And So It Starts

Well, today turned out to be a little gem. With the weather in Cancun not so great, we thought day one would be a little disappointing. We were wrong. It wasn't end to end action, but full of little surprises.

Things started just like planned. Woke up from my hour long sleep a couple of minutes before the alarms went off. Up and showered and out the door in a little over half an hour. Surprisingly, our packs weren’t full, and they weren’t that heavy. A far cry from the norm.

Quick trip to the airport. We got to the Sunwing line and there had to be 50 people in front of us. The great thing (and I will take full credit for this) is we paid $40 dollars more for the seats to get extra legroom , which bumped us to super elite and we got to bypass everyone. Saved a good hour of standing around. I must say, it doesn’t take much to be super these days.

The flight down was nice, with little turbulence. The movie was The Blind Side. That was definitely a great flick. Sandra Bullock has never really done it for me (same with Jesse JamesI guess), but I must say, she looked hot in the movie. Even though the plane took off 15 minutes late, it made up time and we landed at 9:30 as advertised.

There was a great quote in one of the Sunwing magazine adds "you will soon question every decision you have made, except for the one that brought you here". You know, that will be the theme of the trip. LOTS OF TIME TO THINK. Introspection, reteospection, meditation...Gotta plan those next thirty years. What better way than while sitting with a cold one, or two, gazing out at the turquoise sea.

At the airport, it looked like once again Mary Lou’s bag didn’t make it. On the trip to Cuba the previous year her bags arrived three days after we did. But lo and behold, hers was the very last bag through the turnstile. Getting through customs was a breeze and we were quickly in a taxi heading for the ferry. The drive was almost 45 minutes, but we caught the ferry right away and were soon walking to our hotel on Isla Majeures ( pronounced eessla mohairess according to cabbie). After several weeks of hot sunny weather, it had rained all day yesterday and on and off today. However, our Caribbean weather record remained intact and we saw none of the wet stuff.

After a quick walk to the hotel, we were greeted by the owners, Kate and her daughter Safari. Kate is a self professed ex hippie who bought the hotel a few years ago (hmmm, don’t give me any ideas), renovated it and opened it up to great reviews. The girls live here and it has the feel of family members over for a visit. For you Canadian hockey parents, it’s kind of like being in a small hotel on a tournament, where you sit around talking and bonding with parents from all different teams. On day one we met four different individuals and couples in the court over beer and wine. The room is basic, but colourful, spotless and has a fridge, toaster oven and hotplate. Our room is actually outside the main court area, and is the only one with direct access to the street.

Not a great beach day so we went for a walk through town, and stopped for lunch at a cafe for fajitas and grouper. It was fantastic. During our beach walk we came across condominiums fronting on the beach for $65,000. Hmmm...don’t give me any ideas. Away from the beach we stumbled upon a grave yard that was unlike anything we had seen before. Like N'orlins, the bodies are entombed instead of buried and the graveyard was full of bright coloured tombs, icons, and statues of Mary, Jesus and a host of angels. Not sure if it was good form, but I couldn’t help but shoot dozens of pictures. Very impressive, and an almost spiritual experience.

After an afternoon snooze we spent a few hours drinking in the courtyard, meeting Safaris’s baby, the dog and other guests. We then headed out to town walking along what could best be described as the latin version of Bourbon Street. Live music, bars, restaurants and teeming hoardes of people. Another meal of grouper, rice and beans, and three for $5 Sol beer. It was really neat sitting there people watching, and I could have tied a good one on. But everything in moderation.

Tomorrows action will be tied to the weather, but it is time to make the reservations for car rental, and head out to Belize Sunday AM.

OK. That’s it for tonight.

Ohhmmmmmm.