A Day in Cancun

I caught the combi around 9.30 and was in Cancun about 10.15. Having already investigated Home Depot and found it to be about 3km away, I jumped straight into a taxi and thought it was $2 well spent in this heat! It's a large store, not quite in the league of Bunnings, but it seemed to cover all the usual hardware areas as well as kitchens, lighting and tiles. I wandered up and down the 4 tile lanes and found - nothing! Many of the tiles are dark colours (probably doesn't show the dirt so much) and the light ones have patterns like marble which don't appeal to me. I did manage to buy door stops to stop the door handles hitting the walls, and brought home 2 azaleas in flower and a rosemary plant, so it certainly wasn't a wasted trip.

Next door was a large supermarket so I called in there for a coffee and donut and found a cute Buddha candle for $2. Then on to Walmart which we had passed on the way, it was about 4 blocks walk. They had the sangria I like and can't get here in Playa so I picked up 2 tetrabriks, some guacamole and spicy chicken fillets and some water for the road.
I was planning to head back to the bus station but after waiting 20 minutes with no sign of either of the buses I had been told to get, I decided to hop on one heading for the Hotel Zone and Plaza Kukulcan. The Hotel Zone in Cancun is a thin strip of land with some quite amazing architectural structures - kind of like how I picture Las Vegas but on the beach. The trip cost me 8 pesos and took at least half an hour to get to the Plaza but I didn't mind, I was enjoying the view so much. The sea in Cancun, like in Playa, is the most amazing colour of blue, often 2 shades, and when the bus travelled over the bridge it was almost breathtaking.  We passed hotels, nightclubs, markets, malls, small artesan stores, people got on and off the bus, speaking in several languages, it was quite a trip!

I had been to the Plaza Kukulcan when I first visited Mexico in 2008 (never thinking I'd end up living here) and remembered its magnificent stained-glass ceiling. There is a fountain under it, and flat vinyl couches so you can lay back and admire it. It really is quite a work of art isn't it?

I had somehow missed lunch, but in the food section upstairs I found a place which offered free coffee if you buy a cake.  I devoured a ginormous piece of carrot cake and a very welcome coffee, all for less than $3 and that gave me the strength to wander around the shops. I couldn't really buy anything as I already had more bags than I could carry but its always nice to look.
The no 1 bus from out the front returned me to the bus station, and the combi to Playa left within 5 minutes.
I don't know if I can say it was a successful day as I didn't find tiles, but it was certainly enjoyable.