On March 11th, I got on what would be my last plane ride for a while.
As three (it was supposed to be five but two backed out) of my friends and I boarded the plane to Cancun, we were bombarded with family and friends calling us crazy for getting on a plane and going out of the country during the beginning of a pandemic. But we did not care; we got on that plane with our heads held high and let the chaos unfold behind us for the trip of a lifetime.
As soon as we stepped foot off that three-hour plane ride, the fun began.
One of the friends who backed out on us was kind enough to make an itinerary for those still traveling. Although we were grateful, once we landed, we were not very good at following it. We were famished from not eating all day, so the first stop was FOOD. After we dropped our bags off at our gorgeous Airbnb, we explored the food options nearby. We felt a little pang of guilt about choosing Buffalo Wild Wings as our spot. After all, we were in Mexico! Nonetheless, it was great.
We stayed in Cancun, Mexico, for five days and four nights.
Our trip was filled with plenty of Tik Toks, an exciting jet ski excursion, plenty of beach time, and some interesting food.
One night we even met up with about eight of our other friends who decided to vacation in Cancun too while we still could. However, during our time, we were constantly reminded that when we got on that plane to go back home, we were “on the plane back to hell,” as we expressed it.
Two of my friends decided they were in no rush to get on the “plane back to hell” and extended their trip for two days.
While they tried to convince my other friend and me to stay, we decided it was time to get back to reality, and our bank accounts completely agreed! On the flight back to North Carolina, we had an overnight layover in Toronto, Canada. We don’t know how or why this happened, but we just went with it. While we had planned on exploring that night in Toronto, when we walked outside, the cold wind hit us like a ton on bricks. We had only brought warm clothes for beach weather. So that night, we decided to stay in and relax at our hotel courtesy of my mom.
I would not have changed this trip for the world, and if I had to do it all over, I would totally do it again!
I formed great friendships and had great fun during this time. If I had known it would be my last trip for a while, I probably would have found a way to extend my stay for those two extra days. Or, maybe not! Who knows, but…lucky for us, we came home when we did- the day after we returned to the US, the Canadian borders were closed, and the week after, the Mexican borders were closed.
Now, I spend my days in Chapel Hill watching Netflix and dreaming of lying on the beach with a cocktail in my hand. Hopefully, soon I can turn that dream into a reality!
Alyssa
