2007/12/04 Tuesday
Up early and breakfasted early, then went down to our hotel beach, and with little wind had a great 1-1/2 hr snorkel around the whole cove and right out into the ‘open sea’ past the rocky ledges forming the mouth of the cove. Didn’t have to fork out $150 either!!
Saw everything that we saw at Xel-Ha (except skate), plus a few others including a little ‘box-shaped’ fish that I call a puffer. The reefs and corals are in fact vastly superior to Xel-Ha, but you need a calm day to be able to enjoy them. Since the tide was low, we were snorkelling in less than 18” of water sometimes, even though we were quite well out from the beach.
Spent the rest of the morning lazing by the pool, then headed to our ‘local’ lunch room and then to our room, which (thankfully) had been made up. The culprits had left a flower adorned towel-dog on the bed, obviously aware that our ire had been raised, and probably fearful that their daily $2-Gracias notes might disappear!
It is clouding over, and the swallows (swifts?) were swooping en mass by the pool when we left, so I expect it will rain this afternoon.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
Grand Sirenis
2007/12/01 Saturday
Breakfast
09H30 - Waited for the Snorkel Adventure bus. Arrived a little late, but not too bad for Mexico! Picked up a few more on the way to Puerto Morales.
Sat around for an hour or so while the rest of the buses/people arrived, then went through the ‘get your equipment’ process; we only needed life-vests (mandatory).
Finally, (about 12H30), we get on the boats and head for the barrier reef. First snorkel was in fairly deep water, with not much to see, and rough water due to increasing winds.
(Should have gone snorkelling yesterday and sailing today!)
Second snorkel was on shallower reef, but even rougher water due to the breaking swells. Despite this, saw more fish in this session. But nothing spectacular, and the damage done to the reefs by the hurricanes is evident.
Back to base camp for lunch, which was surprisingly good (considering the site and circumstances), and again sat around for quite a long while before setting off on the final snorkel session. By now we were down to 2 boats, as many of the people declined the opportunity.
Again on shallow reef, with a lot of fish around in schools due to the late hour, as they apparently come back onto the reef to feed before it gets dark.
Saw a skate and a fair sized eel as well as the many fish.
Back to base camp, and sat around again waiting for the excursion vans to be ready to cart us back to our hotels. Eventually got on the road and got back to Grand Sirenis at about 19H00.
Bathed/showered and hit the main buffet. Mariachi Band playing in the buffet. Nicely kitted out (clothes and instruments), but not particularly good musicians! Glad to get back to the room!
STILL NO INTERNET!!!!! They gave me yet another ‘complimentary’ 60-min ticket, but when I gat back to the room the LAN connectivity was lost!
2007/12/03 Monday
Up early and breakfasted, then walked up to the road and caught the collectivo to Xel-Ha.
At the gates, we were parted from our funds by a band of robbers! We had been told that you could get a simple ‘entrance only’ for about $37, but this was not the case and we had to bring out the credit card and pay $150 for our ‘all-inclusive’ entrance!!
Cycled up to the start of the river, and floated down. Not particularly exciting.
Did get to see quite a lot of the normal run of local fish, and eventually skate, barracuda and ribbon-fish. Also saw schools of what must have been hundreds of thousands of ‘hatchlings’, about 5 to 8 mm in length, close to the shore/riverbank.
After about 2 hrs, Denise felt quite ill, so we left the water and eventually went to one of the patios and had a light lunch with beer/shandy to drink.
Decided to head for home! Caught the collectivo, walked down the road and returned to find that our room had again not been made up (at 14H00)!! Complained to the ‘concierge’, who promised to attend to it immediately, but it was over ½ hour before someone actually pitched up to do the job, while we sat and waited.
Had a nap, then headed off for a light dinner. Definite increase in the population, with many families with school-aged kids now in evidence.
Breakfast
09H30 - Waited for the Snorkel Adventure bus. Arrived a little late, but not too bad for Mexico! Picked up a few more on the way to Puerto Morales.
Sat around for an hour or so while the rest of the buses/people arrived, then went through the ‘get your equipment’ process; we only needed life-vests (mandatory).
Finally, (about 12H30), we get on the boats and head for the barrier reef. First snorkel was in fairly deep water, with not much to see, and rough water due to increasing winds.
