Cancun Sunday

On Sunday we went to Cancun and enjoyed a nice day at the movies and shopping for apartment supplies for the new studio apartment. The Chedraui at Plaza Las Americas has the best selection of 'stuff' compared to Walmart, Sorianna, and other Chedraui stores.

The theater was very modern. I had reserved our tickets online and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to pick them up and pay - I expected some sort of paper deal, they love filling out forms here - by hand. But everything was done by computer and in just a couple of minutes we had our tickets and were off to the next stage of movie-going...the snacks.

We bought our popcorn and drinks, and went inside to get good seats. Not that we needed to worry - there might have been 5 others in there when we arrived, and by the time the show started, maybe 20.

Seated right behind us was a family with two very small children. The show, "This is It", is not a show for kids, but there they were, running around and laughing and talking and just being kids. I was thinking we'd have to move but once the show started, either they fell asleep or they were just well-behaved. Miguel and I disrupted the show more than anyone, as the coke we drank went right to our bladders, and we had to get up in the middle of the show and take care of that issue.

The seats in the theatre were so comfortable - they actually reclined and both of us dozed off a bit while we waited for the show to start. Sure beats the position we have to adopt to doze off on the ferry - sitting upright with our heads bobbing forward.

After the show we got a bite to eat at Mama Roma's. I filled up on bread dipped in garlic oil, bruschetta bread, and soup. Miguel ordered fish with mashed potatoes. Then we headed over to Chedraui to see what they had to offer. Along with some other stuff, I found a chair for my desk that will hopefully mean no more sore, twisted back and neck muscles from sitting sideways on the couch.

We were first in the local's line at the Ultramar ferry. Suddenly a small man appeared directly behind us - he had shoved his way through the people congregated behind us and was standing pretty close to us. He was only wearing jeans and a muscle shirt - no shoes.

I wasn't paying much attention but I heard Miguel say to him "Chiapas", and then the guy responded something, and it seemed like Miguel was telling him it wasn't correct to cut the line like that. The guy seemingly paid no attention but when I turned around a couple of minutes later, the guy was gone.

Several minutes later, after the ferry had just finished unloading, the guy came from the other side of the dock and went under the ropes and walked right up the ramp and onto the ferry. Miguel and I just looked at each other and chuckled - the "Chiapas" guy was determined to be first to board.

However, just as we handed in our tickets and were ready to board, the "Chiapas" guy was escorted back off the boat by a couple of guys working there. The guy was trying to brush them off, but they weren't letting him go. It was now clear he was drunk. He was begging them to let him go on the ferry, but they just kept telling him that he was not going.

We figured out that the guy had hoped to slip past the ticket-taker when we handed in our tickets. He was small enough that he might have succeeded but for some reason he changed his tactics and decided to try to slip on unnoticed before anyone else boarded. This was his downfall. He had probably drunk all his ticket money and had no way to get back to the island.

So we took off with the image of the drunk in the hands of the Ultramar crew, wondering how it would all end for him. And I wonder how often the crew of the ferry are expected to act as bouncers for undesirable passengers. Probably more than we realize.