We rented a car for two weeks, to visit Yucatan peninsula, 10$ per day ! But the rental center is outside of the city, it’s in an all inclusive area. So we walk with our backpacks on the jungle road among golf cars, tourists trains, and other ‘all inclusive’ vehicles.
The hotel through the trees like a Mayan temple. All the workers wear colonial cloths, and the tourists … Nordic American middle class. A father didn’t have enough space on his body for tatoos, so he expanded on his 9 years old son.
We enter the hall. It is impressive. As well the toilets.
We feel like spies in a movie with Nazis. I’ve never been in an ‘all inclusive’, but here everyone seems to wait for something. For the servant. This is the democratisation of luxury: to be master for 2 weeks in a year.
The rental office is in the lobby. We wait. A clerk asks me if we stay at the hotel. I am afraid that our cloths are not presentable. But he tells me that if we attend the presentation of their services, we can have a free rental day and a free lunch.
A rental day is 10$, so 3$ for each of us. And the lunch, I can eat for 2$. So I win 3.54$ per hour. I admit, I am cheap, but as well curious, so we agree to accept the invitation.
Jérémie comes from Paris. He shows us the buffet. A l’attaque !
We try hardly to hide our enthusiasm and hunger. Don’t fight for the sushi, there is one for everyone !
Jérémie is waiting for us at the table. First he asks about us. We try to save the appearances. It’s hard to speak while eating, or thinking about eating. It’s hard to eat while speaking as well. I don’t know which is harder.
Caro is losing the control ! The pressure is too high for her. She is the philosopher, but in front of the sale guy in the all inclusive, she has issues to keep the cover.
When I finished the second big plate, I asked if anyone wants some desert. At this moment, Jérémie said that we have no time and we have to go to meet his boss to present more in detail the offer. I cannot understand how one hour was gone. This must be a worm whole.
The boss, Alexis, again a French, makes the following offer: to buy a package of 30 weeks at one of the hotels of the chain, valid for 20 years with 10% down payment, and 0% interest rate, for the rest on credit. 4 people could stay for one week for 210. Even it was not our style, I admit that it was tempting. But then I thought: to eat the same food each day, the variance of food quality… But we could send 4 friends ! I asked some days to think. He said that I have to sign that day, due to a rule of the Mexican government. This was the NO signal. We spent in total 3 hours !
* A friend told me that it’s a classical trick.