(Should have gone snorkelling yesterday and sailing today!)
Second snorkel was on shallower reef, but even rougher water due to the breaking swells. Despite this, saw more fish in this session. But nothing spectacular, and the damage done to the reefs by the hurricanes is evident.
Back to base camp for lunch, which was surprisingly good (considering the site and circumstances), and again sat around for quite a long while before setting off on the final snorkel session. By now we were down to 2 boats, as many of the people declined the opportunity.
Again on shallow reef, with a lot of fish around in schools due to the late hour, as they apparently come back onto the reef to feed before it gets dark.
Saw a skate and a fair sized eel as well as the many fish.
Back to base camp, and sat around again waiting for the excursion vans to be ready to cart us back to our hotels. Eventually got on the road and got back to Grand Sirenis at about 19H00.
Bathed/showered and hit the main buffet. Mariachi Band playing in the buffet. Nicely kitted out (clothes and instruments), but not particularly good musicians! Glad to get back to the room!
STILL NO INTERNET!!!!! They gave me yet another ‘complimentary’ 60-min ticket, but when I gat back to the room the LAN connectivity was lost!
2007/12/03 Monday
Up early and breakfasted, then walked up to the road and caught the collectivo to Xel-Ha.
At the gates, we were parted from our funds by a band of robbers! We had been told that you could get a simple ‘entrance only’ for about $37, but this was not the case and we had to bring out the credit card and pay $150 for our ‘all-inclusive’ entrance!!
Cycled up to the start of the river, and floated down. Not particularly exciting.
Did get to see quite a lot of the normal run of local fish, and eventually skate, barracuda and ribbon-fish. Also saw schools of what must have been hundreds of thousands of ‘hatchlings’, about 5 to 8 mm in length, close to the shore/riverbank.
After about 2 hrs, Denise felt quite ill, so we left the water and eventually went to one of the patios and had a light lunch with beer/shandy to drink.
Decided to head for home! Caught the collectivo, walked down the road and returned to find that our room had again not been made up (at 14H00)!! Complained to the ‘concierge’, who promised to attend to it immediately, but it was over ½ hour before someone actually pitched up to do the job, while we sat and waited.
Had a nap, then headed off for a light dinner. Definite increase in the population, with many families with school-aged kids now in evidence.
Mexico - Grand Sirenis
2007/11/26 Monday
Started with the sparrows (probably well before them for that matter), getting up at 04H00 to get to the Victoria Airport for our 06H00 flight.
Angus was pottering around when we got up, having been up all night writing a term paper!
Loaded stuff into the car, drove to the airport and booked into the ‘staff parking lot (thanks to a magical ‘pass’ which had been procured by Kenny Podmore).
Check-in was smooth and easy (as it SHOULD be in Victoria at 04H30 AM!!). We were first through the ‘security check’, and for once it was Denise rather than yours-truly that was ‘randomly selected’ for the whole ‘pat down’ rigamarole.
Got a couple of coffees when the kiosk opened at 05H30 (-ish), and boarded Horizon Air soon thereafter. Bit of a bumpy flight (resulting in no ‘in-flight service’ at all), but no serious issues.
Landed at SeaTac (Seattle) uneventfully, cleared US Customs & Immigration, re-checked our baggage and took the shuttle trains to the Alaska Air terminal. Sat around for quite a long while, as our Cancun flight was only scheduled to depart at 08H50. Denise had a juice and I had a ‘sausage breakfast biscuit’ and coffee. OK to keep the wolf at bay, but nothing to really write home about! (Pardon the pun?).
Flight to Cancun long, bumpy air, and uncomfortable (despite lots of leg room because we were in the ‘emergency exit’ row, but for some reason those seats don’t ‘recline’?). But the ‘direct flight’ from SeaTac to Cancun is still definitely the best option.
Very quick through Mexican C & I, then ‘hit on’ by timeshare sales people as we exited, but dodged them as soon as we realised the guy was NOT an official Cancun Airport visitor information representative (as he claimed).
Found our ‘shuttle’ group (Best Day) and were almost immediately bundled into a 8-passenger van with 2 other couples and hit the road South towards Tulum. We were very impressed with the ‘transfer’ people! Good driver; didn’t talk as much as they usually do.
