasn’t changed much since the last time we were there, two years ago. We are away from the tourist district, the zona hotellera, which is great. There is plenty to see and to experience… no plans, we will go with the flow.

We should sleep… but I’m too excited to be travelling again!

Half Asleep at 4 a.m., this is what Ottawa Airport looked like to me...
Half Asleep at 4 a.m., this is what Ottawa Airport looked like to me…
Mark at Ottawa Airport
Mark at Ottawa Airport
Flight to Cancun
Flight to Cancun
Flight to Montreal
Flight to Montreal
Above Montreal
Above Montreal
Above Montreal
Above Montreal
Above Cancun
Above Cancun
Above Cancun
Above Cancun
Above Cancun
Above Cancun
Cancun Centro
Cancun Centro
Cancun Centro
Cancun Centro
Self Portrait in Cancun
Self Portrait in Cancun
Share this article!
Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

View stories

Leave a Reply to Jeruen Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

14 comments