|
|||||||
 |
| LinkBack | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Rate Thread |
11-19-2004
|
#1 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Garth & Cathy trip report, ED Royale & PDC, ridiculously long
This report is very long so will be posted in sections. At times Garth wrote....at times Cathy wrote....but eventually we got the whole saga typed up...lol
We are an active athletic (mid to late 40's) couple that went to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It should be mentioned that I had already booked and paid for the trip to an AI when I was doing research on the area and stumbled on this site. Perhaps if I had known then what I know now we would have done things in a different way. Have a feeling that the next trip won't be of the AI variety...but I'm glad that we have done it. There is something to be said for being spoiled rotten once in awile. feel free to ask questions..... chuckle at the mistakes we made....and offer any comments you like..... Cathy and Garth |
|
    
|
| register to remove these adverts | |
|
11-19-2004
|
#2 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
The Getting there
<O:p</O:p The day before we left was insane, lots of running around to do and that evening we packed and re-packed about 4 times trying to get within the weight restrictions. We were taking enough of our dive gear to snorkel a lot and Garth took his regulator in case we could set up a dive. <O:p</O:p Friday Oct. 29<SUP>th</SUP> Up early and at the airport by <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Minute="45" Hour="7">7:45 a.m.</st1:time> for a flight to <st1:City><ST1:pToronto</ST1:p</st1:City>, arrived mid morning and met up with our friends. After a quick lunch we spent the afternoon prowling the ROM (<ST1:p<st1:PlaceName>Royal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Ontario</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Museum</st1:PlaceType></ST1:p), nice dinner and great visit. We did actually lay down for a few hours to try and grab a nap as we had to be at the airport for <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="3">3 a.m.</st1:time> but neither of us could sleep. I think we both felt like 6 year olds on Christmas Eve. We made it to the airport on time and checked in for the <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="6">6 a.m.</st1:time> flight to <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p. Well the Pearson airport at <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="3">3 a.m.</st1:time> is very interesting entertainment, great people watching. Mind you I was glad we were on time and could just sit and sip a coffee and watch the cattle drive. <O:p</O:p Ok, Skyservice…sure have read a lot about them in trip reports, and not much was good but we are from Northern Ontario and routinely fly “white knuckle air” so it didn’t really seem that bad. I guess everything is a matter of perspective. Seeing as we checked in early-ish we requested and got the emergency exit row so I suppose we had more leg room than other folks. By the time we took off we had been awake for almost 24 hours. Garth managed to grab a little sleep on the flight. I was sandwiched between him and some lady that seemed far too grumpy to be on her way to <st1:country-region><ST1:pMexico</ST1:p</st1:country-region>. After a mystery breakfast in a box we arrived at <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p just after <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="9">9 a.m.</st1:time> on Saturday, with a couple of planes right behind us. Immigration was a breeze and off to get the luggage. Round and round it went with no sign of our bags. I was really starting to get worried but they did eventually appear and we were off to the traffic light. I got a green and they waved the hubby through with me…geez I’m thinking this is going really well…then wham we hit the time share shark wall…of course Garth is so happy he just wants to visit with everyone, he is such a chatty fellow. Keep moving… don’t make eye contact…just say no thanks….whew we are out the door and find the bus like immediately. We had a bus full of sleep deprived Canadians in the warm sunshine and it took about 2 min. to get the party up and running. Lucky streak continued as our resort was the first stop. There just aren’t words to describe our first impressions of the El Dorado Royale. With champagne in hand we were checked in and got our room right away, gotta love it. Into a golf cart and off to room 617. By now we have been awake for about 30 hours and have reached the “everything’s funny” stage. <O:p</O:p The room was exactly what I had hoped it would be and then some. Ok for the detail hounds: <O:p</O:p Nice big balcony with a double hammock and 2 chairs Right in front of balcony is a 2 person Jacuzzi with a little window and shutter so you can lay in the tub and enjoy the view, and a dinette set. <O:p</O:p King size bed Huge closet with iron & board and safe (no charge) Armoire with TV. mini fridge and storage Small alcove with a coffee maker and full length mirror Bathroom shower big enough to throw a party in A/C (worked very well) ceiling fan above bed, clock radio Desk and chair <O:p</O:p We just dropped our gear and went to find some lunch. We ate at JoJo’s the Carribean restaurant right beside the beach. After lunch we wandered back up to the lobby and made dinner reservations till past the fiesta night on Wed. No problem getting reservations at all. We also booked the shuttle into Playa for Sunday night for the Playa Info meet. <O:p</O:p Hubby had a nap after lunch but I was restless and way too wired to sleep so I went exploring. We were told to meet the tour rep at <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="16">4 p.m.