Mexico! (Part 1)

I have to admit that my grasp of both Mayan history and Spanish grammar had deteriorated in the decades since the University of Kansas released me into the world as a supposedly eduficated adult. But a week in the Yucatan worked wonders in restoring me to my former "not fully ignorant" state. It was also fun, relaxing, and delightfully free of Montezuma's Revenge! Yea!

The next few blog posts contain a verbal and photographic chronicle of my recent journey to Mexico, along with my personal thoughts and observations regarding beaches, ancient civilizations, and the peculiarities of international travel. I would urge you to click on the photos for embiggenation—so you can see the details of Mexican architecture, coastal scenery, fish under the sea, and other aspects of the total tourist experience.

Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the wonderful job Claire did in researching and organizing the entire vacation. With her delightful company, savvy travel management, and excellent skills as translator, I was free to concentrate on simply enjoying the experience. And that I did. Thanks, Claire!

Travel to Cancun

We left Denver as the snow began to fall, but we left our coats in the car because we wouldn't need them in Mexico. I had my newly-procured passport in hand, and was a bit nervous. (The only other time I'd been out of the country in the past 4 decades was unintentional and a bit unnerving, which is covered elsewhere.)

Fortunately, the process of getting through Customs in Cancun was relatively painless, and we were both passed through with only a cursory glance from the folks who thumped their stampers onto our passports. None of this process gave me any additional confidence that safety and security were enhanced beyond letting people pass through unscrutinized, but I suppose it's good to provide jobs to people who have no skills beyond stamp thumping.

Anyway, the Costco Travel bus sign was easily visible as we exited the airport (pointedly ignoring the hordes of timeshare salespeople who scuttled like roaches from the woodwork), and the trip to the hotel went smoothly. We had selected a hotel at the far north end of town (right next to the Punta Sam ferry dock, if you want to look it up), precisely because it was separated from the main hotel zone. The hotel complex was aesthetically spectacular!



The Hotel

As part of the check-in process at Villa del Palmar, we were offered the opportunity to receive a "VIP" card, which entitled us to discounts on meals, tours, and even groceries. All we had to do to receive this bounty was to agree to attend a timeshare presentation at the hotel. We quickly calculated that it would be easily be worth more than $100 and would only take 90 minutes, we agreed. After all -- I had no job, so it would be easy to say "NO." We scheduled our sales pitch for Saturday morning.

Our snorkeling excursion to Cozumel was scheduled for Friday morning, so we were up early and out in front of the hotel before 7am. It was a lovely day, and a gorgeous location to await the shuttle.



Each taxi, minivan, and bus had to check with the security guard at the gate, apparently so the hotel could track which guests were being swept away for offsite adventures. A dozen vehicles came and went, but the Cancun Scuba bus was not among them. Claire went back inside to make some phone calls, and eventually learned that the tour group had misinterpreted the words printed on our reservation. Apparently, they thought that "pick up at hotel" meant "paid customers must walk 10 miles to the scuba facility". Hmm.

At that point, it was too late to make the trip that day, so we rescheduled for Tuesday, receiving assurances that they would indeed pick us up at the hotel on that day. But now we suddenly had a free day. What should we do with this bonus time?

Timeshare presentation, perhaps? Oh, YES! What a delightful idea!

I'd like to point out that the hotel staff was consistently friendly, attentive, and helpful. When they found out we'd been stood up by the snorkeling folks, they were quick to offer alternatives, and it really did make sense for us to get the timeshare thing out of the way. And Tony, our "membership" salesperson, did an excellent job with his pitch, and grasped our commitment to a firm "No" with reasonable quickness. But during the pitch, we were treated to an excellent breakfast buffet and a grand tour of the fancy rooms available for vacations of the future. The view from the penthouse suite was impressive, indeed. The Caribbean is gorgeous.



Once released from the sales program, we took our VIP card over to the travel store, where Claire used our discounts to set up tours to Chichen Itza and Tulum/Coba. After that, we spent the rest of the day reading on the beach, sitting in the hot tubs, and swimming in the pools. This was also our chance for stand-up paddleboarding and cruising in the 2-person ocean kayak.





As the sun set, we had dinner at the hotel's Italian restaurant (discounted via the VIP card, of course), and it was quite good. Despite swapping a snorkel adventure for a sales pitcth, it was a delightful day! We tried to get to sleep early to prepare us for Saturday's excursion into the jungle.

The next post will include photos from Mayan ruins and swimming in cenotes. If you're ready to hear tales of ancient construction marvels, human sacrifice, and in-your-face marketing techniques, please join us then. In the meantime, have a great day!