I started this post on March 13, 2019 and left it mid way. There are three other posts which have been left thus…

I’m hoping to complete these and publish them within the next few weeks and write more…

Read on

Why Cancun?

Why should you visit Cancun? The weather, people and food are just a few reasons. We made a few mistakes. You can learn from them

Most people visit a place once and check it off their list. Been there…done it…THAT IS NOT US. For us, our first visit is just to take in its beauty, to simply breathe in its fresh air. It is like reading a book for the first time and loving it. When you read it the second time is when you understand and capture its true essence.

The ideal vacation day is one where you wake up at your own leisure. On waking up you decide what you want to do with your day. There is no schedule, there are no plans. You are free to lounge by the pool or the beach to read a book sipping unending cocktails, taking intermittent naps which are followed by small portions of mouth watering seafood delicacies. The evening starts with a hot shower or soak in the tub and getting dressed (which could just be a tank top and a pair of shorts) for a relaxing drink by the sea and sumptuous dinner. Ending the night with a stroll with a balmy beach breeze brushing against your face. Finally walking into to a cold room and comfortably inviting bed. This is what Cancun is all about.  We fell in love with Cancun when we visited Mexico in 2016. We knew we had to return when we said goodbye. We kept our promise and did return two years later to revel in its beauty.

Fairmont Mayakoba

Fairmont thinks of everything, every minute detail. It is luxurious without being overtly so. The food  and spirits are to die for. Unlike other “all-inclusive” resorts, Fairmont does not water down their drinks. The food is certainly not run of the mill. You are ordering a la carte and getting top of the line stuff. Right from the complimentary cucumber served with ancho chilli powder. The mouth-watering fare in their three restaurants is exquisite. I only wish they had more restaurants. In such a big property, I felt they could do with at least one more if not two. 

The one thing I would like to underscore here is the hospitality of the Fairmont staff. From the front desk, to the bell boys right to the hardworking servers doing their rounds on the beach (it is not an easy feat, balancing those drink trays on the sand) for hours on end – they are always smiling and always willing to go over and above to make your stay pleasurable.

We even tried out their water sports during our first stay. We did a guided snorkeling trip. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The snorkeling wasn’t great…in the sense, the corals were decaying and we have seen far better sea life in other places. Obviously Mexico needs to do more to preserve their corals and their marine life. But our guide must be given extra points for effort. The trip was indeed enjoyable.

What the Fairmont doesn’t have and what we (and by we, I mean my hubby) need is jet skis. But people with need for speed – fear not. There are several outside vendors who will rent you jet skis by the hour. You will be picked up right at the shack and dropped back. The resort also has a river running through it where you can do boat tours which I hear are also pretty awesome. We didn’t get time to do it on either of our trips. It does warrant visiting the resort a third time, don’t you think? 🙂

Chichen Itza and Cenote`

Sid (my husband) has always been a history buff and thus interested in the Mayan and Incan civilizations. To his dismay, We were unable to visit any of the Mayan ruins on our first trip, so it goes without saying that this was something WE HAD TO DO on our second one. I was given the responsibility of planning a day trip to the ruins. The day was quite close to being a disaster, if not for the sporting spirit of my dear husband. 

 

Here’s the story – We were already spending a bomb on the trip so I wanted to save where ever I could. The official transport for all Mayakoba properties including The Fairmont is Maritur. By the way, there are other properties in Mayakoba (which is essentially a subdivision in this place called Playa Del Carmen which is a little south of Cancun). I booked Maritur to transport us to and from the airport and that alone cost us more than $100.00 one way so I decide to go with a local tour company (worst decision I could’ve made). I hurriedly read the reviews of this company on yelp and they are not too bad. So, I go ahead and book us on not one but two whole days of site seeing – one to Chichen Itza and swimming in a Cenote and the other for a snorkeling trip (i don’t even check where they are taking us…yes, I’m that foolish). They were late in picking us up. The staff was disorganized and borderline rude when I enquired about why they were late. They hardly spoke any English. The buses were not in the best condition and they spent hours picking up customers all over town. But by the end of the day, we became friendly with the staff. They spoke their language and we spoke hindi and we understood each other perfectly. We did what we set out to do and all was well.

Hoping you guys got some idea of what we loved about Cancun. Please do write in with comments and queries.