Ahhh ... Mexico!

Ahh Mexico! I woke around 7am after sleeping really hard. The bed was absolutely luxurious, soft, and comfy. I was in a hurry to throw back the drapes and take in the sunrise over the Caribbean Sea. I did just that. I slid open the double glass door and slipped out onto our balcony and drank in the fresh, morning sea air. Perfect! I stumbled around the room a little finding the stuff to make coffee. One thing about this being a non-all-inclusive, they charge for almost everything, including room coffee. But knowing this, Mindy brought a fresh bag of Starbucks. The only catch was, we didn’t bring filters. I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I made one out of a tissue. Soon coffee was brewing away. At a crossroad, I decided this a good time to take a break from my usual daily sit-ups and push-ups, giving those muscles a much deserved rest. I may do them sporadically through the week but certainly not everyday. However, without question, I will run every day. I readied for a run after sucking down a cup of Starbucks scantly decorated. No fru-fur coffee here. It was sunny and beautiful as I glanced once more out at the Caribbean Sea. I kissed Mindy then headed off for a run. Imagine then my surprise to see liquid sunshine out the lobby door. The streets were wet and getting even wetter yet under the guise of brilliant sunshine. The gentleman working the door advised it was raining but in Spanish. It didn’t register until I hit the trail. Perfect, though. It was sunny, warm, but raining from one little cloud burst now west of us. Also, lurking off in the western sky was a beautiful rainbow, something I have seen on three vacations dating back to the day I married Mindy overlooking Portland. Not only that, but we’ve seen numerous rainbows at home this year, too. Freaky. I mean heck, I have probably gone years without seeing one, and now all of the sudden they’re popping up almost routinely in my life. I ran an old familiar route through the hotel zone and entertainment district. Aside from Ohio, and the Washington/Oregon area, I’ve run more miles in Mexico than anywhere else (six different vacations here). I ran about 6 kilometers - just under 4 miles. They have the strip nicely marked every half kilometer. It felt good to breath in the salty sea air while running. At my run’s completion, I stopped in the OXXO carryout next door to the hotel. There I bought some water, Gatorade, Fresca, and pineapple juice. I forgot to mention that I bought a bottle of Captain Morgan’s rum at the Cancun airport after landing. Back in the room Mindy & I took our time readying ourselves for breakfast. Mindy hadn’t yet showered all the while I was gone. I didn’t worry too much, however. My old thinking was not to waste a single minute that could otherwise be spent soaking up the harsh Mexican sunshine. Hey, there’s Ohio sun, there’s Florida sun, and then there’s Mexican sunshine! Nothing tops the sunshine here! You can burn/tan in a jiffy. We made it to the outdoor poolside/beachside restaurant by about 10-1030am. Nothing at the Fiesta American Grand Coral Beach hotel (FAGCB) is skimpish or shabby - the restaurants included. Sure, we read about their five diamond rating and all the excellent guest reviews, but were still surprised/ impressed with the level of service and all the extra doting they do. We were greeted and seated by Enrique, and then taken care of by Jorge. He helped us with our selections. He recommended the buffet. It was $290 pesos (about $23USD) each, but that included endless mimosa and coffee. Being huge mimosa fans, we took full advantage. Honestly, the food was absolutely delicious. The best I’ve had in the Caribbean for certain. We sat for breakfast for upwards of 90 minutes. We each drank five mimosas. We headed back to our room sometime before noon to get beach ready. We donned our swim suits and then lathered ourselves in sunblock. I used SPF15 for the first time ever. Mindy used SPF30 & 45. Off to the beach. I forgot that we grabbed towels from the towel boy just prior to heading to our room after breakfast. As many hotel guests concluded, there were more than an ample supply of beach chairs and papalas. Sadly, the occupancy rate was low. Oodles of open chairs. We each took giant rum & Frescas to the beach in large tumbler cups brought from home. We enjoyed those until the ice melted. An hour or so into our sun worship we met Javier, a very attentive server, who took outstanding care of our every need while at the beach. I ordered Jack Daniels and Coke, Mindy Captain & Diet. With each new drink, the glass contained more booze. We stayed out on the beach until almost 5pm. Where had the day gone? Pretty much all we had done was drink, sun, and read. A very relaxing day. Back in our room we both took a nap, Mindy an especially long one. I watched TV anxious to find the end of the Memorial tournament back home. I never did find it. CBS was noticeably missing from the line-up. Not sure why. Finally, I saw via ESPN that Tiger roared back and won. That made me very happy. Mindy napped until 7pm. During the next hour we both showered and dressed for dinner. Dinner, but no real plan as to where. We left our room on foot around 8pm walking the strip of the hotel zone looking for just the right place to eat. After a day of sun and drinking, neither of us were up for the noise and commotion common in the hotel zone bar/restaurants. Instead, we wanted something casual, quiet, and simple. Mindy’s only caveat was that it be somewhere she can’t eat at home. That ruled out my choices of Domino’s McDonald’s, or Subway. We walked and walked until I became frustrated. We ended up back at our hotel around 9pm. By then I was growing sleepy. We stopped in the lovely little café that serves sandwiches and salads and ordered lemonades. The menu didn’t have anything on it that pleased either of us. I was in the mood for pub type food (Barley’s). :) We settled up for the lemonades and headed back to our room. While Mindy read I perused the room service menu. I ended up ordering a pepperoni pizza after confirming that it would feed two. It arrived 30 minutes later. Marcelo brought it. Along with the pizza, Marcelo brought water, a rose, and some candies. Top notch. The presentation was superb. And the pizza itself was good, too. There was plenty for the two of us. Bellies now full we slid under the covers and eventually to sleep.