> rewind to: later that day

So that Tuesday afternoon I land in Detroit.  Man, people are noticeably bigger.  And come in more colors.  There is ample toilet paper in all bathrooms.  Dude, I can get a Bell’s Oberon!  The sky is so BLUE out there.  This place is AWESOME!

A few hours later–the glittery walls of the Atlanta airport terminal greet me as I walk straight onto the next plane and within a few hours, I’m in Cancun!  Mexico!  Hola, not ni hao.  Gracias, not shi shi.  The air is also warm and humid, but it is nighttime and the sky feels more open and the air less dense.  As I ride to the Hotel Zone (a little nervous about what exactly a hotel zone is) it hits me that the sky is darker than I’ve seen in six months, and on one side of the car is just darkness, ocean.  Oh great goodness I cannot believe it.

I get checked in and walk down to the ocean.  I take off my shoes at the bottom step and lower my foot onto the surface of the sand.  The salt-scented air wraps around me and the ocean pulls me towards it with its never-ending swells.  There is no one around. The sky is velvety and the world is quiet. apart from the sounds of water.  What magical world have I entered?  What magical world?  I am stunned by the emptiness.  I sit and listen.

the ocean, cancun