Travelling is about seeing new things, but it’s also about feeling them, smelling then, hearing them. It’s a global experience. That’s what struck me as soon as we stepped out of the airport in Cancun.
The smell first. The ocean nearby mixed with humidity and the scent of cleaning products—don’t laugh, fragrances vary depending on the country! The feeling of the sun on my skin, the light breeze that makes it bearable. The sounds, broken English and rapid Spanish.
Our day started early, another departure before sunset. We always seem to get the first flight of the morning in Ottawa. I don’t think I have ever seen the airport in daylight.
Usually, either Feng or I is picked on by customs and immigration. This time, it was Feng: he didn’t show up in the system when we did the self-checking and he was searched at the security check while I breezed through with no less than two lighters in my bag.
We did the U.S. security check in Ottawa which saved us a lot of time in Washington, our stopover. We didn’t even have to recheck our bags, they were sent straight to Cancun.
The plane from Ottawa to Washington was a “chicken plane” as we joked (more on chicken buses in the articles to come): it was tiny and very narrow with two seats on one side and one seat on the other. We walked from the tarmac to the terminal in Dulles—I hadn’t done that in ages in North America with all the safety measures!
We landed in Cancun at 3 p.m. and immediately headed to the hotel. For the first three nights, time to adapt, we booked a hotel on Expedia. It’s away from the touristic zone in Cancun but it’s somewhat fancy for us—understand clean with hot water and a private bathroom.
We spent the evening walking around in Cancun’s centro and we were shocked to not see a lot of tourists. Where are the people? In their resorts?
I can’t say I remember Cancun very well. Last time we were there was eight years ago. And at the time, I didn’t really know Canada or the U.S. so I hadn’t realized how “Americanized” the city is. It struck me tonight—I recognized tons of franchises we have up North, from fast food joints to big-box stores like Sears. Globalization I guess…
Still, Cancun is a good place for a first stop. Our flight there was cheap and convenient and I need to get my Spanish back. Bueno… voy a dormir!
The “chicken plane” after landing in Washington
I can not wait to read more about your trip.
btw, Feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo! 😉
Gracias! Updates are coming for the trip 🙂
Salut Zhu! J’ai lu votre blog depuis environ 2 ans, mais je n’ai rien écrit, c’est toujours réconfortant de lire vos histoires et c’est drôle de savoir que vous êtes à Cancún alors que je vais partir à Montréal le dimanche prochain.
P.S.1 Désolé si j’ai trop d’erreurs dans le texte, c’est le motif de mon voyage; je vais prendre des cours de français à Québec ou devrais-je dire cours de Québécois?
P.S.2 Bon séjour! 🙂
Bonjour Antonio,
En tout cas, ton français est très bon! Je dis “tu” parce que tu verras, les Québécois disent “tu” beaucoup 😉
Es-tu mexicain?
J’espère que tu vas aimer Montréal! Pour le moment, il ne fait pas encore trop froid 😉
Haha, I haven’t heard of the term “chicken plane” before. But let me be a geek for a second. The actual nickname of that plane you rode is “jungle jet”, which is the nickname for the Embraer ERJ-145. It’s a small plane, with just 3 seats per row, one on the left side, and two on the right. The nickname stems from the fact that it is manufactured in Brazil.
Thank you for the explanation! I love these little pieces of trivia 😉
Sounds like a great start to a wonderful trip.
Ah, the smell of the ocean…
The ocean… one thing I always miss in Canada!
Woohooo! Here the journey begins…I can’t wait for more! I’m get excited just by looking at the plane! 😀
I was scared looking at the plane! 😆
Oddly enough, I love small planes as there’s usually more space for my legs!
I envy you eating Fresh Mexican food!
This one didn´t… not a plane for tall Canadians, that´s for sure!
Yo missed out so much about your trip….catching up on your adventure Zhu 😀
Happy Holiday by the way 😀
Glad you got a chance to catch up!