Shammy's Trip Report! (hope ya have some time to kill!)

[Shammy]

I had a free day, with absolutely nothing to do (HA! I crack myself up!) so I decided to jot down a quick trip report. However, those of you that know me also know that I tend to tawlk a lot so I fear nothing about this report will be quick, other than how fast you may click this off your screen and move on to another topic! :p

Anyhoo....our trip began on Friday, April 22nd 'bout 7 PM when we left beautiful NJ in the pouring rain to head down to Philly, where we were to stay overnight in order to make catching our 6 AM flight to Cancun a tad easier. Nothing remarkable about this other than it costs us $130 to spend less than 6 hours in a Holiday Inn! But we still had parking for the 9 days we would be gone, and a free shuttle ride to and from Philly Airport so it works for us. Of course, we also have to take the required pit stop at a Taco Bell somewhere off I 95 as the kids say it is now "a tradition". Up until very recently, we didn't have one of our own around here and for some bizarre reason, after the first time we stopped at this particular fast food joint, the kids would always ask to stop even though it meant taking a 1/2 hour detour out of the way. Now, the folks that work at the one that was just built in our very own town actually know us by name and I believe they are in discussions to name a giant burrito after Evan.


SATURDAY APRIL 23
We arrive at Philly Airport at about 4 AM. Gawd awful time but lots of people milling about nonetheless. We check in at the American Airlines desk and get our seats reassigned because the week before, they switched out the planes and decided to scatter our family all over the plane. Now I don't mind sitting alone one bit, but I pitied the poor people who who be forced to sit next to one or the other kid, so we figured we better end the drama that could ensue and see if they could get at least two of us in seats together...and they could. Miracles will never cease.

Chris and Sean in Philly Airport (at 5 AM!)



Evan holding the precious cargo that we were muling!:



Flight was fine, stop in Miami was fine (although we HATE making a stop and won't book a 1 stop flight again!) and we received our token bag of mini pretzels and that was it. No movie for either flight (which irks the kids beyond belief!) as in order to show a less than two hour movie, you must have at least a 3 hour flight and the Philly to Miami leg is literally minutes under 3 hours. We did arrive in Cancun on time (for once). Since it was a Saturday, we fully expected to spend a lifetime in the airport negotiating through immigration but we were in and out of there in less than 15 minutes! Gotta love the fact that the kids now have their very own passports! Got the green light at customs and were off to find our non stop transportation to the Bahia Principe.

After avoiding the time share sharks and having our luggage lifted by a "helpful" gentleman (regardless of how many times I said "we GOT it, thanks!"), we found the Lomas rep and he directed us to stand off to the side and our ride would be there in a minute. Chris wanted to grab a beer but I told him they are just too expensive at the airport and to hang on, that I would ask our driver to stop on the way down to pick some up. Well, a minute turned into more than a few minutes, and then 1/2 hour and we were still standing there as more and more people showed up for rides. Some people who arrived after us were put in vehicles before us so I was getting irritated. I again mentioned to the rep that we had a NON STOP transfer and was hoping he didn't think we were going on any big bus with all those other people and he said "Oh, I see you are correct so hang on and I'll fine your ride". A few more minutes went by and hubby was simply too tempted not to get a beer so off he went. I yelled after him "Don't forget mine!" cause I wasn't to let the poor guy drink alone..GAWD no!! The kids ran after him and now THEY want something too. Sheesh, there goes the budget! But it's only money and we sure spend enough of that here in Joisey on frivilous things such as car insurance and property taxes. Two warm beers, a soda later and $10.00 later, our van pulls up. They load us and the luggage in the van and then we...wait. Seems another group is getting in too...a Norwegian couple and their two VERY young (read not over age 2) kids...and one was crying! Eee gads, I was not in the mood for an hour plus ride with a wailing infant (thinking I should have purchased more liquid ear plugs!)! They had two cars seats with them and we, thinking we were going alone, had already taken up the first two rows in the van and before we could move to the back so they could get in easier, the car seats start getting passed over our heads. "Clunk", that was Evan's head. "Clink", that was Sean's head (his head is smaller so makes a clink sound instead of a clunk sound!). "Clonk", that was Chris's head (Chris has the biggest head so made the biggest sound). I of course, being the smart woman I am, choose to duck so wasn't clunked, clinked or clonked. :p

