Day 1: Where are we? Arrival day.
Karen & Mom day
We woke up around 4am for our early flight to Cancún, Quintana Roo, México on Sunday, March 25, two weeks ago, it seems like so much longer...
How did this trip happen? One day in January, I saw a groupon getaway for a hotel in México for $400 for a week. Having frustration with work and not having taken a vacation in a year and a half, I emailed it to Karen and said something like... "Oh how I wish." Karen responded, "Let's do it." And we did.
We ended up choosing The Grand Mayan in the Riviera Maya. Karen said she saw it's usually $4,000 a week.
They have a free shuttle from the airport to the resort, which consists of 3 different hotels. You just have to email the concierge to set it up.
We checked-in and found out we were in literally the furthest room from the lobby and pools. This is a very spread out, huge resort! They have shuttles going around all the time or you can make the 10-15 minute walk. Karen asked every step of the way if we could be in one of the closer rooms and we were in the furthest possible. Pretty sure they did that because we used the groupon and paid 10% of what everyone else paid. If that's our punishment, I'll take it. I can walk. I didn't want to spend that much time on the resort anyway. I'd rather be closest to the highway for our real adventures.
After settling in, we decided to spend the day at the pool and head to Playa del Carmen for groceries at night.
We got very lost trying to find the big pool (again, it's a big resort). We basically walked in a circle four times before figuring out our way.
I heard about these vans that would sit right across from the resort on the highway for very inexpensive transportation. I was a little nervous when there were no vans waiting and we stood on the side of the highway, wondering what we should do.
We quickly found out how colectivos work. They became our best friend.
They have lots of colectivos going from Cancún to Playa del Carmen (about an hour), with some traveling on to Tulum (≈30 minutes south of Playa). There are a couple different companies. Playa Express was my personal favorite, but there was also another one too. They are big white vans. Playa Express has that written and usually a sign with the destination in the window. The other company had a green line across the side of the van and it said collectivo. The 2nd class bus line, Mayab, will also stop and that's the least expensive of the three, but it is the most irregular of the three.
As you stand on the side of the road, the colectivo will flash their brights at you as a way of asking if you want a ride. Stick out your hand, like you would a cab, and they'll pull over for you. Some want you to pay when you get on, others when you get out. They'll let you know when you ask. Or just read their body language.
I was always super comfortable in the colectivos (a little squashed, for American standards, but pretty spacey for Mexican standards). I was alert and a little nervous at the beginning because I didn't know the path it took, how/when to say I wanted out, does it stop in Playa, how do I know the final stop? Mom & Karen would relax and nap and I would sit there on the edge of my seat. But as the week went on, I got more and more comfortable.
It was interesting to hear Karen describe colectivos to Dad. (I didn't think about it in the same way.) She said we were the only tourists. It was people going to work and then us. That's pretty accurate, I just didn't think of it.
We got in Playa and walked down the tourist street, which was pretty dead since it was Sunday and then we headed over for dinner at a little place. This was fun for me to try translating the meats to English. I know what the words for what I grouped as 'meat' are, but I don't know which kinds of meat they are... besides pollo (chicken). So as Mom & Karen asked me what each type of meat was I just kept saying meat and eventually asked the waitress what animal it came from.
While we tried to find our way around Playa, Mom & Karen kept telling me to ask people things and I got frustrated pretty quickly. I don't like people telling me what to do. As we were meandering around we heard the church bells and decided to go to mass. I asked someone where church was and we made our way there. It was beautiful with so many different, bright colors. There were so many paper flowers decorating the church. We sat in plastic lawn chairs and I really enjoyed a little blast to the past. I was pretty bummed we would miss the Palm Sunday precession (my favorite of Semana Santa celebrations) so I was glad we made it here.
We made it to Mega, got some groceries to add to what we brought from the US (we had a kitchen) and took a cab (our only one of the entire trip) back to our room. The cab driver was super nice, even though I'm pretty much the only one who talked to him. I enjoyed it anyway, even though I didn't want to take it because I thought it was a waste of money.
Dinero for the day (in pesos)
This first day is lots of estimations because I didn't start keeping track until a few days later.
≈$65 colectivo for 3 people from resort to Playa (they charge by kilometer)
$180 taxi from Playa to resort
≈$200 food at la Mega (we had a kitchen)
≈$115 dinner for 3
while we were in México the exchange rate was around $11.75-$12.50 depending on where you went
$400 (dollars) hotel for the week
We were pretty satisfied with the hotel, but as you'll see throughout the week, we had our struggles. They don't inform you very well on everything that's going on. Ask, ask, ask.
