Trip Report....January 26th thru February 5th at the RPR

[cuffedlinks]

Originally Posted by Nerak936

The embarrassing thing was that the signs were in the international "stick figure" symbols....

Apparently NOT Flugie style....

[silvergirl]

Sunday-January 28th, 2007. Cozumel.......or so I hoped!

Wake up to clouds and rain. Oh well, it will change. This is Playa, right? Had our yummy room service cafe con crema y azucar, pack up our rain ponchos, have breakfast at Spice buffet and we're off to check our email. Big mistake. Why do I set myself up for torture?? I see my son's away message (who is a freshman in college) that says "probation sux". Huh???? Off ever so quickly to buy a phone card, damn it and get to the bottom of this. Now we've been in Mexico for exactly how long????? After frantically trying to figure out how to call home and having no luck......everything is in Spanish including the little man that came over to try to help me . I'm shaking and upset. Sh*t......someone just help me call home . I finally see an american couple using another phone and it was in english so I waited for them to finish and call the little darling. Oh, Ma........it's a joke. Just kidding, is his reply. A sick joke at Mom and Dad's expense. He's lucky we are in Mexico!

Okay, re-group. Everything is fine and we are in Playa, for God's sakes. We decide before heading to the ferry for Coz that we will head over to Luna Blue to meet the infamous Tony and Cheri and hopefully Michelle (catskillsmom) as well. No one is there so we leave them both notes and head to the ferry. Rumor has it that Michelle had already headed over to Coz. We knew Sunday was the perfect day to go, or so we thought, because there was only one tiny cruise ship in and the water was calm today. This is very important......especially to Kenny. He's not fond of the ferry after a less than fun experience last year. Plus, I think it was a huge mistake to let him read SCR's latest trip report. He had visions of being slammed into the walls of the men's room with his shorts around his ankles! Thanks, Shawn!

It was 11:30 already......thanks darling child of mine........but I figured we could take the noon ferry. No such luck. The next ferry was at 1:00. Crap.......a whole wasted morning. Half the day was gone and we didn't get anything done! Oh, well.....we're in no hurry, right? So we kill some time checking out the bus schedules to Tulum and Akumal and do a bit of window shopping and then head for the long line for the 1:00 ferry.
Had a smooth ride over to Cozumel and dashed over to my favorite silver store which was either closed or moved away. I found another.......imagine that! Bought a really pretty dragonfly necklace and then went to the back streets behind the square for a bit more shopping. Picked up a cute dress for my neice and was more than ready for the East side beach bars I had heard so much about. I could already taste those margaritas! The next ferries were at 4, 6 or 10, so I figured we'd take the 6:00. Okay, hubby, lets grab a taxi....so we head back to the main street by the ferry and suddenly the wind is blowing us like crazy....out of nowwhere! As we struggle to walk into the wind my darling husband informs me.........I'm not going anywhere........we need to get back!!!!! What if it gets worse he says? I could hear the panic in his voice, and yes it was windy, but what could we do? Why, O why did I let him read Shawn's report??
It was only like 2:30 and the next ferry wasn't til 4. I had been looking forward to the East side. I had read everything I could about it and pm'd some of you folks about it so I could be well informed. Thanks Nerak and Mastequila! So, now I'm pissed and I'm pouting. I'll drag him shopping, I figure. That'll fix him. Not many stores open when there are no cruise ships in. My plans are crushed.....now what? We walk aimlessly like fools and happen to pass by Palmeras Restaurant right in front of the pier. I need to feel better. Might as well go for a drink while we wait for the stupid ferry. Well, let me just say..........this was the beginning............of the end for me!

[silvergirl]

Alrighty, where was I? That's right..........the beginning of the end. Well, that Margarita was so good and I was feeling better already, so why not feel even better? After all, my plans were ruined!! I needed to feel better. Uno mas, por favor! They were so good. While we sat there enjoying our drinks and munching on chips.........the salsa was way too hot for me, I notice this little girl eating the salsa with a spoon. I couldn't beleive my eyes. As she got another bowl I was compelled to take a picture. And no, that's not a margarita.......it's a lemonade. I asked the waiter!


