Cancun

Dates: September 20-22

Cancun Airport, Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid...

Red Light, Green Light…

Once you hit the ground in Cancun you will find one thing pretty unique, after you adjust to the humidity you will be headed to customs, no big woop except that you will be asked to go through scanners, normal right…until you get to the buttons.  Yep you will be asked to push a button when you go through customs and if that button turns on a red light you are stopped and checked extra thoroughly, if you come up green you are free to walk through.  We luckily turned up green, but some people ended up red in more ways than one.

The Gauntlet,

When we got through customs we were hit by a phalanx of bag and taxi types that pounced on us, as we passed each one they grabbed for our bags as if they personally had expected us.  They all said they knew where we were going and what we wanted to do, all we had to do was follow them..it became quite a tug of war between us and them and believe us this kind of stuff can be annoying if not frightening if you are not prepared for it.

Also it must be noted before we knew it we were sheep dogged into a timeshare representative for a quick presentation, “BEWARE” of their spiel it might appear harmless, but it can be hypnotizing and sometimes even fraudulent.  

Long story short, after a great deal of misdirection we were able to eventually break free of all of the malarkey and get to a driver whose taxi he promoted to us was a private car… which we of course had to share with another couple J. 

Well we endured and escaped that mob scene, but be advised when you fly to Cancun just hold onto your bags tightly when you hit ground and keep your wits about you or you might end up owning rather than renting .

History: Did not know only 120 people lived in the area in 1970, did not know the Mexican Government had to finance the first Hotels because no one thought they could make money.  Did not know the meaning of the name Cancun is still a mystery.  Did not know Cancun has a coat of arms (below) and is called the "Glistening City".

Quintana Roo, Who Knew?

It bears mentioning that Cancun is in the Mexican state of “Quintana Roo” and many travelers who go there have the impression that Quintana Roo is some old mystical reference or name used by the ancient Mayans, but that’s not the case at all.  Andres Quintana Roo was actually a lawyer, newspaper publisher and revolutionary statesman who played a major role in getting Mexico’s independence from Spain.  His father’s surname was Quintana and his mother’s maiden name was Roo which made his full name by Spanish tradition a provocative and unique  “Quintana Roo”, but the most intriguing or interesting thing about Quintana Roo was not his name or exploits it was his even more daring wife Leona Vicario, who was sort of a secret agent during the revolution and was jailed for her actions, but broke out of jail so she could continue to fight for Mexico’s independence….now that’s gangsterJ!!!  

And in hindsight had she been a man the state of Quintana Roo might today be called the state of Vicario

The Marriot Casa Magna

Ok, we took the taxi to the Marriot Casa Magna a grand beach hotel along the Cancun Hotel way about 15 minute drive from the Airport.  We arrived in the mid afternoon so we checked in hit the room then quickly unpacked, the view from our room was right on the ocean and we immediately decided to hit the beach, it was quite a beautiful day and Kelynn especially found it promising. 

……

Eric in Blue: A Picture’s worth a Thousand Words

Kelynn says:

I absolutely love the ocean and when we hit the beach I was excited to dive into the waters of Cancun, but the beach in this part of Mexico was a little bit too treacherous for me. Even with my heels planted firmly into the sand, the undertow tried its hardest to suck me out to sea. One slip of the foot, I thought to myself, and I’d quickly become a human buoy somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean and I battled for a few minutes as I became increasingly more determined to enjoy my day at the beach just as I had in the calm and cool waters of Jamaica.  But a tousle with the forces of nature is rarely won by a single mortal. So, as much as I love swimming, I threw up my hands, conceded defeat and went towards the beach chair to get a towel.  I was a tad bit disappointed, but the day was so extraordinarily beautiful, I didn’t mind as much as I might have. The sky was clear except for a few puffy white clouds. The weather was warm and slightly breezy. The water, from horizon to coastline, stretched out for an eternity with various shades of brilliant blues melding one into the next. I realized that this beach, though strong and unyielding, was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful I have ever experienced.  I turned to see where Eric was and discovered he had taken a seat on a piece of driftwood near the shore. He was sitting there, so still, looking out into the water. It was just Eric, the ocean and his thoughts.   My camera beckoned to me.  Quickly and quietly I snapped away trying to capture fragments of this point in time. When I see these photos now (I titled them Eric in Blue) 

I’m still transfixed by not only the beauty of the day but of the moment. That moment kindled my passion to take pictures and would prove ever so valuable to our and my own personal journey going forward.  I don’t know exactly how far I will take my passion for taking pictures, but I do know it is a joy that I will work to pursue and perfect probably for the rest of my life, thanks to the beaches of Cancun and of course “Eric” in BlueJ


Ghost Town...

The Hotel was grand and the beaches were truly amazing at the Marriott Casa Magna, but there was only one drawback, we arrived during the off season and the place was only about 30% full.  It was like a luxurious ghost town.  The hotel was fully staffed, but not very many people were staying there.  We had much of the place to ourselves including the beach, the pool and premium 200 seat steakhouse in the hotel which we kid you not had not one customer there the night we walked in for dinner at 8pm.  The Steakhouse to its credit was enchanting with its dim lights and colonial decor, but even though the food was said to be great we decided to go into Cancun central to get hopefully just as nice a meal and some much needed atmosphere.

Diamond and Gold Gate Crashing

We did find a nice spot to have a delicious steak dinner.  After we finished we decided to hit the discos, but were a bit early.  As a time killer after dinner and before the discos got into full swing we walked around the main Cancun nightlife area. We walked around for about 5 blocks and found ourselves looking at an old friend from Jamaica, the “RIU” Hotel and Resort!  It was too familiar not to want to stop in and see what was happening.

