[Gary and Penny from MKE]

Just returned from the Gala yesterday. We'll try to hit the highlights. But to all of the people who had such negative things to say about this resort we're wondering if you stayed at the same place we did...or if you're even on the same planet. Anyway, here we go:

Airline: Booked through Apple and took Ryan International from Milwaukee (MKE). Aside from the fact there is absolutely no leg room for anyone over 5' 7" tall, the ride there and back was fine. In fact, the food was as good as any flights we've ever been on...and we've been on a lot of flights, including Midwest Express, which is known for their outstanding food and wine. Aside from the seating, we were very happy with Ryan.

Customs: Don't ask us how we managed it, but we did not have to open any of our suitcases at any of the many customs checkpoints. Upon arrival we got the "green light" and when leaving managed to be "waved through" each checkpoint. Others had to have every piece of luggage, every pill bottle, every piece of underwear inspected, but not us. Maybe they didn't want to see our dirty underwear, which was fine with us, as we went merrily on our way.

Gala: First of all, we learned very early on that we weren't staying at the "Gay-la"...it's actually pronounced the same way you pronounce the first syllable of "gallon" or "gallery". (The natives have a tendency to pronounce it more like how you would pronounce the first syllable of "golly". But no matter how you say it, this place was absolutely FABULOUS!! The service couldn't be beat...from the maids, to the bartenders, to the activities staff, to the beach waitresses. Everyone went out of their way to be friendly, smile and make you feel welcome, as opposed to other places which make you feel like you're intruding in their personal space. The room we had was nice...probably like a Motel 6 with a view. But what a view! We were on the fourth floor facing the pool, but also had a straight line view of the beach and the sea. (While frolicking in the water we came to call it the Cari-peein' Sea, for reasons which may or may not be obvious. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go). We also wondered why the rooms facing the water are called "oceanfront" when the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles away. Guess it sounds better than "seafront". As for the food, there has been much said about how good or how bad the food is. Okay, we're not gourmets, but we found the overall quality of the food to be good to excellent. The buffet changed somewhat over the course of seven days, but a few things are worth a mention. The first night they had an outstanding beef dish with a spice on top (we think it was rosemary, but don't quote us on that) that was great. In the smaller buffet they had a very good pasta dish with curry sauce and shrimp. Burgers were also very good at the small buffet. Desserts were average, but our last night they had key lime pie and pecan pie, both of which were quite good. There were plenty of other good things on the buffets that we won't list now. As for the specialty restaurants, we both agreed that we had one of the best dinners of our lives at the Mexican restaurant. Penny had a large crock of seafood soup (mussels, squid, shrimp, fish, clams, etc) that she thought was out of this world and Gary had the Deviled Shrimp, which was shrimp sauteed in a spicy sauce and absolutely tremendous. For dessert we had Mayan Crepes which were, in Penny's words, "orgasmic"!! This dessert is to die for...crepes, vanilla ice cream, a type of caramel-rum sauce and nuts sprinkled over it. You really need to try it when you're there. We also ate in the Italian restaurant which was pretty good, as well. But the food in the Mexican was just a slight notch ahead. The service in both restaurants was outstanding...both of our waiters were great. In the Mexican he put sombreros on both of us and took a couple of pictures and in the Italian he kept the wine coming, followed by an after dinner Amaretto for each of us.

Beach: As everyone before us on the board has said, the Gala's beach is far and away the best in Playa del Carmen. We walked from the Gala north to Porto Real (which also has a very nice, large beach) and passed all the resorts in between. Nothing could compare to the Gala. And to the south, since Gala is the southern-most resort in Playacar, there is nothing but more sandy beach for probably a couple of miles. We walked down that way a couple of times and saw the beautiful rock formations on the beach...with a fairly large iquana sunning himself on the top of one of the rocks one day. This "extra" stretch of beach makes the Gala the hands-down winner. And their "regular" beach is nothing to sneeze at...very wide and long, with plenty of beach loungers, as well as palapas and palm trees for those of us who overindulged in the sun on our first day and needed lots of shade for a couple days afterward. While there was some toplessness going on (probably not enough for Gary), it wasn't a big deal or even very noticeable, unless you were looking fo it (which, of course, Gary was).

Activities: The activities staff also double as the show entertainers. While the shows aren't Broadway quality, they are a pleasant diversion, often involving members of the audience. There is always something going on at the pool...water aerobics, volleyball, bingo, etc. We even walked by just as they were starting the Meringue dance class and we got a few quick lessons, along with three other couples. (Penny is in love with Jerry, the almost perfect-looking guy who was doing the dance instruction. Of course, he also was topless, so maybe that was her way of getting even). We took out one of the Hobie Catamarans and since we had no idea what we were doing, almost got blown out to sea. Somehow, we managed to get the thing turned around and get back on dry land...but not before lots of panicking and swearing (almost entirely by Gary).

Chichen Itza: We took a tour bus to Chichen Itza. Overall, we both thought it was okay...kind of like Chevy Chase in the "Vacation" movie when he goes to the Grand Canyon. It's kind of like, "Okay there it is, it's interesting...now let's get going".) Although, Gary did climb to the top of the big pyramid just to have bragging rights, since Penny made it only about one-quarter of the way up. Besides, he was such a wuss on the catamaran he felt the need to prove his manhood. We did think that the sights during the bus ride were the most interesting aspect of the tour, since it gave us a glimpse into what "real life" is like for the Mayan people. The thatched roof shacks they live in, the little stands selling hand-made stuff, little kids darting in and out of the road, etc., gave us a feel for real Mayan life.

Overall: By the seventh day we felt like we were ready to return to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin. Seven days was neither too long, nor too short...it was like Goldilocks and the porridge...it was "just right". But we will always look back with fond memories of Playa del Carmen and the Gala, in particular. We wouldn't change anything (except for the fact that Penny caught a bit of the Montezuma bug for about half a day...then it pretty much disappeared. Well, it didn't entirely disappear, the bug somehow crawled into Gary for about another half day...then probably crawled on to some other unsuspecting tourist). Again, kudos to the Gala and their wonderful staff. We whole-heartedly recommend this resort to everyone, even those of you with kids. (There were a fair number of kids...but for the life of us we couldn't figure out why people would spend all that money to take small children (even small babies) to a resort paradise to "get away from it all" but bring it all with them. Many of these people spent the majority of their vacation chasing after their kids, yelling at their kids, listening to their kids crying and probably wishing they didn't bring their kids. Can't say that's our idea of relaxation...but to each their own.

Anyway, that's our report. If there are any questions, feel free to post them or e-mail us.