Before I start I’ll share a little background info. It may help you make sense of where I’m coming from. I use an electric wheelchair to get around since falling off my motorcycle 23 years ago and ending up a quadriplegic. C5 incomplete. That’ll mean something to some, for others, it means I have use of most of my shoulder muscles some wrist and complete biceps, no triceps. I can use a manual wheelchair but only on the flattest surfaces. Once I am in my electric chair I am totally independant......I can drive my adapted minivan and when it comes to eating and drinking, I have no problem whatsoever
I’ll make mention of some things concerning accessibility but for the most part this will just be a regular TR. I’ll do a separate one after with specifics about the hotel and around town concerning accessibility as I saw it.
I’ve been travelling somewhere hot n sunny for the last few years with a bunch of guys I grew up with. The stars have aligned just so, that they’ve been able to arrange to get away from their lives to hang out. We all get along great. I couldn’t imagine better friends.
One of my travel buddies is also my attendant who assists me with my personal care (getting in and out of bed, dressing, bathing....etc ) He, Kris, works where I live in an apartment building that has 15 wheelchair accessible apartments and provides 24 hour support services to their tenants.
Ok, here we go. Kris is working his usual 12 hour night shift from 7:30 pm the Friday night before we leave so after throwing me in bed at 10, he is back at 2:30 to get me up and finish my last minute packing. I have a wheelchair accessible cab booked for 4am and Kris has arranged to end his shift then. Mike is driving the other guys to the airport. We have a 6:20 flight with Skyservice and since we sprang for the ‘premier’ option with Sunquest ........which gives us lovely gold coloured luggage tags, two free drinks, free head phones, $15 discount coupon for an excursion, $75 off next sunquest rip, express check-in ......we aren’t required to check-in until 2 hours before the flight. Still, Mike has arranged to pick Les and Steve up at 3:30. Yikes! His 18 year old son David is going with them so he can have the van while dad is away.
Kris and I arrive at the airport about 5 to find Les and Steve sitting on a bench with their bags across from the Skyservice counter. "Why didn’t you check-in? Where’s Mike? Why you grinnin’ Les? Ok, what’s up?" Seems they arrived a little after 4, unload, say goodbye, enter the terminal, Mike asks where is his black carry-on bag. Uh oh. He runs back outside to see David has wasted no time in leaving. Les and Steve both live outside the city and since I made all the trip bookings with travel agent, I get all the tickets sent to me. I had mine and Kris’, Mike had all of theirs...in his carry-on. Well, itsa good thing Mike likes to be early or he wouldn’t have made it back to his place by cab and back with his son in time. By the time Kris and I checked in, Mike was back, phew, big sigh all around. Let the fun begin!
It is about 5:45 now and Les forgets he has gum in his pocket so he gets to remove his shoes at security. A little background on the guys here. You might think Mike is the forgetful one but you’d be wrong. He thought the others had taken his bag out, they didn’t, really just a minor oversight with huge potential for disaster. Steve is a firefighter, so definitely the most responsible of the group. He is also the senior member, dare I say old man? Not that 54 is old, but Les and I are still in our 40's. Ok, we’ll both be 50 this year but we all feel like we’re still 20 something, especially when we are on vacation.
Back to forgetfulness, Les is a fisheries biologist and is currently back at school for his Masters and maybe PhD. No way we’ll ever be able to call him Dr. with a straight face. Think along the lines of absent minded professor and you have Les. It’s actually just a very relaxed, devil may care, hey I’m vacation attitude but if anyone is gonna lose something or be late, its Les.
I booked this trip last July, early I know but the price was right and the sooner I booked the sooner I could stop checking online for other hotels and deals. Les didn’t know if he could go until December and had to book his flight and hotel separate. He was flying Skyservice too but a different flight leaving 10 minutes after us. Ha ha, see ya there sucker! Except his pilot got on the intercom and asked everyone to hurry up and sit down if everyone wanted to leave Now or wait half an hour. So he beats us there and We end up being a half an hour behind schedule. Oh well. We’ve landed. Ahhh, the warm air rushes in the door, I’m in the first row. Now to wait.....first on, last off....come on folks hustle it up!
We have to deplane onto the tarmac which does not bother me anymore. In fact it usually means once I get carried down the stairs in the little aisle chair (think two-wheeler) I can get in my chair right there instead of having to transfer into a rickety old manual chair and going to baggage claim. Usually. But the grounds crew guy in the white shirt who lectured me about not moving around while they carried me down the stairs or else they would drop me, says they have to bus us to the terminal and my chair will be there. "But my chair is right there!" I point. "NO." Ok, onto the nice low bus via a beautiful portable aluminum ramp my chair could have used, off we go to the terminal still in the aisle chair. Not really comfortable but I always expect this sort of thing.
