Back from Mexico!
Well, its been a while since I have put a post up here but for good reason. Prior to last Friday, I was frantically working to get my work caught up and home tasks completed so I could be ready for my trip to
Riviera Maya on the Yucatan
peninsula in Mexico. Kelly and I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks. We both needed the break from the everyday hum-drum and I definitely need to get away from my work pager! Our trip included an all inclusive stay at the beautiful
Barcelo Maya resort. The
Barcelo Maya is a massive resort situated along the gorgeous
beaches of the
Caribbean. It consists of 5 separate hotels (Maya Beach, Maya Colonial, Maya, Maya
Caribe, Maya Tropical and Maya Palace). The Maya Palace is currently under construction and should be done sometime next year. Kelly and I stayed at the Maya
Caribe but had access to the facilities at all the other hotels. What follows is a day by day account of our trip:
Day 1 (Friday, October 12, 2007)Kelly and I wake-up early to catch our 10:00 AM flight with US Airways (or so we thought). Once arriving at our terminal for US Airways we find a sign stating that United will now be handling our particular flight and we need to check in at their desk. Of course United is in a completely different terminal so we hoof it over to United to get checked in. Fortunately we had given ourselves some wiggle room
time wise and were only mildly annoyed at the inconvenience. Once arriving at the United counter we found out that we would not be able to do the automated
check in and need to stand in line to wait for a representative to help us. Well given our luck we get behind at least 3 people that have overloaded their check baggage and were trying to repack things into their carry-on. Finally, we get up to the counter only stand and watch as we get passed over multiple times for folks who are checking bags. We stood there for what seemed like 20 minutes or so being ignored until Kelly finally spoke up when they tried to pass us up again and we finally got someone to help us. Fortunately we were carrying on all of our luggage and didn't have to worry about it getting lost or making our connecting flight (more on that). Personally, I have never been a big fan of United but you take what you can get sometimes! :) After getting checked in we were finally on our way. We
boarded our flight, after asking them find us seats together (the travel agency booked us in separate rows), and took off for our first stop in Mexico City.
Once in Mexico City we found out that our connect flight had also been changed as far as which carrier would be taking us the rest of the way, so we spent most of the 2 hour lay over getting through immigration and then trying to figure out which carrier and gate we need to get to. After figuring this out we were starved and had about 30 minutes to grab lunch and catch our flight. We boarded
AeroMexicana and were on our way to Cancun!
About 1.5 hours later we found ourselves on the ground at the Cancun airport trying to figure out where to catch our transfer ride down to the resort. After accidentally getting sucked in by a tourist salesman for about 10 minutes we wandered out into a see of taxi drivers all seeking to take us to our destination. This would have been great but we had prepaid for our transfer and need to find a specific one. Our lame travel agency didn't bother to tell us who would be handling the transfer so we were kind of lost. Thanks to a friendly taxi driver he was able to put us in touch with our transfer folks and we were able to catch our van ride south to the resort.
The drive south was a fairly uneventful 1.5 hour trip. It was getting later and darker and Kelly and I were tired and just taking in the view as we traveled past beautiful resort entrances mixed in with local "mom & pop" convenience stores and local dwellings. As it was getting darker we passed by a nice looking entrance to a resort and just as we passed it Kelly speaks up and says, "Wasn't that our resort back there?" I was pretty clueless and said I didn't know and she said she was almost 99% sure it was and stopped the driver and asked him to turn around to take us back. After some
disagreement he takes us back and while checking in with his dispatcher. The note he had been given was that we were going to a completely different resort that
happened to be another 45 minutes down the road! Well after getting through the security gate we pull up to the lobby and I talk to the bell boy who checks his list of names and can't find Kelly's. I then tell him my name and look through the list with him and sure enough we were on it! The driver bids us farewell and we walk up to the counter to check in.
While we were checking in, a waitress brings a couple of fruity tropical drinks to welcome us and start thinking, "this is going to a good time." We find our room and get our things settled in and decide to head down to the buffet before it closes for a much needed dinner. The great thing about the resort is that everything is open air including the buffet. The only exception being the nice restaurants that you need reservations for. We
grabbed a bite to eat and decided to wander around see what there was around. It was dark so we walked by the beach and saw the pools and came across one of the 2 open air theatres where a live show of Mexican dancers was going on. We grab another fruity drink at the bar and watch the show for a while. By now it has gotten late and we are beat from our travel and decide to hit the sack.
Day 2 (Saturday, October 13, 2007)We wake up to a beautiful
Caribbean day. We head down to the buffet from some breakfast and then I head to the gym for a quick jog and then meet Kelly by the pool. From there we decided to go the beach instead and make our way over there. We spend some time catching some rays and then decide to go for a swim. The water was relatively calm and as we are wading around we look down to see
dozens of bluegill size fish schooling around us. They especially seem to like Kelly and follow her anywhere she goes (animal
magnetism I guess). After the invading fish freak her out thoroughly we decide to head back into shore. On my way back in I almost step on a horseshoe crab but see him just in time!
Once on the shore we decide to head in and set up by one of the main pools. So we find a sunny spot and relax for a bit. Then we decided to go for a dip and order some drinks at the swim up bar. After that we head over to the snack hut to hit the buffet for lunch and then go back to the pool for awhile. That night we decided to use our one complimentary reservation at one of the nice sit down restaurants and get cleaned up to go to
Agava, a lovely Mexican restaurant. The meal was
exquisite and the strawberry margaritas were flowing freely. At the end of the meal we ordered some desert and the
waiter talked us into some tequila shots that went down smooth. Not too long after we decide to hit the hay so we are rested for our
excursion to
Xel-Ha the next morning.
