Cancún, Mexico – 19th June 2021
This morning I wake up with another urine infection…. Bah! Don’t know if it’s from the swim yesterday or what but I do seem prone this year. Urgent need to pee every 5 minutes and painful too… grrrr. I better take myself round to the Farmacia and get something for Cystitis. I set up my translation app on my phone with the Spanish for ‘do you have anything for a urine infection.?’ – ?Tienes algo para una infección de orina?.. that should do.
I arrive at the farmacia and immediately playback the translation… the young woman wanders off and I follow. She picks up a packet of something which looks like it’s from the analgesic section… now I’m allergic to several painkillers like paracetamol and codeine so am a bit alarmed. I see a section labelled urologica so ask if maybe it should be something from there? She asks her colleague and says no.. I think she says those are prescription only. She goes to the till and scans the box… hold on I need to see what it is first. I look at the box, it’s all in Spanish… ok so I look at the ingredients and there are only 2, doesn’t say anything I am allergic to so I ask if there is any information in English … no… ok so in my very best Spanglish I ask about when and how many I should take… she writes on the box 1 tablet every 8 hours for 5 days, in Spanish of course. I guess these are better than nothing.
Once outside I call the boss and ask her to look it up for me before I start taking it.. she sends me this
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fenazopiridina+in+english&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari
Ok not going to bother with that then… just have to drink plenty of water and try to find some cranberry juice.
I’m not sure what I want to do today… I think I’ll just go for a drive and see where it takes me. I put Punta Sam in my google maps, it is only 15 minutes away but in the opposite direction to yesterday so am going to see what is there. I already know there is a car ferry to the Isla Mujeres, which is an island just off the coast that I would like to visit, but not sure I’m up to it today.
On the way I see these and just have to stop for photos…
I love street art, especially when it is very well done. I particularly like the ‘tiger woman’ but they are all good. The buildings look like ‘social’ housing and are fairly run down so what a way to brighten them up.
Another one I found on my travels was this..
As it happens I don’t actually go into Punta Sam I just keep on driving, but now it is holiday resort one after the other again… they are building a brand new humungous complex out here for Planet Hollywood no less. Am a bit bored now so I decide to turn around and drive back into Cancun… maybe I can find a public beach and have a bit of a relax.
I’m pretty tired and although the UTI seems to have calmed down my back is killing me.. I do hope it isn’t travelling into my kidneys again! I suddenly realise I am needing a loo.. I see a Starbucks ahead on the opposite side of the road so do a u turn and now notice a Walgreens.. oh right they might have something in there for the wee problem. The weather is absolutely fantastic and it’s easy to forget how hot it is with the air con on in the car… the heat really hits you once you step out. Oh, its not actually Walgreens, it’s a Supermercado sponsored by Walgreens, oh well I’ll take a look anyway. No, there is nothing for me here, but they do have a loo… ahhhhh.
I partake of luncheon in Starbucks and then back into the car…. where to go?? I think I’ll take a look at the Hotel Zone, lets face it I haven’t really seen much of the tourist stuff.. (LOL). The HZ is out on a spit of land that encompasses a massive bay and it is hotel hell. It is exactly what I was expecting and in some ways reminds me of Pigeon Forge. The same global names are here, Hard Rock, Hilton, Hyatt, Bubba Gump, etc. etc. This of course includes Harley Davidson so I park up and go in. Not much in the way of bikes, but they do have some items on sale so I pick up a couple of things including the dealer poker chip for my collection. HD is situated in a huge shopping Mall, but half the shops are shut. I have a wander around popping in here and there; it’s actually quite nice to wander around, there is hardly anyone here and it is a very pleasant temperature too. I particularly like that no one is bothering me, I can wander in, browse, buy or not without someone in my face… excellent!
Back in the car I drive further along the spit and it is just never ending hotels…
Another monster under construction 
I don’t want to be too disparaging, after all some people must save for years to be able to afford this ‘once in a blue moon’ kind of holiday and good luck to them I say, hope it is everything they wished, hoped and saved for… it’s just not for me.
… then I see a gap which might be a public beach entrance so I turn around and attempt to park up. There are at least 6 guys all dressed the same, in white, directing cars.. clearly there is a fee to park, understandable, but I don’t really want to stay, I just wanted a look see. There are actually no spaces available anyway so I decide to make my way back into Cancun.
Am soon stuck in another traffic jam; this one is for about 20 minutes and caused by double parked coaches blocking one of the roads’ 2 lanes forcing traffic to filter in.. nightmare!
I’m really tired now so make my way back to my accommodation and eat some left over pizza. My host, Mercedes, comes into the kitchen and shows me a bunch of herbs in her hand, I think she said it’s Moringa and it came to Mexico from the Philippines… she then asks how I am so I mention the infection… she asks if I need anything and I explain about the Farmacia and not being able to get any antibiotic as I need a prescription. She is so fantastic, she immediately says ‘We have a doctor right next door; you can go and see him and I, or my husband, will translate for you.. it will be about 50 pesos… he will write you a prescription just tell him your symptoms and give him the name of the drug you had before’, I reply that I don’t know the name of the antibiotic, but I’ll check my NHS app to see if I can find it. She then says, take some of this herb, it is good for lots of things, just boil it in hot water for 2 or 3 minutes. She then rushes off, but I do take her advice and have a look at the app to see if I can find the name of the antibiotic… unfortunately I am not allowed access to my records yet. I’ll see how I go and if necessary will phone my GP to find out. In the meantime I do boil the herb and drink some of it… it’s actually tasteless so that’s a bonus… then I go straight to bed.
I wake up around 10.30 and potter about for a while. While in the HZ I saw a couple of people on bikes, Harleys and an Indian… ohhh I want one… ok lets google! I find a bike to rent, it’s not a Harley it’s a Honda Shadow, similar but the cost is 1/3rd of a Harley. I have booked it for tomorrow morning, (this morning now), and will drop off on Monday at 5pm so almost 2 days… am looking forward to it.
The back ache has abated, I wonder if it’s because of all the driving I did yesterday and getting back in the car today brought it on… who knows.
- ‘Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters’ – a line from a song by the Beverley Sisters, I believe.
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