CANCUN INTERNET ACCESS

It wasn't too long ago that traveling to Cancun meant completely dropping out of society for the duration of the trip. Telephone service was difficult, expensive and reception was often poor. Internet access was not available at any cost so checking your e-mail while in Cancun was not even an option. But since the turn of the century, Cancun has come a long way on both fronts.

Not only has telephone service improved significantly in Cancun over the years, but at long last the Internet has come to Cancun in a big way. Year by year Cancun's entrepenurs have established Internet Cafes in most of downtown Cancun's corners. Internet access is now available along most of the Yucatan's coast as well, all the way down past Playa del Carmen.

Rates for Internet access in Cancun varies, depending upon the scarcity of the service. Where a person might pay $3.00 US for 30 minutes in a Cancun Hotel, that same person might find Interet access available in downtown Cancun for $1.00 US for 30 minutes. Competition keeps prices down and the customer benefits.

The vast majority of the Internet Cafes in downtown Cancun charge for their services in pesos, although they will almost always accept US dollars as payment. So if the total cost of your on-line experience is $30 pesos, $3.00 dollars US will do the trick, using the popular 10 to 1 pesos-to-dollars ratio.

While the newer Internet Cafes in Cancun are using US keyboards (and you thought all keyboards were the same!), some of the older Cafe's have Mexican keyboards. Fortunately, Mexican keyboards are not a whole lot different from US keyboards. The letters are all in the same place on the keyboard, but some of the other keyboard items and functions have been moved around or removed. If you can't find the "@" sign on a Cancun computer don't be afraid to ask the person behind the counter. You won't be the first person that day to do so!.

A word of caution! Now that Internet access is so readily available in Cancun, it takes a certain amount of discipline to break the habit of checking your e-mail all the time. Remember...you are on vacation and there are many more important things for you to do that delete a bunch of spam in your e-mail in box. Take a hint from Carlos Fiesta...check your e-mail no more than once a day when in Cancun, usually after 5:00 pm 'home-time'. If there are any important e-mails waiting for you this will allow you to respond the same day the e-mail came in, which is about all anyone can expect from you while you are on vacation. And by clearing your e-mail in the late afternooon, you are all set to take on the Cancun evening, have a worry-free meal and cocktail, and sleep like a Cancun Clam knowing that you are all caught up with the drama back home.