</st1:time> so we went and he was a no show, incidentally was a no show for the whole week so not impressed there. That night we had dinner at Cocotal and it was really nice. After that we wandered down to Guacamayas and listened to the live band for a bit. About <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="9">9ish</st1:time> I guess I hit the wall in terms of lack of sleep and well don’t really remember much after that. <O:p</O:p What an adventure just getting here and spending the 1<SUP>st</SUP> day was. Last edited by Shootingstar : 11-20-2004 at 07:19 AM. |
|
|
|
|
11-19-2004
|
#3 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Sunday Oct 31<SUP>st</SUP> – Day 2
<O:p</O:p The beds are amazing, I know other reports have said they were horrible but I loved them. After breakfast we hit the beach, got the mandatory 1<SUP>st</SUP> day burn and lunch at JoJo’s again. Drifted around in the shops on-site for a little while as we are going to Playa tonight and I wanted to have an idea on the differences in prices. <O:p</O:p Oh before we went for breakfast I pulled out the trusty little Spanish/English book and tried to figure out a way to leave a note for the maid. We had been told by a friend who did <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p last year that getting coffee is almost impossible after breakfast so had brought our own as we knew there were coffee makers in the room. Unfortunately we didn’t realize that they only put 4 small (500ml) bottles of water in the room each day. It takes 2 just to make a small pot of coffee, so I wanted to figure out how to ask for extra. Couldn’t find how to say extra anywhere in the book. After looking everywhere I put together a sentence using “many” instead of extra and I’m sure the grammer was wrong but hoped it would be understandable. Well after the room was cleaned I checked and go figure no water all all…geez did I screw it up that bad??? But later about 6 waters magically appeared in the room, I eventually figured out that the fridges get stocked by different people at different times. Ultimately, we got wise to the game of hiding all the water early in the day so we would get enough over all. Stupid game, you can get all the beer and drinks you want but getting water is a chore?? Speaking of stupid games the towel game ranks very high on my list and I simply refuse to play, even though I was up by <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Minute="0" Hour="6">6 a.m.</st1:time> every morning. It’s just too friggen childish for me. If you want to sit find an empty chair and sit in it…but to think you have the right to “save” one for the whole day just in case you may feel like sitting in it later is really unbelievable. One day we were walking along and went to sit in a lounger and this woman comes running over and says “oh, we were just planning on moving there, well I was speechless, and she gets all indignant and say’s “I was up before 8:00 to save this spot…and I’m thinking… and that supposedly includes all 20 chairs? ….we took two steps over and sat in an empty set of chairs and thought wow it’s really sad to see someone get so freaked out over a stupid chair when there are empty ones as far as the eye could see. This resort never feels crowded. Not once did we have a problem getting a seat anywhere we wanted to sit. <O:p</O:p We played in the surf and crawled around on the rocks/coral and saw a bunch of neat little critters in the little tide pools. Had a swim in the salt water pool and generally just relaxed and hung out for the afternoon. <O:p</O:p At <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="18">6:00</st1:time> we took the shuttle to Playa and were dropped off at corner of 5<SUP>th</SUP> and Constituyentes. We did a stroll up and down a bit of 5<SUP>th</SUP> and then realized we had better find a place and grab something to eat. We ended up at a place upstairs from the street – pasta and other stuff – 2 for 1 margaritta’s, can’t remember the name but I think we have a pic of it somewhere. Reasonable meal quality wise but a little over priced I think, hard to say, it’s our first time here. We were pressed for time so of course dinner took a long time to get and we were a little late for the Playainfo meet at LaRanita. What a blast…great group of people…wish we could have stayed well into the night but we had to be back to meet the shuttle at 10. We did find out Lulu and Flash were booked on the tulum tour the same day as us so that was way kewl. Way later than we should have we said our farewells and hauled ass up 5<SUP>th</SUP> to meet the bus. We got to the pick up point with about 4 min. to spare. We were just wandering and