Angie
& Martin In Mexico!
Work that last week was pretty hectic for both of us, but Friday finally
came around and we came home to pack the car. It was at that point
that we realized we couldn't fit everything into Angie's car! The
problem was that Saturday we were going to take the boys to Bloomington,
Illinois, to stay with our friends Heather and Bill for the weekend. Then
we were delivering a computer to New Beginning Outreach Ministry in Centreville,
Illinois for Martin's work. Only then would we go to the Marriot
by the St. Louis airport to spend Saturday night (we needed to be at the
airport by 6:30am Sunday to catch our 8:30am flight). Angie's car
just wasn't big enough to carry the boys weekend luggage, our dog Shadow,
the computer, monitor, and toolkit Martin needed to install the computer,
and Angie and Martin's luggage for the trip. So at the very last
minute, we packed the boys up and travelled to Bloomington. Heather
and Bill were at work when we left, and we didn't have their work numbers,
so we just had to hope everything would work out. In the end it did,
the boys were in Bloomington and we were ready to travel straight to the
East St. Louis area Saturday morning.
Sunday morning we caught the Mariott shuttle to the airport. Their park and ride deal was wonderful and really made getting to the airport an easy process Sunday morning. When we went to check in, though, we ran into some problems. First, it turned out that neither of our birth certificates were what was needed to get into Mexico. Both had the required raised seal, but neither were "State-issued". This put a lump in our throats, to say the least. Martin even had a brief vision of heading straight from the airport to a nice room with rubber walls and a snug fitting white outfit with arms tied together. As it turns out, the airport employs a legal firm to help with such incidences (they are fined heavily if they send someone to Mexico without valid documentation). In Angie's case, her county-issued birth certificate looked close enough that they figured Mexican imagration authorities would accept the document. In Martin's case, they quickly produced a notarized document stating that he was born in St. Joseph, Michigan. Funny that a notarized note issued at the airport was OK but that a notarized hospital-issued document was not. Anyway, we were on our way!
The 3 hour flight was uneventful, but the small cookie and cup of soda didn't do much for us, given that our breakfast was at the airport at 7:30am and we didn't get another chance to eat until around 4pm at the resort. After arriving in Cancun, Mexico, we needed to pass through imagrations. Here's where we'd find out if our documents were sufficient or if we'd end up on a quick return flight (the notary at the St. Louis airport had said 4 couples had been flown back the day before). As we approached our turn at the window, we said a quick prayer. And God answered, sending us to the most lenient of the three authorities passing passengers through. We were in!
The van ride from Cancun to the Adventura Palace resort took over an
hour, with several stops to drop off other Apple Vacations travelers at
their resorts along the way. Early on, Angie and I excitedly played
"pinch bug" everytime we saw a VW bug. However, we quickly found
out that every 5th vehicle is a bug and we tired of the game. 
Here's a picture of the most unusual Bug that we saw while in Mexico.
This bug had the front seat removed and the back seat brought forward --
as if normal Bugs weren't small enough!
Upon arrival, though, we were greeted with champagne and escorted to
the check-in desk. We were given our green wrist bands, which we
had to wear at all times, and told that our luggage would be brought up
to our rooms within a half hour. After quickly checking into our
room, we made a trip to a food bar to get some refreshments.
Not
being experienced travellers, we don't have much to base a comparison on.
But we cannot imagine a nicer facility or better service anywhere in the
world. Adventura Palace has definitely earned their 6 gold apples
rating. While our promised "ocean view" was nominal, the view from
our balcony was gorgeous none the less. Martin especially spent a
lot of time listening to the soft music played outside that nicely supplemented
the sound of waves from the ocean. 
While there was only one fresh water pool, it wrapped around and around,
giving plenty of area for folks to have their own spaces to play our lounge
in the water without interfering with others. Balls could be checked
out at anytime. It turns out I'm no better at Basketball in the water
than on land -- Angie beat Martin soundly in a game of P-I-G. There
was even a swim up bar (seen in the background). Because the pool wrapped
around, bridges were used to walk between outdoor sections of the resort.
Since it was rarely a straight line between points, we actually found it
helped slow us down. 
Our room included all the standard items, with a king size bed, desk,
dresser, etc. But two items were especially appreciated:
the 2 person whirlpool bath (shown here after the maid had placed flower
petals around the outside, a pair of swans made out of towels, and a clam
shell made out of a third towel. Martin had won the bottle of champagne
racing horses -- story below); and the hammock on our private terrace. 