The airport guy pushing me, blue shirt, is very nice from Czechoslovakia.... Kris is from Poland so they reminisce about places in common they know. Get thru immigration (blue shirt is able to cut around the line ups and take us right to a guy) and there is Les at the baggage claim grinnin’ like a fool. Where ya bin buddy? Ok ok, good for you, you beat us buddy.... now find my chair! (I’ve known Les forever, we actually played together in our playpens in adjoining backyards, so when it seems I may be barking orders, its with love
20 minutes later we have all our bags except Mike’s and my chair. Hmmm. There it is! Believe it or not, they’d put the chair on the luggage belt! Go figure. The thing weighs 325 pounds! The belt stops, the guys haul it off ( I have handles that I hook on it to make lifting it much easier)
We put the batteries back in, leg rests on, untape the control box, power up and yippee, it all works. Les finds Mike’s bag, he is on a roll and proud of it, off we go to customs and 5 green lights. I zip thru the terminal in search of the "Welcome Paul" sign outside and to tell the Sunquest rep we aren’t taking the bus. Of course Les finds him. I’ve already taken my watch off so am not sure how late we are but our van guy is parked close by and happily moves the van closer to the curb to make throwing me in the seat easier. Itsa neat new Toyota van with raised roof, folding rear seat to accommodate chair and a seat with a headrest that gives me good back support. If we had the portable ramp from the airport bus I could have wheeled right in the back. Off we go, do we want to stop for cervazas? No thanks, it isn’t noon yet(as if that matters) Kris and I had champagne and oj with breakfast on the plane. He had a beer too then a good nap. I watched ‘The Queen’. Eegads are we there yet?
The drive is uneventful and looking very familiar, it is our third time to the Riviera Maya....the second to Playacar. We stayed at the IB Tucan/Quetzal 2 years ago. It is so nice to see the lush tropical greenery....playadise. Now I’m grinnin’. I don’t even feel tired.
The Riu Tequila is very nice. Got a big horse in the driveway. Itsa little cloudy but nice and warm.
No one checking in, the busload from Sunquest beat us there. Carlos, call me Charlie Brown, gives us our paper work to fill out, hands over door keys, safe key, (real keys, no cards, well the place was built in 98, its all good) towel cards, explains everything very well, most efficient. But Carlos, my room is wheelchair accessible right? No senor. D’oh! Someone is leaving tomorrow so you can move then. Ok, not perfect but no problem. Rooms aren’t ready yet, come back at 3. Its 2 now? Nope, that’s Toronto time, it is only 1 o’clock. Zip off the pants legs, put a t-shirt on in lobby bathroom, the guys change and off to the pool bar/restaurant.
I’m not totally in vacation mode yet because I can’t decide what to drink. Sad I know. Steve and Mike are big on the fancy mixed drinks. They are dessert hogs so anything sweet will do. I end up having a shot of tequila and a beer but for the life of me can’t remember if Les or Kris joined me.
I’m not hungry but the guys get a plate from the buffet. Ok I guess I could eat a few chips n salsa. I intended to take food pics because that is one of the things I most enjoy in others trip reports but didn’t end up doing a very good job.
Spent the rest of the day checking out the Yucatan across the street, the intended beach area for Tequila guests. walkway to beach. Kris, Les, Steve and Mike. fresh white meat ready for sun!
We ate at the buffet restaurant that first night and most others.
There are only two specialty restaurants available to the Tequila, a Mexican and a Steakhouse.
The entertainment staff are outside the buffet at night promoting the show that night. Not sure what the theme was this first night but liked the outfits. We didn’t see the show that night. I forget where we hung out but went to bed fairly early.
day two
The rain woke me up early. Uh oh. They have nice big umbrellas in the closet but still managed to get wet going to lobby, no big deal. Breakfasts here are similar to most AI’s I’ve encountered. Lots of choices from already cooked to cook to order. No complaints from anyone.
Don’t remember the show theme for tonight either but still loving their outfits. Big smile for the wife Kris.
Get the keys for the accessible room. Only difference really is roll-in shower which is very important. Sink counter is too low to get under but taps are not lever handles anyway. I managed fine in this room with Kris’ assistance.
Rain stopped and sky cleared....amazing! I never worried that it wouldn’t. We check out the beach at the Playacar today. A much smaller resort than Yucatan and Tequila. There are 3 access points to beach which are all level, no stairs, 2 of which I can actually wheel onto the beach for 10 feet before sand gets too soft. Perfect. Can't get to the water but its ok. We set up shop and enjoy the breeze, sun sand and sights. Definitely some good sights here.
The beach is indeed hurtin’. They’re attempting to reclaim beach front with the big black and some white bladders full of sand. Seems to be working to some degree but it seems insignificant compared to the drop off in some spots.
Walk into town after dinner for a look see. Les didn’t make the trip as he was having some....issues. We picked him up some immodium at the little shops in Playacar and ran it back to him before setting off.
Town looks the same except for condo construction at south end. Is nice feeling to recognize places from previous trips and from info gained on here. Mike had a phone card and since we were around the corner from Carboncitos I called my sister and had her call Kris’ wife so they could see us having a margarita(very good. the hotel’s were not) and waving at the camera every two minutes like fools.
