I just want to go to the beach!

The evening we left Long Beach it was cold and cloudy and I was looking forward to the hot sun of Mexico to shine on me. I use these vacations to stock up on the sun before I am sent back to the land of “clouds.” It is funny, my friends in Utah talk of the reservoirs of water, I have a reservoir of sunlight, and I like when I can get it filled! Thankfully, the hurricane in the area moved on through and the sun was out the very next day. Gotta love those lazy see days. It gives you time to relax before you enter a foreign country. I don’t know if the Mexican ports were more stressful than the Caribbean Ports I went to 8 years ago, or if I was just more stressed because I was wondering through a foreign county with my children. It felt as though our family was carrying around a sign that said “I am a tourist, come and sell me something for more than it is worth.” There definitely was no chance of blending. I felt like in the movies when the white guy sticks out like a sore thumb and is called a “gringo.” And to make matters even more confusing, we were trying to save money. So we didn’t book any excursions through the cruise. We just got off the boat and tried to find a water taxi to take us to the beach. We were bombarded by all kinds of natives with their little signs, telling us of their excursions. I felt quite overwhelmed with the situation. Our cruise director had told us the night before of how careful we needed to be. He told us to be specific when making a deal. Make sure if you agree on a $10 ride it includes everyone in your group, so they don’t tell you $10 a person when you get there, 3 miles down the road. So I was already paranoid about getting taken advantage of when my husband, all of a sudden, makes a deal with a guy who was now pushing me into a little boat. Choking back the tears of panic I was beginning to come unglued. Michael had cut a deal and paid for the round trip up front. So now I am thinking, who knows if they are taking us to the beach we want to go to, but now that they have our money, who is to say they aren’t just going to leave us there. As we rode and chatted with the captain of our little water taxi, I began to calm down. He did seem like a good guy, just tryin’ to make a living. Not some “gringo-napper”, so I didn’t think we were in danger. He dropped us off at the beach we were looking for and promised to pick us up at the same place 3 hours later. As we watched him float away Michael just looked at me and said, “Well, if he actually comes back we got a good deal. If not, we will have to spend a bit more to get a taxi home.” “Oh well, now.” I thought. Might as well enjoy the experience of the ocean in Cobo. I figure if it was going to be an expensive trip to the beach it may as well be a fun one. So we played in the ocean, and explored the beach. It was amazing. And wouldn’t ya know, our boat guy came back for us! If I am ever in Cobo again, I will know just who to look up. lol