Seven days in paradise 1 bus trip from hell

chazdiezal · 12-28-2009

This is my attempt at a trip report so please don't laugh.
T and I haven't been on a lengthy trip without our kids since our honeymoon in Jamaica 8 years ago.
We are getting ready to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and figured this would be a great time to go away again.
Once I found this board and looked at other trip reports I knew we definately had to experience Playa for ourselves.
I managed to visit this board everyday and tried to read as much as I could absorb in hopes of creating a perfect vacation.
This trip was from 12/11-12/18/09. We live in Delaware so we have the option of flying out of Philly or Baltimore as both
are in close driving distances. At the time I purchased the plane tickets it was much cheaper to drive to Baltimore.
I tried to take notes everyday of things we did and places we ate....

Day 1

Woke up at 3:30am for a 7:05am flight to DFW. We left the house around 4:30am and got some coffee and got on the road for
the 1 hour ride to the airport. No traffic at all (of course) and all was smooth until we got turned around on a wrong road.
Ok, no problem only took us about 10 min out of our way, we are still making good time. After parking the car we are in the
terminal at the self check-in desk. Its now about 6:15am and trying to navigate the check-in screen becomes a little
challenging. I ask one of the attendants why won't it let me check-in and they say "We are too late" Huh? What do you mean too late? She says we should have checked in at least 2 hrs before our flight.

Oh great, so she points us towards a live person further down to assist us. She says she can get us on the next flight
out @ 9:20am but its going to cost us an additional $600.

I asked if we could possibly fly on stand-by and she said either way we would have to pay.
Losing $600 even before leaving freezing Baltimore didn't sit well with me but what could I do?
I coughed up the cash and we were on the 9:20am flight.
By this time T and I needed a xanax to calm down and relax, we just kept thinking of warm weather. Flights to DFW and on to Cancun was pretty much uneventful. Landed in Cancun @ 3:40pm and then we sit on the tarmac
for about 30min as the airport doesn't have a gate for our plane. At this point I'm thinking this isn't starting off that good. Collected our bags and immigration was a breeze got to customs and it was packed. Stood in one line for about 45min for the girl to come out and close the lane down. We then had to move over to another lane and wait about 20min. Got a green light and met our transfer for the ride to Playa.
Check-in at the La Tortuga with Lisa was a breeze. I loved the little welcome punch they whipped up for us.

At check-in we noticed a small parade going down the street. Our driver said it was a two day religious celebration (forgot the name)

After getting settled in our room and checking out the hotel we decide to hit the ATM and go to Carboncitos
for our first dinner. We had a salsa platter to start of with and T had the shrimp brouchette dish and I had the
chipotle shrimp. Both meals were very good and the pumpkin seed salsa was to die for.

After dinner we did a little bit of shopping and a had a few drinks with Fidel at the Tortuga bar.

Off to bed after a long travel day, more to come...

chazdiezal · 12-28-2009

Ugh! How can I post my pics?

D33RHUNT3R · 12-28-2009

Make note to self !!! ..Get to the Airport @ least 3 hrs before takeoff !!
I would just DIE if they told me $600

I feel bad for ya on that one.... I will be VERY sure to be there far in advance of the 2 hr thing ... I was going to run close but I will be sure to adjust our lead time accordingly to prevent that ..

chazdiezal · 12-28-2009

ciderrella · 12-28-2009

I hope that the rest of your trip makes up for the rocky start! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

culater88 · 12-28-2009

These airlines really know how to stick it to you, I thought to change flights were only $150, at least for business flights? At least the rest of the trip was uneventful.

elvo73 · 12-28-2009

$600 bucks!!!, that's insane, we just got back to Cabo, we flew with Alaska Air and we were at the airport with less than an hour and we were fine, those airlines are somethinbg else, seriously!!!
I hope you had a nice trip after that...waiting for more

Doggiemom · 12-28-2009

More please!!!!!

chazdiezal · 12-29-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by D33RHUNT3R

Make note to self !!! ..Get to the Airport @ least 3 hrs before takeoff !!
I would just DIE if they told me $600

I feel bad for ya on that one.... I will be VERY sure to be there far in advance of the 2 hr thing ... I was going to run close but I will be sure to adjust our lead time accordingly to prevent that ..

I agree, next time we will definately be at the airport well in advance....may camp out there overnight

chazdiezal · 12-29-2009

Day 2...

