Mexico Part 2

One of the best thing about attending a conference in Cancun, apart from the obvious, was the fact that people from all over the world attended.

There was people from Norway, Argentina, Melbourne, Brazil, Barcelona, Israel, South Africa etc etc etc. It was so interesting hearing all the different languages being spoken around me at once.

Everyone was so friendly too, which made the second night of the conference one of the best. This was the night of the PhD/Post-Doc mingle at a bar next to our hotel. Again they provided a free bar and literally as soon as you put down an empty glass a waiter appeared to offer you a new cocktail. It was dangerous. But not as dangerous as the amount of tequila slammers consumed that night!

After the bar shut we moved onto to an adjoining club for a dance, until it got to the point that if I didn't go to bed I would not be seeing any part of the conference the next day!

No social events were organised for Tuesday evening so we arranged to go out for dinner with the PhD/Post-Docs we met the night. The conference and our hotel were in the hotel zone which although has the amazing beaches is also totally touristy. So we decided to head into the centre of the city, 'downtown' to a fish restaurant in the middle of a market that someone had recommended to us.

At every restaurant in Mexico you get nachos, salsa and the most amazing guacamole as an appetiser, in the same way you get bread and oil in Europe. My main was grilled garlic fish with roasted veg and rice washed down with a corona. All of this came to just £9! Bargain!

I also tried a bit of someone's shark empanadas - the shark meat was, as expected, pretty fishy, but with a very smoky flavour. I wasn't particularly keen but I'm glad I can say I tried it! 

The buses in Mexico are a lot more lively than here - they were playing Mexican music loudly to get everyone in the party spirit. When we got back we bought some beers and sangria from a local shop and headed to the beach to relax and chat, an activity which became the norm for the rest of our evenings in Cancun.

This is the first beer I have EVER ordered for myself and finished!

                    

The next night followed pretty much the same theme - meet for free drinks organised by the conference, Mexican food for dinner, drinks on the beach.

On the final night of the conference there was a farewell fiesta. Everyone met in the conference centre for pre-dinner drinks then the main seminar room was opened up for dinner. The room was filled with dinner tables, a 3-part buffet and a dance floor.

Whilst stuffing our faces on even more tortilla wraps filled with fish, chicken, beef and pork we were entertained by traditional Mayan dancers. A complimentary sambuca on the rocks was brought round for a bit of dutch courage before a local band started playing and everyone hit the dancefloor. One of the best things about being in Mexico is hearing a completely different type of music than what we have in England. For everyone from South America the only dance they do is the salsa. It was so much fun learning how to dance like that with a partner rather than awkwardly bopping like the Brits so often do.

As standard, after the evening came to an end we all headed to beach with our bottles of beer. It was a great end to a great conference. 

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