<-That's
Angie in the hammock in the center
Besides the balls we used in the pool, we were able to check out snorkling
equipment which we used in the inlet. We also were able to check
out bikes,
which we used to travel to the nearby village of Peurto Adventuras. 
Here we strolled the streets, shopped, and watched the dolphins swim
in their fenced off area (we didn't choose to swim with the dolphins, which
was available there).
This
restaurant was seperate from the main resort building and overlooked the
inlet and the ocean beyond. It takes buffett dining to entirely different
level. The international cuisine was very tasty, with an excellent
selection and great service. Since it was cloudy at the first several
days we were there, we ate under the palapa roof. 
For even less formal dining, we sometimes ate hamburgers and chips in the poolside bar.
On three nights we opted for more formal dining. The first night we walked over to the newly opened Spa Palace to enjoy chinese cuisine. I must admit it took some getting used to being in a room decorated in traditional Chinese with waiters wearing traditional Chinese attire but with clearly Mexican facial features and accent. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great.
The
next night we dined at the La Hacienda restaurant inside the main building
of the Adventura Palace resort. Not only did they have great dining,
but they also had an enjoyable band strolling around the restaurant.
However, we found the room a bit nosier than the more airy Mandaca, which
we decided was still our favorite place to eat at the resort.
The
third night of formal dining was on a romantic Lobster Dinner Cruise aboard
the Columbus in Cancun bay. 
We were treated to grilled lobster and/or steak, grilled while
the boat sailed off into the sunset. At one point, the cruise director
polled the passengers. A number were on their honeymoon. Three
couples were there celebrating anniversaries. It was funny to hear
all the oohs and ahhs from the honeymooners when it was mentioned that
one couple had been married 10 years, and another 13 years (Angie would
not let Martin raise his hand for those celebrating anniversaries for fear
of having to do something embarrasing in front of the other passengers).
After dinner, served within the boat, we went topside to listen to soft
music and enjoy the stars, among other things ;)
Many nights we stopped by one of the bars surrounding the center court
of the main building. Our favorite had small pastries, coffee, and
tea every evening. Several nights, they created coffee liquor drinks
and cooked fruit treats over an open flame. They also had a hutch
filled with reading materials -- Angie read through a number of their magazines
while there. As always at the resort, waiters were there to serve
you at a glance.
Martin
especially enjoyed diving down amongst the coral. We were glad to
have one of the disposable cameras to let us take pictures underwater.
But posing underwater proved quite a challenge. 
When we took the snorkelling lesson, they kept warning us to lift up
our hair to keep it from getting behind the mask. For some reason,
our instructor Joaquim ignored Martin during that part of the class.
Unfortunately it was cloudy during our trip to Cozumel, and many people
commented on how surprisingly cool the water was. Here, Angie is
trying to warm herself a bit while posing for this picture.
Not
only did we see some wonderful coral formations, but we also were treated
to schools of fish swimming around, and sometimes at us. Here's a
school of Sargent Majors (the yellow and black bumblebee fish) and another
variety of fish we saw amonst the coral. At one point, we saw a couple
of sand sharks along the bottom of a deeper area. Others who were
at our resort and snorkelled the area at other times were lucky enough
to see a sea turtle. We did see our favorite fish, this silver fish.
We saw it at each of the places we swam, sometimes in schools. They
were a particularly friendly fish. But the scale of this picture
is misleading, they rarely were over 6" or so.
On the boat ride back from snorkelling, we ran into a squal, drenching us. It wouldn't have been too bad since we were wet already, but with the sun hidden by clouds much of the day and a stiff breeze, it got a bit chilly. The rest of the excursion was unremarkable. We learned that in general the excursion packages include both an event and a healthy dose of shopping. In the future, we will probably do more scheduling of activities on our own so that we spend more time doing what we want and less time shopping and travelling between resorts picking up others. The worst part of the trip, though, was the ride back on the ferry between Cozumel and Peurto De Carmen. The squal had subsided but the seas were still rough, and the ferry pitched, rolled, and swayed non stop. Angie took it particularly bad and was offered a little black plastic bag, which in the end she never used. Others on the ferry didn't fair as well.
A
nice feature of the Palace chain of resorts is that you can use the facilities
at any of the Palaces in the area. So Thursday we headed the 5 KM
to Xpu-Ha Palace. Before it was a Palace resort it was an ecopark.
