Paradise Lost

We have no left paradise and are in a sort of mini Cancun called Playa Del Carmen. We´ve only been here a night and have already been told off for being too loud - despite whispering at the time. Perhaps it´s when our English friend Alexis slid down a wrought iron staircase and landed flat on his arse. But what can you expect when provide free tequila between 8 and 9? We had arrived at the hostel about 10 minutes before this happy hour so of course we took full advantage.

Our dorm here has only one real wall and is very visible to the general sitting area, it´s actually quite hilarious. We had dinner last night and decided to splash out and treat ourselves. They roped us in and we ordered filet mignon - what travellers we are! My steak was overcooked and as they were closing they watched us like hawks. We were so angry at the service we received that we left no tip, which is a grave insult here. But they made us feel so unwelcome for the prices we paid for our food.

Anyway, Isla Mujeres was beautiful. A small island where people mostly get around on golf buggies and scooters. So we hired a golf buggy for the day and motored off. We soon came across a drive though liquor store, so we obviously felt obliged to stop in. It may have been 10 in the morning, but we´re a bunch of Aussies and Brits, so we figured it was expected of us. It was loads of fun and we went to a turtle sanctuary and saw turtles with disabilities. Their shells had folded over so their poor little legs were on the top.

We spent most of our days on the beach by a hut called Tarzan manned by a guy who could have been the true original Tarzan. We befriended him and he took us to the local bars where we were all scooped up by locals to dance. Beer was $15, which translates to around 75p, awesome. But they had some interesting versions of English songs. It was all very fun. The next day we went out on a snorkel trip and saw some beautiful fish. Not the best snorkelling I think we will experience, but it was nice, and we got to see turtles. This was after we complained that for $200 we had been promised 3 - 4 hours and we were out for 1. So they took us back out to another reef. Not too shabby!

The hostel we were staying in felt a bit like Bristol in paradise. Lots of crusty hippies, hula hooping and poi. Pretentiousness was rife, but it was beautiful surroundings and luckily you can overlook the smell of patchouli when it´s wafted away by the sea spray. Our last night was spent dancing on the beach to old 90´s tunes, lamenting the knowledge we were leaving the next day. But there will be many more paradises to come, and hopefully it won´t be full of tourists complaining how touristy the place has gotten. But, as someone once quite aptly put it ´Call a place paradise and kiss it good bye.´