The Carribean waters of Cancun's Hotel Zone!
 
Our plans for the next few days were vague at this point, first we had decided to head down the coast to a place called Playa del Carmen as the expense of Cancun was eating the budget and neither of us fancied the 22km of high rise hotels that is the 'Hotel Zone', but the guys we met had said that they had been told that Playa del Carmen was like Blackpool, and that was from a girl that was from Blackpool a site neither of us fancied! So the plan was to find the post office here to send more stuff home, then lug our bags to the bus station, then get on the bus to have a 'look' a the hotel zone, pick our bags back up and lug them to get a local bus to the more tranquil coastal area of Tulum 2 hours away, both preferring the cabana on a quiet beach to the high rise hotels ............well that was the original plan anyway.
 
After sweltering finding the post office, we then sat down in a café and both admitted that we were totally knackered, our bodies were aching from carrying the bags so much and after 5 days previous on a constant bus, neither could face another bus trip. To cut a long story short, after spending 2 hours on the net trying to find a good hotel deal but going mad cause no sites allow you to book for today, we finally found a deal and decided to blow the budget and experience the 2 days of the 'all inclusive' Cancun experience even though both of us had seen photos and thought yuk, not for us!
 
As the taxi guy bombed to the zone, my first impressions as we reached the strip were poor, the hotels looked pretty drab, nothing spectacular, just concrete masses, even those that were renown for their prestige weren't anything to write home about. As we got more towards the middle they started to look abit more vast and spectacular but I suppose after the hotels of Vegas these just didn't compete . I laughed as we passed one between two luxury ones and said to Ads 'I expect ours is like that' after which the taxi driver did a u turn and dropped us promptly outside, ooops!! Our 'Hotel Flamingo' was another concrete jungle but the words 'unlimited food and unlimited drink', white sand and turquoise waters was all that we cared about! After issues with check in we were finally on the way to our room and on turning a corner realised we had been given a room at the front of the hotel overlooking the ocean, we couldn't believe our luck!! As you drive into the zone, you can't see the beaches and ocean amongst the concrete mass so as yet we hadn't spotted it, so like two school kids we couldn't get the key in the door fast enough, then I literally ran to open the curtains to the balcony and both of us stopped and exclaimed a joint wow at what was in front of us, it was just stunning. I know we have seen beautiful paradise beaches in Asia but here the vibrant turquoise/deep blue colours of the ocean are really striking, we felt like we were in heaven and both couldn't quite believe that we were experiencing (as backpackers!) the life that honeymooners from home pay thousands to see and all for fifty pounds each! Ignoring the high rises, the coastline really is truly spectacular and we both just stood looking out for what seemed like an age, taking it all in . They don't call the Mexican coastline a carribean paradise for nothing!
 
Excitedly we headed down to the beach, the ocean was warm so we walked along the hotel line and swam, passing a bride on route doing the Cancun thang! Then it was onto understanding 'all inclusive', you would have thought we were a bunch of kids who had been given a handful of marbles for the first time and didn't know where to start first, being all inclusive virgins so to speak, we decided beer was number one and in about an hour we had drunk an amount equivalent to our normal daily budget!! Beer, vodka, gin, strawberry daiquiri cocktails, it was hard to choose what to try next, we definitely had drunk our monies worth already!!! Feeling a tad tipsy, showers for the eve it was and then like true backpackers, laundry washing in the bath!! However as Ads came back from the bar for the third time, he shouted to me that the entire room was flooded and basically without realising it I hadn't seen the blocked drain in the bathroom which had hence flooded the place! Typical that it had to be our room .....so an hour later saw the men arrive with the plunger and the ladies to start clearing all the water, more beer was needed! Leaving our room to dry out, we headed to dinner and must have filled our plates the highest in the room! Considering transport prices had meant we had less for food, being able to eat as much as we liked felt abit like Christmas and for the first time in quite a while we both felt full, just fab, the food was delicious too! Making the most of the free booze until midnight, in true Betts and Hogarth style we propped up the bar, played pool then headed out for the bars. We must have walked about 2 miles until we hit the 'party zone of Cancun' a multitude of nightclubs, open air bars, loud music and lots of drunk people! Joining them for a couple we sampled the nightlife then staggered the two miles back home collapsing at 3am, a good night was had by all!
 
The next day was not so good and the 'All Inclusive Virgins' realised they had made the typical first timers mistake, going totally mad then feeling so rough the next day that alcohol is definitely not on the menu! Feeling like death we chilled on the beach with me constantly swimming in the ocean to calm the nausea whilst Adam made frequent visits to the room! The huge buffet breakfast followed by huge buffet lunch probably didn't help especially when our newly found amigo waiter asked us if we wanted 'beers and tequila' again like last night, he seemed pretty shocked at our response! Anyway we lazed all day, turned a lobster red type colour, bought Ads some new Oakleys to replace his lost ones then retired like an elderly couple to bed at 10pm listening to the sound of the ocean crashing onto the shore 2 storeys below us! 
 
Early morning 5am saw us waking to a text, was this Sasha going into labour perhaps?? Grabbing the phone quickly and with excitement, we opened it to find it wasn't the news we await everyday.....back to sleep it was! Roll on August the 6th and D-DAY, this waiting around is proving hard work from the other side of the world! Good night again all and hopefully baby news will arrive tomorrow!