After a great night sleep and realizing we were finally in Playa we decided to just relax on the beach for most of the day. We ate breakfast at El Bistro which was very tasty. I think we had the mexican eggs with sausage and mashed potato plate with fresh orange juice. I have to admit that I've never tasted o.j. that taste this good.

After breakfast we decided to relax a bit by the pool and then hit the beach at Mamitas.

The water was warm and the weather was perfect. We decided to get lunch there and opted for the shrimp ceviche and a fruit plate.

We headed back to the hotel around 5ish to shower and change and while it takes T two hours to get dressed

it only takes me about 20 min. So while waiting for her I decided to hit Walmart to see whats going on over there. I enjoyed the walk as I passed a square where there was a nativity scene setup as well as a huge christmas tree.

The breeze traveling through the square was wonderful and calming. There were a few families there relaxing on the benches and others taking pics of the scene. I get to Walmart and all I can say is wow! It was a mad-house. I just walked around a bit and took everything in as it was a bit over-whelming. I make it back to the room and T and I decide to hit Karma bagel for a bite to eat.

I forget what T had but I chose the bagel with arrachara and carmelized onions and guava water (very tasty). Being in close proximity to Ah Cocoa we decided to stop for dessert. This place was so good that it would become a frequent stop of ours.

T had the chocolate cake and I went for the hazelnut icecream and brownie.

After dessert we walked a bit to try and work off the dessert calories we just packed on. Headed back to the room and hung out at the bar for a bit, shot some pool, and turned in for the night.
More to come...

snappysammy · 12-29-2009

you guys are quite a handsome couple
the way you handled the adversity was great!!

TMel · 12-29-2009

Love the report, as well as Tortuga!!

The chocolate cake from Ah Cacao is amazing..even better than the brownies...Can't wait for more (cake..and TR)!!

chazdiezal · 12-29-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappysammy

you guys are quite a handsome couple
the way you handled the adversity was great!!

Thank you snappy...there will be more adversity on our trip...more on that later.

chazdiezal · 12-29-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMel

Love the report, as well as Tortuga!!

The chocolate cake from Ah Cacao is amazing..even better than the brownies...Can't wait for more (cake..and TR)!!

Thanks TMel...the chocolate is so amazing that I'm thinking about ordering some from their website.

queencityfan · 12-29-2009

Great start! Those bagels look good, I've never eaten there, perhaps it will have to go on the list!

carry on!

12-28-2009	#1 (permalink)
chazdiezal toe in water Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 46	Seven days in paradise 1 bus trip from hell This is my attempt at a trip report so please don't laugh. T and I haven't been on a lengthy trip without our kids since our honeymoon in Jamaica 8 years ago. We are getting ready to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and figured this would be a great time to go away again. Once I found this board and looked at other trip reports I knew we definately had to experience Playa for ourselves. I managed to visit this board everyday and tried to read as much as I could absorb in hopes of creating a perfect vacation. This trip was from 12/11-12/18/09. We live in Delaware so we have the option of flying out of Philly or Baltimore as both are in close driving distances. At the time I purchased the plane tickets it was much cheaper to drive to Baltimore. I tried to take notes everyday of things we did and places we ate.... Day 1 Woke up at 3:30am for a 7:05am flight to DFW. We left the house around 4:30am and got some coffee and got on the road for the 1 hour ride to the airport. No traffic at all (of course) and all was smooth until we got turned around on a wrong road. Ok, no problem only took us about 10 min out of our way, we are still making good time. After parking the car we are in the terminal at the self check-in desk. Its now about 6:15am and trying to navigate the check-in screen becomes a little challenging. I ask one of the attendants why won't it let me check-in and they say "We are too late" Huh? What do you mean too late? She says we should have checked in at least 2 hrs before our flight. Oh great, so she points us towards a live person further down to assist us. She says she can get us on the next flight out @ 9:20am but its going to cost us an additional $600. I asked if we could possibly fly on stand-by and she said either way we would have to pay. Losing $600 even before leaving freezing Baltimore didn't sit well with me but what could I do? I coughed up the cash and we were on the 9:20am flight. By this time T and I needed a xanax to calm down and relax, we just kept thinking of warm weather. Flights to DFW and on to Cancun was pretty much uneventful. Landed in Cancun @ 3:40pm and then we sit on the tarmac for about 30min as the airport doesn't have a gate for our plane. At this point I'm thinking this isn't starting off that good. Collected our bags and immigration was a breeze got to customs and it was packed. Stood in one line for about 45min for the girl to come out and close the lane down. We then had to move over to another lane and wait about 20min. Got a green light and met our transfer for the ride to Playa. Check-in at the La Tortuga with Lisa was a breeze. I loved the little welcome punch they whipped up for us. At check-in we noticed a small parade going down the street. Our driver said it was a two day religious celebration (forgot the name) After getting settled in our room and checking out the hotel we decide to hit the ATM and go to Carboncitos for our first dinner. We had a salsa platter to start of with and T had the shrimp brouchette dish and I had the chipotle shrimp. Both meals were very good and the pumpkin seed salsa was to die for. After dinner we did a little bit of shopping and a had a few drinks with Fidel at the Tortuga bar. Off to bed after a long travel day, more to come...