We finally get started on our way heading to the Bahia non stop. The folks we were riding with didn't speak much English so there wasn't much conversation. I didn't have to worry about asking the driver to stop for beer because he had cold Coronas for sale right in the van...FIVE bucks a piece! Uggg...damn inflation! But a captive audience has no other choice so we were now $20 more in the hole as we had 2 more beers each. This probably wasn't the smartest idea as the Bahia is quite the drive and last I checked, there is no potty on that van and we were NOT making a stop, so I did a bit of squirming in my seat when that urge hit bout half way there. When we finally pulled up to the Bahia and turned in, I was almost blue in the face! And Lordy, talk about a LONG ass driveway...I didn't think I was going to make it!
I really must try to remember this happens to me every time and adjust my drinking habits accordingly...or stay a heck of a lot closer to the airport!

We pull up to the lobby on the Akumal side and I was GOING to make a mad dash to the potty but...I could see there was no one waiting to check in at the front desk at that time...and a big bus was pulling up and about to unload tons of people, all of whom needed to wait in line and check in. Well, I REALLY didn't want to get behind them so I skipped the potty run (my teeth were now floating!) and ran to the front desk to beat them all (I am SOO impatient!). Neener, neener...I was the first one there, told the girl my name and she says "Oh, you have been upgraded to the Golden Circle Club and you have to check in at THAT lobby". I had originally put my building request in for building 47, 48 or 49, which are closest to the main pool and about as centrally located as one can be in this very large resort and I knew that the Golden Circle Club did NOT contain any of those buildings. Oh well, an upgrade is an upgrade so we'll deal. I run out to the van where they were unloading our suitcases to tell hubby we had to go to a different lobby and then was planning on hitting up the bano. But our stuff was already on a golf cart and the guy was waving us to get in so we could go...so again, the bano had to wait (OK, NOW I'm about to pass out!).

Here is us the Akumal lobby:



We begin the drive to the Golden Circle Club lobby and I really had no idea that golf carts could be THAT slow..but the iguanas on the side of the pathways were beating us. I figured I could get out and run faster and be in and out of the bathroom before the golf cart even arrived, but since I really didn't know where we were going exactly, I thought I better stay put, so I did.

We got to the lobby of the Golden Circle Club, which is set right along the beach area on the Akumal side and next to the 24 hour snack bar. My first question as I approached the desk was "Where the hell is the frickin bathroom?"
I told her I'd be back in a flash to check in, but it was more like back in a flood!
We do the whole check in thing, she gives us a map and shows us where our building is located. We booked a standard room, which would normally not be ocean view but we now have a junior suite with a direct ocean front view! A look off the balcony revealed our ocean front view and that was all she wrote.








VERY nice indeed, although it would be a haul to get anywhere as we were right on the edge of the property line. Oh well, can't have everything. The golf cart takes us a few short steps to our room and it's very, very nice! It has a king bed but they also made up the sofa as a bed for kid #1 and brought in yet another bed for kid #2! Wowee...hubby and I get to sleep alone...this is a dream come true! We usually get the double bed deal and each of us sleeps with one kid so I can't tell you how exciting it was to see that there were 3 beds in one room and there was still plenty of room to move!





Golden Circle rooms come with slippers, bathrobes, free internet (1/2 hour per day but I had no intention of checking e mail so who cared?), 4 ala carte dinner reservations and a free safe. Except for the fact that we were in East Bumfart over here, all was well.