Karen & Mom day
We woke up around 4am for our early flight to Cancún, Quintana Roo, México on Sunday, March 25, two weeks ago, it seems like so much longer...
How did this trip happen? One day in January, I saw a groupon getaway for a hotel in México for $400 for a week. Having frustration with work and not having taken a vacation in a year and a half, I emailed it to Karen and said something like... "Oh how I wish." Karen responded, "Let's do it." And we did.
We ended up choosing The Grand Mayan in the Riviera Maya. Karen said she saw it's usually $4,000 a week.
They have a free shuttle from the airport to the resort, which consists of 3 different hotels. You just have to email the concierge to set it up.
We checked-in and found out we were in literally the furthest room from the lobby and pools. This is a very spread out, huge resort! They have shuttles going around all the time or you can make the 10-15 minute walk. Karen asked every step of the way if we could be in one of the closer rooms and we were in the furthest possible. Pretty sure they did that because we used the groupon and paid 10% of what everyone else paid. If that's our punishment, I'll take it. I can walk. I didn't want to spend that much time on the resort anyway. I'd rather be closest to the highway for our real adventures.
After settling in, we decided to spend the day at the pool and head to Playa del Carmen for groceries at night.
We got very lost trying to find the big pool (again, it's a big resort). We basically walked in a circle four times before figuring out our way.
I heard about these vans that would sit right across from the resort on the highway for very inexpensive transportation. I was a little nervous when there were no vans waiting and we stood on the side of the highway, wondering what we should do.
We quickly found out how colectivos work. They became our best friend.
They have lots of colectivos going from Cancún to Playa del Carmen (about an hour), with some traveling on to Tulum (≈30 minutes south of Playa). There are a couple different companies. Playa Express was my personal favorite, but there was also another one too. They are big white vans. Playa Express has that written and usually a sign with the destination in the window. The other company had a green line across the side of the van and it said collectivo. The 2nd class bus line, Mayab, will also stop and that's the least expensive of the three, but it is the most irregular of the three.
As you stand on the side of the road, the colectivo will flash their brights at you as a way of asking if you want a ride. Stick out your hand, like you would a cab, and they'll pull over for you. Some want you to pay when you get on, others when you get out. They'll let you know when you ask. Or just read their body language.
I was always super comfortable in the colectivos (a little squashed, for American standards, but pretty spacey for Mexican standards). I was alert and a little nervous at the beginning because I didn't know the path it took, how/when to say I wanted out, does it stop in Playa, how do I know the final stop? Mom & Karen would relax and nap and I would sit there on the edge of my seat. But as the week went on, I got more and more comfortable.
It was interesting to hear Karen describe colectivos to Dad. (I didn't think about it in the same way.) She said we were the only tourists. It was people going to work and then us. That's pretty accurate, I just didn't think of it.
We got in Playa and walked down the tourist street, which was pretty dead since it was Sunday and then we headed over for dinner at a little place. This was fun for me to try translating the meats to English. I know what the words for what I grouped as 'meat' are, but I don't know which kinds of meat they are... besides pollo (chicken). So as Mom & Karen asked me what each type of meat was I just kept saying meat and eventually asked the waitress what animal it came from.
While we tried to find our way around Playa, Mom & Karen kept telling me to ask people things and I got frustrated pretty quickly. I don't like people telling me what to do. As we were meandering around we heard the church bells and decided to go to mass. I asked someone where church was and we made our way there. It was beautiful with so many different, bright colors. There were so many paper flowers decorating the church. We sat in plastic lawn chairs and I really enjoyed a little blast to the past. I was pretty bummed we would miss the Palm Sunday precession (my favorite of Semana Santa celebrations) so I was glad we made it here.
We made it to Mega, got some groceries to add to what we brought from the US (we had a kitchen) and took a cab (our only one of the entire trip) back to our room. The cab driver was super nice, even though I'm pretty much the only one who talked to him. I enjoyed it anyway, even though I didn't want to take it because I thought it was a waste of money.
Dinero for the day (in pesos)
This first day is lots of estimations because I didn't start keeping track until a few days later.
≈$65 colectivo for 3 people from resort to Playa (they charge by kilometer)
$180 taxi from Playa to resort
≈$200 food at la Mega (we had a kitchen)
≈$115 dinner for 3
while we were in México the exchange rate was around $11.75-$12.50 depending on where you went
$400 (dollars) hotel for the week
We were pretty satisfied with the hotel, but as you'll see throughout the week, we had our struggles. They don't inform you very well on everything that's going on. Ask, ask, ask.
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