Mexico Trip: part 1

So, it's been a week since I can back from Mexico sans swine flu, and I wish I had never left. The weather was awesome. It was warm, sunny and there was always a warm breeze in the air. I never had to carry a jacket except when I was indoors. The view was gorgeous and the food was delicous. But I can't believe I left Jersey's bad weather and came back to bad weather (I mean non-stop rain).

The first thing that was memorable about the trip was the money conversion. The U.S. teetered between $12.50 and $13.75 pesos. Having $200 pesos feels like a lot of money, but in reality it's actually only $15 USD. There are these buses that run up and down the hotel zone and into the city. But don't be surprised if you realize later that you were ripped off. The buses are 7.50 pesos but they'll take 1 USD... Anyone out there doing the math. If you paid with a dollar you just lost 5.50 pesos; and don't expect any change from your American money.

On the night we went to the clubs, there was a couple heading back. The guy gave the bus driver 50 pesos and got back 5. Even though he was tipsy, he knew the math was amiss. I guess since it was pretty late, the bus driver was evading his questions, he gave up. The lesson there: give exact or close to exact change whenever possible. If necessary, charge it! Credit card companies usually charge you a small fee of $1 or $2 for every foreign transaction.

Stay tuned for more Cancun memories.