We (of course) had the furthest destination, and had to drop the others off first, but still arrived at the hotel pretty quickly.
Check-in was fast and efficient, except that we had been booked into the ‘Mayan Beach’ side of the Grand Sirenis rather than the ‘Riviera Maya’ side, which I had thought we were going to. After some discussion they offered us a room in the ‘other side’, but it was close to the ‘Theatre’, so we stayed with what they had assigned us. (Room 2509)
The property is HUGE, although we could not see a lot because it was already getting dark. We were driven to our room in a big golf-cart. Big ‘1-bed suite’, very clean, nicely appointed, with a double whirlpool bath plus separate shower! Only minor ‘complaint’ about the room is the slight musty odour (caused by the humidity, which is common to ALL these coastal hotels, regardless of rating!).
Local time was now 19H30, so we unpacked and set off for the buffet dining room! We will almost certainly not gain weight here! The walk over a raised track/bridge through a mangrove swamp) to get back to the Reception/Restaurant/Lobby Bar/Theatre area is quite substantial (about 0.5Km each way)!
Food was ‘so-so’. Meats/Calamari somewhat overcooked, main fish dish cold. Certainly not ‘5-star’, but acceptable. Lots of choice and the fresh fruits, desserts and cheeses were good. Since we will probably stick mostly to cold servings, fruits and salads for the duration, it should not present a problem. Waiter service for drinks sporadic!
Only ‘cerveza clara’ available in the buffet and the bars!! NO DARK BEER available!!!! Definitely not 5-Star!!! The beer is supposed to be Corona, but I don’t think it is. It is most probably the lighter, lower alcohol ‘Modelo’ which is produced by the Corona factory.
2007/11/27 Tuesday
Breakfast was OK. An ‘appy’ on the egg-frying service, but it is pretty much the same even if the yolk has been broken on the way over! Only white bread on the toaster station! (5-Star??). Coffee is hot provided you get it yourself from the urn! (Cool if you wait for a waiter to bring it round.)
Went down to the beach & had a nice swim (thanks to the water-shoes!). Water a bit rough, so we didn’t try snorkelling.
My feet are in bad shape, with blisters on the pads under the toes. I think the sandals I have are not fitting properly, and the amount of walking is making it worse!
Lunched at the pool-snackbar close to our room. Fairly good selection of foods.
Still had to walk up to Reception, as the RJ45-Internet service in the room is not working, and the ‘concierge’ in the hall of the ‘habitations’ can’t handle it. NO INTERNET!! Their room network system is not working!!
Spent a quiet afternoon and walked over for supper. Better this evening than last. Waiter more attentive and found that there is a chef preparing both fish and meat ‘freshly cooked’ at the service counter, so you can get ‘fresh & hot’ there if the offerings in the warming trays don’t catch your fancy. They have a great flan for dessert, which pleases Denise.
Decide to hit the sack rather than do the ‘Nocturnal Activities’ at the Theatre. Both read a book and did a Soduko or two.
2007/11/28 Wednesday
Breakfast.
Down to the beach, and tried snorkelling. Still a bit rough, so the visibility was poor, but did see a few interesting things.
There are 2 HobiCats, not very much in use, so I signed the ‘waivers’ and we went for a spin. Difficult getting in & out of the cove, but pretty good fun once out on the open ocean.
Lunch.
Met with our ‘Best Day’ rep, confirmed our return flights and booked our return shuttle to the Airport. Booked for a snorkelling trip to the barrier reef (Saturday).
Ate at the Steakhouse (speciality restaurant). OK, but a limited menu, so you actually get a wider choice at the main buffet! (No flan!).
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative!
2007/11/29 Thursday
Breakfast.
Walked up to the road and took the ‘combi’ (12-seater van bus service) to Tulum. Cost $2 each, each way. (Tulum Express van service from Hotel is $20 each way!!).
Walked from the road to the Tulum heritage site. Bought tickets ($4.50 each) and walked around the site for about 1 ½ hours. Very nice area, with great ocean view from the ruin’s ‘ramparts’! Pretty nice beach, which is open for public swimming! (If we’d known, we would have worn our swimgear!).