All of a sudden we realize what time it was and Kenny tells me finish that drink.........we gotta go. So I did.......a little too fast. As we walk to the ferry I realize that I am now stupidly silly buzzed and giggled like a little girl all the way back to Playa. I drove him nuts. Of course there was a man seated to the left and in front of us on the ferry that was covered in hair........on his back and arms and it was sticking out of his tank top . Now this was more hair than I've ever seen. Shame on me........I couldn't stop. I got hysterical and a bit loud. Kenny was mortified. I guess the ride back was fine........it was for me!

We get back to Playa and I have this great idea to go surprise Julie (Cinker1) over at the Fusion. Now, I'm excited. I can't wait to get there. I hope she's there! Kenny followed along........didn't dare say no. I meet Kim from Fusion and yes she is beautiful. She shows us to Julie's room and she's there! Surprise..........its us! Her sisters and brothers in law have joined her now and we invite ourselves along with them all to dinner. Aren't we rude! We venture just up the street and we find Carboncitos. Kenny and I had the Alambre de Camarron (shrimp dish). I think it was called Shrimp Brochette. Thanks to I think SarahB and her pics who had described it a while back. It was sooooo good. The only problem was, that the six of us were halfway thru our meal and Julie still hadn't gotten her's yet. There was only one other table seated and it wasn't busy, but after she got her dinner all was well and we really enjoyed it. Can you tell?




Of course Kenny had to get a Carboncitos shirt.........so did the other guys.

The beer was soooo cold there was ice on the top. And it was served with a frozen mug. The margs were great as well! Life doesn't get any better than this!


The mariachis came by as we were finishing eating and Julie's sisters joined in the fun!


We took a few more pics before saying goodnight:



We said our goodbyes to Julie and family........hoping to see them again. We had so much fun with them.

Made our way back to Ah Cacao for a brownie that i devoured before even getting back to the resort. Sooo good. May need to do that again this week!

Stopped at the Tequila Bar to visit with Luis and have one of his unbeleivable margs. Ran into Wendy and Bill and another couple that had arrived that night. Hi to Diane and Bill (another Bill). Luis kept the margaritas coming......like I said..........the beginning of the end. Can't quite say how many I had, but I was perfectly fine until I got to the room and hit the bed. Didn't feel so good.........bed started spinning..........and I'll let you figure out how the rest of my night went. Not much to tell about how the rest of Kenny's night went. I guess this was my initiation night into the wonderful world of tequila and margaritas......remember, I'm a vodka girl.

[Kavi]

Great report Kim! Saw you two several times at the beach and throughout our stay (wish I woulda known it was you). Never made the peep meet, unfortunately, we had entirely too long of a day at the beach and the bar to make it!

[silvergirl]

Originally Posted by Kavi

Great report Kim! Saw you two several times at the beach and throughout our stay (wish I woulda known it was you). Never made the peep meet, unfortunately, we had entirely too long of a day at the beach and the bar to make it!

Hey Lisa.........funny you say that. I was trying to guess who you were too. Your avatar is too small for me to recognize. We could have had a few drinks together. Maybe next time!

[queencityfan]

Hi Silvergirl!
Really enjoying your report.Glad you were feeling better when you arrived.
Playa is the cure for whatever ails ya!
Well, that or the tequila! Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Sharon

[Mercy]

Originally Posted by silvergirl

Wake up to clouds and rain. Oh well, it will change. This is Playa, right? Had our yummy room service cafe con crema y azucar, pack up our rain ponchos, have breakfast at Spice buffet and we're off to check our email. Big mistake. Why do I set myself up to torture?? I see my son's away message (who is a freshman in college) that says "probation sux". Huh???? Off ever so quickly to buy a phone card, damn it and get to the bottom of this. Now we've been in Mexico for exactly how long????? After frantically trying to figure out how to call home and having no luck......everything is in Spanish including the little man that came over to try to help me . I'm shaking and upset. Sh*t......someone just help me call home . I finally see an american couple using another phone and it was in english so I waited for them to finish and call the little darling. Oh, Ma........it's a joke. Just kidding, is his reply. A sick joke at Mom and Dad's expense. He's lucky we are in Mexico!

Gotta love those sons of ours .... I have two of my own. Never a dull moment!

