Mexico Pictures

MEXICO!!!

We are now back from a wonderful week spent at the Grand Sirenis Mayan Resort in Mexico located half way between Cancun and Playa del Carmen.  We were there primarily for our friends wedding but it was also our first big vacation out of Canada together!!
Our flight was uneventful with the exception of some turbulence, direct from Toronto to Cancun International Airport. We were met by some nice but very pushy Mexican's who promptly grabbed our bags and ushered us to our designated bus, obviously looking for big tips.  It was a little overwhelming but a good experience.  Next time I'm going to hold on to my bag a little tighter to save a buck and get to the bus myself.  On the bus we had a very enthusiastic conductor who taught us what he thought were the most important words to know in Spanish: Cervaza  meaning beer (all they have is Corona) and banos meaning washroom.  We then got to drink $2 Cervaza's on the bus on the way to the resort.  Please note my ridiculously orange hands due to a spray tan gone horribly wrong.  My knees were also this color, thankfully it wore off after a few days of swimming.

We got the resort early in the afternoon well ahead of the rest of the wedding party who where flying from Halifax.  The rest of our group was suppose to get in that evening (Thursday) but due to delays and cancellations they didn't end up arriving until Friday around 9 pm, losing almost a full day!!  Because of this Robbie and I got to spend the first full day on our own exploring the resort, relaxing in the pool, floating down the lazy river and swimming in the ocean.  ( We did this pretty much everyday regardless).  The resort was beautiful and had 3 different pools, 2 with swim up bars, easy access to the ocean with coral reefs all around (Robbie's favorite), lots of pathways for walking dotted with iguana's which were everywhere and architecture that mimicked Mayan ruins.   Food and drink was available at all times and there were multiple bars and buffets set up all around the place.  I was a little nervous at first about all the concerns with food, and drinks and how they made the ice etc and was cautious at first but it ended up being a non issue and no one in our group appeared to have any problems.  I guess being a 5 start resort that sees thousands of people a week have it covered.  The al a carte restaurants were by far the best as far as food went.  Everyone got to go to the Japanese one as Crystal booked it for the rehearsal dinner.  It was pretty amazing watching the chef cook everyone on his grill right in front of us!!

We also went to a Cajun dinner as well as a Mediterranean themed dinner.  We both agreed that the Mediterranean dinner was our favorite; Rob had the tuna and I had the squid, there was also a delicious buffet  with mussels and prawns and the waiters were amazing.  They started bringing drinks over without us asking and 2 rounds of shots, one was called a Cucaracha which is Khalua, rum and tequila set on fire and then you suck it really fast through a straw!!  The strangest feeling is being on the resort and going to all these little events and not having to pay for anything, everything is included.  

We did end up going on one excursion off the resort with a tour group that took us to a beach where we got to go snorkeling with large green turtles!!  It was amazing, we were not allowed to get too close but we could watch them feeding and we also happened to see a barracuda and a sting ray.  We then were transported to a cenote which are sinkholes created by the underground river system.  These are fresh water and considered sacred to the Mayan people.  The water was so clear you could see everything, amazing little piranha (not the biting kind) stalagmites and stalactites.  The pictures unfortunately didn't turn out very well.  

                                

The wedding was beautiful and the weather, like everyday we were there, was hot and sunny with a light breeze.  It was held right down on the beach and then the reception dinner was just behind in large gazebo type shelter.  It was a good time had by all. 

I feel like there is so much else that I'd love to share but I think I'll leave that for another entry as this one is already getting much too long.  I'm sure Robbie will want to tell you all about the sea creatures that he caught as soon as he gets his pictures back from his underwater camera.  

Its been tough being back and not being able to have my 10 am mojito or my 2 o'clock siesta...life is rough :)