Looked through the ubiquitous tourist traps on the way out and actually bought a few things (hammock chair, dresses), then walked out to the main road and were ambushed into the ‘collectivo’. (Also a $2 fare multi-passenger minivan service, but run by the ‘govt’ rather than private enterprise. We had to sit on our hands waiting for the driver to finish his lunch!! But he had our cash already, so we couldn’t just get out and go catch the combi!).
Back at Grand Sirenis for lunch.
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative!
Went down to the beach and had a swim. Read/Soduko’d/napped.
Suppered, then went to the Theatre for ‘Mexican Night’ show. Mostly the ‘standard’ local dancing troupe, but also had an excellent rope-twirling-act (lariat/riata). Good service from the waitresses in the theatre too!
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative for the ‘weekly use’ option ($50), but apparently working for the ‘1-hour’ option ($10). Supervisor gave us a free ‘1-hour’ ticket because the other was still not available. Managed to send off a few emails (I think?), but service was spotty and it didn’t seem to like the ‘@shaw.ca’ addresses.
2007/11/30 Friday
Breakfast.
Down to the beach. Had a good snorkel session as the water was smoother and not so much fine stuff in suspension. Didn’t see anything particularly ‘special’, but did take in a good selection of fish and covered most of the cove.
Sat around the pool for the remainder of the morning. Soduko & reading.
Lunch.
Internet! STILL unavailable!
Denise napping. Me typing! Shortly I will do see if I can get a HobiCat for a while.
Got one, and had an hour’s sail, but the wind was dropping off (uncharacteristically for the Mexico coast, where it normally rises in the afternoon/evening), so not as fun as it could have been with a better wind.
Washed the salt off in the double whirlpool tub. Then finished off a soduko and got ready for supper.
Lost my door-card in the surf while snorkelling, so went to the lobby on the way to get a new one. There was a supervisor there, so I cornered him on the Internet issue (which is STILL supposed to be being ‘fixed tomorrow’), and demanded another complimentary ’60-minute’ ticket. He treated it as a non-issue until I asked whether the bars were going to be shut down and the restaurants closed because of ‘technical difficulties’?
After he had told me for about the fifth time that the ‘technical expert’ had assured him it will be ‘working tomorrow’, I explained to him that I had been programming computers before he was born, and that his ‘technical expert’ had been wrong on the same issue every day of this entire week! When I pointed out that he and his fellow managers were either very gullible, or that they had not worked out that the expert was lying to them, the ‘free ticket’ was forthcoming.
Had supper in the ‘Brazilian’ speciality restaurant. After being seated, they brought us a special Brazilian drink (which is supposed to consist of pineapple juice, sugar, lime sections, ice & rum). I didn’t hear the description, and thought it a bit ‘tame’, but quite nice. Denise kept commenting on how strong it was, so I tasted hers. They had put two shots of rum in her drink and none in mine! Swiftly corrected, and we continued with the meal.
Main course dishes arrived, with only the ‘accompanados’ (brocolli, cheesed potato, rattatouis, ??)!! Then, about 8 different ‘meat courses’ were presented one at a time, at the table. The waiter would explain what it was and cut a piece off (rare, well done) if said you wanted it. It was quite a ‘different meal’, and we ended up enjoying it a lot. Denise even got her flan for dessert (one of the choices), and I had a slice off (whole) hot pineapple, baked with a sugar & cinnamon coating. I was scared to ask for seconds because I might have become addicted on the spot! We had debated going to this speciality restaurant, but were glad that we did.
We decided to give the ‘Lion King’ a miss, and headed for home base.
2007/12/01 Saturday
Breakfast
09H30 - Waited for the Snorkel Adventure bus. Arrived a little late, but not too bad for Mexico! Picked up a few more on the way to Puerto Morales.
Sat around for an hour or so while the rest of the buses/people arrived, then went through the ‘get your equipment’ process; we only needed life-vests (mandatory).
Finally, (about 12H30), we get on the boats and head for the barrier reef. First snorkel was in fairly deep water, with not much to see, and rough water due to increasing winds.
(Should have gone snorkelling yesterday and sailing today!)
