Back from a Break from our Winter Away

It was a great Christmas getaway to Cancun.  However, as we slept for our third night in #715, we knew that today we'd have to get back to Playa del Carmen. It'd be hard to say goodbye to people asking us what we'd like to eat and if there was anything they could do for us. 

We had our last breakfast in the Albatros dining room and packed our meagre belongings into two backpacks. There were a few drops as we walked by the huge pool towards the lobby. As we checked out, it began to pour! It was a longer shower than I might have expected but by 10:30 it'd stopped. We walked to the road and the cheap Route 2 bus got us four kilometers to downtown Cancun in a matter of minutes. 

We crossed the highway on a pedestrian overpass and directly into the ADO bus station. We were a bit too late for the 11:00 but got on the smaller 11:20 commuter to Playa del Carmen. It left early and made good time.

 

We were in sunny PdC by 12:20 and our apartment by 12:40.  After we got back, it started getting grey here. I think we beat this morning's shower south and it caught up this afternoon. Alas, being here is nice but I will miss some of the comforts of the all-inclusive.

Boxing Day 2020

 

Everything at our resort was fine.  We awoke to another sunny morning with expected highs around 28°C.  Our breakfast was as expected too and it was nice to walk past an inviting, blue swimming pool to get to it.

A bit later, we wanted to explore the 'Hotel Zone' of Cancun.  So, we walked to the nearest bus stop, only a few hundred meters from our resort entrance.  The distance to the hotel zone was exactly five kilometers.  Distances are posted along the 20 kilometer beach section of the Cancun hotels.

 

We had to see this area as it is where the action is ... if one's outside of the many all-inclusive resorts.  We didn't need to find the nightlife but I can only imagine what the area might look like during spring-semester breaks!

We first walked directly to the Playa Gaviota Azul.  It is so much wider than our little Playa del Carmen beach.  Literally, tens of thousands of people could crowd this area during more normal times.  I'm sure the government imposed 60% maximum as a COVID precaution, is taking a hit on the normal, Christmas tourist activity.

It'd be fun to come here for a week perhaps, but it sort of misses the soul of smaller beachside communities.  I can see why the southern sections of the Maya Riviera have become popular as an alternative.

There was a lot of music by the pool today and it interfered with my nap a bit.  A young crowd was drinking a lot.   Last night, it was a bit loud too but not the resort; pirate-clad party boats dock just outside our area and they were quite noisy.

I'm going to be sad to leave tomorrow.  We will miss our newly developed routines.  This has been an excellent get-away and a nice Christmas gift to ourselves. 

 

Christmas Day 2020

It was nice for Jay and I to wake up to balmy weather on Christmas morning with someone there to make an omelet or whatever breakfast one could desire.

   

We struck out for the road after breakfast to catch one of the numerous busses that ply the hotel area. There is a 20 km stretch of sandy beach on the Caribbean and a lagoon to the east. First, we walked a few kilometers along the sidewalks to see the other hotels along our section, near a bridge and inlet. We waited for a bus at one of the stops.

   

We passed the traditional hotel zone are right near the point and continued onward to exit at the huge outdoor mall called the La Isla Cancun Shopping Village. Although the complex with canals and a meandering walkway was open, many of the shops remained closed on Christmas day. We didn't really go there to buy anything so a half-hour of exercise on a nice, bright morning seemed sufficient.

 

We returned to our resort by crossing the road and taking another bus back.  We didn't stop yet in the main hotel zone but kept that as an activity for tomorrow.  It seemed like an unusual Christmas wearing swimming attire.  Although we have often been in warm places at the end of the year, I can't recall ever being directly on a beach.

Of course, alcoholic drinks were included for free during this stay.  So as well as my initial beers and dark rum on the rocks, I had a fair number of mojitos.  The green colour and mint looked especially festive, I thought.

