We awoke to the birds and a neighborhood dog having a heated discussion. Not to worry, after this first day we had a hard time waking up before 8:00am and convince ourselves to get out of our comfortable bed. We fiddled with the in-room coffee for the first two days and after that it was a carafe of coffee with cream, 2 cups, and some days muffins or croissants. We did have to tell them each day to put it in the Magic Box or they did knock on the door instead. They also asked us to make sure we put the dishes back into the Magic Box for pickup. One day my sister-in-law had a lazy day in bed and didn't have the tray back in the box after a couple of hours. They called the room checking - I guess the carafes are in short supply.
We had our orientation meeting with Temo, our Air Canada rep., for 9:00am so we dressed and went to meet with him. The different reps are all located in an area across from the Real Bazaar giftshop and next door to the 24 Hr. Activity room/bar. He gave us the usual lowdown on the resort, and when he could be reached for questions, etc..
I did forget to mention yesterday that when we checked in we were given a "Gold Card" notice and were told to check with the guests services desk on how to get this gold card and special discounts - the ol' timeshare/club trap. Thank goodness the Playa Peeps had warned us about the various ploys - letters slide under our door twice, people (salesreps) striking up conversations, etc.. I have to say this was the only damper put on our vacation. At times we felt we were in a car dealership instead of a resort. Everywhere you looked there was a rep with a couple either touring the resort or sitting down making a deal. We could not believe how many people were actually signing up!!
But I digress...back to the good stuff.
The morning was cool and cloudy, so we headed up to 5th instead of hitting the beach. It IS close. We noticed the Scotia Bank up the next block on 10th so we checked it out (used the ATM as the bank was closed). Our in-laws did a bit of a money exchange with their travellers checks at one of the booths. We stolled 5th for the morning and then headed back to the resort for lunch.
Pelicanos - talk about a great first impression. We sit on the deck and are served by Jose. Drinks all around and we order the beefroll (excellent), mixed ceviche (also great), the Royal Pizza (yummy - thin crust as I like), and scallops (very tender and in a great sauce). Jose brings my first taste of quac. and chips (but not my last) and our drinks. The man is running - dressed in black pants and long sleeve white shirt - with a great smile and attitude. We did not see him act any differently our whole stay - and the temps were mostly 88 degrees and above. He would bring extra dishes out for us to try if we expressed even the slightess interest in them and generally made us feel like we were his only customers every time we went back to the restaurant and he served us. Amazing!
More to come tonight......and it gets even better.