Thankfully I tested negative so I didn’t have to stay another day in Mexico. I spent 15 hours with a mask on yesterday. It was a bit much for me and I’m used to wearing masks having worked in Disease Control and Prevention and other clinical settings for 50 years.
I was truly impressed with how the Mexicans dealt with mask wearing and Covid cleaning, etc. . Most were compliant with men not wearing masks correctly. I can’t say that for the tourists though. Most did not wear a mask, even when required and in crowded areas.
The taxi driver’s are worse than ever with cutting you off, taking your lane as theirs, speeding, just overall rotten aggressive drivers. I was stressed! The Cancun to Tulum area used to be nice. It no longer is! It’s ruined as far as I’m concerned.
I had no trouble returning my rental car. It took all of 10 minutes compared to the almost three hour ordeal I endured picking it up on arrival. Beware, they charge a fortune for insurance.
The airport was chaotic, and mobbed! People everywhere! Departure gates were changed but not on the airline app, on the departure board, no announcement, and nor was I notified by email. Most of us just stood around amongst the masses not sure where to go for the flight. Absolutely no room to distance whatsoever. Again, the Mexican workers were mask compliant while tourists weren’t, men especially. I entertained myself by taking photos of people with ridiculous mask “fails”. Some are pretty hilarious.
FYI, I bought gas at a Gulf station and was told the card reader wasn’t working (not surprised) so off they went, three of them, with my credit card to use another machine. I yelled to bring back my card. My card was declined (not surprised either) they want cash. I paid with pesos. I complained to my friends as I got back in the car that I had to yell to keep my card near me. One got mad at me for being paranoid and said that they all looked nice and trustworthy. I should have looked at my card when the attendant gave it to me. Twenty minutes later I got a fraud alert text. I called the bank and to my horror I had some man’s credit card. Shame on me for not checking that I actually had my card when the attendant handed it to me. They have a scam going on there for sure.
We are headed to Portugal and Spain in September. I hope the world health situation continues to improve! I can’t imagine another 15 hour mask day!
Posted by
TX, USA
4078 posts
Pretty much sounds like a horror of a trip! I am sorry!
Posted by
OP
CA
2074 posts
I’ve never seen it so crowded.
Posted by
California USA
3951 posts
I can imagine it really being crowded with fewer North Americans traveling to Europe. Hawaii has also been an “away” destination for pent up travelers. It’s been very crowded since last summer but has had it much more strictly regulated with vaccines, testing and mask requirements. Some islands have recently removed some of those requirements. We went two times this winter and our kids just came back this week and we’ve seen the restrictions being rolled back, little by little.
I’m glad you were able to have your annual friend’s trip and have all arrived home safely. What a trip to remember and compare to all your past experiences.
Posted by
Noblesville, Indiana, USA
1371 posts
Last March we had a great trip to the Los Cabos area without any problems - so we took another to Mexico City in September with the same result. Would highly recommend both destinations! BTW - we used Uber to get around and it was cheap and easy.