Viva Mexico!

After a lovely, albeit chilly visit with our family to the north, Marc and I were ready to visit our neighbors down south- Mexico, that is! Our very generous employers offered up their timeshare in the Riviera Maya and we jumped at the chance. "One week or two?" she asked. Well two, of course. We're no fools!

We were determined to make it the most relaxing vacation possible. Although we had been off work since September, it seemed we hadn't stopped moving! (I realize that comment does not elicit much sympathy.) All I wanted to do was lie on the beach, devour a few books, eat amazing food, and drink some sort tropical concoction out of a coconut the size of my head. It is important to make to-do lists.

 Two sun-seekers ready for fun.

  

We stayed at the Grand Mayan, and oh how grand it was. The hotel is located within a complex of three or so other resorts. It didn't take long to realize they were running quite the operation here. The entire property ran smoothly with over 2,000 employees, several restaurants, an intricate system of pools, and a beautiful wood walkway through the lush rain forest like vegetation. 

The very friendly staff at check-in informed us that the shuttle service would take us anywhere we wanted to go during our stay. We opted to walk along the extensive walkway instead. We were one of the few who chose to walk, so most of the time we enjoyed long walks through the palm trees all by ourselves!

It always amazes me how much detail goes into these places.

Our home away from home for two weeks. 

 

 The first week we were there we stayed in a suite with a plunge pool. It was freezing! But the idea was nice.

 Both of the rooms we stayed in were very comfortable. We also loved the decorations, modern and funky.

 I got suckered into participating in a water aerobics class. These sort of activities are always more fun after a mid-morning Michelada. Marc thought it an appropriate moment to document, of course.

 

The beaches and the ocean in this area of Mexico are stunning. The water is turquoise in color
and crystal clear. Although the walk in to the ocean was a bit rocky, they had constructed a couple long piers to walk down and swim from. 

We found that these piers were also the perfect backdrop for several amateur Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition style photo shoots. This turned out to be a daily event which often attracted eager hotel employees so graciously willing to step in as cameraman. I'll let your imagination paint that picture for you.



We did a little snorkeling when the water was calm. The resort had recreated a coral reef in order to reintroduce some of the native sea life.

 

We took advantage of the inexpensive shuttle to downtown Play del Carmen. Having visited in 2006 on a cruise, we had an idea of the layout of the city. It was incredible how much it had changed in eight years! There were hundreds of places to eat and a huge shopping mall in the middle of the downtown area. Give it a few years and this place will give Miami Beach a run for its money.

 My Silver Shop.

 We had some great food in Play del Carmen. We also visited the restaurant with the world's largest menu. (Don't quote me on that, but how could it not be?)

Interestingly enough, we found some of the best Italian food we have ever tasted at La Famiglia in downtown Play del Carmen. They make all their pasta by hand, and it makes all the difference. I had Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Ravioli with Mushroom Cream Sauce, and Marc had an oh-so-decadent Seafood Linguine.

    

 In addition to pasta, they also serve hand tossed pizza, one size only, gigantic!

 What a great idea for a sink!

We highly recommend La Famiglia to anyone visiting Play del Carmen. 

The resort also had some fabulous food,

and some Alice in Wonderland sized decor.

In order to counteract our over indulgent eating habits, we walked the .75 mile long walk to and from the beach many times a day.

  Marc and his new (Swedish?) wife.

Just couldn't get enough of this view.

  Some very creative muchachos crafted this monster on the beach. 

The real ones were a bit smaller. 

 It may seem like all we did was eat...

But we enjoyed some wine as well. We found one to celebrate Nico and our friends in Uruguay!

  Marc and I have created a habit of discovering the most beautiful places about two days before we have to leave to go home. We took a long walk down the beach toward Cancun past the sprawling resorts and found a section of the beach that was completely empty. The sand was white and smooth and the waves were just big enough to do some body surfing. We brought a lunch and enjoyed having it all to ourselves. 

  The sunrises here were well worth an early rise time.

Now that is my kind of snow man!

While lying on the beach sipping our cocktails and reading our books we were often approached by what I would call the "Pump 'Em Up Staff" wanting us to participate in everything from water aerobics to a beach game where they roll you around in a large inflatable ball. 

One day Marc really got into the spirit and showed off his stellar ping pong skills and his killer soccer moves.

Mission completed. 

The only problem with going on vacation alone is that you end up with a lot of pictures like this. I promised myself that I would be better at asking people that we met to take pictures with us. I have yet to live up to this!

But alas, vacation cannot last forever. So we headed back to the frozen Midwest to celebrate Christmas while images of palm trees danced in our heads.

You can make me leave, but you CANNOT make me take off my flip flops!

Hasta la proxima vez, Mexico!