Mexican Treasures

Tom hosts Tuesday's Treasures.
Travel Tuesday

As a new year begins with us in Mexico, I am reposting a very old memory of our first (of many) trips to Mexico!

November 1979 - Cancun Mexico

In 1979 John and I took our first trip together, Montreal to Cancun. We flew the defunct Quebecair. They operated from 1947 to 1986.
This was John's first trip that required a passport.

We went in November and I am guessing we stayed for two weeks judging by what we did.

The price per person back then was $579 for two weeks at the Bahia, located 4 km from Cancun.
We didn't go back to Cancun until 2012 (click to see) and there was no resemblance to the lovely little town that we had first seen. The Bahia no longer exists.

The city began as a tourism project in 1974 as an Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR (Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo, National Fund for Tourism Development), formerly known as INFRATUR. Since then, it has undergone a comprehensive transformation from being a fisherman's island surrounded by virgin forest and undiscovered shores to being one of the two most well-known Mexican resorts, along with Acapulco.

I remember that our flight was delayed and it was very dark when we arrived so we had no concept of our surroundings. John had his first run-in with a cockroach which he successfully flattened using his Dr. Scholl's.
The next day we discovered we were staying in a gorgeous place, the pool even had a swim-up bar serving the best ice cold coke we have ever had.

I can only guess what the hotel was replaced by, something large, tall and sprawling.

We found the market.

We went to Mauna Loa for dinner one night. It was located near the Convention Centre but is gone.

We loved going to Cancun 1900 for margaritas and popcorn, talk about salt overdose. It doesn't exist anymore either.

We went to a Mexican Fiesta.

The first time we heard this song it was sung by this woman.

It is appropriate to use Lola Beltran's version as she was born near Mazatlan, in La Rosario. There is a statue of her along the Malecon.

We went to Isla Mujeres then a very tranquil place but it has since been really built up.

We rented a car and drove through the jungle with a stop at Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza is perhaps the largest, most famous and most accessible Mayan site, about 125 kilometres west of Cancun and Cozumel.

It was hot!

We stayed overnight in Merida, a lovely colonial city. Mérida is located about 300 km west of Cancun.

This was and still is an old-fashioned hacienda.

Courting benches, also called conversation benches or kissing benches (I'm guessing John did a good job considering I am writing this 40 years later) can be found all over the city of Mérida.

Oh to have had a digital camera back then!!

Relaxing before our flight home.