Day 21: Cancun - Grampies' Poc Chuc Pursuit Winter 2021 - CycleBlaze

December 14, 2021

Day 21: Cancun

ReBooked!

Fully the first half of yesterday was spent trying every phone number that the Westjet site contained, plus several others. The initial problem was not the simple one of trying to raise a human, but rather of finding a WestJet number that would actually ring, from our Mexican phone. The Mexican number, that had worked the day before, simply would not work, and Westjet's array of other phone numbers are all toll frees, with varying prefixes. Some internet research revealed that to dial these you need to change the prefix, like 877 becomes 871, or somesuch. But this produced all sorts of crazy error messages, in English or Spanish. For example, something like "the toll free number you have dialed is not supported outside the United States, so you will be charged long distance rates should the recipient accept the call". This before the line goes dead.

Finally, for no apparent reason, the Mexican Westjet number connected. So then it was "unusual call volume" "we are working quickly" and blah, blah, blah, --- for 4 1/2 hours! Little did they know that my phone has a huge - huge! battery, and I waited them out.  My phone was ok, but my brain turned to mush as their corporate propaganda tape looped and looped. Once or twice every loop, and unusually clear and loud voice jerks you out of your stupor to offer a callback. This is a cruel hoax, because they do not call back to Mexico - I already tried it! Their other thing is to advise you to go the the "on hold" section of their website and fix whatever your problem is yourself. I tried that too, it ends with them saying "call us".

But hey, we did get rebooked, and will fly to Vancouver and then Victoria on Saturday. The bag of down jackets, waterproof socks and gloves, etc. that we left at the Holiday Inn in Vancouver, so we could cycle home, they gladly agreed to ship. All it took was the magic Visa card!

Our next step after booking Cancun to Victoria was to get to Cancun! The man (tour guide) who had been first on the scene of the crash, agreed to drive us over, which is a distance in excess of 300 km. He would then turn around and drive back to Merida, making his trip 600 km! The price given was 3000 pesos. 

Be the first Friday on your block, to come home in a box!
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We left just before evening, drove mostly in the dark, and arrived about 11:30 p.m., taking into account a time zone change. The man was so kind and helpful, first extracting the shaky Dodie from the van and then  helping to carry the bikes and gear. He was also completely non cranky when I at first directed him not to our lodging but to the bakery. My phone, always eager to please, has bakeries on its brain!

Thinking about the ride, I just called the man, to say I didn't think the 3000 pesos fairly covered his costs and effort, and I would like to get some more money to him. No, no, the amount was fine, he insisted, don't worry, he counselled.  Mexican people are amazing!

This morning, Jorge, our B&B host went with me to a local grocery store which agreed to use its Visa machine to hand me some cash. The little store was deceptive - those guys had lots of high denomination bills - not from selling bananas, probably! The 7% commission they charged made me feel like I was dealing with someone a little shady, but actually it's not too different from an  HSBC ATM, which is an active and public ripoff!

Yesterday at a little fruit stand I got some tomatoes, red pepper, papaya, mandarins, and wow, the quality was so devilishly high. These items, when locally grown like that are super food.  Today I went out again, adding watermelon and grapes and cantaloupe. If I still had a bike to ride, could I ever go!

Jorge's breakfast hit the spot too.
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Speaking of bikes to (not) ride, Dodie had the idea of wrapping the folded and sleeping Fridays in a web of plastic wrap. I asked Jorge about finding that, and it seemed like a mystery concept to him. Still, I went out and pretty soon scored several hundred feet. So now it looks like a giant spider is ready to eat the poor Fridays!

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Jorge has gone off to cook some chicken and rice for us to share. We have not even fully settled on what our room rate will be here, but I told him we will also split the cost of any non breakfast food he buys. Jorge is playing it much more like a friend than like an entrepreneur. I had Joni on the line and in her perfect Spanish she discussed the proper care and maintenance of her parents and thanked Jorge for his efforts, (I assume!)

Tomorrow we'll begin to tackle the logistics of the Canadian required PCR test. Coming back from Mexico, we already feel like lepers. I phoned Dodie's doctor's office to get her in to see him asap. "Mexico?", they said, "we don't think so!". After some discussion, they agreed the doctor would phone, and go from there (presumably after spraying alcohol on his phone). Oh, Canada!

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Jacquie GaudetI'm sure you researched this before leaving home, Steve, but my cousin mentioned that you need to have an exit QR code to leave Mexico (it's a Mexican requirement). This is in addition to the documents you need to reenter Canada. She and her husband were in Cancun for a couple of weeks just last month and apparently it was chaos at the airport because so many people weren't aware of this.
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3 years ago
Andrea BrownTo Jacquie GaudetAnd if possible have it printed on paper as well.
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3 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetWhat we have is a slip that immigration filed out when we arrived, stating how many days we were welcome in the country. There is no QR component to this, but we understood we were to hand this in on departure. If there is something different, can you find a clue about where or how to get it?
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3 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetSorry, I was being lazy by asking you to research the health form. I found the Vuela Seguro thing now, and I'm on it! Thanks!
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3 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Steve Miller/GrampiesI can’t find anything online but I’ll ask my cousin today (we’ve been staying in her basement).
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3 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetWhen we left, Westjet had a printed notice posted all about this, and I checked out the Mex. Govt website at the time. It swore there was no paper health form, but in fact everyone on the plane was handed one and that's how it went. But for departure the QR may help, so we'll have it. They say you can not fill out the form before 12 hours of departure, so I'm just chilling here!
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3 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Steve Miller/GrampiesNo problem! But her husband mentioned yesterday that you can’t get the QR code until the day you’re leaving which is apparently problematic if you’re depending on airport wifi.

She did send me a couple of screenshots which I could email to you if you want.
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3 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetWhen we left, Westjet had a printed notice posted all about this, and I checked out the Mex. Govt website at the time. It swore there was no paper health form, but in fact everyone on the plane was handed one and that's how it went. But for departure the QR may help, so we'll have it. They say you can not fill out the form before 12 hours of departure, so I'm just chilling here!
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3 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetSure, thanks!
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3 years ago