So I’m back in the States. What a great week. KC and I were at Riviera Maya this last week. We went with a group that we knew from here. I was anticipating a really great week and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s how the week went: (This is a very long entry!)
Saturday
We left early for Chicago. KC wanted to do some shopping for a business suit and I wanted to get some Red Robin spice. We had packed nearly everything on Friday night so it was pretty easy to leave the next morning. After dropping Daisy off at the kennel, we left for Chicago about 9:30am. Our flight was leaving early Sunday morning and we wanted to check in to our “park and fly” hotel, but had the aforementioned shopping to do. After all the shopping and after finding the hotel, we settled in for a few brews in the hotel bar (a Harry Caray bar, no less) and some snacks. After a few brews, I conked out about 9pm.
Most of our group was there, though: Andrea, Corey, Floyd, Brian, Mike, Janice, Rick, Danita, Randy, Cindy, Chad, Joanna, Brad, Kelly, Steve, Marla, Sue, Bear, Nate and Melanie. There were also a number of others that I simply can’t remember the names. (Can someone help me out?)
Sunday
Had a wakeup call for 2am, left for O’Hare at about 2:30am. Went through the airport security and all that shit and then had about an hour to wait before our flight left (at 5am). The flight went smoothly. I got an exit row seat (thank God!) and promptly fell asleep. I woke up shortly before they started the in-flight movie National Treasure. We also had some kind of food substitute for breakfast - anyone who has eaten airline “food” knows what I’m talking about.
The plan landed at the Cancun Airport on time, then we had the battle of customs/immigration. I remember last year we were in line waiting for about an hour at customs/immigration. This year we broke all records and were only in line for about 10 minutes. We actually had to wait longer for our luggage. Then we were out into the Cancun morning. We found the Apple Tour bus and boarded there. Forty five minutes later we were checking in at the Iberostar resort. An hour later (after booking a number of meals and KC’s scuba diving) we were on the beach sipping cervezas. Yeah, boy!
Lunch was at one of the buffets. There were two restaurants that were only buffet, two restaurants that were buffet for lunch and reservation-only at dinner, and three restaurants that were reservation-only for dinner. This doesn’t include the four bars that were pretty much open all day.
We finally got checked in to our rooms around 4pm. A little later we went to a buffet dinner and then hung out with the gang. We conked out about 10pm; ya know, it was a really long day since 2am!!
Monday
No wake up call here. We gathered at one of the buffets for breakfast to determine what we were going to do. KC and I opted to head for Playa del Carmen along with Chad and Joanna. The taxi there was a mere 50 pesos ($4.90) and well worth the cash. I got myself an “Indiana Jones”-style hat (well, almost) and a number of souvenirs for family and friends. I had a Pepsi Light to drink (no diet products; they are all “light”.. Pepsi Light, Coca Cola Light, etc). After walking all over 5th Avenue and parts of 10th Avenue in Playa del Carmen, we were quite tired of walking so we headed back to the resort. Changed into our swimsuits and headed to a buffet for lunch. Then spent the afternoon at the beach soaking up the sun (under SPF 30), salt, sand, and surf. What a great time!
That evening we ate at the Japanese reservation-only (8:30) restaurant. It was the first time I have eaten sushi - my opinion still stands… it’s OK, but it is BAIT! The main course was beef and shrimp for me; they also had chicken and octopus for main courses. It was excellent food and the cook put on quite a show for us. Later we all gathered and played euchre for a couple of hours; most of us guys had cervezas (Dos Equis brand) while the women had Dirty Monkeys, Magaritas, Blue Lagoons and such. Then it was off to bed.
Tuesday
Tuesday we left a wakeup call. We hopped a tour bus and headed for Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is the largest Mayan ruins site open to the public. I have to tell you that the trip there was no fun. I don’t fit well into bus seats and it was a two-and-a-half bus ride there. It was quite interesting after we turned off their interstate highway on to one of their major two-lane highways. I say major jokingly; it was downright frightening when a truck or even another car was coming as it seemed more like a “chicken fight” than two lane traffic. The road was no wider than county roads here and had NO shoulder; I mean NO shoulder… six feet past the edge of the road was jungle.
Chichen Itza was impressive. (It was hot) I have a number of pictures taken there. (It was hot) After a couple of hours with a guide telling us the history of the area (It was hot) we left for a restaurant. At the restaurant we had a nice lunch, some of them jumped into a sinkhole as a refresher. Since my swimming skills are somewhere between nothing and nil, I got to take pictures of the jumpers, KC included. KC got a nice silver and gold pendant with her name in Mayan letters after this. Then it was back to Chichen Itza for a self-guided tour. (It was hot) I climbed to the top of the Chichen Itza Castle, which is about 30 meters high. (It was hot) When I got to the top it looked a lot steeper looking down than it did looking up. Yow! Very cool, though. Did I mention it was hot?
