Photographs of Mexico and Fodor Recommendations + Free Mayan Coffee (maybe)

52 Anniversary Dinner at
La Habichuela Sunset

Writing about life where the rubber meets the road does not make you an expert! Travel in this world is all about the discovery and surprise. I like that a lot. I really don't want to know what is around the next corner or where I should be looking.

HOWEVER when it comes to food, I don't want any surprises...none at all.  That is why I depend on our Fordor's Travel Guide. While they list more than you would want to read through, I always just go to the red Fordor's Recommends in the margins and choose the one that I can afford, make reservations and trust that we will be happy.  We have never gone wrong.

Artwork: Rocking Horses

Courtyard Sanctuary

Mayan  Pole Dancers (sunset)

Mayan Coffee Preparation

Our  beloved resort shuttle!

On our last full day of freedom in Mexico we decided to take the shuttle into Cancun and have dinner.  We ate at a place called La Habichuela Sunset located on Hotel road. The restaurant featured Caribbean food and is located on the interior lagoon.  We were not disappointed in anyway. The manager said mention his name (Miguel) and that I sent you...you will get a free Mayan Coffee (maybe). That is what I had and you will not be disappointed.

So it is good-bye to Mexico, back to Oregon where Christmas and family is waiting. I am a very happy woman.

b+

Getting Around: Taking the Collectiva Van

Honestly, I would never have thought to go out to the highway and wait for a van to come and pick me up.  No appointment, no concierge, no worries...I am told.

We are on the Mayan Peninsula here in Mexico spending two weeks.  The end of our beautiful vacation is in sight and I am only beginning to learn the ins and outs of this world.

When we want to go to the next community or even from one end of the resort to the other, people come and take us. That is the luxury of coming to a place like this. But sometimes we want to go to a place that does not fit into the resort's routine. For example, we took a shuttle into Cancun last night so that we could have a special dinner to celebrate out anniversary/Thanksgiving. The van really was not going where we wanted to be but it was what was available so we just went with the flow.

Wish You Were Here!

The area we visited was at the far end of the hotel zone in Cancun where we were dropped at a mall. The van driver demanded the round trip fair and it seemed reasonable that he would. But actually what we had in mind was staying later so we wanted to travel into the city center and take a taxi back out. We were flexible and he could not afford to be. We did it his way.

It is all good though. A van ride always turns out to be an education. That is where we heard about the collectiva taxi service. It seems the vans travel up an down the highway here picking up resort tourist and taking them either to Cancun, to Playa del Carmen, Tulum or anywhere else you want to be dropped along their route.

How do you do that? You get up and walk out to the highway. Get on the side of the road going in the direction you want to travel. Wait. Negotiate a price for your destination. Get off, do what you want and go back out to the road to go back to your resort. Now please, I have not done this but the woman that told me about it is experienced, very well educated and has been to this area 6 times at all times of the year. I believe that it really works.

So there you have it...my tip for the day.

Have a great one.

b+

What a Cancun Area Guided Day Tour Offers! Tulum

I really could not leave without going on at least one tour. So we chose the cheapest and shortest available.  If we decide to visit other sites on a return visit, we will rent a car. Our tour of choice was to Tulum, a ruin located on the Caribbean. The walled religious site was not only a place for shamans to practice but also a place the navigators could come by water to trade their goods. It takes a willing suspension of reality but if you can imagine what it must have looked like over 600 years ago while standing among the ruins it is breath taking.

Here is what we found:

Xcaret is a Maya civilization archaeological site located on the Caribbean coastline
of the Yucatán Peninsula,in the modern-day state ofQuintana Roo in Mexico. (Wikipedia)

Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá.
The ruins are situated on 12-meter tall cliffs,along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the 
Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.(wikipedia)

Note: The cost for the tour was $45 American per person. 

We paid full price because I did not want to go toa Mayan Palace presentation. It would be less if wehad done that.

We were shuttled from our resort, Mayan Palace, to a spot along the highway where we boarded a bus for the rest of the tour.We were given 

admission to the site and a very thorough English speaking tour guide. 

Lunch as available for purchase on the site.

Your resort concierge will have information on costs and recommendations.

I don't know about you but I am not a tour tourist in any sense of the word. I don't like buses with pictures painted on the windows or even sitting in them. But, even given these fact, I had a wonderful day when we went to Tulum. The tour guide was a charming older man, matter of fact, well informed and kind.  Those are all qualities that a tour guide can misplace after they have been in the business for many years.

The tour business is alive and well here on the Riviera Maya. The better know and more elaborate sites are very busy and the resort fills buses day after day.

We were waiting for our transportation when two buses destined for Xcaret arrived.  Both buses filled.  This national park can be a whole vacation in and of itself as I understand it. I just loved the look of the bus. The luggage you see on the top is only for show. It just gives you the feel of what it must have been like when these buses were the only way to travel on the Yucatan.

What is your attitude?
Tonight we will take a shuttle bus into Cancun where we have dinner reservations.  The restaurant was the one recommended by Fodors. I have never gone wrong with there advise. The Thanksgiving dinner here on the resort was around $75 per person.

Here is where I want to say that we have decided not to be dissatisfied if the shuttle does not go exactly where we want. In this particular case we wanted to go to El Centro Cancun but the shuttle drops the tourist at a plaza on the very end of the hotel row. It is about as far from El Centro as you can get and still be in the city.

