By Mayra Avendano

Getting around in “colectivos”

When I tell my friends back in the U.S. how we get around here in Puerto Morelos and even other parts of Mexico that we visit, the expression on their faces say it all.  They are surprised to hear the stories of the “colectivos” as they can sometimes be scary (at least for me).  The idea of being piled up in a mini-van without a seat belt is scary but everyday hundreds of people use this transportation system to get around. It’s a busy transportation system and very competitive with each other as there are more than one company of colectivos all around Mexico.

This colectivo was empty as we took it early from the beginning of the route.

 

 

Most drivers can sometimes be very cautious and stay on the speed limit and not use their cell phones  others drive around like a bat out of hell using their cell phones and texting and brake so fast you feel like you’re going to fly out the window.  Several times I have told the driver to please not text while driving and the response is usually followed by a joke from the driver. Every time I get into a colectivo I look for the seat belt and sometimes they are accessible other times they are not as they pull them up and tie them to the head rest which I never understood why in the world they don’t allow passengers to use the seat belts, to this day I don’t have an answer. 

Getting around colectivos is not difficult as they have stops just about anywhere.  The fee is usually very inexpensive, for example, when we travel to downtown Cancun from Puerto Morelos we take one colectivo in Puerto Morelos (which only cost 5 pesos per person) to the main highway where we catch our second colectivo which cost 25 pesos per person and drops us off in front of the mall. Total cost to get us to Cancun is $3.44 USD.  Usually on our way back to Puerto Morelos we spend just a little more because we take a cab from the mall to the ADO bus terminal, cab ride there is 30 pesos, then we buy a one way ticket to Puerto Morelos which is 28 pesos each, total cost including cab fare is $4.92 USD and well worth it specially after walking around the mall or around downtown Cancun it’s nice to sit in a big comfortable chair with AC and Wifi and have a nice relaxed drive back to Puerto Morelos WITH a seat belt!