Second snorkel was on shallower reef, but even rougher water due to the breaking swells. Despite this, saw more fish in this session. But nothing spectacular, and the damage done to the reefs by the hurricanes is evident.
Back to base camp for lunch, which was surprisingly good (considering the site and circumstances), and again sat around for quite a long while before setting off on the final snorkel session. By now we were down to 2 boats, as many of the people declined the opportunity.
Again on shallow reef, with a lot of fish around in schools due to the late hour, as they apparently come back onto the reef to feed before it gets dark.
Saw a skate and a fair sized eel as well as the many fish.
Back to base camp, and sat around again waiting for the excursion vans to be ready to cart us back to our hotels. Eventually got on the road and got back to Grand Sirenis at about 19H00.
Bathed/showered and hit the main buffet. Mariachi Band playing in the buffet. Nicely kitted out (clothes and instruments), but not particularly good musicians! Glad to get back to the room!
STILL NO INTERNET!!!!! They gave me yet another ‘complimentary’ 60-min ticket, but when I gat back to the room the LAN connectivity was lost!
2007/12/02 Sunday
Denise went for a walk before breakfast. I tried the Internet for the umpteenth time, and ‘lo & behold’, I’m online!
Posting this lot before it fails!
Started with the sparrows (probably well before them for that matter), getting up at 04H00 to get to the Victoria Airport for our 06H00 flight.
Angus was pottering around when we got up, having been up all night writing a term paper!
Loaded stuff into the car, drove to the airport and booked into the ‘staff parking lot (thanks to a magical ‘pass’ which had been procured by Kenny Podmore).
Check-in was smooth and easy (as it SHOULD be in Victoria at 04H30 AM!!). We were first through the ‘security check’, and for once it was Denise rather than yours-truly that was ‘randomly selected’ for the whole ‘pat down’ rigamarole.
Got a couple of coffees when the kiosk opened at 05H30 (-ish), and boarded Horizon Air soon thereafter. Bit of a bumpy flight (resulting in no ‘in-flight service’ at all), but no serious issues.
Landed at SeaTac (Seattle) uneventfully, cleared US Customs & Immigration, re-checked our baggage and took the shuttle trains to the Alaska Air terminal. Sat around for quite a long while, as our Cancun flight was only scheduled to depart at 08H50. Denise had a juice and I had a ‘sausage breakfast biscuit’ and coffee. OK to keep the wolf at bay, but nothing to really write home about! (Pardon the pun?).
Flight to Cancun long, bumpy air, and uncomfortable (despite lots of leg room because we were in the ‘emergency exit’ row, but for some reason those seats don’t ‘recline’?). But the ‘direct flight’ from SeaTac to Cancun is still definitely the best option.
Very quick through Mexican C & I, then ‘hit on’ by timeshare sales people as we exited, but dodged them as soon as we realised the guy was NOT an official Cancun Airport visitor information representative (as he claimed).
Found our ‘shuttle’ group (Best Day) and were almost immediately bundled into a 8-passenger van with 2 other couples and hit the road South towards Tulum. We were very impressed with the ‘transfer’ people! Good driver; didn’t talk as much as they usually do.
We (of course) had the furthest destination, and had to drop the others off first, but still arrived at the hotel pretty quickly.
Check-in was fast and efficient, except that we had been booked into the ‘Mayan Beach’ side of the Grand Sirenis rather than the ‘Riviera Maya’ side, which I had thought we were going to. After some discussion they offered us a room in the ‘other side’, but it was close to the ‘Theatre’, so we stayed with what they had assigned us. (Room 2509)
The property is HUGE, although we could not see a lot because it was already getting dark. We were driven to our room in a big golf-cart. Big ‘1-bed suite’, very clean, nicely appointed, with a double whirlpool bath plus separate shower! Only minor ‘complaint’ about the room is the slight musty odour (caused by the humidity, which is common to ALL these coastal hotels, regardless of rating!).
Local time was now 19H30, so we unpacked and set off for the buffet dining room! We will almost certainly not gain weight here! The walk over a raised track/bridge through a mangrove swamp) to get back to the Reception/Restaurant/Lobby Bar/Theatre area is quite substantial (about 0.5Km each way)!
