SPRING BREAK 09!!!

After what turned out to be a nightmare getting here myself and the lads were truly ready for the next 2 weeks we had lazying around in Cancun on what we pictured to be the holiday part of our tour with the lads from backhome coming to meet us on the 22nd.

After checking into our hostel (Hostel Haina, looked pretty good) we decided to take a look around the local town (we were actually based in downtown Cancun away from what they call the ´Hotel Zone´Where Spring Break takes place) we ventured around for 10 minutes or so and decided to stop and have our first drink, a well earnt drink at that after the previous 48 hours.

the thought of a lads holiday was too hard to shake from our minds.

We sat at a large open bar and were served our drinks, no word of a lie within 20minutes of having been sat at the bar drinking, we had been offered:

• Cigars
• Weed
• Cocaine
• Prostitutes
• I had also been given a business card with the address of the local (when I say local I meant that particular block on the road) dealer, who had invited us over... Needless to say we refused and continued to drink the night away.

Our next day we decided it´d be a good idea if we knew our way around and how things work, where they are etc before the other lads arrived so we could help them out a little, we found out what bus we needed to catch to and from the hotel zone each day and night... luckily the buses in mexico are brilliant, when I say that i dont mean the quality I just mean the efficiency and the time keeping. The R1 was the bus we needed and all through the day it runs basically every 2-3 minutes and does a massive loop of the main street downtown and the entire hotel/spring break zone, until 11 oclock at night where they run slightly less frequently! The bus journey costs $7.5 Pesos, which roughly works out at 35p.

Back at the hostel that eveing we got chatting to a few of our room mates and the other member of the hostel. We met Rose and Leonora, two 18 year olds from a Kent Public School, but they seemed cool and introduced us to a few of the people they had been with. Seeing as it was our first proper night out we let them take the reigns and followed them out for the night.

Our first night out in Cancun on Spring Break was awesome... the girls took us to a Club called Ultra Club Bar and Terrace. From the outside the place looked quiet small but we trusted their judgement and followed suit.

The club was based on a roof top terrace overlooking the rest of the Cancun Strip, with a DJ on decks one end and the dance floor at the highest point of the terrace it was mental... really thought you were living the life. We partied until the early hours of the morning to the banging trance/techno beats that the Dj was playing.

On the way home Sean and I got seperated from Mat and Ross and ended up falling asleep on the bus and ending up at 5.30 back at the bus depot in downtown Cancun. A bit worried and lost we eventuall figured out how to get home.

From that night on we decided that we´d wait until the others arrived in order to have another night out, with the guys due to arrive soon this didnt bother us too much. We spent the next few days relaxing on the white sandy beaches and in the warm sea of Cancun.

The night the lads arrived we were all pretty excited, I mean we hadn´t had any arguments or anything but had spent a lot of time just with each other, also the thought of a lads holiday was too hard to shake from our minds. We had a quiet day and headed to the supermarket where we bought beers (for Ross, Mat and I), Wine for Sean and Vodka with mixers for us all. We got pretty battered sitting in our hostel and then decided to hit the town and meet the lads.

We found the lads drinking in one of Cancun´s smaller bar type clubs where entry and all you can drink is $17USD which is around $200 Pesos which is quiet cheap. We spent the nigth partying and drinking more until we had all had far too much and retired to our beds... The one thing we had noticed about Cancun now was you had to tip people for every service they provide you, whether that be packing your bags at the shop or if it was providing you a drink in an all inclusive bar... a little annoying but you get used to it. It can also work in your favour, as money means a lot to these people, and if caught short bribes are always on the cards which is exactly what Ross and I needed after being caught short one night needing the toilet not to the delight of the security guard who caught us, $550Pesos later and a lesson well learned by the both of us.

After having had a good first night we were well prepared for an even bigger one the second night. We got up ealy and got the R1 to the Lads all inclusive hotel, we sat in the sun by their pool, drinking their free drinks and eating their free food all day! PERFECT! we hadnt spent a penny, and when we foudn out the price of the night out ahead this made us happy. The hotel they were staying at had its own personal organiser for nights out, A Scottish Bird called Karen whos Parents were Chinese and lived in Mexico or some shit like that, anyway she was pretty cool and let us 4 tag along with the hotels special deals which suited us. The cost for the night was $50USD, a lot for us travelling guys but we thought what the hell and went along anyway. The money paid for entry to three clubs with all inclusive drinking for the night. The clubs included were ´The Beach Club´, ´The Corona Bar´and ´The City´(which is the biggest club in latin america holding aroudn 6,000 people)

The night was awesome and the service brilliant.. we all clubbed together at the beggining of the night and gave the bar tender around $20Pesos each which times by 15 people probably gave him a months salary in tips (the bar tenders reportedly earn around $50 Pesos per night they work) Needless to say the bloke continually came over with more and more bottles of Vodka, Sambuca and Tequilla throughout the night... the rest is a blank...

We knew we couldnt go out too many more times after the amount spent last night, so most days we got up and went to the lads hotel used the free drink and food all day and went home as they got ready fro their night ahead.

We found a pretty decent bar to watch the England Vs Slovakia game, which we comfortably won 4-0, great amosphere at the bar (Pat O´Briens).

Over the next few nights we went out to a few more places and by the final night had racked up a pretty impressive list of Cancun Hotspots Visited for spring break.

• Slices
• Beach Club
• Ultra Lounge Bar and Terrace
• Dady O´s
• Daddy Rock
• Dos Equis Bar
• Corona Bar
• The City
• Hooters
• Coco Bongo

Our Last night was spent at the Infamous Coco Bongo club, which combines both shows with a night club afterwards. We all got pretty drunk and enjoyed the night out a lot, it was refreshing to have a change from what we percieve as a night out in England. The show before the club contained music from, Lou Bega (mambo number 5), The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Beyonce and More... there was a Spiderman show and a pyrotechnic acrobatics display which was pretty good. (loads of Pics and Vids on Facebook!) We satyed until closing and said our goodbye to the lads who had an important football game kicking off in England in 24 hours... in which time they had to go to their hotel, sleep of their hangovers, pack and catch a 13 hour flight home! Fair play to them as news has just come through they won 2-1! Awesome.

Currently we are just preparing ourselves for what is going to be a mammoth journey ahead. We have a flight to Mexico City from Cancun in a few hours time, followed by a connecting flight to San Jose, Costa Rica... then a connecting flight to Lima, Peru and then another to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We not quite sure where we are going to end up yet as I have asked Tim (who booked our trip) if we can change our connecting flight in Peru to Brazil for a weeks time so we can do the Inca Trail in Peru now, rather than having to fly back to Lima towards the end of South America to do it... We will see.

Until then , laters.

J.x

Photos at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64537&id=507374791&l=0da3b632cd

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64640&id=507374791&l=2ababe09f1