We only had about an hour and a half for the self-guided tour before we got on the bus and headed back to the resort. On the way back we watched Cheaper by the Dozen on the bus’s movie system. Once back at the resort, we made a quick run to the beach to get wet and cool down. Then it was time to get ready for dinner at one of the buffets. Afterwards we again gathered to play euchre and drink for a couple of hours before bed.
Wednesday
No wakeup call for us! After Chichen Itza the day before and being on our feet for most of the day, it was kind of nice. We met at the breakfast buffet and then headed out to the beach. This was a nice day of lounging around for me. KC had her first two dives this afternoon. It’s also the day that John and Cindy came down; we knew they were coming down Wednesday and not with the group on Sunday.
After a buffet lunch, KC left with a group for diving and I headed back out to the beach. It was a lazy afternoon of laying around and watching the resort entertainment (Miss Bikini contest, which was actually a dancing contest but still quite appealing to the men!) and generally hanging out.
We had buffet dinner and then played some euchre. After that we again joined the rest of our group but this time at the resort’s stage entertainment. It was a show of music and dancing about movies; it was OK, but definitely something I could have done without. After a few Dos Equis Negras, I was ready to leave as was KC. We called it a night early.
Thursday
We had a wakeup call as KC was going out to dive her final two times. After these dives she is certified as an open water diver. She took our underwater camera this time! While she was diving I went to Cozumel with some other members of our group. It is $18 for a round trip ferry ticket from Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel. They have some pretty cool shops over there, especially some jewelry shops. KC wanted me, along with Kelly’s help, to get a chain to go with her pendant.
After we returned to Playa del Carmen, I searched out an internet cafe and cleaned out some spam and left a quick post. Then I returned to the resort where I met up with KC and we went to lunch. After lunch it was an afternoon on the beach (again - I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that!) before going back to the room to clean up.
That evening we ate at the reservation-only (8:30) Steak Restaurant. I chose the sirloin (which was excellent) but they had a nice variety of steaks and beef sausages to choose from. We ate dinner with Rick, Danita, Chad, Joanna, Randy and Cindy; one cool thing we did afterwards was that we took a nice moonlight walk on the beach. The restaurant was actually very close to the beach, so it was easy to do. Later we went back to the lobby and played some euchre and had drinks for a while before succumbing to sleep.
Friday
Again, no wakeup call. (How nice!) KC and I headed down to the breakfast buffet and let others know we were headed to the Playcar Plaza, a small shopping center in the heart of the Playacar area. It was a few blocks walk to the Plaza, and then we went into shopping mode. Got a few things there then headed back to the resort, changed and hit the beach. We had buffet lunch on the beach, then spent some more time on the beach before leaving about 3pm to get cleaned up for the wedding.
The wedding… it was the reason we had come down here in the first place. We gathered about 4:45 on the south end of the resort’s beach. It was a very beautiful setting. There were 36 of us there, including the bride and groom. There were also many who just sat down and watched, even people walking by on the beach stopped and watched the ceremony. After the ceremony and many pictures, we had reservations at the Italian restaurant. There were the typical toasts and such, but the best was when Sue gave a small speech about how she was such a good friend of Andrea (she really is) and how Corey had so many “girlfriends”. This led to the procession of nearly ALL the women (KC included!) in attendance to drop Corey’s room key off permanently. We all thought the kicker was when Chad came up with a room key and kissed Corey on the cheek; the REAL kicker was when one of the waiters came up with a key smiling all the time!
After the meal we all gathered in the lobby and had drinks and simply talked about how beautiful the ceremony was and how wonderful the reception was and all. After many drinks and much talk, it was simply too late to do much else other than go back to our rooms and go to bed.
Saturday
The final day in the sun… no wake up call here! After a buffet breakfast, KC and I hit Playa del Carmen for some more shopping; we picked up the last of the souvenirs and such. We walked up and down 5th Avenue not wanting the week to end. When we got back to the resort, we headed down to the beach for a buffet lunch and the beach. We lounged around for the rest of the afternoon with the group. We all agreed that the week had gone too quickly and that all too soon we would be back in the work routine. We went back to the room to pack before dinner.
The meal this last evening was at the Tropical reservation-only (8:30) restaurant. Lots of interesting stuff: squid, salmon, grouper, but I had the tuna steaks for my main course. We all talked about getting an early night during the meal. And shortly after finishing, we went back for one drink at the lobby before heading to bed.
Sunday
We had a 5:30am wakeup call in order to make the 6:30am bus to the airport. Got to the airport, got checked in through customs (no, I didn’t have any illegal items - no Cuban cigars!!) got an exit row seat, and we were ready before the plane. The flight back was uneventful. Customs/immigration at O’Hare was uneventful; we were only in line about 15 minutes or so before being checked through. We all jammed into a shuttle to return to our “park and fly” hotel. Then headed home. We got back here about 7:15pm last night.
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