waiting and Garth spotted an Aztec Calendar wall plaque. Of course the guy was with us in a heartbeat and said 140 us…well no way, and besides we didn’t plan to shop tonight the bus would be here any min. so I was not interested in getting into the barter game. I said no gracias and we turned to leave…. <O:p</O:p Him – 120us Me – no thank you the bus is due any minute Him – 100us Me – no really we have to go Him- 80us Me – we’ll come back another day, we’re not shopping tonight Him – 60us Me- you see we only came for dinner…not shopping…then we found a bar and had Drinks – we don’t have enough money left to shop tonight – we’ll come back Another day. Him – how much do you have left? Me – maybe 40 bucks left, it’s not enough for something so pretty…(I say with a smile now realizing I am in the middle of the game anyway) Him – it’s enough, just for you, I wrap fast, bus coming now <O:p</O:p It was too funny, I really didn’t want to shop that night, didn’t want to play the barter game. I ran for the bus as Hubby paid the guy (as it should be) when he got on the bus he say’s “Damn you're good at this whole barter thing” I laughed I wasn’t trying to barter, I was trying to catch a bus, but not be rude either – then Garth laughed, wow he says, can’t wait to see how you do when you actually try. So off we went back to the resort with Garth’s calendar wall plaque. It was pouring rain when we got to the resort and it ran down the big marble staircases at the lobby like giant waterfalls. Very pretty but kinda dangerous too I suppose. We met a British couple leaving the lobby and we all ran through the rain like little kids. <O:p</O:p Oh I almost forgot when we were wandering down 5<SUP>th</SUP> we found a little orange stucco building with black wrought iron balcony railings. Restaurant on the ground level and what looked like rooms on the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> and 3<SUP>rd</SUP> floor. It had a for sale sign on it….I just fell in love with it and I will put it on my list to Santa but have a feeling I haven’t been “that good” this year…lol Last edited by Shootingstar : 11-20-2004 at 07:27 AM. |
|
|
|
|
11-19-2004
|
#6 (permalink) | |
|
añejo
 Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: The City of Presidents
Posts: 16,003
|
Quote:
Sound right to you, eh Michael? |
|
|
|
|
|
11-20-2004
|
#7 (permalink) | |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Quote:
cathy |
|
|
|
|
|
11-20-2004
|
#8 (permalink) | |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Quote:
cathy |
|
|
|
|
|
11-20-2004
|
#9 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Monday Nov 1<SUP>st</SUP>
<O:p</O:p Don’t have a clue what I did to it but I have a real problem happening with my left foot. It is very sore and quite swollen. Maybe a quiet day is in order as we are going to Tulum tomorrow. We relaxed and lazed around after having the buffet breakfast – wow what a spread. Spent a little bit of time in the internet café and sent the kids a quick note. We haven’t been able to do much snorkelling as it has been very windy and the water has been quite rough. While I was on the computer Garth came in and said you gotta come snorkel, I found a bunch of baby barracuda’s. We checked them out and spent awhile in the saltwater pool checking out the fish there. It’s nice to have the saltwater pool when it’s not calm you can still swim, snorkel and see fish. <O:p</O:p Maybe I should mention the breakers. I have read so many negative reports about them I wasn’t sure what to expect. They really aren’t that bad and they make it possible to swim as the water is much calmer inside them. Do they spoil a postcard view?…maybe…Are they Ugly?…no, and they do provide entertainment. Watching the waves break over them was quite a spectacular show in the morning. Watching the good ol boys, with beer in hand (who had swam out to sit on them) get knocked off by a big wave was great entertainment in the afternoon. I will make sure and post some pics of the breakers and the old pier as so many have complained about them and I know it makes people worried about booking this resort. Personally I liked the visual interest and variety they provided against an endless horizon, they are resting spots for birds, the pier is a great place to find fish when you snorkel so for me they added to the experience. If you don’t like the view walk a min. or two in either direction, and you have that endless turquoise postcard if you wish. <O:p</O:p We had dinner at the Oriental restaurant. It is on the second floor and seats only about 35-40 people. We had a table right at the railing and it was nice however it was very, very windy and things kept blowing off the table. The food was good but in my opinion not nearly as good as some of the other restaurants. I suppose the highlight was seeing what we think was a kotamundi right below us way kewl. After dinner we had drinks at Guacamayas but seeing as we had a very early start the next morning we wandered down to the lobby to arrange for a cab for <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="6" Minute="30">6:30 a.m.</st1:time> uggh!! |
|
|
|
|
11-20-2004
|
#10 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Tuesday Nov 2<SUP>nd</SUP>.
