The Adventures of Ghost Squadron: My Mexico Trip, October 14-17, 2005

Travel Log

Can we say train wreck? No, no, I joke, but there were some classic Ann and Rachel traveling event! For instance:

Minneapolis security: Rachel gets scanned
Cancun security: Rachel gets scanned (and only because she pressed the button and she lost)
Cancun security (return): I get scanned

All I am saying is that every time I turned around it seemed like airport security was focused on taking us down. It must have been Rachel's middle eastern heritage (Lebanese), she is such the terrorist.

Cancun airport: Girl heads off with my bag, thinking it was hers - don't be dumb, double check the tags when you pick up your suitcase - and I have to chase her down in the Cancun airport!
Cavie was on my flight/transfer bus/resort. Not that I have anything against Cavie, it is just for once I would like to leave Richfield behind, I was going to another country for Pete's sake!
Rachel discovers she does have a shrimp allergy.
Beware of the bugs. I thought there was a small sparrow type bird flying towards me, turns out it was a moth. I then of course stopped saying "birdie" in a welcoming tone and instead ducked and screamed.

Resort:

I have zero complaints and would highly recommend the Barceló to everyone. Rachel and I were actually lucky enough to get a room with a view of the ocean (you would be surprised how hard this can be, the hotels are designed so not many rooms face the ocean, because if all the rooms were lined up with the beach, well come hurricane time all the windows would be blown out). We had a free mini-bar that was filled everyday by the mini-bar fairy; beer, candy, pop, water, everything you want on a trip! The first day we realized the sink was leaking when we stepped in the bathroom and nearly drowned. I was slightly worried that we would have to put up with that the whole trip, but they fixed it the same day we complained about it.

Food:

GREAT! The two main questions I heard when I got back were: how was the food and did you buy vanilla (the seasoned Mexico travelers always asked me that). The hotel had a choice between the ocean-side snack bars, the buffet or the sit down fancy like restaurant. The snack bars were probably my favorite, they had pizzas, fruit and the best guacamole I have ever had (go figure, I guess I was in Mexico). The buffets were probably on par with OCB, not stellar, but tons of variety and something to suit every appetite. The food was really fresh and every time we walked into the buffet restaurant we were greeted and offered a drink (champagne, margarita, etc). We were able to make reservations for one night at the fancy restaurant (no shorts, sandals allowed), the atmosphere was lovely, a ton of waiters were there to fill up your drinks when they got half empty (best Sangrias ever!). This restaurant was actually really lacking in the vegetarian department, the only time I ever had a problem on the trip! They had egg dishes for me to eat, eggs are not my favorite, but I believe Rachel's meal was excellent.

Activities/Entertainment:

The resort had an abundance of free activities, we partook in a couple. Snorkeling was by far the highlight of the trip for me (Rachel may have a differing opinion on that). After spending a moment being beat and battered against the rocky shore, I made it past the breaking waves and into this incredible underground city. I had the best time letting the current move me around while I peeked into this undersea life. There were tropical fish of all sizes and shapes, some would swim right up to me, others would sneak a look at me from under a coral cliff and some would take off so fast I couldn't see anything but a silvery tail in the distance. Patches of the coral were so vibrant, pink fans would wave at me from afar, almost beckoning me out further. Stark white cactus-shaped, bonsai-sized trees lined the dark rocks. Dirty white mounds of sponge in the shape of brains were scattered around, it lead me to imagine that just maybe this underground paradise did have an intelligence of some sort that guided them all.

Other resort amenities

Mini-golf: Free! We went after dark one day and it was actually a little spooky. The course is set up in a jungle. Very wooded (bugs can be bad) and dark if one of the lights on the course were to be out. Fun time though.
Arts and crafts: Well, it wasn’t free, but still, arts and crafts! I love arts and crafts! We purchased the items we wanted to paint and then sat down and tried to keep the paints inside the lines, I have more respect for kindergarteners now. Once we were done we were told we could pick up our items the next day, they glaze them for us and add a black border around the designs that cover any mistakes!
Nightly Entertainment: Wow. Now this was a train wreck. Granted the entertainment was free, so I wasn't expecting much and well, this was not a Vegas show. Oh, this singer must have thought he was Michael Jackson and not just impersonating him. Granted this guy could moonwalk, but who can't? Just walk backwards without picking up your feet, I never really understood why that was so cool. I can't even explain why this was bad, maybe the Day-Glo outfits for Thriller had something to do with it. However, I did find it surprisingly hard to pull myself away.
Pools: The pools were huge, not crowded and wonderfully clean. Most resorts are now using this new kind of filtration where chlorine is not needed. Some form of soft salt is used instead that is just as effective as chlorine at killing the bacteria but it does not leave you all smelly, that was pleasant. The pool bars were great, it is so relaxing to wander around the pool and sip a margarita.
Beach: The definition of paradise. There were lounging chairs all along the shore and 95% of them were unused. The palm trees were scattered along at perfect locations so you could easily pick between a shaded chair or a sun soaked location.

Excursions:

CHICKEN PIZZA! Er, I mean, Chichen Itza ! This was a very long day, but so worth it. It started at 8 am with Rachel and me waiting at the front lobby for the tour bus. I won't get into it, but it might be possible that the bus and everyone on it was waiting for Rachel and me. We were standing exactly where we were told we should the day before, but well, thank god for the Mexican that looked like Ryan Paetznick (my landlord)! He steered us in the right direction. So we boarded the bus and seven hours later we arrive at the ancient Mayan city! Thankfully, it was not a solid seven hours of driving. There were many stops along the way. We stopped at a Mayan market, aka, a tourist trap. Eee gad, the stress! As soon as you walk in the workers surround you. They try to find something that interests you, something you linger on and then watch out, they will not let it go. I managed to bargain for a necklace here so I felt pretty proud, it is not a place you can browse at. Next stop was a cenote (a natural well). This was magical. We descended this enclosed, stone staircase and emerged on a landing, how do I even describe what I saw....breath taking. Long vines trailed down into this sun-sparkling pool of water. From overhead, small waterfalls splashed into the pool below. The water was cool, but very refreshing. We only had 30 minutes to spend at this place so it was in and out. Wonderful stop. Back on the bus and on the way to lunch. It was buffet style and decent enough, but, ugh, I was ready to move on and see the main purpose for this excursion! We finally arrived! Once there we broke off into two groups; the Spanish group and the English group and off we went. Our guide was Mayan so I think she offered a very interesting perspective on the happenings of this ancient city. It was just fascinating and we did not have nearly enough time. All the buildings and structures are amazing, but the main temple is what it is all about. Built perfectly in lined with the sun, 91 steps grace each side of the structure leading to a main room on top (add it up: 91*4 + 1= 365). It is a wondrous thing that something like that could be built so many years ago. During the excavation they discovered that the main temple had a smaller one inside of it; that is what I climbed. There was just a small hallway carved out that could be used to climb to the top. The stairs were steep, the heat was oppressive, the lighting was dim but when you reached the top, incredible. There were two remaining statues from the time, untouched by looters. There was a man carved out of stone, with his hands open as if as an offering and behind him was a jaguar statue, painted a vivid red, with green spots and jade eyes. Neat.