Saturday, June 27, 2009

Cancun

I had never visited Cancun or Mexico. To be honest, Mexico was never on my list of destinations (partially from hubby's description of his experience in Tijuana while in college)....neither was Ireland ...but I went...and I loved it!


Well, an opportunity presented itself. In January, my mom went on a cruise with some friends. Upon her return, she **INSISTED** hubby and I *need* to get away. Well, ya that was a given! So before she changed her mind (because that was always a possibility) I began researching destinations. The criteria was simple: WARM, CHEAP, and preferably a non-stop flight. Cancun fit the bill--warm, 4-hr non-stop flight with good flight times (i.e. we weren't getting up at 3am to head to the airport), and we paid under $1000 for 3 nights, 4 days, and airfare with breakfast included!


I remember back-in-the-day when hubby and I started dating---his parents lived in Las Vegas then. He would tell me how plane rides to Vegas were always so fun--party planes, he called them. Everyone was in a good mood, drinks were a-flowin, etc. But I never experienced that. THIS FLIGHT TO CANCUN WAS A PARTY PLANE. Everyone was in such a good mood!


On the pane, we met Raul, who was seated next to us. He's originally from Cancun, and was returning for business. He gave us so many tips, and he didn't hesitate to answer any questions we had. Truly a super guy.


At Cancun's customs, there weren't 2 lines (nothing to declare, items to declare). It was all one line. We got to play "The Custom's Game Show." We walked up to the Customs Official, she checked our passports, and told us to "Press the Red Button." The red button determines if you get your bag checked. Green light, you pass through. Red light--over to the table. Guess what we got?


As we were trying to make our way through the airport, a nice man came up and asked what transportation we were looking for. We told him, and he directed us to a desk. Hmm...tourist information. HA! If only we were so lucky! We were directed to a time-share sales crew that only *pretended* to be the "Welcome to Mexico" Greeting Crew. Managed to escape the time-share presentation with only 20 wasted minutes and a free bus map.


Once we were in our shuttle (and melted 5 pounds while waiting) I began to look around, get a feel for the place. My best description--and I think it holds true now that I'm home--is that Cancun is like Las Vegas meets the Carribean (minus the gambling). It's a huge hotel strip on the water. One end, the hotels are a bit smaller, further apart. Then there's a section where the hotels are high rises, bright colors, closer together. This is the PARTY ZONE. Not where we stayed. We were in the "quiet" hotel zone.


Actually, we really liked our hotel, the Fiesta Americana Condessa. Sadly, it didn't have a beach---Hurricane Wilma in 2005 wiped out the beaches in this section--but it had the hugest pool, and the room was nice and large, and the staff was unbelievably hospitable.



One thing I can say about Cancun---go on, order a Margarita....do it....
The tequila FLOWS!!! Each 'rita we had, probably had 3x the alcohol we were used to. Ay caramba!




And the food--wow. We had dinner at La Habichuela, a very romantic restaurant recommended by Raul. He suggested we try the "house special" the Cocochuela--a hollowed out coconut stuffed with rice, lobster and shrimp in a mild curry sauce.







The next day we went shopping to Market 28 in the downtown, where we got to do some haggling for souvenirs. We ate lunch at La Parillo, a restaurant recommended by hubby's friend. It took us a while to find it, but it was worth the walk and the sweat. I really, really wanted chicken enchiladas, but the waiter talked hubby into going for the buffet. And then, he convinced me to have the buffet. Am I glad I did! There was an abuella in the kitchen cooking. And the chicken sopa (yes, it was 90 deg, and I had soup!) was as good, if not better than my mom's. We got to eat real, authentic, cooked by grandma homemade food. And the 'ritas....mmmmmm.


At this point, I decided I was having a 2-fer day. Started out with 2 mimosas, had 2 rita's for lunch, then 2 glasses of wine for dinner.



For dinner...I can't believe we went out for dinner after all we ate for lunch...we hit the Argentinian steak house Puerto Madera. This place really wanted to be a 5 star restaurant. The steak and food was good. But there were too many waiters, and they were zipping about. It was dizzying. And they didn't have bread plates. The waiter brought us 2 baskets of bread, but no bread plate. They also brought sauces, which I thought were supposed to be for the bread, but when my steak came, I realized the sauces were for the steak. An explanation would have been appreciated.



Puerto Madera had 2 things I have to SHARE with you that I had never seen before. First, a purse tree. Every lady was given a purse tree---even if you didn't want one, like me. The second interesting thing were the house special "Potato Pillows." Deep fried potatoes that were HOLLOW. Served in a ruffles potato chip basket, with potato sticks underneath. Too much grease.
Potato Pillows

Purse Tree at Puerto Madera


On Sunday, we did something way cool. We went on a 6 hr catamaran ride. Snorkeling was supposed to be included, but was cancelled due to heavy winds. Parasailing, which hubby claimed he would try, was cancelled too. So we sailed straight for Isla Mujares for shopping and lunch. Did I mention this ended up being a booze cruise? As soon as a cup was empty, they would hand another one over. Ay carumba. Some people were not in good shape. And when we arrived at the "private club" for lunch, water was not an option. Booze was free, water costs money. Huh? Ok..more booze.

It was a great trip! Very relaxing. The people of Cancun were extremely hospitable and helpful. I can see why it's such a popular getaway destination!
Oh, and one word of advice that our friend Raul gave us. He told us not to be afraid of "Montazuma's Revenge." He said the water is safe. He strongly suggested that we wash our hands frequently and before each meal, as the Mexicans have different hygiene practices. I think that was the key to us staying healthy.

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