Way Down South...In Mexico!

About a month ago, some friends from Michigan that we had met in Port Charlotte told us about a special they had booked to Barcelo Maya Resort on the Mexican Rivera. We booked our vacation through cheapcaribbean.com for about $900 per person for 7 nights including airfare from Atlanta, transfers, drinks, food, water sports and tips. It had been almost 20 years since I had visited "the land of the Mayans" but this would be my first trip to an all inclusive resort. Terri had been to an all inclusive resort only once during a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean. After over a 2 hour flight delay due to.......snow in Atlanta?...a rare occurrence, we were on our way. We arrived to find a five star resort with open air lobbies, several restaurants, several bars, huge meandering swimming pools, and catamaran, kayak, and windsurfing water sports all included. The resort far exceeded our expectations.

Most days I started the day by walking to the beach to reserve my Hobie Cat Wave sailboat, then we went to breakfast at the excellent buffet restaurant where they would fresh cook my Hueveros Rancheros (eggs ranch style) and the large assortments of Spanish sausage, mangoes, papaya and mimosa (champagne & orange juice). After breakfast we would get a Bloody Mary and then go to the beach or pool. We enjoyed conversation with our friends from Michigan, nine of them made the trip. On some days our friends would reserve a Hobie Cat as well and have me skipper the boat for them. My wasted youth sailing and racing Hobie Cats came in handy and I got to sail more than the 30 minutes a day allowed on the catamarans. I also windsurfed on the Hi-Fly Windsurfers available and tried out the Hobie Kayaks a couple of days. Other activities included swimming in the enormous pools or the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea. We would usually fit a light lunch in there somewhere between Mojitos, Mosquito Coasts, Mango Tangos, or Margaritas.

At night we would generally eat at the enormous buffet which featured main entrees including prime rib, grouper, pork & chicken dishes, shrimp, certain exotic foods, delicious desserts and a wide array of fruits and vegetables. A couple of nights we made reservations for the four smaller full service restaurants which include one for steak, seafood, Chinese and Italian. All restaurants including whatever you wanted to drink was all inclusive. With all the free drinks you might expect some rowdiness, but we found this not to be the case. Everyone seemed to be well behaved, happy and content. Perhaps if we all had an abundance of free food and drink, plenty of water, sunshine and water toys, the world would be a much happier and peaceful place.

At night, the resort provided entertainment, usually consisting of karaoke, dancers, circus and comedy acts in the large auditorium. There were also roaming Mexican Folk Bands, men with monkeys or parrots and Mayan attired people with which you could have your picture taken. Natural entertainment such as 2 foot Iguanas that roam the grounds could also be seen occasionally.

Arriving at the airport for our return trip we stopped at Jimmy Buffett's Air Margaritaville for a Cuban Sandwich and one last Corona Beer. The restaurant features a large replica of Buffett's Sea Plane hanging above it as well as pictures, soveniers and the singer performing on television. Did I mention that Jimmy Buffett is my favorite singer?

It was a great trip and one we will always remember, a Beach Bum's Paradise!

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