They've done a nice job of preserving parts of the park. While there,
we walked along roads that passed through the jungle terrain. Instead
of having the rooms all located in a central area, they're spread throughout
the eco-preserve. It was a nice stroll down to the beach area.
Down from the main beach was a lagoon with snorkelling. So we checked
out some equipment and in we went. Here we saw these "baby barracuda"
fish, as well as a real barracuda 4-5' long. It was more interested
in hiding than coming to explore us. We also saw many different schools
of fish swimming around us.
Once again, posing was a challenge. Here I'm trying to sit on
the log below me.
And
here is Angie flying through the water.
After snorkelling in the lagoon, we headed inland a bit where they had another lagoon in which we could snorkel. Here we had fresh water at the top and salt water deeper. It was interesting to see fresh water fish swimming above salt water fish. This is a normal feature of the lagoon, which is really the beginning of a marsh area heading into the jungle. While at the marsh lagoon, we met Laura, who was giving scuba demos. Martin had always wanted to try scuba, but found it painful in his ear as he dived to any depth below 4'. In talking with Laura, she suggested some ways to better equalize pressure in the ears. Martin tried some of the techniques and found he indeed could dive deeper and scheduled a Discover Scuba Dive for the next day.
Not only did we snorkel in the lagoon. After lunch we also kayaked the marsh lagoon. At one point we saw a largish bird sitting in a tree. On closer inspection we found out it was a Sea Eagle and it was apparently unconcerned with our presence. We also chased a heron of some sorts along the shore for a bit. Later in the day, we took a guided ecotour, where we learned about gum trees and how gum is made from them and plants that are used to make rope. We also saw white-tail deer, a smaller version than found in North America, Tucans and other birds, and a variety of snakes. In all, our visit to Xpu-Ha was very enjoyable -- we're considering taking the boys back there some day.
Friday morning Angie headed over to the Spa Palace for a spa and full
body massage treatment. 
Martin
headed over to Peurto Adventuras for his Discover Scuba Dive at Dive Adventuras.
As it turned out, Laura was his instructor and the only other couple signed
up for the class that day didn't show. So he had his own personal
trainer. The first hour or so was spent on land learning about scuba
do's and don'ts as well as the scuba equipment. 
Then
he spent some time in a pool next to the Dive Adventuras shop. 
Finally,
it was time to head out to scuba in the open ocean. The dive was
in 25' deep water along a coral reef. As luck would have it, the
sun came out during the dive. The trip out was on the "Bummer", a
small diving boat. Martin got to do the oh-so-cool fall off the side
of the boat backwards trick to enter the water. The dive lasted as
long as the oxygen in the tank. In Martin's case, that was about
40 minutes. Because of the depth, the disposable waterproof camera
we had wouldn't work, which was a shame because with the direct sunlight,
the colors were exquisite. There was a greater variety of coral and
a gentle current slowly rocked the taller coral back and forth. It
is unlikely there is a more beautiful botanical garden to be found anywhere
in the world! And again to swim amongst all the variety of fish was
a very moving experience. After the dive, Laura commented on how
well Martin did, especially in maintaining even depth in the water.
Indeed, the biggest problem came on the couple of occasions when Martin
breathed deeply in a sigh, causing his body to float upwards.
"Let me tell you a story. TWA has a long, glorious history. I've been with TWA for many years and have proudly studied that history. While there have been many firsts over the year, one thing that has never, ever happened is that a passenger has beat the plane to the terminal. This will not be the first time."He was applauded and the man at the back stayed seated until the "fasten your seatbelt" light went out.
Customs in the US was thorough but painless. One passenger was startled by the drug-sniffer dog and later was asked to open her luggage in a "random" check. She passed customs, though. Another had metal in her heals and had to remove her boots. We were unaware that the day before was the day someone had tried to light an explosive that was hidden in his boot on a flight from Paris. After picking up our check-on luggage, we found the shuttle back to the Mariott, where we picked up our car. We were back in Bloomington at Heather and Bill's to pick up Joey and Shadow by 9pm. Monday morning, Christmas eve, we had breakfast at Linda and Chris', where we picked up Eric. We went to Christmas Eve services that night, where Joey asked if he could be baptized. That night Santa came, Angie and I put the gifts we had purchased and wrapped before we left under the tree, and we slept soundly. Christmas morning was relaxed, as were the following days. We can't remember a more relaxed Christmas/New Years holiday time since we've been adults. You know, this may just become a family tradition!
Created January 2, 2002 by MW.