<O:p</O:p This day’s report was penned by Garth. <O:p</O:p We were both awake before the alarm went off but still managed to be a few minutes late for the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="18" Minute="15">6:15</st1:time> pick up. The cab was there and we made it to Café Sasta in Playa with plenty of time to spare – that was the whole plan – we wanted to have breakfast in town as meals are rather leisurely at the resort so we didn’t want to eat there on tour day. <O:p</O:p Well the ladies at Café Sasta, which was open, kept saying 5 more minutes till coffee was ready…for well over 40 min. Lulu & Flash (Brooks) joined us…5 more min…Tom & Mindy arrived…5 more min…James arrived….we still had not gotten our orders. He was very nice and said we had a bit of time. The coffee arrived shortly after James showed up and we had to ask the young lady who brought it to us to put it into take out cups. We waited for a while for another two people but they didn’t show up so we all piled into the van and headed for the Iberostar Tukan to pick up Victor and Katie from <st1:City><ST1:pSan Diego</ST1:p</st1:City>. Then we were off. <O:p</O:p The road trip to Tulum was fun with James entertaining the troops with stories about his new daughter and why we should avoid pissing off the local taxi drivers (something about too much tequila and Mexican jails I seem to remember). <O:p</O:p We arrived at Tulum to a relatively empty parking lot which was nice since it meant there would be no great crowds to deal with at the ruin site. After a short wait for our guide we piled onto the shuttle for the short ride to the site. We were introduced to our guide (who’s name I can’t remember but he was from Louisianna) and went up the wide stone staircase to the narrow passage through the stone wall surrounding the compound. Visiting a ruin site like this is something I have wanted to do since I was a kid and it was an amazing feeling to come out of the corridor and know that we were seeing the same panorama that had been seen by the Mayan people over 1000 years ago. I couldn’t help but wonder what they thought at that first glance of the magnificent stone structures spread out in front of them. <O:p</O:p Across the compound from the entrance the main pyramid stands situated on top of a rise with its back to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was an impressive site, a large tiered, cut stone structure framed against clear blue sky. We were told that this particular spot on the coast was chosen because it was the only place on this coast that had a cliff overlooking the ocean. Those Mayans really knew how to pick a location. Between us and the pyramid were several other stone structures and the remnants of two narrow roadways stretching side to side across the field. We were guided to the first couple of structures and treated to a detailed dialogue (he really knows his stuff) about the history and purpose of each one. In places along the edge of the ancient roadways there were rectangular shaped outlines of stone in the ground. Some of the stones had holes in them which we were told had supported wooden poles that formed the support structure for wooden walls and roofs of houses and shops. <O:p</O:p We were taken to a low area to one side of the compound that emptied out into a beautiful sheltered sandy beach area. On the left side, on top of a high steep rise was a stone building that we were told was an observatory and on the other side the edge of the cliff rising up to the pyramid. We next went back up the hill towards the main group of structures surrounding the front of the pyramid. Each one was explained in great detail. Our guide was very well studied in the history and culture of the area and it was fascinating to listen to his description of how each building would have been used during the height of the Mayan era. For anyone who likes to take photos it was truly a magnificent place to be. <O:p</O:p Our guide left us at this point and James took a few pictures of each of us standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. By then it was time to go and we headed back across the site to the passageway through the wall and boarded the shuttle back to the parking lot. <O:p</O:p When we arrived back at the van there was a show getting ready to start. A group of men in traditional garb were preparing to climb a tall pole with a square frame on the top in the centre of a small open area. After climbing the pole and winding long ropes around the top four of the five men each tied a rope around their waist and let them selves fall backward off of the square frame, all to the accompaniment of the fifth man playing a small shrill sounding flute while seated on top of the pole. The display ended when the four “fliers” touched down gently on the ground. I couldn’t help thinking that I would really like to try that sometime. <O:p</O:p Last edited by Shootingstar : 11-20-2004 at 05:59 PM. |
|
|
|
|
11-20-2004
|
#11 (permalink) |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
After the show we piled into the van and headed for “Grande Cenote” to do a little snorkelling. This was our first time in a cenote. We entered the area via a large wooden staircase that took us thirty or so feet down into a large crater in the ground. There was a wooden dock set up to allow access to the water and wooden ladders to get out of the water. To me it seemed like snorkelling in a huge fresh water aquarium. There were small fish everywhere and I recognized a few of them from my days of keeping tropical fish as a hobby. The water was crystal clear and pleasantly cool. Snorkelling in the caverns was really excellent. The flat light and absolutely clear water gave the place an eerie feel. James gave us a lot of information on this cenote. He has done a lot of cave diving and is quite passionate about the exploration of these underground water systems. After we were done snorkelling we went back up the staircase and to a concrete building that had a large map of the explored areas of this cenote system. James gave us a detailed description of how the underground water systems are mapped and explored. During the lecture we noticed that on the wall about 20 feet to our right was a big hairy tarantula about the size of my hand. I asked James about it and was told that it was one of the smaller ones he has seen. Cathy however is not fond of creatures with more than four legs and decided that it needed constant supervision. She missed most of James’s talk.
