We arrived in Cancún at night and rented a car at EuroCar. Unlike in the States, where the rental car is normally very new, we got a car that had more than 50K miles on it. The engine temperature kept us worried all the time. Luckily, the car was functioning well without giving us any real trouble for the entire trip.

From the airport to the hotel, Barcelo Tucancun Beach Hotel, took about 20 minutes of driving. It is a all-inclusive hotel. Being a 3-star hotel, it had no fancy decors, but it did have the direct access to one of the best beaches in the world. The hotel zone is a narrow land that is less than 1000 feet wide but stretches 15 miles. Hundreds hotels spread along the white beaches. On one side of the land is the expansive Nichupte lagoon; on the other side is the Caribbean sea. We got a room with the ocean view. Looking out from the balcony, the beach seemed endless to both direction, the color of the sea is touchingly blue; and we were accompanied by the sound of sea waves throughout the night. It was the best ocean front room we ever had.

Yucatán peninsula is well-connected by newly-built highway. Cancún is at the east coast of the peninsula by the Caribbean Sea. Taking Highway 180, we reached the very west of the peninsula, Celestun. After watching flamingos at Celestun Wildlife Refuge, we had a quick stop at its coast by the Gulf of Mexico. Celestun is a quite fishing town. The sea was clear and blue and people were having good time on the beach.