The Beginning

On the night of Thursday, July 13th, I booked my first international flight in over 15 years – and my first ever flying alone. The flight was from Dallas, Texas to Cancun, Mexico, and would take off the morning of July 18th – the next Tuesday. My only constraints were how much money I had, and that my passport expired on the 10th of September, and it would probably best to return to the United States before then.

The only plan I developed at that point was that I would start in Cancun, and was likely to visit at least Tulum and Cozumel in the area. I chose not to do any additional research about the areas I was traveling to, as I already knew that it was a relatively safe and popular destination for travelers. The rest I would make up along the way, which would eventually lead to spending a total of 44 nights traveling in Mexico.

Why Yucatan and Quintana Roo, Mexico?

Of all the places in the world to go for my international travel debut, why did I choose this area? Days before I booked the flight, somewhere in Europe was still the leading option!

But I realized that Mexico offered basically all of the same important things I was looking for, and some other notable benefits as well.

• It’s very close to Texas, especially compared to other international destinations – a cheaper flight and easier assistance in case of emergency
• Spanish is the only foreign language I have any knowledge of, and I would be able to practice actually using it
• Available outdoor recreation activities in nature, primarily beaches and cenotes, along with interesting history via Mayan ruins
• Relatively safe and frequent area to travel to, meaning people to meet and the ability to speak English in most cases.
• Assumption that it would have relatively lower costs than what I was used to, both for travel expenses and general cost of living in the area

So I set off for Cancun, with everything I packed fitting in a carry on bag and personal item!

What Comes Next

I will continue telling this story in the format of one post per day that I was traveling – sharing the pictures, recounting the events, and reviewing what I learned!

I will also include some analysis of the amount of spending I did in each city or town, and what category it can be attributed to – restaurants, room, travel, alcohol, tours, etc.