 

Our closest experience to an all-inclusive resort has probably been our many cruise ship adventures.  I've got to say, I can easily succumb to people willing to constantly look after me.  The Christmas music and festivities put on by the Occidental Costa Cancun were more than entertaining.  The added bonus of free internet and drinks may have helped this surpass some of our history of Holland-America voyages.  Being pampered this way could well become a more frequent type of vacation for us.

Christmas Eve 2020

We got to the bus station before 10:15 in Playa del Carmen because we paid and got right on.  It was in Cancun at 11:45.  We waited for one of the many Route 1 or 2 busses which do the hotel loop.  We paid 12 pesos (CA$0.77) each.  So we checked in around 12:20 pm at the Occidental Costa Cancun. 

We ate an early lunch because we signed up for a Christmas eve dinner at the early seating.  The rest of the afternoon we lounged around the place using the small beach and Jay started a conversation with some Iranian boys down from NYC for a break.  The evening meal was good and Jay loved his dessert 'yule log'.   We had some entertainment dancers and a little show.

The resort is quite new with a very efficient and practical design.  Most of the buildings make a 'U' around the pool and a little beach is on the other side of the restaurants.

 

 Coming to spend three nights here was an exceptionally good idea.

Changing Beaches Tomorrow

 

We just got back from a walk to the beach which has become part of our normal evening stroll. 

It's almost hard to believe we have been in Playa del Carmen for six and a half weeks already! Tonight, we also went to the ADO bus terminal to buy tickets for a ride to Cancun tomorrow.  However, we discovered that tickets at the station can only be purchased thirty minutes before departure.  Four or five buses travel the 80 km route every hour.  Cancun is the main destination of the Mayan Riviera. We only saw the airport and came directly south.  When most folks think of the Caribbean coast of Mexico, they're thinking of a stay in one of the 30,000 hotel rooms there. The resorts fill up with tourists on an all-inclusive week or two-week vacation. 

Jay and I decided to spend just three nights in the Occidental Costa Cancun. I'm sure things will be running a little differently during the COVID restrictions. Presently, the government has the status set so hotels and restaurants can only have 60% of full capacity.  I do hope they still throw a big, huge Christmas buffet dinner at ours!  'All-inclusive' means unlimited free drinks for me as I'll feel as though I have to consume Jay's unused portion of alcohol too. 

So, we'll walk to the bus station in the morning and try to get on a bus leaving at around 10:30 am. The trip takes an hour and a half to the terminal there and then we can catch a shuttle to the hotel zone. Our check-in time is officially not until 3:oo pm but we might squeak in several hours early.   It'll be a resort-type of Christmas.

We'll come back to our studio apartment in Playa del Carmen on Sunday.

Today and December Plans

 

 

It was another fine day here.  We took advantage of the warm sun to walk toward the beach this morning.  It may have been in the high teens centigrade last night, but it was pretty pleasant by 10 am.  There are many different ways to get to the water and we know all the close ones now.  Yet, just soaking in the sun and sights is relaxing and enjoyable.

We're starting to plan excursions.  The weather looks to remain nice tomorrow, and if it is, we might grab a ferry over to Cozumel for lunch.  It takes around an hour, I guess.  We can see the tall hotels on the north end of the island from the Playa del Carmen beach.

Also, we have decided to do something special for Christmas.   The only thing that'll be white for us is the sand in Cancun.  We came directly from the airport to this city, so we didn't get a look at the major, tourist focus of the Mayan Riviera.  We do deserve a few days of all-inclusiveness.

Our history of global travel has always been on a shoestring.  Over the years, we've often been more at home in a hostel than a resort.  But we may never get as good a chance as the present to spend three nights in the famous Cancun hotel zone.   We will take a bus north on Thursday, December 24th and check into the Occidental Costa Cancún.  We've not been inside a Barcelo property before.  That means we'll feast on a gala Christmas dinner buffet and I'll drink a lot of all-inclusive cheer.  We'll check out on Sunday and return to Playa del Carmen.