Tuesday, December 2, 2008

No more balmy 80 degrees for a while

I'm back from Cancun! I didn't even tell you I was going! Mark was going to cover a basketball tourney there, and I went along for fun. We went to an all-inclusive resort called Moon Palace. This means that once we got there, we didn't have to pay for anything. Not food, not liquor, nothing. Not even tips, though we tipped anyway because the service is just outstanding. You'll never, ever see service like this in the U.S., even by waiters who expect tips. Even at the buffets, they carry your plates back to the table for you. And your drink will never be empty. Hungry but too lazy to leave your room? Room service is free, too.

We found most of the restaurants to be pretty mediocre -- most are buffets. But they have a few that require you to dress a little nicer, and those were incredibly good. You order whatever you want, plus they bring you extra stuff, and then you just walk out without paying! It's a trip, and hard to get used to. It rather reminded me of "Defending Your Life" where Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks are in Judgment City post-death and are eating at a similar restaurant. You eat whatever you want and never have to pay. The waiter says in an Italian accent, "You wanta nine pie? I bringa you NINE PIE!" and they say that they don't want nine pies, but he insists. Then he walks around the corner and instantly brings back nine packaged pies. It was like that -- the food you order materializes instantly, and it's free, and they keep giving you stuff you didn't even want. Plus, even booze is free! FREE!

On to the pictures. I once again successfully looked awful in every photo. Actually, I spent most of the trip sweaty and unshowered, wandering the beach or pool areas until it was time to get ready for dinner.

Our room, it had a hot tub/bath tub in the middle:
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Notice the well-placed pillar. It's positioned just right so that when you wake up in the middle of the night and need the bathroom, you smack right into it. I swear there were faint blood stains on there. Mark had to set up pillows at the base in the hopes that would help stop him.

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The grounds:
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Doesn't this remind you of The Love Toilet on "Saturday Night Live"? The funny thing is that as I googled that to find a photo, I found a photo of this exact seat saying "Doesn't this remind you of the ..." (Also, I'm not sure why when I google "The Love Toilet" Saturday Night Live "Victoria Jackson" I get lots of photos of farm animals and equipment.)
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Our back door was one of these, right on the beach:
Cancun

Mark was working, after all. So I spent a lot of time watching him type. Thank God the guacamole was plentiful!
Cancun

He was there to cover a basketball tournament, the Cancun Challenge, which was in a rather odd location, and had few spectators:
Cancun

This sign at the hotel warned about crocodiles. I have a hard time believing there are really crocodiles right there in the middle of the hotel grounds, and this is what Mark thinks of the sign:
Cancun

But an employee giving me a ride (it's a big place) said it's true, and then tauntingly asked, "What, are you scaaaarred of crocodiles?" Uh, hell yeah I'm scared of crocodiles. Freak.

You know how I was saying I got a ride because the place is big? Well, it's huge. And we walked over to this bar outside along the road where the golf course/spa is supposed to be. Well, we didn't realize that's the waiting area for the shuttles to the building that was at least a mile away. We just started walking, and wondered what we got ourselves into. I saw a sign with pictures and names of animals in the area. Then I slowly looked over and saw a whole herd of coatimundis coming our way! As an animal lover, this may have been my favorite part of the trip. They were not shy, and came meandering over to see if we had any treats. Mark only had a beverage, so he offered some ice. This did not please the coatimundis.

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One night, we had dinner with a couple Mark knows who just happened to be out there. They were there with some friends.
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Finally, these little birds were always looking for a snack. There were also birds that looked to me like crows but had a very funny sound like a guinea pig that's freaking out. They woke us up a lot.
Cancun

1 comment:

Marissa said...

That looks like an awesome trip. Maybe losing the Addi's wasn't so bad after all.
However, since I am sure that I would have bitten the airline person who snipped the Addi's, I would have been shot on the spot, and ruined everybody's vacation. Glad you guys had a good time!!
And good for you for behaving at the airport, so you weren't shot or something!