We quickly unpack by having each person find somewhere, anywhere to chuck their clothes. Ta Da! We change into bathing suits and head for the beach or pool, depending on what we fall into first. Well, that would be the activity pool and the very first thing we notice is tons of people and not one available chair! Oh Gawd, the towel game is gonna get played here and I know it just from the looks of this pool. We decide to head to the main pool, which is a little bit of a hike away and see if the situation isn't different there. It isn't. Lots 'o people and no chairs. UG. We plop our stuff down on the ground and jump in the pool to cool off, cause that was a long, sweaty walk. As we get out, someone is leaving to go back to their room and tells us we can have their chairs. They also tell us that we better get here by 7 AM if we ever want to see a chair again! Double UG. And just what kind of vacation is this when you have to rise and shine by 7 AM to get your fat ass in a chair anyway?

We spent some time at the pool and walked the beach a bit but it's quite rocky where we are and you can't swim there unless you walk down a bit more. We'll save the more walking thing until tomorrow.

UNcrowded pool!



Rocky part of the Akumal beach, close to our building:



Better part of the Akumal beach:



We head back to the room to shower and change for dinner and then head off for the buffet. We decide to eat outside tonight but it was kind of dark out there and no one could really see what they were eating. I think everyone was beat from the VERY long travel day and we had been up almost 20 hours so we head back to the room for a good night's sleep. After all, tomorrow is Susita's birthday party at Pamuul and we want to be fresh as daisy's!
We all flop into bed but before we could turn the lights off, Evan sees something crawling on his sheets. ANTS! The wall next to Evan's bed is crawling with ants and many have made their way to his sheets. After the screaming was complete and the neighbors properly alerted to our arrival, we decide to have Sean sleep with us in the king bed and Evan can take Sean's bed, which as of now, doesn't have any ants on it. Plus, we can pull that bed away from the wall, where Evan's bed was built against the wall and unmovable. We think this will stop any ants that may jump from one wall to the other wall from getting onto the bed. So much for Chris and I getting to sleep alone too! And no, I didn't take any pics of the ants!

We all settle in for some much needed sleep, on a very hard bed, while visions of Pamuul dance in my head.

Coming up....Susita's surprise party at Paamul!

[SarahB]

Wait...I thought your husband's name is Mike?!!

I was wondering how long it would be before the ants showed up!!

Glad that you finally got started Shammy! Enjoying it very much!

[TAPPY]

Shams...you crack me up....and I promise not to give away how the story (I mean trip report) ends...

I am loving the pics......

[mom in pa]

Shammy: You are too funny. Can't wait to read part 2. Tappy has me in suspense!

[Karlla]

Thanks for starting your report, hope I get to read all of it before I leave for the Barcelo in 19 days......................

Looking Good Shams! Keep it up!

[TAPPY]

Originally Posted by mom in pa

Shammy: You are too funny. Can't wait to read part 2. Tappy has me in suspense!

Hint...those Ants dont leave the Shammy family alone !!!!!!!

yer krakin me up Shammy!! bring it on, I leave in two days!!!

[mlsbkp]

Great story.....want more......

[beachenit]

Can't wait for the next installment

Didn't you have ants at the Barcelo too!!?? ON the second floor?!?!

Shammy

You are tooooo funny I am busting a gut here I can't wait to read the rest. Bahia in 18 days I can't wait to play the towel and chair game.

Thanks Mucho

[Shammy]

SUNDAY APRIL 24th

My eyes crack open at about 7 AM and I nudge Chrissy and tell him he needs to head to the pool to reserve those ever elusive lounge chairs. He grumbles something about "You suck" while I roll over and fall back asleep, and makes his way out the door at about 7:30. I get up at about 8:30 and head for the chairs. Although I have no idea WHICH chairs are ours (since almost all already have blue towels on them!), I plop down in the same area where we were the day before. However, these were not our chairs and I was promptly asked to move when the rightful non English speaking owners found me sitting in the spot that THEY informed me they reserved the NIGHT BEFORE! As a side note here, as we walked back from dinner last night, we did notice some chairs with stuff such as towels, flip flops, tubes and even huge hunks of coral on them which we assumed were PRE PRE reserved for the next day. I had no trouble picking up every hunk of coral I found on a lounge chair and tossing it back on the beach because this was simply the stupidest thing I ever saw! I did however, leave the towels and other personal belongings where they were as even I'm not that much of a bitch!

