Memories of Cancun

I have gone back and back again to the beautiful Yucatan peninsula, and along the past year I tried to identify what exactly is pulling me to that part of the world. It has fulfilled many things over the years, and now I think I go for the sheer simplicity. I love that my main concerns become to get the bread at the bakery in the morning, do some laundry and hang it on the line, get food and prepare the next meal. Get up with the sun after a cool, quiet, and dark night. That's what I seek there, but it was not always this way...

I first went to Cancun for a 2 week vacation with a group of students of Laval Univertity in May 1986. I moved there in late September of the same year. Living in Mexico had an important impact in my life when I was 21. The city of Cancun was only 18 years old then, and everyone working there were from somewhere else. A great mix of Mayan, Mexican and young adults from everywhere in the Americas and Europe. It was before the cell phone, and actually not many people had a land line either. Life was very simple, and friends visited each other... how about that !

Three weeks after I arrived I got hired as Public Relations for a Spanish company based in Madrid. They owned hotels in Majorka and the Canary Islands, and they had just purchased their first hotel on Mexican land : The Green Sixteen (on the golf course). They cut deals with canadian travel agencies and so all our arrivals were from either Toronto or Montréal. My job was to host a happy hour and briefing every Saturday, set-up on site entertainment and events along the week, manage the shuttle to the beach, and assist guests in getting around town. A heck of a job!

Money was not super but eventually I had my own room at the Green Sixteen, and because I was constantly referring tourists to my favorite local businesses, I had many free bees. I was able to do pretty much every excursions and cruises, had access to free water sports including scuba diving, and many restaurants did not charge me a cent. Great life for a 21 year old !
After the sixth month I came to Canada for 6 weeks, and when I returned to Cancun I was hired as PR by the Paradise Beach Club (a popular joint) to promote their condo development, and I also got hired by the Hard Rock Café to train their team of waiters (past life in restaurants...). If you ever go the the Hard Rock Café in Cancun, you must know that I drove the pink Cadillac to it's final destination before it got mounted on its post.

Life was moving at a faster pace, and I felt right at home. I was spending more time with my good friend Luis, who was also good friends with the federal minister of tourism and the sub-minister for the state of Quintana Roo. We had some great times, they liked to party big and were treated like royalty everywhere they went. We had access to the best Cancun could offer. Too much.
About 2 months after my return, I got offered the Public Relations position for the Cancun International airport - a fantastic job opportunity. I felt the decision was not only about the job, but also about settling in Mexico for the long run. It was a government position, and required for me to become a Mexican resident. I was not ready to commit, so I declined the offer and I moved back to Oh Canada ! It was like ripping me in half.

And so I will soon go back once more, and maybe I will finally get a piece of land... not far fetched!