Hmmm...what do I blog about Mexico? Other than beautiful sunshine and the beach, great food, yummy drinks, mingling with interesting people from all over the world, and total relaxation, there's not much more to say.
We had an absolute blast. It was a great vacation. Much different than any vacation we have ever been on...not that we have been on very many:). And since I'm a rambler and can always come up with random things to talk about, here's a few things I can tell you about our vacation.
On the beach after a little too much to drink. ha ha.
RESORTS
The two resorts we stayed at were both wonderful. Yes, I admit it, the switch ended up working out fine:). It wasn't ideal to pack up our stuff in the middle of the trip, but it wasn't too bad. There were things that were better about each of the resorts, but both were very luxurious.
The Royal (our intended resort) was newer and more modern with better rooms. The entire resort was open-air, with beautiful landscaping all throughout. The air conditioning was like sleeping in a meat locker. We loved it! The air was so good that the camera kept fogging up when we walked outside in the heat and couldn't take a picture for about 30 minutes:). There were no reservations required for dinner and it was right in the town of Playa del Carmen, so no cabs were needed when going into town. Service was great for the most part. Each night they would leave these delicious chocolate Bon Bon's on our pillows. Ah, the little things that get me! And it was an adults only resort. Last, the 24-hour lounge with snacks and drinks was better at this one. Brian couldn't get enough of the jalapeno poppers!
The RIU Palace Riviera Maya was less new, but still very nice. The decor was a little old looking for my taste. However, the pool was so great! It was huge with lots of shade. The Royal's pool lacked shaded areas, so it was nice at this one. The restaurants and pool entertainment were the same quality at both. However, the nightly entertainment was better. They had better shows with awesome dancers and a fun terrace area where everyone would gather and drink. The air conditioning was horrible here. So much that we had to call to get it serviced. It helped a little, but not too much. There was also one other mishap at this resort, but keep reading to find out.
View from our balcony
Mayan dancers for the nightly entertainment
WEATHER
We had great weather the entire trip. It never rained and was sunny every single day. I have to say though, the weather was much hotter than I expected. You pretty much had to be in the water or you were sweating your butt off. Very, very humid.
Check out that blue water! So pretty!
ALL INCLUSIVE
Having all inclusive at both resorts was absolutely awesome. It was nice to be able to order anything you wanted without worrying about the money. With that said, we experienced some amazing food. There were five specialty restaurants at each resort and several buffet restaurants to choose from. Some were just ok, but for the most part, all the specialty restaurants at both resorts were very good. I even tried sushi! And it was actually good! I was so proud of myself.
Liquor dispenser in our room that was unlimited.
Brazilian restaurant with really fun server. I have Chinese eyes:).
And we definitely did sake bombs at the Japenese/Asian restaurants. However, they do them slightly different in Mexico than what we are used to in the states. Rather than us hitting the table (Sake, sake, sake, BOMB!), the server hits the table for you. It was different. So, here's how it went down. We're sitting there at a nice dinner as we order the sake bombs. As the server brings everything out and she is setting them up, everyone in the restaurant starts looking at us like, "what are they doing?". Well, the server then hits the table so hard that it sounds like a large glass vase hits the floor. It was SO loud! The whole restaurant gets extremely quiet as everyone turns to look at us as we chugg sake bombs. Sweet. We are that couple. She also hit the table so hard that it splashed all over us. Not sure why it was necessary to hit it that hard, but it was fun. We know everyone in the restaurant was secretly wanting to do one too:).
sake bombs
It got all over his shirt
SMELL
The smell of the tropics was interesting. I had never been to Mexico, so this was new to me. It wasn't a bad smell, just different. There is so much moisture in the air that if there is no air circulation, it can smell kind of musty. Hence, the open-air design at the Royal. We had to wash everything in our suitcases, even if we didn't wear it.
SURPRISE IN MY SUITCASE
So we come back from dinner/going out at the second resort (our first night there) as we find a few friendly beetle/cockroach looking bugs crawling across the floor. I freak out a little, but stay calm because I understand we are in the tropics. Brian kills them with a flip flop. I go about unpacking my suitcase, cursing this resort as it was already tainted from the whole mix-up with the travel agent. Then, I see a nasty beetle bug dash across one of my shirts in my suitcase!! I FREAK out! Brian has to ransack my entire suitcase, taking out everything to find the little critter. We go to bed that night as I have this thought that a bug is going to crawl across my face. Sick. The resort staff fumigated our room the next day, so it got better. But still, bugs equal not good.
"I REALLY LIKE THOSE SHOES"
It was our last night at the The Royal (the first resort) and we decided to take a walk on the beach. The patio to our room faced the walkway out to the beach, so we decided to ditch our shoes on the patio before we headed out to the sand. Well, I had on some really cute heels, ones that I really like:) So, I hid them behind the plant on the patio so nobody would steal them:) Brian made major fun of me for hiding them as he just chucked his flip flops on the patio. Well, as we checked into the second resort and I was taking my shoes out of my suitcase, I realize I had left my shoes behind the plant and forgot them! I was extremely mad because I really like those shoes! Brian tried to talk me out of trying to get them back, but I insisted that they would still be there. So, I spend about 20 minutes on the dang phone trying to talk to the hotel staff about my shoes. I explain to about 10 different people - that don't speak great English - that I left my zapatos on el patio, behind la planta. I know I studied Spanish in college, but when you are upset and just trying to get your shoes back, it was pretty much not existent in my vocabulary.
They transferred me to the front desk, to the concierge to guest services and I tried to explain the situation. After all my effort, I have no clue if somebody was going to check on them, if they found them, or if they even freakin' understood me. Well, we decided to just go back to the hotel that evening and see if they found them. Needless to say, they didn't know what I was talking about when we first arrived. So, we just checked behind the plant ourselves and sure enough, they were still there! Score!
XPLOR
We took an awesome day excursion to XPlor, an adventure park with ziplines, amphibians (motorized water and land vehicles), and rafting/swimming through caves. We had a blast. It was a nice day away from basking in the sun and drinking your life away (surprisingly).
hammock ziplining
CHICHEN ITZA
We also took a day trip to Chichen Itza, also called Chicken Pizza for the people who can't pronounce it:). They are the Mayan ruins that were added to the list of the Seven Wonders of the World to see. It was really cool to see, but so freakin' hot! 110 degrees to be exact! Not to mention we had to spend 2 and half hours on a bus to get there. Thank goodness it was air conditioned with comfortable seats. We also met a really cool Canadian family that we hung out with. We did stop off at a cenote (fresh water sink hole), that was 150 ft deep to take a dip in.
Ok, that's it! Longest post ever.
2 Comments:
I'm jealous!
You guys got some awesome pictures!!! I can't wait to go... only 5 more months, blah! Glad you had a great time!
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