I was able to locate our rightful place in the world and had a nice time sitting quietly alone while waiting for the boys to get up so we could head to breakfast. They showed up not too much later and we made our way in for some grub.

So as not to drag out each moment of each day and make this report go on for hours and hours, I'll just say that we ate, swam, explored the pool areas and the beach:



"Mike" and the kid's at the beach:



and found the beach bar:



We then headed back to the room early to get ready for Susie's surprise party. We were to arrive at 6 PM and I was also to meet my friend Karen and her new hubby Jake there as well. Karen runs the Unofficial Barcelo Maya web site (where I also hold moderator duties) and this would be our first meeting so I was perrrty excited about that too!
We take the tram thingy to the Akumal lobby and then another bigger tram to the Hacienda Dona Isabel, which is part of the Bahia complex (but open to the public) and right there on Highway 307.

Here is the tram to the Hacienda:



We grab cab that is exiting the Bahia because none of the cabs passing by on 307 was empty, or they were whizzing by so fast, they couldn't stop! We decided against a collectivo as that would drop us off at the entrance to Paamul and no one felt like walking in. The cab ride was $20, which I think is high from the Bahia but he had a captive audience so we paid and headed into the party area at the restaurant.

Here is the beach as seen from the restaurant in Paamul:



Hmmm....where IS everybody? I don't see any party festivities and it is 6 PM on the dot! Oh Gawd, I hope we're not in the wrong place. I tell hubby to ask the bartender if he knows of Susie (I knew he would!) and to also grab a few beers for us and some sodas for the kids while he's up there. The bartender says he does know Susie and she is expected to be there ANY minute! Great, we ARE in the right place...and I now have a nice cold Modello! Yum!



A short while later, a person who I swear is Becky walks past me with two other men. I yell "Becky" because I KNEW it was her (even I can match a picture with a person!). Well, this chick shoots me a quick sideways glance and keeps walking. Hmmmm....NOT Becky I guess and I'm kinda embarrassed that I yelled at this person!

We stand around and talk, still waiting for someone else to show up, while the chick and her two men sit down, order drinkies and look at menus. I keep staring at her because I just know it's her but I don't get any response. I figure if it was her, and she saw 2 out of place grown ups with 2 out of place kids tagging along, she would know it was Shammy and family, right?

Then my friend Karen and hubby Jake show up. Hello's, hugs and kisses all around. So great to finally meet Miss Karen, especially since I have "worked" for her for about 2-ish years now! As soon as all that happens, the chick with the two guys gets up from her table and says "Shammy? Is that you?" DOH! Becky! Where are ya girlfriend? I'm staring at ya for like forever, trying to give you a hint that I know you but I was comin up empty! LOL!!!

Miss Becky had a bunch on her plate getting ready for the party and all so she just wasn't paying that much attention to the gringos standing off to the side. No harm done and we quickly drag a table over and sit down.

We have a DEVIL of a time getting someone to take notice of us for another round of drinks and some menus, but the staff had no problemo bringing more rounds to Becky and crew. Hmmm...what's up wit dat anyway? After no less than 20 minutes, we get menus and order drinks, but no drinks ever arrive. When the waiter comes back to bring Becky's food, he only takes a food order from Karen and Jake! By this time, I'm begging Chris to grab us a few more beers and screw the food order! But he wants to wait as he thinks it would be rude to get your own drinks when a waiter is handling the table. OK, as I said, I'm impatient so I'll hang on...but I'm also thirsty for more cervesa! We see no waiter again until he brings Karen and Jakes food, and then he leaves again! Damn...what does it take to get a beer around here anyway? The kids are now starving so I flag down a waiter, give him the food and drink order (again!) and he does bring us our beers this time. Total elapsed time from beer order to beer delivery...at least 1/2 hour! I yell at Chris, telling him I could have had TWO beers by now but I honestly believe this he thinks that this waiting for beer thing is a sure fire way of keeping me somewhat sober.

