Wine And Wildlife – A Trip To Cancun
This is the second and final part of my account of a recent trip to Cancun, Mexico.
The hotel also had a well equipped gym (priced at $11 per day, though according to the hotel’s own literature it was supposed to be free). I made it in there for a workout one day, opting to swim instead on the other days. Other facilities included a spa, a few shops and an excellent restaurant. Food was included in the conference package, so I was able to breakfast on smoked salmon, scrambled egg and mini croissants every morning, with a selection of delicacies for lunch and dinner.
Mexican Special
The first night, before the conference started, we went to a place called La Destileria, where we sampled a range of Mexican dishes (the jalapenos are really hot) and drank some wine while listening to a mariachi band. Very touristy but still enjoyable. Then it was back to the hotel bar to sample tequila and sangrita – served in two shot glasses and drunk together – before heading to bed.
Watch Out For The Wildlife!
The first day of the conference started with a golf tournament. I don’t play, but my colleague was presenting the trophies at lunch, so we headed off to the course around 12 to hear the tale of someone who had nearly walked into a large animal while on the course. That animal was a crocodile and there are supposedly 400 of them living on the course. Naturally, I had to see this for myself, so a few of us headed out on golf carts (note to self: turn off when parking to keep the cart in one place) to see if we could spot a likely specimen – and we did. Ten feet long at least, our croc dozed in the sunlight with its head resting on a palm tree. I got as close as I dared for a photo, then headed back to the safety of the club, though not before snapping a couple of iguanas as we went by.
I did not want to get too close to this ten foot crocodile.
Seeing the croc was one of the highlights of the trip for me, though I also enjoyed the Mexican band which played a selection of popular tunes from the 60s to the 80s (I don’t know what made me think I could still twist – my knees are aching!)
Diversion Drama
All in all, it was a good trip and I would love to go again and actually see some of the area. To round out the trip, there was a bit of drama on the return leg as we had to divert to another airport when the landing lights at our destination failed temporarily. Everything was working again soon, but it meant that we landed two hours late though, as the captain said, at least they weren’t charging us for the additional stop.
Have you visited Mexico? What was your favorite experience there?
Tags: cancun, Destinations, mexico, parking, travel
April 7th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
My husband and I just returned from Mexico, flying into Cancun and then travelling on to Playa del Carmen. We had a wonderful trip, with everything going very smoothly. We landed, cleared Customs and were in our vehicle for transport to our resort withing 10 minutes. This is the quickest that has ever happened. The seas were calm and the beaches beautiful where we were, about an hour south of Cancun. There is a big difference in the ocean waves there because of the reefs and shelves that surround the area. Playa del Carmen is very easy to navigate and has quite a few new upscale restaurants and shops, growing by the day. I would highly recommend travelling to this area, as it is much easier to navigate than Cancun (where I go each year with my girlfriends). It also has a sense of safety and security for travellers. We had a wonderful trip and will return next year.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Thanks for the recommendation, Carol. I was surprised by the size of the waves where I was, as I had expected it to be much calmer. And I agree, Cancun airport is no my no 1 choice for efficiency (at least till I visit Singapore, which I am told is amazing).
April 9th, 2009 at 4:50 am
[...] my recent trip to Cancun, I had two layovers in Miami International Airport – one on each leg. To give a bit of history, [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 2:35 am
I have to say that the paying of the gym would not have bothered me to much as I just wouldn’t have gone:), as for the rest it sounded like you had an amazing time, I have always heard that Mexican food was hot and you are right jalapeños are extremely hot, as for that drink it sounded amazing and to get to taste proper Mexican tequila just wow, I really have to save my pennies so that I can go and visit Cancun.