Since our last trip to Jamaica in January 2020, the world of travel was shut down because of COVID-19. Other then our annual fishing trip we pretty much stayed at home. Once the vaccines started to roll out Tom’s brother, Todd, mentioned that he wanted to take his kids on a post Covid vacation. I jumped at the mention and asked if we could invite ourselves along as I knew I would be more then ready to travel. So here we are August 2021, more than a year since Covid-19 hit our shores and we headed to Riveria Maya in Mexico.
Todd had planned a 10 day stay utilizing Pete and Laurie’s time share, but since it fell over my drill weekend Tom and I opted to go for 7 days. I went to work on Saturday and actually left work on time. As soon as I got home we packed our stuff and headed to Chicago where we did a park and stay package. We got to Chicago about 7:30 and after dropping our stuff in our room and parking our car in the extended parking lot area, we ate at the Longhorn Steakhouse restaurant that was on the property. We started the vacation out right with a steak and lobster meal that was quite delicious. After dinner we went straight to bed since we were catching the 5:00a.m. shuttle to the airport.
Our flight wasn’t until 8:00a.m. but the hotel said with the airlines being short staffed that 3 hours was recommended for the airport instead of the typical 2 for an international flight. The biggest change for air travel since the last time we went was the mandatory face masks from the time we got to the airport until we landed and were outside the airport in Cancun. There was a line to get through the check-in counter but nothing too dramatic and we easily made it through security with more then an hour to spare. The flight was uneventful and we landed in Cancun ahead of schedule. Getting through immigration was no problem but we waited for what seemed like forever for our bags. It felt like they were putting 1 bag on at a time spread out every 5 minutes. We finally got our bags and made our way out of the airport to find our shuttle company rep who we found with no problem. We had to wait about 15 minutes after we found him for our driver to arrive, but we were soon enjoying a Dos Equis on the 45 minute drive to the resort. Upon our arrival at the resort we were escorted to the First Club where we checked in and met the rest of the group. I have to say, one of the greatest things I found that this resort has done (not sure if other resorts are doing it too) was that the bracelet they issued to identify your “status” was also the room key. How awesome is that you never have to worry about walking out of your room and forgetting your key? It’s always on your wrist. What a great invention!! We found that our room was not in the same building as everyone else but was told it was an upgraded room so we rolled with it. Although it was a nice room, it was a handicap accessible room. This would not normally be an issue for us, however the sink was super low and there was absolutely no counter space so we asked if we could switch rooms. We were told that there would be a room in the same building as everyone else, but not till the next day. We were good with that but we weren’t able to unpack and get settled right away since the bell boys would be moving our luggage on our behalf the next day. We think the room might have been meant for Tom Sr and Linda, but as long as they had a first floor room (which they did) they were fine with where they were. We went and grabbed lunch at the beach buffet and had the best beef barbacoa tacos. Covid protocols made the buffet experience different then what we had been used to. Still a buffet, but we were not allowed to help ourselves. A worker would have to scoop stuff onto our plates for us. They also had many items like fruit, bread, desserts, etc on plates that were Saran Wrapped that you could grab and go. It made me wonder about much Saran Wrap they go through. I also thought I might be eating a little less since I didn’t take as much because someone else was serving me. Other Covid protocols were that a mask had to be worn in dining establishments and they took everyone’s temperature when entering. Overall it was nothing too disruptive as long as you remembered to bring your mask with you.
Our first couple of days we spent lounging in the pool. It was much too hot and humid too just lay in the sun like I normally would, so we camped out in the shade of the huts by the pool. The one thing this resort did not have was a beach like I normally like. I love to be able to walk along the beach for miles right on the ocean. This resort had a small inlet area with a beach. This would be a great are for little kids to play in the water, but not so great for people like me who like to walk the beach and sit on the beach to enjoy the ocean air. We did swim in here a few times though as the water was cooler then the pool and Tom was able to use his snorkel set. Almost every morning we went for a walk around the property and one morning Tom and I ventured to walk the rocks along the ocean (since there was no beach for me to walk). I would have walked those rocks for a mile if I could, but unfortunately, they didn’t take us very far. It must not have been very far past where the resort property ended that there was a man made canal (or inlet) that we were not able to pass or go around. Our little rock climbing adventure ended sooner than what I would have liked. Talking to our front desk person he said that a lot of the resort properties do that so they don’t have a bunch of people walking in front of their properties even though the first 10 meters are federal property….. bummer. On our other walks Pete and Laurie discovered a simple way off the property that had nice sidewalks that looped around. We all felt this was a very safe area to walk and appreciated a place to get some steps in. On Thursday Laurie agreed to get a few extra steps with me as I ventured to go find a geocache about a mile from the resort. We took the same sidewalks we did for our morning walks but had to walk a little further out to the main road. We got within 200 feet of the cache when I realized it was on the other side of a super busy 4 lane highway. Ugh how were we going to get across? Laurie looked at a Google map and saw we had to be on another road that went under the highway. So we double back to get on that road, just to find there weren’t sidewalks on that side of the road. Again, ugh. Well that’s never detered me before so we carefully walked along a small shoulder and played a little Frogger as I would poke my head out to look for traffic around trees when I couldn’t see. We then saw a sidewalk that took us to the other side of the highway. We got to the large Xcaret sign and after looking in a couple of wrong spots (thanks GPS for not zeroing in where it should have) I made the find. I would have been really mad if I couldn’t find the cache after the long adventure/walk we took to get there. We snapped a picture and then found an underground walking tunnel and path back to the sidewalk we needed to take us home. We had a much safer walk back to the resort and got lots of steps in that day. Like most geocaching adventures you always find the trail you’re supposed to be on after you find the cache.
