Cancun

Greetings from the Yucatan Peninsula. Cancun isn't the worst place to spend a New Year's Eve, though if you want a quiet relaxed time silence can be a little hard to come by.

Most of the people swimming in the ocean in Cancun seemed to be locals. The gringos seemed to stick mainly to the beach and the outdoor swimming pools near the beach.

This guy was nice enough to pose for several pictures.

The city is divided into very distinct sections. The hotel district, down by the Caribbean shore, is the part they call more Vegas than Vegas (in clever ads at the airport anyway). Every hotel has its own little area of beach, and though the entire beach is public, there are only a few access points through which to get to the sand. A little walking can eventually land you a fairly secluded spot, usually behind some hotel that's gone out of business. An enormous Mexican flag waves down at the south end of the beach.

Looking at the South end of the beach from afar.

Taking leisure and laziness to a different level. 

The second main section is el centro, which is the commercial part of the city. There are still some gringos here, mostly because the hostels and the bus station are here. It's about a 3km walk down a very nice, palm tree-lined running path to the edge of the hotel district and the public access to the beach. Most of the locals who aren't working don't seem to make it much further than this.

Who hasn't taken down Christmas lights until after New Year's Day?

El centro is just bustling just about every night. The center square, about a block off Tulum Av (the main drag), has booths selling food, vendors, usually some type of of performance and is just hopping with people. On the other side of Tulum Av is another big outdoor gathering area that still, even after ringing in the New Year, had the Christmas tree lit up and Santa posing with the kids. A big stage with some sort of dance competition attracted at least 500 watchers and they have, I kid you not, an outdoor ice skating ring. In general, Mexicans are not swift of skate -- most had an vice-like grip on the wall as they edged around the rink. Given that the temperature ranges from 80 and humid in the day to about 60 and kinda humid at night, I can't same I'm surprised.

I liked Cancun more than I was expecting. Outside the hotel district, it feels like most Mexican cities with tourist options. But two days was plenty. Will be back in a few days with tales of Mayan ruins.