Dinner with Papa Juan & El Payoso
Yucatán Travelog #9
Back in the hotel zone - Sat 27 Dec 2014 - 9pm
Wow, it's been a long day. We picked up our rental car, drove a few hours for the first time in a foreign country, toured modern day Tulum, toured ancient Tulum, swam in a cavern, and drove a few hours home. Sounds like Miller Time! (Except I don't drink Miller. That stuff's pisswater.)
Tonight for dinner we decided to slum it with a few fast food restaurants near our hotel: Papa John's and McDonalds. Yes, they're American chains, but I'm always curious to try American fast food at least once in each foreign country I visit to see how it's different-- or not-- from what's served back home. I found similar visits to McD's in Tokyo and Tel Aviv enlightening. Alas, the enlightenment here is that US fast food in Mexico is pretty much the same as US fast food in the US.
Rather than carry our food home to our hotel room we decided to eat at picnic tables in front of the restaurant. Which are also right next to the parking lot. But hey, it's still al fresco dining in a tropical resort. It's shorts weather in the middle of winter. I grabbed a few bottles of local beer from the convenience store next door to make a proper resort-style picnic of it.
Speaking of sitting next to the parking lot, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about our rental car. Yes, the picture above is taken from our picnic table. It's like our car joined us for the meal.
The car is a VW Clasico. They don't sell those in the US, but they used to.... The Clasico is basically a fourth generation, or mk4, Jetta. The mk5 Jetta started selling in the US in late 2005. We actually owned a 2006 mk5 for several years. The mk6 started in model year 2011 and is still on sale. But here in Mexico you can still buy a brand-new mk4. Which isn't totally a terrible thing because the mk4 Jetta was a good car in its time, if a bit down-market compared to where VW went with the mk5. And at this point VW can sell the mk4 cheaply as its development costs are long since paid off.
This retro-Jetta handles well and has an engine that's adequate. Unlike that awful Chevy Spark we rented in Aruba, whose 0-60 time was so slow I literally couldn't measure it. (We'd reach the next traffic light or a stop sign or the next town before it could get to 100km/h.) This Clasico is pretty light on options, having only air conditioning-- for which we are very greatful, what with temperatures of 85-90 and high humidity. Other than that, it has a cheap aftermarket stereo and crank windows.
Back in the hotel zone - Sat 27 Dec 2014 - 9pm
Wow, it's been a long day. We picked up our rental car, drove a few hours for the first time in a foreign country, toured modern day Tulum, toured ancient Tulum, swam in a cavern, and drove a few hours home. Sounds like Miller Time! (Except I don't drink Miller. That stuff's pisswater.)
Tonight for dinner we decided to slum it with a few fast food restaurants near our hotel: Papa John's and McDonalds. Yes, they're American chains, but I'm always curious to try American fast food at least once in each foreign country I visit to see how it's different-- or not-- from what's served back home. I found similar visits to McD's in Tokyo and Tel Aviv enlightening. Alas, the enlightenment here is that US fast food in Mexico is pretty much the same as US fast food in the US.
Rather than carry our food home to our hotel room we decided to eat at picnic tables in front of the restaurant. Which are also right next to the parking lot. But hey, it's still al fresco dining in a tropical resort. It's shorts weather in the middle of winter. I grabbed a few bottles of local beer from the convenience store next door to make a proper resort-style picnic of it.
Speaking of sitting next to the parking lot, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about our rental car. Yes, the picture above is taken from our picnic table. It's like our car joined us for the meal.
The car is a VW Clasico. They don't sell those in the US, but they used to.... The Clasico is basically a fourth generation, or mk4, Jetta. The mk5 Jetta started selling in the US in late 2005. We actually owned a 2006 mk5 for several years. The mk6 started in model year 2011 and is still on sale. But here in Mexico you can still buy a brand-new mk4. Which isn't totally a terrible thing because the mk4 Jetta was a good car in its time, if a bit down-market compared to where VW went with the mk5. And at this point VW can sell the mk4 cheaply as its development costs are long since paid off.
This retro-Jetta handles well and has an engine that's adequate. Unlike that awful Chevy Spark we rented in Aruba, whose 0-60 time was so slow I literally couldn't measure it. (We'd reach the next traffic light or a stop sign or the next town before it could get to 100km/h.) This Clasico is pretty light on options, having only air conditioning-- for which we are very greatful, what with temperatures of 85-90 and high humidity. Other than that, it has a cheap aftermarket stereo and crank windows.