Tag: mexico

MEXICO 2006: Day 1, Sunday September 3, 2006

MEXICO 2006: Day 1, Sunday September 3, 2006

We arose at the ungodly hour of 3:30am to get into the car and go to the airport. The only thing that could rouse us is the promise that, in a few short hours, we’d be in sunny Mexico, on the Mayan Riviera, sipping frosty…

DINNER 246: Sunday, September 3, 2006

DINNER 246: Sunday, September 3, 2006

This evening’s dinner was in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera. We stayed for a week at the Barcelo Maya Caribe Resort. Dinner tonight was at the buffet, featuring “Italian” food.

MEXICO 2006: Day 2, Monday September 4, 2006

MEXICO 2006: Day 2, Monday September 4, 2006

Today, we rose early — about 7:30 — since the sun comes up and is ferociously bright by 7:00am. We made our way down to the buffet for breakfast, which, to Wendy’s delight, included fresh fried doughnuts. Breakfast was yogurt, scrambled eggs, cereal with milk, fresh fruit, sausage, and of course a fried doughnut.

P2010165.JPGAfter breakfast, we made our way back to the room to get changed, then went swimming by the dock for a while, enjoying the fish that live nearby. Soon, one of the small boats — either the dive boat or the snorkel boat — pulled up nearby and told everyone assembled that there was a nurse shark just over there, within snorkeling distance. Wendy and a few others went off in search of it while Drew stayed by the dock.

The nurse shark was never found, but we also learned that there was a barricuda near the pink bouy just over the other way, and most of the water crew snorkeled over to see it, which they did. Wendy reports that it’s a big sucker — about 5 feet long, and “fat as a sausage”. He guards the pink bouy, it seems.

Thanks for these pictures, Rodney & Michelle!We ate lunch at the beach cantina with Jon & Dawn, and sat and talked with them for a few hours, enjoying the breeze, the beautiful scenery, and the occasional beer or two. The four of us then went to the pool for a while before heading to the resort’s hot tub where we sat for a bit longer.

Cleaned up and hungry again (though we have no right to be), we went to the Seafood buffet for dinner, which is written up here.

MEXICO 2006: Day 3, Tuesday September 5, 2006

MEXICO 2006: Day 3, Tuesday September 5, 2006

We got up early today, and with a purpose… We were diving this morning, with two dives — one to Canyones and one to another very close dive site. Grabbed breakfast at the buffet (fruit, bread, yogurt, cereal, and some meats & cheeses) and then…

MEXICO 2006: Day 4, Wednesday September 6, 2006

MEXICO 2006: Day 4, Wednesday September 6, 2006

Another beautiful day, two more awesome dives… We got to the dive shop early and received scowls from Steffi, one of the dive shop employees who we really connected with. We’d promised to bring her a cappucino and completely forgot. Our dives took us to…

Wendy's Vacation Review: Iberostar Cozumel

Wendy's Vacation Review: Iberostar Cozumel

This review was written by Wendy.

I spent 7 nights at the Iberostar Cozumel with my brother in the beginning of September, sandwiching luckily between Gustav and Ike. This is a perfectly nice hotel on a mediocre beach but nearest the best scuba diving reef I’ve seen. Skip to the end if you’re easily bored; stay with me if you want all the details. I have stayed at the Barcelo Beach and Dreams Tulum resorts in the Mayan Riviera and at the Barcelo Palace in Punta Cana for all-inclusive reference.

We booked through our local travel agent Anna at OK Travel, GoGoTours was the group. Flew American Airlines right into Coz, laying over in Miami. The second leg into Coz is on a little turboprop, but it was very smooth. Nice to land right in Coz and not have to deal with the Cancun madness and ferryboat ride. No problems with the flights or airport, van from Olympus Tours was there to bring us to the hotel. It’s about 20 m south of the airport, quite a ways from town. Check in was a breeze and our room was ready. We were in 8114, nearest the beach and the pool on the South side. It was quiet and clean, small as others have noted but perfectly acceptable. The closet does not give you a lot of room to spread out clothing, but how much stuff do you need? It’s not a fancy place. The minibar was full and the safe worked fine. Each room has a nice balcony and hammock out in front. We did find some tiny ants in the bathroom, but they didn’t seem to bite and were nothing more than a minor annoyance (and my Deet skin spray did not deter them at all).

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