[BuzzA]

Originally Posted by silvergirl

We meet Bill and Wendy, Gale(Solcats), Dick and Joan (Dijo), Robin and Marty (Palms7), and Diane and Mark (Buzz). Also, two gals that had just gotten in (bless them for having the strength to come) don't recall their names, but they were staying at Grand Coco Bay. Please forgive me if I've forgotten someone.......the night was a bit of a blur! Diane was a bit late........but I'll save that story for someone else to tell! Julie...........???

Aggh!! Don't tell my secrets! Just kidding.... I had a LOT of fun earlier that day. And with a little nap, I was raring to go!

Loving the trip report, Kim. You're doing a great job! And don't feel bad about the early-to-bed nights. We all did that. The night y'all were all at Carboncito's, we were wandering down 5th, just trying to stay up until 10 (almost made it). Too much fun during the day! I had to laugh when Julie told me later they were in bed by 9!

Great meeting both you and Kenny!
Buzz

[pdcamiga]

Thoroughly enjoying your report. Great job. Looking forward to meeting you at Peepstock. Thanks for the Playa fix!!!

[Bill&Wendy]

Right on Kim lov'in it. Since I have met you, I can even hear you telling the story...it's just great. I've written my review on TA but have yet to write one on here. Waiting to get more pics from the rest of the family to fill in some of the gaps I have with my pics. Great meeting you and Kenny...enjoy your cruise.

[silvergirl]

Originally Posted by queencityfan

Hi Silvergirl!
Really enjoying your report.Glad you were feeling better when you arrived.
Playa is the cure for whatever ails ya!
Well, that or the tequila! Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Sharon

Thanks for the good thoughts, Sharon. Yes, Playa has a way of making everything better!

[silvergirl]

Originally Posted by BuzzA

Aggh!! Don't tell my secrets! Just kidding.... I had a LOT of fun earlier that day. And with a little nap, I was raring to go!

Loving the trip report, Kim. You're doing a great job! And don't feel bad about the early-to-bed nights. We all did that. The night y'all were all at Carboncito's, we were wandering down 5th, just trying to stay up until 10 (almost made it). Too much fun during the day! I had to laugh when Julie told me later they were in bed by 9!

Great meeting both you and Kenny!
Buzz

Hey Buzz!
How the heck are ya? So, when are we meeting again in Playa? We've got to make up for the early nights this trip. Maybe we should try afternoon naps? God, are we really this old? Pitiful group we are!

[silvergirl]

Originally Posted by Bill&Wendy

Right on Kim lov'in it. Since I have met you, I can even hear you telling the story...it's just great. I've written my review on TA but have yet to write one on here. Waiting to get more pics from the rest of the family to fill in some of the gaps I have with my pics. Great meeting you and Kenny...enjoy your cruise.

Thanks Wendy! Back at ya! And I say that in my best Bahston accent! Aye?

[mrsy]

Originally Posted by silvergirl

Friday-Day 1 in Playa!

So, the airport is dead because it's so damn early and we check our bags (all under 50 pounds, thank you very much!)and don't you know they want to search my carry on. The TSA dude wipes everything down with some kind of miracle cloth and pulls out my jewelry roll. He rips open the velcro and opens every compartment, checking all my jewelry. Now, I'm Silvergirl, mind you, and I love my jewelry so I brought a bunch. Now he's ruffling thru my whole bag and never bothered to close the velcro of my jewelry roll, so out flies the silky black nightie I intended to surprise Kenny with as it catches on the damn velcro. No kids on this vacation, remember........we're at an adult only resort! We're all mortified..........including the TSA guy. That'll teach him to blow my surprise!

Uneventful flights except for having to sprint between gates in Charlotte. Not much time between flights. Only means we'll get to Playa sooner!!

Finally we land!!!! We're in Playa and both get the green light! Now, we've been to Playa 3 times and each time I warn Kenny to just keep walking......don't make eye contact, much less even think of talking to the sharks, but of course do ya think he listens? Find the Travel Impressions desk and ask for our van. Now there had to be like 5 guys wanting to get their hands on our bags.....even just to move it a few feet. No Gracias, we can handle it.

