Broke, skint, potless, gutted.

[brit-pop]

Got paid the other day and its all bloody gone.

Spent it all getting me and her to Florida and Mexico next month.

People on here keep talking about cubes and stuff. Kindly stop it.

I am however looking for a benchmark DAC1 HDR and I have a lightly abused spare kidney I could put in part ex.

Thanks.

[_D_S_J_R_]

Welcome to my world... and we haven't had a holiday for twelve years! Living at the seaside does have benefits in kind though

[brit-pop]

The wife's cousin has a place out there, she's minted, and invited us to join them out there. A kind offer but fearing I'd get cabin fever staying in their place for a fortnight I found a couple of cheap flights down to playa del Carmen and a reasonably priced hotel for a week.

I like Mexico and can eat and drink reasonably there.

[zebbo]

Aye, well there is a saying about having one's cake and eating it.
I'll leave the holiday and take the Cubes.

[Macca]

I once went on a day trip to Mexico. We drove round a roundabout and all the Americans on the bus took pictures of it.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

We went once to Cozumel, the sea and the fish (watching) are the very very best in the world. Problem was they decided the hair on my chest and legs was edible weed and they wouldn't leave me alone, everywhere I swam these beautiful Angel fish followed me around nipping at me. In the end I swam in thin cotton trousers and a Tshirt.

Between sea and hotel was a swamp with alligators and turtles, but as soon as the sun went down full of mozzys. Second worst to the mozzies was the hotel was full of Americans, bloody hell they are LOUD

Little airport on Cozumel with only flights from US so we had to fly to Cancun and then cab and then boat, long trip. But that sea and the warmth of it is to die for. In the end we prefer Cuba, or second to Cuba Tobago.

[Macca]

I might have said this before but you should try St Kitts and Nevis. Proper unspoiled island and quiet, especially out of season. Fly direct from Gatwick.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

It is still 50% at least more expensive than Cuba, and the Cuban live music is brilliant, the food is OK but the people are really really nice (probably because of socialism DQ ) In early December before the Christmas price hike I can get all inclusive at our fav hotel for about £900 each for two weeks. The only island coming near to compete is Dominican Republic, but have heard bad things about the place. Tobago is reasonable but more expensive than Cuba. There used to be a real bargain island called Margarita (the drink came from there) just a little west of Trinidad which is owned by Venezuela and has become a centre for drug trafficking and criminals and is no longer safe, so the companies that were trying to promote it by giving good deals have stopped going there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Margarita

[Macca]

Yes it is more expensive than Cuba, that's true. But it is quite different too I imagine, not having been to Cuba. I like it quiet and with as few tourists as possible.

Agree Dominican is to be avoided. I've considered Margarita, a few years back now, but a longer flight since it is right off the coast of Venezuala. Always wanted to go to Aruba since that is where my father was from but that really is expensive and you have to fly from Amsterdam.

[brit-pop]

Of my recent travels the only time I have felt genuinely scared was in Samana in Dominican Republic.

Between walking from the port to the town I had picked up an unwanted tail of taxi drivers, shoeshiners, trip sellers and hawkers. They would not take no for an answer and it wasn't until I started shouting and threatening them did they back off.

I escaped it by jumping into another cab and told the guy just to drive, we eventually agreed a price and he became my driver/guardian for the day, taking me to various scenic spots and a nice beach where he waited while I had a swim. I agreed to pay him half his money upfront and half when he got me back to the ship which he was happy with.

We've visited Mexico a few times and I've never felt anything less than safe there, staying to the beaten track of course. The mexicans value their tourist trade and this is reflected in the fixed prices you pay for everything. Of course theres still some haggling to be done in the markets and stuff but its always fun and good natured, just be fair and that is respected.

I know it must seem awfully spoilt to be whinging about being skint having spent it on a trip but I actually do think we'll be on beans for the next month or two. No going out, looking at the drinks cupboard to see what we've got... Noticed there's a bottle of 12yr old Glenlivet I got as a birthday present in there. So there's the stereo and that for entertainment. Things could be much worse.