Arriving back at my hotel in Cancun after a long day at Chichen Itza, I was hot, tired and hungry. Our group was staying at the Oasis Beach Hotel, a nice hotel that is planning on becoming nicer. It was closing for renovation immediately after we checked out the following day. My trip to Chichen Itza had been solo, while my friends were involved in other activities. One friend was still in the hotel working on a project. I called her to go down to dinner with me. I quickly changed into something more appropriate for dinner. As I took off my walking shoes and sox I was surprised to see the whole inner aspect of my right heel was blazing red and quite hot. I couldn’t see anything to have caused the problem, so slipped into my sandals and went off to meet Sally.
We met in the lobby. First, we found the buffet restaurant was closed. Next we tried the tropical restaurant with the palm-leaf thatched roof, out by the pool. It too was closed down. Only one was left, the one that, we had been told, required reservations. Walking towards it we couldn’t see any patrons in the place, but on closer inspection we saw three members of the staff conversing by the front desk. Upon entering we explained we did not have reservations, but as the other restaurants were closed we were hoping we could get something to eat there. The three men graciously welcomed us and we were escorted to a nearby table. We were given menus and placed our orders. While we waited Sally and I discussed our day. I told her about my foot and stuck it out from under the table so she could see it. Neither of us had the slightest idea what might have caused the problem. I remembered seeing a tarantula during the day, but knew it had not come anywhere near me. However, the thought occurred to me that there could be other causes that local residents might be familiar with. So, as there were no other patrons in the room, I turned to the nearby staff members and asked them to please come over to our table.
Relating my tale, I stuck my foot out for them to see. With great care and consideration, the three waiters crouched down by my foot and carefully examined it. Like three medical specialists they conferred over my foot, in Spanish. Finally they offered the joint opinion that it was probably an insect bite. I thanked them and they withdrew.
In a few moments one of the waiters returned with a stainless steel bowl filled with a liquid and several cloths. (I’ve heard the liquid probably contained lime juice and white alcohol.) He lifted my foot and began to gently apply cooling compresses to the spot. The colour began to fade and the area cooled down. When he finished, the men brought out a chair, placed a clean white napkin on the chair and my foot on top of that.
While we waited for our dinner the waiters brought paper flowers over to each of us. My kind waiter posed for his picture with me. In due time our tasty dinner came. Although it took several days for the redness to totally abate, my foot gave me no further problems after the dinnertime ministrations of the kindly gentleman from Cancun. Now who could ask for kinder, more considerate waiters than the ones we had on our last night at the Cancun Oasis Beach Hotel!
Article by M. Maxine George
Picture credits:
Oasis Beach Hotel Pool and Restaurant : by M. Maxine George
Maxine and Waiter: by S. McKinney
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