Day 4

Day 4:

After our super long excursion yesterday, and finding out that a taxi was going to cost us $40 each way into town, Trish and I decided instead of going into town to do some shopping we would spend the day just relaxing by the pools having some drinks and catching some rays. After breakfast we grabbed some towels to “claim our stake” and went upstairs to check our email to just make sure everything was ok with the rest of the family.

While I was checking up on things I heard Trish talking with some people about splitting a cab and going into town today. This is when we met the highlight of our trip, James and Nicky! We had thought about taking the shopping trip sponsored through the resort, but it did not leave the resort until 4:30 and was a huge tour bus that would probably end up stopping at multiple resorts on the way to Playa del Carmen. After yesterdays long fiasco we did not want to go down that road again, and it would probably put us not getting back to the resort until very late or not hardly having any time to shop. James and Nicky were ready to go so we went back up to our room to get a few things and change into regular clothes. The cab ride was much more enjoyable with some people who were interesting and were able to speak English ha-ha. I know when we got out of the cab we were supposed to be in Playa del Carmen, but it was so hot we all felt like we got dropped off at the center of the earth! The taxi driver asked if we wanted round trip and we agreed so well all came to a decision about a time to return and then we hit the streets.

The shopping area is a street called 5^th avenue. It was closed to traffic so it was nice to be able to walk up and down the 4 mile street without worrying about getting run over. The merchants were pushy but at least they got the point when you came out and just said “no”. Just like Cozumel there were plenty of flea market type shops (ones were you could find any “Mexican” souvenirs like sombreros, t-shirts, tequila, and other local favorites) and high and low end jewelry shops.

The thing we probably saw the most were silver shops. They were everywhere and it was hard because the really nice stores had great quality but they were much less willing to come down on the prices. By the way, NEVER pay the asking price for anything that you find in Mexico! I don’t know if they jack up the sticker prices to try and make some extra money or they do it because they know people will try and talk them down. We stopped at a lot of shops looking for anyone who wanted to give us a deal and we found a few! After walking around for an hour or so the four of us thought it was definitely time to get out of the sun and stop at a restaurant to get a snack and some cerveza!

Interestingly enough we were sat at a table right next to the ventriloquist from the other night and the hypnotist’s son. We talked for a bit while enjoying our Dos Equis and Sol. After a beer we thought we should get a light snack and asked for some chips and salsa. Our server brought out 6 bowls that had several things in them: limes, pico de gallo, and a red, brown, orange, and green sauce. When she left the different sauces she said the green one was hot but the others, not so much. Nicky was the first to dive into the different salsas and picked the orange one. Her facial reaction was instant! I am pretty sure I remember her shouting my mouth is on fire!! After we stopped laughing I decided it couldn’t be that bad. I told them I love spicy stuff and tried the same salsa that Nicky had. It was the hottest thing I have EVER put in my mouth!!! Or at least it was until I came up with the great idea to torture myself by eating a big bite of the green salsa. I remember my face burning up and starting to sweat immediately. They all looked at me waiting to hear the verdict and the only think I can remember is telling them that they definitely did not want any part of what I just did!

The ventriloquist saw a roaming mariachi band and decided to pay them for a few songs…it was pretty funny. I wonder how much they can make in a day walking around playing music for pesos. After our snack and beers we went back to the street bartering with the locals to find some gifts for everyone. Some things were priced very reasonably where others priced way over what I could buy it for in the states, but we got our souvenirs and gifts all taken care of and hopped back in the cab to go back to the resort. I tell you what, walking around when the heat index is 102 for 4 and a half hours will really tire you out! I was in the front seat but I’m pretty sure James fell asleep on the way home.

We got back to the resort around 4:45 and decided that we should all go out to dinner together and met back up around 6:30 to choose a restaurant. After a drink or two we settled on El Patio the resorts Mexican restaurant. This was the BEST food I had while on the trip. I started out with their spiced chicken tacos that had pineapple in them, a cup of their tortilla soup, and a filet of beef that was topped with a chili sauce and served with what looked like yellow lasagna but was actually scalloped potatoes! Delicioso! All of that food combined with a few margaritas was fantastic. What came next was the kicker. Our server did not ask if we wanted desert, but instead asked us if we liked chocolate. Well of course we do! He then brought us out a fresh chocolate soufflé that we poured a vanilla cream sauce in the middle and ate it with ice cream. It was fantastic!