For excursions on this trip we went to Xcaret on Wednesday. Excaret is a nature park that is connected to the resort we were staying at. When I was there I thought some of it was natural, but found out later that it was all man made. As our front desk person said “Mexican Disneyland”. Just as we entered the park it started to pour rain so we walked through some indoor exhibits of Mexican heritage. The rain didn’t last too long and we were on our way to do the river swim (the big attraction at the park). Getting our lockers and life jackets seemed like a cluster, but I think it was only because we didn’t know what we were doing. Once we realized how well organized the park was we think the problem could have been us. They actually have colored tile lining the walking paths that match the signs of where you want to go. The river swim was nice (and water was quite cool when you first get in). It probably took us at least an hour. There was a small current but for the most part I was swimming to move ahead. For 75% on the swim Emma held on to my life jacket and I used my arms and she kicked with her legs and calling herself the motor. It was really pretty, and I would have been more impressed if it was all natural. After the swim we went to the buffet (which was included in our admission price). I thought the lunch here was outstanding (some of the best food on the trip). I enjoyed the ceviche, pulled pork, guacamole, salad, seafood soup, and desserts. After lunch the group split up and Tom and I went with Todd and Kris and the kids to go snorkeling. It was a small area that was kind of crowded but I did see some fish and Emma really liked it. I got out to go sit with our stuff so Kris could go snorkel. After a while they all came back, but Tom said he would take Owen and Emma for another round so I went with him to get a picture of them getting in the water. Unfortunatley that’s when the afternoon took a different turn. Tom was making his way down the steps into the water when he slipped and fell landing on his back and hitting his head on the step (scraping his arm along the way too). It kind of knocked the breath out of him and I handed my cell phone to Emma as I tried to help Tom out of the water. I told the kids to go back up to their Mom and Dad as I tried to help. Tom was able to get out of the water and was going to make our way to our spot, but a bystander who had seen him fall alerted a worker at a nearby concession stand and they called to have some medical personnel come look at him. They got him a chair to sit in while he waited. It took forever for the medical personnel to arrive but after asking Tom some questions determined he was most likely ok but suggested he go the first aid station to get checked out just in case. They brought a wheelchair, but Tom didn’t need it. So Tom and I gathered our stuff and followed the worker to the First Aid building. I wasn’t allowed in with him (thanks Covid) so I sat on a bench outside where I found another wife waiting for her husband that fell some down some wood stairs in another location and might have popped out his shoulder. He came out first and I overheard him tell his wife that they wanted him to go to a hospital and they had given him a steroid shot. He declined the hospital since they were flying home the next day. I was hoping that Tom wouldn’t have the same prognosis. When he came out he said they basically just gave him 2 Advil and cleaned up the scrape on his arm. He had also signed the paperwork that he would not hold the park liable (maybe the main reason they wanted him to see First Aid?) Anyway, long story short we are all thankful that he didn’t seriously hurt himself and that the cost for First Aid was free. When he walked out of First Aid he said he was ok to continue so we called to see where everybody was at, but they all said they were headed back to the resort so we did the same. Other then his back being a little tender over the next couple of days, he’s ok.
Since Tom didn’t want to aggravate his back he chose not to go on our second excursion which was to Xplor. Pete, Laurie, Alissa, Ryan, Ryan’s friend Christian, Vicente and his girlfriend Tabitha, Kris and I went to another park within walking distance of our resort for nighttime zip lining and other activities. The excursion was from 5:30 to 11:30p.m., but since we were within walking distance we opted not to stay just to take the shuttle (essentially the walk back was the exact same thing Laurie and I had done when we went for the geocache and Tom and I had actually just walked that same way that morning for our morning walk). The theme of the park was caves and cavemen (again this would have been much cooler if was natural and not man made). We walked amongst the cave system to do a river paddle. It’s just a little boat you paddle with your hands. The boats were packed on top of each other and it was hard to navigate. All-in-all it was kind of lame. We went next to the zip lines. We did the “fire” route which consisted of 7 zip lines with one going through a fire ring and the last one landing in water. It was kind of fun and different to do it in the dark. I thought the last one we would just be skimming the water and was a little surprised when I landed in it waste deep. We were wearing swimming suits, but still a little surprised. This excursion also included a buffet. The food here was just ok, but then again my stomach wasn’t feel 100% so it could have been that too. There were more activities that we could have done like an all-terrain vehicle ride or hammock swing splash, but since it was already 10:00 everyone was tired and just wanted to go back. If it were up to me I would have done the ATV ride and then would have split, but it wasn’t the end of the world not to do it.
The last few days I spent some time by myself closer to the ocean relaxing and reading “Outfox” by Sandra Brown. It was pretty good. We also spent some time this trip playing cribbage, Phase 10, and SkipBo. Tom and Todd played an epic game of chess that Tom thought he was going to lose most of the game, but then came back to beat him. We enjoyed tossing some water balls around the pool and playing “Pickle in the Middle” with Owen and Emma. Tom, Linda, and I came up with a game in which we tried to get a water ball through a small pool ring (yes I guess this is kind of like basketball) and had fun with that. Most nights after dinner we just went back to the room to relax. Tom and I tried to watch a movie one night but fell asleep. Tom went to watch the rest of it the next night but apparantly my snoring was too distracting. I blame that on one too any pineapple, mango, vodka drinks. They were so tasty.
I’m writing this on the flight back to Chicago after we spent a 3 hour delay playing Garbage. It was a good vacation and good to travel again.
Stats of the Trip:
Total Steps Walked During the Vacation: 103,763
The most steps walked in one day: 24,674
First Aid Visits: 2 (forgot to mention my trip to first aid on the property to check out an insect bite that seemed to be spreading . . .it’s ok they did nothing for me and would have cost me $130 to walk in the door)
Books Read: 1
Geocaches Attempted/Found: 1/1