12-28-2009	#2 (permalink)
chazdiezal toe in water Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 46	Ugh! How can I post my pics?

12-28-2009	#3 (permalink)
D33RHUNT3R añejo Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Arkansas Posts: 7,558	Make note to self !!! ..Get to the Airport @ least 3 hrs before takeoff !! I would just DIE if they told me $600 I feel bad for ya on that one.... I will be VERY sure to be there far in advance of the 2 hr thing ... I was going to run close but I will be sure to adjust our lead time accordingly to prevent that ..

12-28-2009	#4 (permalink)
chazdiezal toe in water Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 46

12-28-2009	#5 (permalink)
ciderrella ruined Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Washington State, USA Posts: 87	I hope that the rest of your trip makes up for the rocky start! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

12-28-2009	#6 (permalink)
culater88 into ruins Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 61	These airlines really know how to stick it to you, I thought to change flights were only $150, at least for business flights? At least the rest of the trip was uneventful.

12-28-2009	#7 (permalink)
elvo73 way into it Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 130	$600 bucks!!!, that's insane, we just got back to Cabo, we flew with Alaska Air and we were at the airport with less than an hour and we were fine, those airlines are somethinbg else, seriously!!! I hope you had a nice trip after that...waiting for more

12-28-2009	#8 (permalink)
Doggiemom añejo Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Humble, Texas Posts: 9,363	More please!!!!!

12-29-2009	#10 (permalink)
chazdiezal toe in water Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 46	Day 2... After a great night sleep and realizing we were finally in Playa we decided to just relax on the beach for most of the day. We ate breakfast at El Bistro which was very tasty. I think we had the mexican eggs with sausage and mashed potato plate with fresh orange juice. I have to admit that I've never tasted o.j. that taste this good. After breakfast we decided to relax a bit by the pool and then hit the beach at Mamitas. The water was warm and the weather was perfect. We decided to get lunch there and opted for the shrimp ceviche and a fruit plate. We headed back to the hotel around 5ish to shower and change and while it takes T two hours to get dressed it only takes me about 20 min. So while waiting for her I decided to hit Walmart to see whats going on over there. I enjoyed the walk as I passed a square where there was a nativity scene setup as well as a huge christmas tree. The breeze traveling through the square was wonderful and calming. There were a few families there relaxing on the benches and others taking pics of the scene. I get to Walmart and all I can say is wow! It was a mad-house. I just walked around a bit and took everything in as it was a bit over-whelming. I make it back to the room and T and I decide to hit Karma bagel for a bite to eat. I forget what T had but I chose the bagel with arrachara and carmelized onions and guava water (very tasty). Being in close proximity to Ah Cocoa we decided to stop for dessert. This place was so good that it would become a frequent stop of ours. T had the chocolate cake and I went for the hazelnut icecream and brownie. After dessert we walked a bit to try and work off the dessert calories we just packed on. Headed back to the room and hung out at the bar for a bit, shot some pool, and turned in for the night. More to come...

12-29-2009	#11 (permalink)
snappysammy añejo Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12,275	you guys are quite a handsome couple the way you handled the adversity was great!!

12-29-2009	#12 (permalink)
TMel life=playa Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: York, Maine Posts: 774	Love the report, as well as Tortuga!! The chocolate cake from Ah Cacao is amazing..even better than the brownies...Can't wait for more (cake..and TR)!!

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12-29-2009	#15 (permalink)
queencityfan añejo Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 3,342	Great start! Those bagels look good, I've never eaten there, perhaps it will have to go on the list! carry on!