After leaving we went out to the entertainment area to have some drinks while waiting for the show to start. The ladies were drinking strawberry daiquiris while James and I were smoking one of my great finds of the day, hand rolled cigars from Venezuela, and drinking Grey Goose and Pineapple for James and Disarono on the Rocks for me. The girls found us a front row seat in the theater for the show that night, the theme…Caribbean show…One of the things I have never mentioned is that there is an entertainment staff planning activities all day long. Some of the activities that they do are volleyball (sand and water), bocce ball, darts, poker, blackjack, and many more. The winners of those games can collect their prize by going to theater before the nightly show and all of the days winners get up on stage and claim their prize. These prizes have been everything from a bottle of tequila or wine, to spa treatments and free weekends here at the resort. Occasionally one of the winners will not show up and the head entertainment guy will try and give the prize away to someone else if they answer a trivia question. Well after having a few glasses of liquid courage I decided that I could tackle the trivia question and started to wave and holler when he was asking who wants the prize. So when he called me up I marched up on stage and started giving the other winners high fives. My question…How long have you been at the resort, to which I answered 3 days, and my second question: How has your stay been…My answer: EXCELENTE !!! The answer is always excelente but no one else caught on. So I claimed my prize a nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon and waved it in the air while the DJ played queens “we are the champions”. It was awesome!

When the show actually started it was kind of interesting. It was about 10-12 people changing costumes and showing us different dances from throughout the Caribbean. Not my favorite show but interesting none the less. When that was done the 4 of us headed out to the Veranda bar to have a seat on their nice outdoor couches and chairs. What happened next would be the beginning of why tomorrows blog will be so short.

I was looking for a refreshing drink something not too sweet but that I could drink all night long and not tire of. This is when I switched over to James drink of choice, grey goose and pineapple. It was fruity but not sugary and very refreshing. From this point on I will be calling that drink the James! And I am pretty sure that the ladies stuck to their strawberry daiquiris until someone (who will remain nameless)…TRISH had the idea of doing a shot…….

About 2 hours later and what had to be 2 blue lagoon shots, another blue shot that we got just because it looked cool, a Mexican flag shot, and 3 tequila shots (Trisha's first tequila shot make sure you get a good look at the picture), plus the drinks that we were drinking on top of that, the bars were closing down and we were trying to decide what to do with the rest of the night.

We decided to go to the beach so we all went back to our rooms to put on some different clothes, since we all still had our dinner clothes on, and head to the beach. Before the beach Trish had to make a “pit stop” but when James and Nicky showed up at our door she insisted that she was ok to go on. From there we made our way to the beach until James said we should stop at the hot tub first. The water felt amazing for about ten minutes until one of the security people for the resort told us to get out of the pool. With the sun going down around 7:45 every night they did not want anyone in the pools after 8:00, no less 1:30 in the morning! So we got out and went down to the beach. What a beautiful peaceful sight to see nothing but water in the dark and the nice cool breeze coming in while we listened to the waves hitting the shore. Trish even lost a flip flop while walking along the water and somehow James found it! After that we gathered our things we headed back to our rooms. James and Nicky would be leaving in the morning and Trish needed to “visit” the bathroom a few times before sleeping. All in all my favorite day here at Silversands!

Day 3

Day 3:

Today was the day we decided to venture out of the resort and head to Cozumel. Everything I have read about it said it was visually stunning and full of beautiful beaches. The trip was definitely an experience. It was nice to say that we have been to Cozumel, but getting there was a trip in itself. We started out after breakfast around 8:00 waiting for our shuttle to arrive and got on about 8:10. Since the van was full I assumed that we were the last ones getting picked up… nope! We ended up stopping out of our way to two other resorts which turned the 35 minute drive into Playa del Carmen into an hour and a half. After reaching Playa del Carmen we met up with our tour guide who explained a little of how the day was going to go. After that we boarded a ferry that would take us from where we were to Cozumel.

I don’t know if it was the fact that the ferry was pretty small or if the water was just extra wild that morning because both Trish and I were sick as dogs by the time we got off the 40 minute ferry ride (and I never get sea sick!).

After reaching Cozumel we hopped on our open air tour vehicle which took us to our first destination, a national park called Chankanaab, for snorkeling. The water was the bluest I have ever seen.

