CANCUN APRIL 2011

April 14, 2011

Cancun, Mexico

Birthdays are always a cause for celebration. Our motto is *The More The Merrier”. This year was the big “Eight O” for Bill and Dottie decided that the gift he would appreciate the most was a trip to a place he had never visited - Cancun, Mexico. She made all of the arrangements without his knowing and didn’t announce his surprise until she couldn’t keep the secret any longer.

She was especially pleased that she could arrange an air flight that was non-stop from San Francisco to Cancun. She had made the trip several times in the past and recalled the hassle of stopping somewhere in between to change planes after a lay-over. The six hour flight was packed but comfortable. We were surprised to find as we met different people during our ten day stay that everyone seemed to come to Cancun on a non-stop flight. We talked to people who flew from London, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Toronto, New York and Atlanta on non-stop flights. We thought this quite amazing until we learned that Cancun has more than 28,000 hotel rooms and a tourist season that is in full swing every month of the year.

The hotel that Dottie chose was one that she had used on her several previous trips to Cancun; the Riu Caribe. We asked what the Spanish meaning of Riu is and learned that it is Spanish but the name of the owners rather than a word. The Riu brothers have been building and buying shoreline hotels and resorts around the world for several decades. They own more than 100 hotels that feature their name and are considered one of the leaders in the resort hotel business. Cancun currently has three Riu resorts with a fourth under construction next door to the Riu Caribe.

As a frequent visitor to Riu Caribe, Dottie was non plussed as we entered the magnificent lobby entrance to the hotel. On the other hand, Bill stood with his eyes wide with amazement as he soaked in the grandeur before him. To say the least, the Riu Caribe was one of the most amazing buildings he had ever seen. The grand lobby displayed stair steppe balconies of the first four floors with hanging plants and vines bringing the outside into the lobby. Potted palms and plants seemed to be everywhere. Two large ponds in the middle of everything featured dozens of large sea turtles in recognition that this part of Cancun is known as Playa Tortugas (sp for Turlle).

The hotel featured one large Buffet and three smaller specialty restaurants. The four bars on site seemed always to be just a whistle away. And the best part of all…all food and beverages were included in the price of our room. It was the first time in memory when check-in didn’t require a credit card on file.

It seemed that every room at Riu Caribe had an ocean view . The first room we were assigned had a palm tree just off our balcony and Dottie knew there should be a view. She

stamped her food, just once loudly, and we were ushered into a corner room with an acre or so of balcony and thirty feet of sliding glass doors for enjoying the view. It wasn’t hard to conclude that we had been given one of the hotel’s finest rooms.

Our first day was devoted to Dottie teaching Bill what one does at a resort hotel in Cancun. After a wonderful breakfast, we ambled down to the pool area ready for swimming and sun. We swam, we read, we did Sudoku and we people watched. Since we arrived several days before the end of Spring Break, the people watching was marvelous. Dottie provided a continuing commentary on the various styles of bikinis that paraded by our chaise lounges tucked under a palm frond umbrella. It seemed the most popular bikini style was something she called a “thong” bikini with a top half seemingly spun from dental floss. Tatoos that aren’t normally observable on the street seemed to be the in thing. The body art ranged from pithy little words like “Live Life to the Fullest” to a full sized AK47 that covered one girls outer leg from hip to ankle. There seemed to be twice as many guys as gals as they bunched together in the pool and at the poolside bar soaking up the sun and the free booze. With an open bar at the ready we were a bit surprised that the crowd was quiet and relatively inactive. It wasn’t until about 4:00 pm each day that the hearing of most seemed to diminish and it became necessary to shout in order to be heard.

Each day was filled with a series of activities at poolside. Volleyball games, exercise classes, bingo, trivia contests, various tug-of- war contests and more provided something to do for the doers and something watch for the watchers. Several of the activities were designed specifically for the teen and pre teen kids that were ever present. For the most adventuresome, there were daily scuba diving lessons in a special pool designed for the purpose.

The pool area was divided into three different areas. One end was shallow and best arranged for the youngest of children. The large middle pool was where the 20’s 30’s action took place and a third pool seemed best suited for those who wanted a quieter spot for their sunbathing. There was also a strip of beach, about 300 yards long with palm frond umbrellas and chaise lounges for those who like sand between their toes and salt water for their swimming.

The hotel provided night time entertainment in a large covered pavillion. We attended one show that featured a Michael Jackson wanna be and a film telling the story of Michael Jackson’s career. Since the shows all began at 9:30, we opted out in favor of getting some sleep to be ready for the next day.

