Jac, Kathy, and Betty relaxing in front of the condo
View of the condo's patio
View from the condo's patio
Turtle surfacing in Half Moon Bay
For the first time we took Northwest Airlines to Cancun. We were pleasantly surprised by the good level of service and on-time performance. Of course we had to buy our lunch, but we knew we weren't flying Sun Country. This was also our first time through Terminal 3 at Cancun. I had been concerned with how Immigration and Customs would be, since we were arriving midday on one of the busiest weeks for Cancun airport, but the passage through Immigration and Customs was very fast. Outside we didn't find the car rental people waiting for us, but our flight times were an hour earlier than they were originally scheduled and apparently they hadn't gotten my email about the change. We did find the representative from Caribbean very quickly with the help of another rep and I went off to pick up the car. Kathy stayed at the Meeting Point restaurant to meet my brother and his wife, Jac and Betty, arriving an hour later than we did. The rental car was a brand new Nissan Tsuru. On the way back to the airport I stopped for some gas, then parked in the lot out front of Terminal 3. Within a minute or so of my arriving at the restaurant Jac and Betty walked up and after some refreshments we were on our way south. We made a quick stop at Covi in Playa for some tequila, then finished the drive to Akumal and checked into the condo. Our friend Dale showed up to help bring in the luggage. We settled in quickly and then headed to La Buena Vida for Happy Hour and supper. Much as I hate to say it, I won't make that mistake again. We had some of the worst margaritas ever served and, while the meal was all right, the menu has lost quite a few of our old favorites. We were able to make the margaritas barely drinkable by adding a shot of Hornitos to them. Otherwise they tasted like lime coolaid with no alcohol. I guess I won't say that we'll never go back to La Buena Vida, but it's unlikely that I will; for the prices they charge they should make some attempt at serving decent drinks.
View of the condo's patio
View from the condo's patio
Turtle surfacing in Half Moon Bay
Friday was set aside for relaxation. After breakfast at Lol Ha we returned to the Playa Blanca condos and spent the day lounging on the beach. It was very windy, which held throughout the trip, so snorkeling would have been pretty much a waste of time. We cooled off in the waves from time to time and watched turtles surface from our beach chairs. After Happy Hour at Lol Ha (ahhh…some great margaritas!) we had supper at the Turtle Bay.
Again we started Saturday out with breakfast at Lol Ha, then came back to the condo to relax. Went for a walk up to Yalku and back, then headed out to Tulum. We had lunch at Nacho's. Good food but still overpriced. We walked the beach around Playa Maya and splashed in the water for a bit. Back at the condo we relaxed for awhile then walked down to visit with Dale and Jule and the rest of their party at the Vista del Mar condos. Happy hour and supper were at the Lol Ha beach bar and then we came back to the condo to sit out front talking for awhile.
We started Sunday off with breakfast at the Turtle Bay. A bit later we headed to Soliman Bay to visit with a group of Locogringos.
On the way back to the condo we stopped in Akumal Pueblo at the grocery store and bought some freshly sliced ham and manchego cheese and some tortillas. We made tortilla sandwiches with some leftover guacamole and the ham and cheese. Delicious! Time to rest up for Happy Hour. We met with the same Locogringos and several more at Lol Ha.
Monday was a travel day, a day of exploration. After breakfast at Lol Ha we headed south to Punta Allen. I had heard that the road was paved all the way to the entrance to Sian Ka'an Biosphere and it was. It was also very crowded along the way. The south Tulum beach hotel zone is no longer the quiet getaway it once was. After paying the entrance fee to the biosphere (21 pesos per person) we continued south on the unpaved road. It was nowhere near as bad as I remember it being. (We'd headed that way once before, but stopped at the entrance to the biosphere because we were tired of the constant huge potholes. Kind of expected that now that the road was unpaved but we were pleasantly surprised.) There is a small visitor center a little way into the biosphere where we stopped. There were some displays and a pier out into the lagoon west of the visitor center. Continuing our journey south we did encounter a few areas that were still a bit rough after the storm surge last fall from Hurricane Dean, but most of the road was very good all the way to Punta Allen. In those areas where we could see the ocean we also could see much trash washed up on the beach.
Craig, Ron, Betty, and Jac
Tuesday, Dale and Jule's last breakfast before heading home was at Lol Ha. Later we took some school supplies to the library and then headed north for the day. We stopped at Puerto Aventuras and walked around the marina there, looking at some of the boats. The exit to the sea from the marina was closed to anything under 40 feet because of the wind, so there were quite a few boats tied up, including a much larger one from the Caymans…70 feet. We lunched at Gringo Dave's and walked around some more, then headed up to Playa for the rest of the day. We came upon a bottle of tequila that was incredible. Casa Noble Añejo, aged the maximum 5 years and double-distilled. Normally about the best I'll buy is Don Julio Añejo, but just this once I had to have some tequila that costs about 3 times as much. We actually saw the same stuff at another shop selling for $60 US more than we paid. We found our way to Yaxche, a wonderful restaurant serving Maya cuisine, and had a fabulous meal. From there we went back to the condo. The wind was so strong that it knocked the power out for about 20 minutes but with a nearly full moon the beach was almost as bright as during the day. When the power came back on we headed for bed.
Our last full day arrived, still too windy to go fishing. I went to the Loncheria and had some chilaquiles for breakfast and spent some time talking with a guy from Bar Harbor, Maine, who was there with his whole family, including several grandchildren…14 or so in the group. I went to Turtle Bay to pick up some sweet rolls for the others back at the condo and had a brief conversation with a young couple who recognized me from Locogringo. Back at the condo I spent the rest of the morning baking in the sunshine.
The final morning found us at Turtle Bay for breakfast. We returned to the condo to pack up, then loaded all the stuff back into the Tsuru. When we tried to close the trunk something was wrong with the latch. Eventually the gardener found a piece of something to tie it down for the trip back to the car rental agency. They were somewhat concerned about the latch, but later found that it was a very minor adjustment and all was well. The check-in lines at the airport were long, so that took up the better part of an hour, but we still had time for a lunch at Margaritaville. No sitting around waiting for our row to be called for boarding the plane, since the timing of the lunch was perfect. The flight left on time and proceeded back to the frozen northland without incident. Baggage handling at MSP left much to be desired…it took us longer to clear customs in Minneapolis than it had when we arrived in Cancun because of the slowness of the baggage unloading.
Overall impressions: as usual a very relaxing and pleasant time with family and friends in an idyllic setting. We've always had some very windy days in March when we've been there, but never before for the entire week. The week before Easter is never a good time to be in the area, because it's so crowded. Fortunately there is little chance of a repeat anytime in the next century or two. Sooner or later we're going to have to consider moving down the coast a few more hours south of Cancun. While Akumal will never be as bad as most areas along the coast, it's just getting to be too popular a vacation area.