Food was ‘so-so’. Meats/Calamari somewhat overcooked, main fish dish cold. Certainly not ‘5-star’, but acceptable. Lots of choice and the fresh fruits, desserts and cheeses were good. Since we will probably stick mostly to cold servings, fruits and salads for the duration, it should not present a problem. Waiter service for drinks sporadic!
Only ‘cerveza clara’ available in the buffet and the bars!! NO DARK BEER available!!!! Definitely not 5-Star!!! The beer is supposed to be Corona, but I don’t think it is. It is most probably the lighter, lower alcohol ‘Modelo’ which is produced by the Corona factory.
2007/11/27 Tuesday
Breakfast was OK. An ‘appy’ on the egg-frying service, but it is pretty much the same even if the yolk has been broken on the way over! Only white bread on the toaster station! (5-Star??). Coffee is hot provided you get it yourself from the urn! (Cool if you wait for a waiter to bring it round.)
Went down to the beach & had a nice swim (thanks to the water-shoes!). Water a bit rough, so we didn’t try snorkelling.
My feet are in bad shape, with blisters on the pads under the toes. I think the sandals I have are not fitting properly, and the amount of walking is making it worse!
Lunched at the pool-snackbar close to our room. Fairly good selection of foods.
Still had to walk up to Reception, as the RJ45-Internet service in the room is not working, and the ‘concierge’ in the hall of the ‘habitations’ can’t handle it. NO INTERNET!! Their room network system is not working!!
Spent a quiet afternoon and walked over for supper. Better this evening than last. Waiter more attentive and found that there is a chef preparing both fish and meat ‘freshly cooked’ at the service counter, so you can get ‘fresh & hot’ there if the offerings in the warming trays don’t catch your fancy. They have a great flan for dessert, which pleases Denise.
Decide to hit the sack rather than do the ‘Nocturnal Activities’ at the Theatre. Both read a book and did a Soduko or two.
2007/11/28 Wednesday
Breakfast.
Down to the beach, and tried snorkelling. Still a bit rough, so the visibility was poor, but did see a few interesting things.
There are 2 HobiCats, not very much in use, so I signed the ‘waivers’ and we went for a spin. Difficult getting in & out of the cove, but pretty good fun once out on the open ocean.
Lunch.
Met with our ‘Best Day’ rep, confirmed our return flights and booked our return shuttle to the Airport. Booked for a snorkelling trip to the barrier reef (Saturday).
Ate at the Steakhouse (speciality restaurant). OK, but a limited menu, so you actually get a wider choice at the main buffet! (No flan!).
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative!
2007/11/29 Thursday
Breakfast.
Walked up to the road and took the ‘combi’ (12-seater van bus service) to Tulum. Cost $2 each, each way. (Tulum Express van service from Hotel is $20 each way!!).
Walked from the road to the Tulum heritage site. Bought tickets ($4.50 each) and walked around the site for about 1 ½ hours. Very nice area, with great ocean view from the ruin’s ‘ramparts’! Pretty nice beach, which is open for public swimming! (If we’d known, we would have worn our swimgear!).
Looked through the ubiquitous tourist traps on the way out and actually bought a few things (hammock chair, dresses), then walked out to the main road and were ambushed into the ‘collectivo’. (Also a $2 fare multi-passenger minivan service, but run by the ‘govt’ rather than private enterprise. We had to sit on our hands waiting for the driver to finish his lunch!! But he had our cash already, so we couldn’t just get out and go catch the combi!).
Back at Grand Sirenis for lunch.
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative!
Went down to the beach and had a swim. Read/Soduko’d/napped.
Suppered, then went to the Theatre for ‘Mexican Night’ show. Mostly the ‘standard’ local dancing troupe, but also had an excellent rope-twirling-act (lariat/riata). Good service from the waitresses in the theatre too!
Tried to organise Internet; still inoperative for the ‘weekly use’ option ($50), but apparently working for the ‘1-hour’ option ($10). Supervisor gave us a free ‘1-hour’ ticket because the other was still not available. Managed to send off a few emails (I think?), but service was spotty and it didn’t seem to like the ‘@shaw.ca’ addresses.
2007/11/30 Friday
Breakfast.