We're the first to get into the van and have to of course wait for others. I can hardly stand it! I wanna get there......I wanna enjoy the weather.......I wanna speak Spanish! Another couple comes and I cannot wait to talk all about Playa and hear where they're headed while we wait for the van to fill. Turns out, they're not the talking type. They're headed to the Royal Hideaway..........alrighty then. Next couple gets in and we're off..........finally! First stop is El Dorado and next is us! There's construction on Contsituyentes so we detour to a pretty beat up street that reminded me of the streets in Boston after a really bad winter.........but who cares......we're in Playa!! We finally get to our hotel. The Royal Playa del Carmen (formally known as the Royal Porto Real) . I'm soooo happy! We're really here!

It's about 1:30 and of course our room isn't ready. No chance for an upgrade without paying a fortune, but we were able to hand pick our room online 48 hours prior to leaving which was pretty cool. I think at least that I had made a good choice by what the property map showed us. Off to Pelicanos for a bite to eat and to kill time til our room is ready. I had a scallop appetizer in a coconut shell that the waiter said was an aphrodisiac...... we'll see about that. I'm so tired right now, there isn't much that'll do it for me!

It was very tasty.
Off to the front desk to get our key and find our room. It's a great room overlooking the pool with a great view of the ocean which is really important to me. The pool area was pretty noisy and I'd much rather be oceanfront, but we were happy with our view . The price for oceanfront was astronomical. We knew on the first day there would be no afternoon nap taking. That was Spanish Bingo time. Really loud......but I improved my Spanish number vocab! We were at the beach until at least 4 most days anyway.
Our room is right above Kenny's head....second floor, second from the left.

Great view!

View from our room looking at Tradewinds Swing Bar and the beach. Pretty great!

Is that "Wired529" in the yellow T-shirt, sitting at the Trade Winds Swing Bar?????...............sure looks like him from the back of the head!

[silvergirl]

Monday- January 29th, 2007

Woke up feeling worse than horrid. My eyes were stuck together. Probably has something to do with the fact that I never took my makeup off before passing out in the swirling whirling bed. I did, however manage to take my contacts out, thank goodness. I try to scrub the blackness from my eyes and feel a bit more human. I need coffee and quick. How will I ever get thru this day? What have I done?

Hubby goes down to save us a beach bed. Never had one before this day, but if ever I needed one, this was the day. A mattress and shade and the sound of the ocean. Sounds like a plan. I beg him not to tell anyone how my night went last night if he saw anybody on his way to the beach. He just gave me that look. I finally pulled myself together and headed to the beach with a bottle of water in hand. I barely got past the pool area and was already asked by 2 or 3 people how I was feeling. What did he do, borrow the bingo caller's microphone? Payback.......its a b*tch! We all had a laugh.......a quiet laugh and went to lay at the beach sucking down water. Lots of water. Started feeling a little better and went for breakfast. Got a huge breakfast and felt even better. This is good. I'm okay. See, I'm not that old........I can still hang, right? Go to check our email and our younger son (12 years old) really misses us. Awww, I miss him too, but mom and dad gotta have fun too, right?
Back to the beach and figure since I'm all recovered, I'll have a Mango Tango. It was refreshing but didn't thrill me like it did yesterday. Stomach still not so great. More water, please. I just need rest..........I gotta get back in the game..........c'mon girl!

So, we're sitting on the beach and meet this really nice couple. Her name was Kim also and her husband's name is David. We start talking about the hotel, the beach and what they've done and they tell me about having been on the Fat Cat. Huh? My curiosity got the best of me. May I ask you how you booked that? So, Kim tells me, oh, I booked thru this forum called Playa info! So I ask her, do you post? She tells me she is berly46! OMG! Can you beleive of all people we sit on the side of and talk with, she is one of the people who had signed on as a maybe for the peep meet!

David and Kim from Texas (berly46)

Adorable aren't they?
So, we get to talking and they are awesome people but of course they're leaving tomorrow! It figures!
Ordered a few miami vices and they still didn't go down too well. Can't blame a girl for trying!
We all had a good laugh over Kenny trying to figure how to keep the bed curtains shut. Everytime he thought he had it and would lay down, they would blow open again. A woman on the next bed over felt so bad, she came to try to help him. It was pretty funny!