<O:p</O:p We left Grande Cenote and made a short pit stop for beers at a store along the way. It was lunch time and beer was essential since the day was getting warm and we were heading to the beach. I made the discovery that Mexican beer bottles are kinda small cause it tends to disappear really fast. <O:p</O:p We went towards the ocean and down a sand road to a place called Playa Selva. A short trek through the bush totin’ coolers and stuff and lunch was on. After a morning of touring ruins and snorkelling the lunch went down really well. James provided some really excellent roast chicken, potatoes, spicy beans, rice, pasta and lots of fruit for desert. It was a superb place to be. After eating we all spent quite a while just lazing around, swimming (and drinking) in the ocean and playing on the beach. I really don’t think any of us really wanted to leave but we still had one more place to visit. <O:p</O:p We packed up and headed for Crystallino Cenote (I probably spelled that wrong). It is a smaller cenote a couple of hundred meters back in the bush. As we walked the trail towards the cenote I was thinking how pleasantly cool it was under the shade of the trees. It sort of reminded me of walking in the bush back home but way warmer with different trees and no blackflies. <O:p</O:p The trail opened up onto an area of flat rocks at the edge of the water. It was truly a beautiful scene as the trees opened up onto the open area bordering the water. Across the pond from the flat rocks there was a rock cliff about 15 or so feet high with a ladder to access the top way off to one side. Some of our group spent some time jumping off the cliff into the water. Here again the water was crystal clear and teeming with fish but a little cooler than Grande Cenote. The fish were slightly larger than the ones at Grande Cenote with a little more variety. I recognized a few of them but there were many I couldn’t recognize. I wished that I had a housing for the digital camera to photograph them and look them up later. <O:p</O:p After the swim at Crystallino Cenote everyone seemed quite tired and the drive back to Playa was significantly quieter than the drive out. We got back to Playa and dropped Victor and Katie off at their resort. The rest of us got dropped off down town close to the pick-up spot and thanked James and our driver (Noel?) for the wonderful day. We walked back to 5<SUP>th</SUP> and Cathy and I said goodbye to our new friends (Lulu & Flash) and went looking for a taxi back to the El Dorado Royal. <O:p</O:p We arrived back at the resort and got ready for supper. Both of us were quite tired after a very busy day of playing in the sun. We had supper at the Mexican restaurant at the resort. It was a really superb meal and we both decided that this was our favourite restaurant so far. It had been a very long but excellent day. <O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p Last edited by Shootingstar : 11-20-2004 at 06:02 PM. |
|
|
|
|
11-21-2004
|
#12 (permalink) |
|
life=playa
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: south of Green Bay
Posts: 849
|
Cant wait for more...thank you for posting your trip report
 I was very interested in your tour with James as my college aged daughter and friends are heading south in January and they want to do a tour. I believe a tour with James and company would be of more interest to them! I will watch for more of your reports! |
|
|
|
|
11-21-2004
|
#13 (permalink) | |
|
way into it
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 117
|
Quote:
You simply can't do better than a James and Anna tour. And when you consider what you get from some of the larger companies in relation to what they charge it is money well spent...every penny...It was without a doubt one of the best days we had on our trip. any questions just ask...or feel free to PM me. Cathy p.s. James is an awsome cook, food was spectacular, day was amazing, company of the other peeps was very special....book now...quick..before they fill up...lol |
|
|
|
|
|
11-22-2004
|
#14 (permalink) | |
|
Staff
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Playa del Carmen
Posts: 9,042
|
Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
11-22-2004
|
#15 (permalink) |
|
beach geek
admin Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: 10 year Playa resident lost in Kullavik, Sweden
Posts: 9,615
|
well, kind of true. we really only left Java Joe's because of it's move to the new location on 10th. I like Cafe Sasta too, but the morning crew needs to start the day drinking some of the product so they can shake a tail and move it.
__________________
My lovely house is for sale Get your own signature countdown image! Thanks for taking the time to read the announcement! |
|
|
|
