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Published: January 10th 2013
***Disclaimer- this probably isn't worth reading if you want to find out anything about travel in Mexico. It's just about our very pedestrian, non-adventurous trip to Club Med. But, if you are one of the friends/family or reader just checking in- here goes...
Where is the taxi? We are waiting outside in suburban Miami having rung for a taxi at 4, it's now 0430 and I'm mildly anxious. Call the company- yep they're on the way. 0445 still waiting but the phone rings- the taxi guy is lost. Luckily he's only 3 mins around the corner.
Board AeroMexico on time and have a really great flight, the terrain is fascinating- mountainous and green. As we approach Mexico City the density becomes higher, higher, higher.... Wow- it's huge, but interesting and colourful. I love the splashes and blocks of green, pink, yellow... We have a couple of hours at the airport and kill it getting money from the ATM and drinking Starbucks hot chocolate (just for a change) whilst accessing their wifi. My throat is sore, my sinuses hurt- thankyou Chicago- this is the virus that got Geoff in Chicago and unbeknown to me was getting Callum at
the same same time as me. Anyway, smalll plane to Ixtapa with inflight snacks/drink- up and down in about 42 minutes. Once again beautiful scenery- mountains, rivers and windy roads.... then coast. Arrival at the airport reminds me of Denpasar Airport 20 years ago- a balmy, windy, walk across the tarmac to a weeny arrival terminal where the baggage arrives by trolley and a tiny little conveyer belt that stops as the last bag gets delivered (a bit like Pokahara in Nepal too).
Anyway, this is where the Club Med Holiday begins and Mexico ceases. Club Med is Club Med, and we really enjoy it. It's all about the food and the activities for us.
Food Summary
Breakfasts- I am sooo boring, I eat toast and a cup of tea for pretty much the whole week. Lash out and have an egg or bacon once or twice. Geoff sticks to the Mexican breaky. I am happy to walk right past the jello cubes.
Lunch - I am sooo boring here too. I pretty much like a roll with salad. Splash out every day though with icecream, usually with caramel sauce and sprinkly bits of sugared nuts.
Geoff does the Mexican thing.
Dinner - This is where CM excels. One night I had the most amazing hot sushi with salmon and cream cheese - seriously amazing. The theme nights were Italian, Mexican, Carribean, Asian, Beach Party, etc. The thing they do best I think is the Mexican- we dont get much exposure (yet) to non-American/Autralian style Mexican. The beach party food was lovely- amazing fish and lobster. They did good cheeses- particularly the goats cheese in ash. Poorest was the Asian stuff but then I think we get great Asian food here in Perth so it would be hard to compete.
Coffee and the Bar- good coffee- any time - and with a dark chocolate! The wine was dodgy but the rose ok with ice. We did discover they had a sparkling white on the fourth day and from then on I was very happy- it was a really nice dry BBQ quality kind of sparkely - actually better than that. Anyway, 2 glasses a night hit the spot. Had a couple of cocktails up until that discovery- i thought they were good but I'm not much of a cocktail connosieur.
Room We
sunset
first nightgot cheapest available and were very, very happy. It was in the closest wing to the main section of the resort on the 1st floor. Room was huge, clean and had a view of the ocean- I thought they might have upgraded us but it was the right room. When we go back I am going to ask for this room again! Basically, there was a huge bathroom with shower, loo and sink and lots of shelving. Toiletries supplied and lots of towels. Very nice sheets, comfy bed (firm), TV, vanity, couch and coffee table and decent lighting. Awesome aircon.
Activities Geoff played tennis twice a day, he had a lot of time with the pro and was really pleased. He said the racquets were pretty crap so take your own if you feel the need. I even had a hit (unbelievably) and thought my racquet was fine (but then I am not a player). I did yogalates, power walking, zumba, strength, core, water aerobics, the climbing wall, archery, kayaking, bike riding, swimming and trapeze. I could hardly move by the end of every single day but i enjoyed it sooooo much. The instructors were all great, friendly
and nice people; they are a credit to the resort. On the second power walking day I walked down to the crocodile area near the beach with one of the instructors and a girl from Colorado and walked through the national park, this proved to be a great activity as it opened up things to do away from CM (not that we really wanted to leave the place but we did want to do some nature stuff).
The Aszlan Parque is a brilliant public space containing about 10km of bike/walk track through the jungle/forest. It is completely free, mostly shaded, completely flat and contains a phenomenal array of plant, insect and bird species. We saw the most incredible blue bird in there as well as a lot of water birds- kingfishers, egrets, herons, etc. We went back 3 times- a bit of a highlight of the trip. Mosquitos were prevalent in there, though interestingly they were inconsistent- heavy in some places, none in others. Even with RID we got quite a few bites. The crocodile area is also very interesting- there were about 19 of them, some huge. Also lots of birds and iguanas. The iguanas are fascinating to
watch. Around this area are markets if you want to buy souverneirs and the ferry to Ixtapa Island leaves from here. Had a good long walk around here and down to the RV park - that is an interesting spot too, if you are a birdwatcher... or a surfer... or both (nah, prob not both).
Other Cool Things The beach- beautiful outlook. Nice for walking- firm sand and some rocks to climb around. Lots of frigate birds, pelicans and cormorants soaring overhead.
The WHALE!!!! So lucky. We watched a whale out in the bay for about 20 mins- very cool.
The sunsets- amazing, who can not love a sunset?
Met some very nice, diverse people. Meeting people really rounds out a trip for me. One was a lady who owns/ runs a teahouse in Canada
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g154910-d218718-Reviews-Plain_of_Six_Glaciers_Teahouse-Banff_National_Park_Alberta.html , 2 gals from LA who I'd love to see again (Mala and Betty), an Indi car racing French guy and his wife, the English family living in Seattle, etc, etc
So, after 8 nights it was time to leave. Could have easily had another couple of nights. It was really great.
Next stop San Francisco....
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