Day 3 (Sunday, October 14, 2007)The next day we wake up to some overcast skies. We head down to catch our bus to
Xel-Ha. Our admission to
Xel-Ha included food throughout the day, snorkel gear, drinks from the bar and
eco friendly sunblock.
Xel-Ha is an
eco park which means that is dedicated to
preserving the
eco system and educating visitors on its natural wonders. It is located around a spring fed river that flows into the
Caribbean where fresh water and
saltwater mixes to create a unique environment.
Our first order of business once reaching the park was to grab some breakfast at the buffet, then we decide to catch the tram to the head of the river to float down to the mouth. We grab some tubes and begin the float trip under a canopy of mangroves. This spits us out into a river lined with rock formations, mangroves, palm plants and loads of
exotic animals. Unfortunately the tubing took longer than expected but we eventually made it to the end. From there we decide to do some
snorkeling, so we pick up our gear and head into the waters. We
snorkel across the bay seeing all sorts beautiful fish around rock formations and open sandy bottoms. We come to an inlet where dozens and dozens of small bluegill size fish with black strips and yellow bodies began to swirl around us! At this point Kelly had decided to swim away to take a
picture of me with the fish. I
hadn't realized this and just as I went look for her I felt a big bump
against my side. Thinking it was her I look under my arm just in time to see a 3 foot long grouper swimming into my side. This, naturally caught me off guard and freaked me out a little. Kelly said she is pretty sure she got a picture of it. From there we
snorkeled along the shore and came across a cave that you could
snorkel into. We went inside and got our picture taken and then decided to go get some lunch. After lunch we grabbed our snorkel gear and decided to hike through the jungle to the head of the river again so we could
snorkel down it this time. Along the hike we came across
iguanas,
Mexican badgers, brightly colored crabs, and beautiful
fauna. After a long hike we came to a bridge that crossed the river. On the other side was a 12 foot cliff. Kelly heads over and after working up some nerve she jumps off! Not to be out done I make my way over to the cliff. I make the mistake of looking down and then begin to wonder if I can do it. After some encouragement from some other patrons and Kelly making fun of me I finally work up the nerve to jump. I am glad I did. From there we proceed to snorkel down the river and enjoy the
peacefulness. At the other end we decided to call it a day for the snorkeling because the water had begun to get cloudy from the tides changing. We get out and had in our gear and decide to do some shopping in the shops on site. We find some nice
souvenirs and then decide to find a couple of tropical drinks and a quiet place to sit and watch a thunderstorm roll in off the gulf. It was beautiful site to see! From there we catch our bus back to the resort
That night's show was a
karaoke night so we decide to skip it and head back to the room. As I am flipping through the channels I find out that the New Orleans Saints game is on TV in
Spanish. Kelly and I are both tuckered out and Kelly suggests that I settle in and we can watch the game (what an awesome girlfriend!). At half time we head to buffet for dinner and get back in time to catch the Saints finishing off their first victory of the season. After that we go to bed.
Day 4 (Monday, October 15, 2007)On our last full day at the resort we decide to take it easy. We start the day down by the beach. Because of a storm the night before there were some pretty good waves so we decide to grab a couple of boogie boards and hit the waves. Unfortunately, they weren't quite big enough so we ended up just floating around on the boards for a while. After that Kelly decided to head over to the activities hut to try her hand at pottery painting but then found out that they
wouldn't have it fired for her until after we were
going to be gone the next day. From there we decided to grab a couple hammocks by the pool and relax. After some reading we get into to the pool for a while and then head into the snack hut for some lunch. From there we hit our hammocks again and then decide to hit the pool and swim up bar again. A few drinks and some swimming around later we meet an older couple from St. Louis. Kelly strikes up a conversation and before you know we have another newly wed couple from St. Louis joining our little party. Kelly was quite the social butterfly all weekend. A couple of days earlier she had made friends with Canadian couple who were there with there baby and a Mexican couple that were there with there baby as well. Back to the St. Louis couples, we end up hanging with them by the swim-up bar until they close it down for the evening. From there everyone decides we should probably get something to eat so we make some unofficial plans to meet up at the show after dinner. Unfortunately, Kelly and I got really tired right after dinner and decided to just walk around a bit more. We head over to the shopping center to look around and find something nice for Kelly. After that we head back to the room and get packed up for our trip home the next day.
Day 5 (Tuesday, October 16, 2007)Kelly and I wake up early because we had gotten conflicting information from the travel group on what time our transfer to the airport was going to be. They told us in two separate messages that we would be picked up at 7:10 AM and 7:45 AM. Since we didn't get a call back number we had to head down early to make sure we didn't miss the ride. The people at the resort were super helpful and sensing that were stressed out by this went out of there way to make sure they tracked down our ride for us. This gave us some time to relax, grab some breakfast, and get checked out.
At about 7:45 our ride shows up and we are on our way to the airport. We get to the airport a few hours before our flight and grab some food and do a little more shopping. From there we were on our way home and arrived at
Casa de ChamPort around 7 PM, only after stopping at
Portillos for dinner!
Even though we had some travel hiccups, I had an excellent time and got to spend some valuable quality time with Kelly. We both felt that the resort we stayed at was beautiful and the staff was awesome and friendly. If you are ever heading to Riviera Maya we would recommend it to anyone!
I am in the process of getting the pictures developed from our trip and once I do I will put them on Picasa and include a link on this blog. Adios!
Labels: mexico, vacation
