OK here's one from Jay & I, it may have already made it into a trip report...
We were fishing out of Pesca Maya in February of last year. We had arranged a 5-day trip down there and originally the plan was to get up at about 3 a.m. on the last day and drive from Punta Allen to Cancun to catch our plane. Well, after driving from Cancun to Punta Allen to get there in the first place there was no way we wanted to do that drive again, especially the last stretch from Boca Pailla to Punta Allen. So, we arranged with the lodge host, Brian, to get a boat ride from the lodge to Boca Pailla bridge and be picked up by the van driver at the bridge on the last day of fishing. That way we could spend the night in Cancun, get some sleep and not have to rush to the airport. We figured we'd fish half the day and then boat up but Brian assured us we had plenty of time, to fish until 4, shower, pack, and then catch the boat up. So, we fished all day, got back and showered and packed as he had said. As we were finishing up Brian came and told us we had to hurry since it would be getting dark soon and the guides had to get back before dark with the panga. We had been moving pretty quick actually, probably taking 1/2 hour to shower and pack. We said a quick "good-bye" and jumped in the boat. Well the boat ride was way more comfortable than the van ride but still pretty long. After going through several relatively thin channels and some shallow water we arrived at the Boca Pailla bridge with the sun down and it getting dark fast. I asked where the van was, the guide said "Five minutes, no problem" and basically threw our luggage out onto the small beach and chased us out of the boat. He then roared off. The mosquitos then attacked. We were miles from anywhere, it was dark, there were tons of bugs, probably crocodiles, and there were a few locals fishing from the bridge but at the time I spoke very little Spanish and I doubt they spoke English. Five minutes went by, the van wasn't there. We found the DEET in my bag and applied then just weren't sure what to do. Luckily in about 15-20 minutes a couple of pontoon boats showed up at the beach with two guys from Salt Lake and so we hung with them for quite a while, talking about our trips. They had a rental car and told us that if worse came to worse they would drive us to Boca Pailla or Tulum where we could try and find a place to stay or we could camp on the beach with them sans tent. About two hours after we were dropped off we were ready to take them up on their offer to get a ride to Tulum but just then the van showed up. We hopped on with our gear only to find that all the beer was gone from what was supposed to be the stocked cooler. We eventually made it to Cancun and got a room sort of through the maid's entrance at some condo unit where the van driver obviously knew someone in housekeeping - sort of a cash-only transaction and we were put downstairs in some corner. Oh well, it was right on the beach and at least there were a few bikinis to watch in the morning when the sun got up. Tim