RIU Cancun was in the central area of Cancun where the nightlife was in walking distance and the beaches we heard were not as rough because of the protection from the island currents at the top of the way of beaches.   RIU had a twin hotel setup side by side, one called gold and one called diamond.  The gold was the first building we encountered.  We didn’t have a bracelet stating we were guests so we had to do some quick talking nyc style to get past the all too dedicated, but overworked security guard at the entrance.  We slickered our way in and saw that the hotel was packed to the gills, tourists and shows a plenty. 

The RIU was a stark contrast to our ghost town it had ballroom dancing acts and traditional dance acts, and an emcee that coordinated the festivities in the main ballroom area.  We stayed for about an hour checking out the shows and walking the grounds.   It was very similar to the set up in Jamaica. We didn’t try the food though, didn’t want to take a chance on spoiling our nightJ

We left the Gold hotel and skipped going to the Diamond, but we did have a nice time. RIU, have to give it to them, they know how to entertain their guests including a couple of interlopers like us.

Koo Koo for Coco Bongo!

The Cancun nightlife is centralized in Cancun proper, north of the hotel strip consisting of a series of streets that wind and center around clothing malls, tee shirt shops, gift shops, restaurants and open air bar/discos. The best of the bar discos is Coco Bongo, a fabulous night club with great music and non-stop cabaret shows every 15 minutes, it is “THE” place to be and see in Cancun nightlife.

We enjoyed ourselves and have video of the amazing happenings,… you can also find tons of video of Coco Bongo online if you want to see more of the shows.

We enjoyed it immensely, but as is our mission we wanted to take a more unique view, we wanted to know exactly who owns and runs this place and how do they put on these amazing light and video shows with all the celebrity impersonators like Elvis, Lady Gaga, Beatlejuice and such.  Our curiosity led us to do research online.  We found out a few extra things, most interestingly we found out that Coco Bongo does not always have permission to use the celebrities they promote themselves with or portray in their shows and that they were even sued for trademark infringement of the name “Coco Bongo” by of all people Gloria EstefanJ 

Now comes the real surprise, Coco Bongo is now vigorously being sued by 50 cent the rapper and these Legal Documents tell a very interesting story about how Coco Bongo might be cutting a few corners when it performs and promotes its shows. The point is if you travel to Cancun you should not miss Coco Bongo, enjoy their shows “now” as they are truly a sight to see, but someday there is  a “chance” Coco Bongo might have to look entirely different due to all the law suits that are sure to keep coming their way.

Taxi!

A quick note, the one thing in Cancun proper that you will never do without is a Taxi, you will be asked incessantly and into the wee hours if you need a taxi.  The taxi’s are plentiful, cheap, fairly modern and reliable.  If you stay at one of the hotels on the hotel strip don’t ever worry about being stranded, just an FYIJ

Ants on the ground, Ants on the ground, Feeling like fools with these Ants on the ground!

Day two of our stay was supposed to be about us doing a day trip to the Mayan Ruins or maybe even just some jet skiing, no such luck, it was incredibly windy and raining the next morning.  We slept in and called for room service brunch in the later morning.  We ate a wonderful meal with French toast, fruit and steak.  We finished and put the tray in our living room area and retreated to the terrace.  It was really nice to relax after that meal and take a break to just look onto the horizon for a few hours or so, all was well….until.

Kelynn was the first to notice, while we were out looking at the ocean and taking all the grandeur of the wide expanse in, we had been attacked!  There was a army of ants that was now swarming all over our left over brunch and living room!  Kelynn just lost it, the eeew factor was too much for her to endure.  The manager of the hotel was called to the room and even though he apologized and moved us to another larger room, it was just icky.  We found the little creatures in our laptops and in the safe too.


To be honest when we were in Jamaica at the RIU we had a similar problem, but not this big, video is a bit icky, don’t click open if you are squeamish.  Our advice to all traveling to beach resorts “no matter how regal” be careful to put your laptops especially in ziplock bags and don’t leave any food out



L


The mood was a bit tense after the ants attack, it was just some teeny tiny ants, but we still found it hard to feel comfortable in a luxury hotel that could allow such a slip up

. Fortunately later on that evening we decided to go for a swim in the pool, it was not as hot as the day time, but it was warm in the pool and Jacuzzi area.The pool had 10 foot columns ringed around its perimeter and seating area that was reminiscent of the Mayan ruins, when the moon shown above the ring… it was as if we were transported to ancient times of the great Mayans. It was eerie, but calming all at the same time.  Definitely after the ants fiasco this was a welcome experience.  We must have stayed in that pool for three hours just “chill-laxing”, we were prune skinned when we got back to our room, but so much the better for having gone on that swim.

The good time we spent having that evening swim was not quite enough to make us forget the ants, but it was enough to make us never forget Cancun.

Something Out of Nothing

Cancun was a bit over the top, it is bodacious and drunken at night with underage and "overage" tourists binging and frolicking into the wee hours.  The Hotels seem to be cookie cutter and overrated, the vendors and attendants overbearing....but all in all, Cancun is the busiest Caribbean destination, it is the most lucrative resort in Mexico and compared to what it is like elsewhere in Northern Mexico it is a breath of fresh air economically and socially for the Mexican people. No one thought it could be this successful and for the most part few peoples were displaced to build it and ecologically only few animal species have been affected negatively by all the growth.  This place was built from nothing and has turned into quite something...we tip our hats to Mexico and all those in government who had the vision to build up around this beautiful, but once deserted area.

Next up Orlando for Kelynn and then New Orleans for both of us.