Down to the beach. Had a good snorkel session as the water was smoother and not so much fine stuff in suspension. Didn’t see anything particularly ‘special’, but did take in a good selection of fish and covered most of the cove.
Sat around the pool for the remainder of the morning. Soduko & reading.
Lunch.
Internet! STILL unavailable!
Denise napping. Me typing! Shortly I will do see if I can get a HobiCat for a while.
Got one, and had an hour’s sail, but the wind was dropping off (uncharacteristically for the Mexico coast, where it normally rises in the afternoon/evening), so not as fun as it could have been with a better wind.
Washed the salt off in the double whirlpool tub. Then finished off a soduko and got ready for supper.
Lost my door-card in the surf while snorkelling, so went to the lobby on the way to get a new one. There was a supervisor there, so I cornered him on the Internet issue (which is STILL supposed to be being ‘fixed tomorrow’), and demanded another complimentary ’60-minute’ ticket. He treated it as a non-issue until I asked whether the bars were going to be shut down and the restaurants closed because of ‘technical difficulties’?
After he had told me for about the fifth time that the ‘technical expert’ had assured him it will be ‘working tomorrow’, I explained to him that I had been programming computers before he was born, and that his ‘technical expert’ had been wrong on the same issue every day of this entire week! When I pointed out that he and his fellow managers were either very gullible, or that they had not worked out that the expert was lying to them, the ‘free ticket’ was forthcoming.
Had supper in the ‘Brazilian’ speciality restaurant. After being seated, they brought us a special Brazilian drink (which is supposed to consist of pineapple juice, sugar, lime sections, ice & rum). I didn’t hear the description, and thought it a bit ‘tame’, but quite nice. Denise kept commenting on how strong it was, so I tasted hers. They had put two shots of rum in her drink and none in mine! Swiftly corrected, and we continued with the meal.
Main course dishes arrived, with only the ‘accompanados’ (brocolli, cheesed potato, rattatouis, ??)!! Then, about 8 different ‘meat courses’ were presented one at a time, at the table. The waiter would explain what it was and cut a piece off (rare, well done) if said you wanted it. It was quite a ‘different meal’, and we ended up enjoying it a lot. Denise even got her flan for dessert (one of the choices), and I had a slice off (whole) hot pineapple, baked with a sugar & cinnamon coating. I was scared to ask for seconds because I might have become addicted on the spot! We had debated going to this speciality restaurant, but were glad that we did.
We decided to give the ‘Lion King’ a miss, and headed for home base.
2007/12/01 Saturday
Breakfast
09H30 - Waited for the Snorkel Adventure bus. Arrived a little late, but not too bad for Mexico! Picked up a few more on the way to Puerto Morales.
Sat around for an hour or so while the rest of the buses/people arrived, then went through the ‘get your equipment’ process; we only needed life-vests (mandatory).
Finally, (about 12H30), we get on the boats and head for the barrier reef. First snorkel was in fairly deep water, with not much to see, and rough water due to increasing winds.
(Should have gone snorkelling yesterday and sailing today!)
Second snorkel was on shallower reef, but even rougher water due to the breaking swells. Despite this, saw more fish in this session. But nothing spectacular, and the damage done to the reefs by the hurricanes is evident.
Back to base camp for lunch, which was surprisingly good (considering the site and circumstances), and again sat around for quite a long while before setting off on the final snorkel session. By now we were down to 2 boats, as many of the people declined the opportunity.
Again on shallow reef, with a lot of fish around in schools due to the late hour, as they apparently come back onto the reef to feed before it gets dark.
Saw a skate and a fair sized eel as well as the many fish.
Back to base camp, and sat around again waiting for the excursion vans to be ready to cart us back to our hotels. Eventually got on the road and got back to Grand Sirenis at about 19H00.
Bathed/showered and hit the main buffet. Mariachi Band playing in the buffet. Nicely kitted out (clothes and instruments), but not particularly good musicians! Glad to get back to the room!
STILL NO INTERNET!!!!! They gave me yet another ‘complimentary’ 60-min ticket, but when I gat back to the room the LAN connectivity was lost!
2007/12/02 Sunday
Denise went for a walk before breakfast. I tried the Internet for the umpteenth time, and ‘lo & behold’, I’m online!
Posting this lot before it fails!
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