At some point, Miss Tyradammit appears and it was oh so nice to meet her too! Then Miss Susie finally shows (after some primping) and lots of her friends also show up and the party is in full swing.



Everyone is done eating and some serious fun begins. And then Michael Holmes and his lovely wife Rosa show up! I KNEW he was gonna show, he dropped one too many hints and I'm no dummy when it comes to hinting around. But it was great to final meet the King of all Trip Reporters (we are so not worthy!) and Rosa is a sweetheart.

It's about now when kid #2 (Sean) begins to fade out and get cranky. Wonderful, what a kill joy. I show Sean to the nearest lounge chair next to the pool and cover him with two sweatshirt jackets and he promptly falls asleep. Sorry, but it was early and Chris and I were not ready to pull up stakes yet, and I was dreading another cab ride from hell to get back to the Bahia. Evan was able to hold his own and seemed to enjoy everything, especially the part of the evening when Susie began to open her presents.



Since Evan lives in a "ME" world right now, when someone else has presents to open, Evan automatically thinks there will also be one for him. It does not matter than he's in another country, or that it is not his birthday, there HAS to be something for him so he kept his eyes glued on everything Susie was doing! I guess Susie realized this and was the first one to offer Evan one of her penis shaped gummies that she had just opened, but Evan politely declined, although the fact that there were more than one kind of penis shaped thing that was opened this evening, it did nothing at all to phase him. He did however, wonder what was glued to Susie's birthday girl sash (they were ummm...prophylactics! LOL!) I told him not to worry about it, that this was something that he would not yet understand so have a gummie and let's change the subject.

We sang Happy Birthday to Susie and she blew out her candles (no fire hose needed! )



We had the most delicious chocolate cake ever and then Sarah and her dad showed up! Wonderful to see Sarah finally, although I told her that she did not look the same as she did in her avatar picture and I would not have recognized her if I tripped over her in a drunken stupor (which would NEVER happen of course!)! I cut a piece of cake for her dad Bob, who within the first few minutes of meeting him, I thought was just DA BOMB, and then Chris called me over. Seems Karen and Jake, who had a rental car, were offering to drive us back to the Bahia now as they were heading home to Toronto very early the next morning. I was torn between staying and going as I wasn't even tired, but Sean was already sleeping, Evan was getting there and the fact that it would require no cab ride back was just too much to pass up.

We said our goodbyes to as many people as we could (didn't get to say Adios to Tyra...dammit! Sorry Tyra!) and piled into the car. In order to fit everyone, I had to put Sean on my lap, which if this was the US, I wouldn't DREAM of doing..but when in Mexico, do like the Mexicans I suppose. Karen and Jake dropped us off at the Hacienda where we said our sad goodbyes too, but I was a better person for having met her and Jake because they are LOVELY people indeed.

Some of the par-tay guests:



Evan, me, Chrissy, Karen and Jake:



Our very own, very beautiful Heather and the handsome Mr. Michael Holmes!:



We took the tram back to our room and called it a night. Tomorrow was the Festivus at the ****** and I also reminded Chrissy that he again had to wake up to get us some lounge chairs! I think I him mutter another "You suck" under his breath but I may have been wrong.

We got back to the room and there were again ants on Evan's bed so we assumed the same sleeping positions as the night before. Lovely, can't cut a break here. We did call and ask for someone to come spray and they said they would take care of it in the morning. And NO, I didn't take any pictures of the ants BUT..........here is what was on the pole at Paamul that was holding me up toward the end of the night...EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!:



Tomorrow...FESTIVUS DAY!!!!!!!!! And a lesson in teaching your children to withstand the perils of bar life!

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Tracie

Didn't you have ants at the Barcelo too!!?? ON the second floor?!?!

Why yes...we we did, thanks for remembering that Tracie! But it was on the 3rd floor! Must be something about 3rd floor rooms.