We looked at each other yesterday when we were trying to figure a way around it. We were not liking the time of day or the drop off point or anything much. It occurred to us both that we were whining...yuck! I hated that. We both laughed and decided to go with the flow. I will let you know but it is almost a given that we will totally enjoy ourselves!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If my family happens to read this, we love you.

Steps to the beach

The azure blue waters of the Caribbean

My beautiful husband and all my
baggage. You just have to
love him!


b+

.

TripAdvisor, Yucatan Peninsula, and Free Comments

Get The BEST Information

Playa del Carmen, Mayan Riviera, Yucatan Peninsula,  Mexico

We are on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico right now.  Our resort is near Cancun. I am doing a lot of reading about the area on travel websites. If I were to recommend the best place to go for information no matter where you are going, I would do what even the travel columns do in the newspaper...I would tell you to visit TripAdvisor. That is what people that travel do. This is what TripAdvisor had to say about the Yucatan:

Hidden gems of Yucatan, such as Tulum, Akumal, Chetumal, Chichen Itza and Merida, offer an authentic taste of Mexico. Akumal and more Caribbean-style Chetumal, near the Belize border, deliver delectable white-sand beaches and great snorkeling.

Mayan Women are very shy I think

Then they go on to give you all the best information. TripAdvisor and the people that leave comments can be very helpful...especially if you are going to an exotic location. We used TripAdvisor when we went to Vietnam last year.

But most importantly have a wonderful day!  I know I am!

b

FIND at bottom
of blog post and
CLICK

FYI 

The commonly held knowledge is,if you want people to do something, you need to tell them. It does make good sense.  With in the next few minutes I would like you to do the following:

• Type the word travel or grandparent or financial or books or gifts into the search function at the top left hand corner of the blog page. Read any posts that interests you.
• Go to the bottom of the article you have read and leave your comments ...good or bad. You can post anonymously but if you just leave and initial in the box along with your email address which is never revealed it shows that you are real.
• Click on the Twitter button at the bottom of the article and write a short recommendation.
• Click on the Facebook button and add the information to your Facebook account. 
• Click the Google+ icon.

I am a traveler but this blog is not all about travel. It is about living the life of a retiree. You will also find financial information (again go to the search box), grandparenting (grandparent), books and anything that is beautiful. My husband and I live the snowbird lifestyle, have traveled in an RV and now own a small park model in a RV resort in Tucson, AZ. You will find a link to that information at the top of the article page in the bar that goes across the blog.

Just to review...

1. search 
2. leave a comment
3. Twitter
4. Facebook
5. Google+

Mexico: What do YOU know about vacation "timeshares"? Sound off PLEASE!

A ride on a resort shuttle bus can be very educational. At least that has been my experience. We rode from our Grand Mayan resort here on the Mayan Riviera into Playa Riviera yesterday and the conversation turned to timeshares.

Timeshares and drinking before noon!

The man sitting behind me had been a timeshare salesman for Marriott in Hawaii in a former life. He talked about the timeshare salesman's life. He had worked for Wyndham before getting the job in Hawaii. He talked about beginning his job.

Marriott would not let me do any sales until they had "de-sleazed" me. They would send me around with other salesmen. If I even opened my mouth they would kick me under the table. Marriott prides themselves in being the gentlemen of the timeshare industry.

Is that true? I know that when we bought our Grand Mayan week (not a Marriott property), the sales staff began at the front desk and continued unrelenting until we made the purchase. I think we were lied to but I guess the experience is seen in the eyes of the beholder. In Puerta Vallarta the woman at the front desk is famous around the timeshare holders world. Word of mouth is spreading about her. She actually refused to give us our key until we agreed to attend a presentation. The man on the bus said she needed an attitude adjustment.

But here is a story one of our bus companions related that just blew me away.

My friend agreed to take a timeshare tour in a resort here in Mexico. A limousine picked him up at the door of his resort and he was given the royal treatment. However, when he refused to buy after a lengthy presentation, the condo people told him to walk back to his resort. The limo did not make return trips for people that did not buy.

Seriously people, this is either very funny or the scariest thing I have ever heard. Some of these timeshare resorts are a long way from anywhere!

So what do you know that I don't know? Is it true that if you don't own more than one registered week with the Grand Mayan Vida Vacation group, you will never get an ocean view? Are the update presentation really not a sales pitch? Here is your chance to sound off.

b

Jaded? Not me!...Mexican travel at it's best!

Happy Hour in Cancun

I always worry that I will become jaded. I have traveled around the world to a moderate degree. I have seen some pretty amazing things. Even when we were packing for this trip to Mexico, I worried that I would not find anything that amazed or wowed me.

In past years we have stayed in resorts in Thailand and even Vietnam that just blew me away. I have been greeted in the morning by women in Thailand that spoke to me in that beautiful Thai way and asked what I needed before my eyes were even open.  What could top that? Resorts are resorts. Right?

Well it turns out that is not the way it works for me. Here at Cancun in our resort the thing that I marvel at is the beauty of this place in Mexico. The iguanas crawl along walls and flamingos stand and kneel just for my camera. The pools glisten and each person that greets us is going the extra mile to make us comfortable.

So, I am safe for now at least. I am still innocent enough that I appreciate the wonder of an ocean that roars and a palm tree that sways. I still love the feel of cool pool water on my skin in the humid afternoon. And I stand in awe as the flamingo kneels before me.  The iguana on the wall is posing just for me. Life is good.

b

b