At one point just walking on the edge of the water (it was pretty deep) I could see angel fish and other beautiful exotic fish swimming by. Trish does not swim very well so we decided to just relax in a little hut with a drink while everyone else jumped into the water. Once everyone got cleaned up and was ready to go to our next spot we all loaded back into the van and were greeted with Mexican beers a plenty! Our next spot would be Punta Sur. Here we spent our time eating a traditional Mexican lunch with empanadas, taquitos, beef and chicken fajitas, and beverages. Trish even acted like she was a real Mexican eating all the food (she only ate cheese empanadas, which is kind of like a fried grilled cheese sandwich). When lunch was through we got a little time to relax in some hammocks and dip into the ocean.

The water was warm, sand white and fine, and the Sun was HOT!!! Thank goodness I decided to tan before our trip because I forgot to put on sunscreen and was walking around Cozumel in the sun for half a day and barely got a little red! When we finished up at the beach we headed to an old lighthouse. I don’t remember the name, but It was definitely an awesome place to stop.

If you wanted to go to the top you had to climb up 133 steps (so like 10 floors or more) and crawl out of this little hole at the top. If you were brave enough to be able to stand at the top you were rewarded with some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen! After making the trip back down the winding skinny stairwell, we hopped back into the truck and headed to an area known for crocodiles. There was a small “bridge like” path that lead you out over this lagoon to a big square deck with a hole in the middle (big hole though… probably 12’x12’). The tour guide started whistling and calling the name “max”. As we all stood in the hot sun confused and trying to contain our laughter, sure enough a 35-40 year old crocodile came swimming up right underneath us and swam right up to our tour guide! Just like a dog!!!

I would have no idea that these types of animals could be “called” and that they would listen! The one tour guide started reaching over the hand rail and patting it. If any of you have animals I think you know what that meant. He was trying to get this huge 8 ft. crocodile to jump up on this railing! I said “are you smoking crack!??” He let us know that crocodiles can jump half of their length in height. Luckily for all of our fingers and toes Max decided to stay in the water that day and we all got back on the truck to head to the downtown area.

The downtown area was very interesting. It had everything from your typical Mexican flea markets to super high end stores like Rolex Dealers, and a Cartier. The most interesting thing was that all of the stores were not grouped in any way. You would just be walking and see a rundown shack for a store then right next to them would be a huge diamond dealer. Our ferry would be leaving in about 25 minutes after we got their so we did not get the chance to do much shopping, but I did manage to get my hands on some Cuban Cigars. And “no” I will not be taking them back through customs wink wink ;). The ferry ride home was much less rocky plus we were able to get a seat on the deck which I think helps a little. After returning to playa del Carmen we hopped back in our van for a “short” 65 minute ride back to the resort. All in all an interesting experience, but a little too much action in one day for me… We started out at 8:00 a.m. and did not return to the resort until after 8:00 p.m.

Needing showers badly, we headed up to the room to decide where we would eat dinner. We decided to go see the entertainment first since they were having a hypnotist and thought that would be a pretty good show to see. She was Hilarious! Unfortunately we were unable to use our cameras because the flash would wake them up, but it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. At one point she had told them she was going to hand them all $100 dollar bills and they would have to hide them so that other people could not steal it. She came from behind their chairs with two big packages of napkins and started handing piles and piles of napkins to these people and they believed it was money! They were lying to get more “money” saying that she did not give them any, stuffing it down their shirts and pants to hide it, and the best part about it was that she did not fully release them from their hypnosis. She told them all that they were going to be big spenders and share their wealth by buying everyone they see drinks at the bar. Oh my goodness…. We were sitting next to 2 people who had volunteered to go up and when they got back to their seats they were pulling money out of their bras, underwear, waving it all around like they had a million dollars! If I was not as tired as I was I would have followed those girls around all night watching what they did with that money! It was definitely worth going to a late dinner.

When all of those shenanigans were through we decided to go to Bordeaux, the resorts French restaurant. Upon sitting down and looking at the menu we both decided that we were not French people and went back to Portofino for our favorite Italian dishes. By the way… I am going to look into getting one of these when I get home. If anyone knows where I can get on just let me know…. This is a magic fridge! I drink the beers and other beverages and when I come back to my room it is full again! Muy Bueno! Tomorrow…. Shopping!