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AIR BNB
For most of our travel, Brenda and I book our accommodations through Airbnb and we have, for the most part, been very happy with our lodging and with the service provided by Airbnb.

In June, when we were booking our Mazatlan stay, we were already a little late to get the choicest spots in our desired location. We figured that our options would only diminish as we got closer to tourist season, so we booked our entire 85 day stay at a listing in Centro, Mazatlan's historic area.

Before we arrived we had several email exchanges with the host, who was always responsive and helpful. As we were uncertain of our ETA she left the keys for us in a lockbox at the entrance door.

By the time we arrived night had fallen, but we couldn't initially get the lights to turn on. There was an overwhelming chemical smell in the apartment that I thought might be insecticide. We couldn't find the wifi address or password to contact the host. The last straw was the bathroom layout. When we opened the door we realized the shower stall and toilet shared the same space, which we've seen before in Europe. However, in this case, one had to go through the shower area to get to the toilet. In other words, if we had to use the toilet after we had showered on the morning, we had to walk over the wet floor.

Things were not going well.

After we got our phones working, we contacted the host and told her we could not stay under these conditions, particularly since we were scheduled to be here for three months. She came and met us the following morning and agreed to let is out of the contract with no penalty, which was very nice of her.

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In the interim, Brenda and I had been scrambling to find alternative accommodations, but as we suspected, picking were pretty slim. Brenda found a place in the relatively upscale Machado area, but it was already booked from December 24 through January 3. We decided to book it for all the available dates through March 6 and moved in here for the first part of our stay to December 24.

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So what are we to do over Christmas and New Year's? Brenda has generously invited me to spend the holidays and my birthday with her in Mexico City until January 4. We've heard there's a booming vegan culture there and were excited to try it out.

Our hosts at our Machado Airbnb have agreed to hold the bulk of our luggage while we're in Mexico City so we can just travel with our carry ons.

So that's it. After our European trip where we were packing and unpacking continuously, we were looking forward to arriving here, unpacking only once and repacking when we returned to Vancouver. Sometimes the best laid plans find a way to go awry.Read more