| Boston was warmish when we departed around 10 in the morning,
40 degrees or so, but with sullen gray skies. We flew through
Miami, Kate and I in First Class, Brie and Will in Coach, a situation
that lead to a certain amount of complaining on the kids part that we
didn't have to listen too once they headed to the back of the plane.
We had a rather long layover (more complaining), then flew the short leg
to Cancun international airport, arriving around 4 pm. A twenty
slipped to one of the baggage helpers resulted in being whisked through
customs (have to love the Caribbean, where tips actually matter).
We hooked up with Matt, Cindy and Lulu Garber at the hotel van and drove
to the El Taj, the beachfront Condo
in Playa Del
Carmen
we were staying in with Janet and Bill Garber (Matt, Cindy and Lulu were
staying nearby, same complex, different building). Bill and Janet
arrived a couple of hours later. |
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It was dark by the time we arrived, so the beachfront was
only visible by the light of palm trees wrapped with strips of
tiny white lights at what turned out to be the Indigo Beach Club
(which was built into the El Taj, but for reasons unknown, was
not part of the complex proper). The center of the complex
(which is roughly V shaped, with the mouth of the V facing the
ocean) certain looked inviting with the pool and Jacuzzi Jet
seats. The condo was very nice as
well, with a large living area, a small kitchen, and three
bedrooms, all of which had balconies with chairs and tables.
Above the rooms was an upper patio with a thatch roof covered
sitting area, a Jacuzzi, a Grill and a refrigerator (which ended
up stocked with beer for most of the week). We spent several evenings with Will grilling food for everyone,
while the rest of us sat around enjoying the balmy weather,
which ranged from around 70 in the evenings to 85 during the
day, and drinking beer.
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Below, everyone enjoying the upper patio on day 2, with the full moon
larger than life overhead |
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| Needless to say, the view during the day was spectacular, with the
turquoise and aquamarine waters that make the Caribbean so beautiful a
spectacular backdrop for breakfasting, reading, running, or pretty much
any activity you wanted to participate in. Below left, the El Taj,
below right, the view from the lower patio (where we typically ate
breakfast), and below that a panoramic view of the beach from the upper
patio. |
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Right, breakfast on the lower patio. Above, lunch at Club
Indigo on the beach. Below... on the beach! |
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| There were some dinners out, of course. The best place by far
was Yaxche, a Mayan restaurant
where they prepare food the way it was done back during the peak of the
Mayan civilization, with recipes retrieved from chiseled stone tables
that were the equivalent of restaurant menus we have today. Right.
But the food was excellent and they had a "Mayan Margarita" that was
dark green and tasted almost but not completely unlike a margarita (I
had about five of them). At the recommendation of almost everyone
local we ran into, we also tried a place which featured
theoretically great tacos (which we didn't have) and traditional Mexican
dishes (meaning "things you won't find in a Mexican restaurant in the
US) (which we did have). |
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Kate shows how impressed she is with the native Mexican dish
"Molcagete," while the rest of us try Elanarre and Alambre
(which were also pretty weird) |
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| Activities ... assuming you do not count shopping as an activity,
but an occupation... included a number of memorable outings. Our
first was a snorkeling tour arranged by
Phantom Divers, who
were recommended by the El Taj and were very good (so much so I used
them later for a scuba trip). We went Monday, which as it turned
out, was the roughest seas of the entire trip. Bill, for someone
rapidly approaching his centennial, did an impressive job of forging
through the waves, climbing the ladder as the ship bounced up and down
in the six foot swells, and getting in his seat, with Janet not far
behind. I had a hard time getting in without staggering around.
We took a half hour boat ride down the coast, with water spray that
looked like something from a big budget special effects movie soaking us
to the skin. The snorkel area was, fortunately, protected a bit by
the reef. Below, starting at the top and going clockwise, Brie
with a spiny sea star, Will, Bill and Janet, Brie getting soaked by a
wave on the trip back, an underwater shot, Matt and Will, Kate. |
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| The second activity was a combined trip to
Tulum (ancient Mayan
ruins) and Xeh-La. Kate and I did that same trip 23 years ago in
1989 (you can see the photos
here). Things have changed a bit since then, particularly
Xeh-La, which has gone from a snorkeling oddity (it use to have a layer
of fresh water on top of salt water; now it's so heavily used, it's all
mixed together) to a full fledge theme park. Top two pictures are
Tulum; the rest are Xeh-La. |
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| The final activity for the trip (unless you count Brie and Will's
visit to The Blue Parrot
Beach club Friday night) was a Dave-only scuba trip on
Friday, doing two dives, one 70 foot and one 40 foot. It wasn't
quite as spectacular as the reef dive in Belize, but it was still
spectacular. The guide from Phantom Divers had a decent underwater
camera, and as there were only a four of us, spent most of his time
taking pictures. |
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| We returned home on January 14th, my birthday, arriving to find
close-to-zero temperatures, and the next day Brie and Kate came down
with an intestinal bug that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy just to
rub salt in the wound. But we did get the doggies back home, which
helped. |
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