Cancun is all about enjoying one’s vacation. There are things to see and do to meet the needs of all. Night club action outside of the hotel covers everything that one could imagine. We spotted a casino in “old Cancun” for those who want to gamble. There are boats to take you everywhere, wave runners to rent, parasailing opportunities, motorcycles to rent and dozens of places to visit. Mayan temples and ruins are everywhere and Isla Mujera 20 minutes east by ferry to visit. We were told that there are even nude and semi-nude beaches for sun bathing if you’re into that kind of thing. Dottie’s rules were we weren’t.

Our first adventure away from Riu Caribe was a ferry ride to Isla Mujera for a day’s visit. Isla Mujera (sp. Womanly island) is an island about six miles long and a half mile wide. We rented a golf cart to tour the island from one end to the other. We saw several hundred homes that were obviously vacation homes and many more that housed the island’s inhabitants that worked in the shops and restaurants catering to tourists. We drove to the southern end of the island where the ruins of a Mayan temple overlooked the Caribbean Sea to the south. At the little park set aside for visitors, we saw a huge statue of an Iguana with a real live iguana resting in its shade. A visitor that we talked to at the site told us that there were a half dozen iguana at his hotel, all of which were three feet long and larger. We were told that the iquana are herbivores but we decided not to try to pet the one we saw. We petted the statue instead.

One of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”, Chichen Itza, is about 115 miles from Cancun. Dottie added the day long trip to our itinerary as a special birthday gift on Bill’s birthday. The two and half hour bus trip took us through the desolate Yucatan Peninsula where we were told the soil is worthless for growing anything except scrub brush and a few palm trees. The Yucatan Peninsula has no rivers or lakes. One would guess that grass for feeding cattle should be possible but it is not. It wasn’t until we reached the opposite coast of the peninsula that we found a few small Mayan villages. We were told that until the late 1980’s, the Mayan people had no electricity, no sewage systems, no water systems and no schools. As Cancun began its development, the government came to the area and did what was necessary to keep the Mayan villagers in place so that they could be a part of the growing tourism industry. We stopped at one village so that we could shop in a store where most of the merchandise was produced by the local villagers. We bought a rock. Actually, the rock was a large piece of obsidian that can be used to soothe tired muscles and such. It works.

Chichen Itza is one of more than 200 Mayan cities that have been identified in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize. Most of the cities have identifiable pyramids similar to the one at Chichen Itza. The Chichen Itza site was built around 450 AD. The city was deserted around 1441. Historians believe that a war with a neighboring tribe was the cause but not all agree. Spanish explorers arrived on the Mayan Peninsula in 1451 but there is no record that they visited Chichen Itza. The site was discovered by archeologists in 1839 but further exploration of the site didn’t begin until 1925 when Mexican archeologists began excavation and research. We were told that only 90% of the Chichen Itza site has been uncovered.

Our visit to Chichen Itza was accompanied by one hundred five to ten degree heat and humidity in the low 90’s. We were provided with large umbrellas for shade and we carried water. None the less, some in our party of 40 had difficulty along the way and many opted out of the tour before it was complete. All had an opportunity to see the main pyramid that symbolizes Chichen Itza. We soon realized that we were the senior members of our grouup but we made it through the most difficult part of the tour. Our tour included a wonderful buffet lunch that featured a number of Mayan dishes and local dancers who performed Mayan dances.

Prominent at the site is one of the largest pok ta pok playing fields built by the Mayans. Pok to pok is a game played with a solid ball of rubber about 9 inches in diameter. The game had great religious implications for the Mayans. It is believed that the players represent the major stars in the heaven and the ball represents the sun. Two teams play against one another with the objective is putting the ball through a stone ring high on the side of the stadium wall. The players may not use their hands, feet or heads to move the ball. Only hips, knees and elbows, each covered with a wooden padding, may be used to move the ball. The game ended when the ball passed through the vertical hoop. And then, the captain of the victorious team was put to death in the middle of the playing field; the highest honor that could be achieved in the Mayan culture. The players, somewhat like modern day professional athletes, were treated like gods by their respective communities.

On our return trip, our bus stopped mid way to allow us to tour a cavern with religious significance that we missed. The cavern had the usual stalagmites and stalagtites but lacked the refreshing coolness one usually expects in such places. Some of our group stripped down to their bathing suits and swam in the tepid lake at the bottom of the cavern. Most agreed, however, that the best part of the stop was the coconut milk served in freshly cut coconuts outside of the cavern.

Our ten day visit to Cancun was a really great experience. We purposefully left a number of things undone and places not visited so we would have reason to return. This was a fourth trip for Dottie and she claims she hasn’t begun to see all that she has on her list. As if one needs a list………………….

Love to all,

Gram and Grandpa Bill, Mom and Dad, Dottie and Bill