Happy New Year

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Ohla

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a good one and a great Christmas. We have just had a fantastic 2 weeks in Mexico.

We arrived at Cancun airport on Sunday 17th December at about 10pm after travelling for more than 22 hours so completely knackered, although very excited knowing would be seeing Mum and David soon. It took an hour to get to the hotel from the airport as we away from the touristy area of Cancun and in a place called Riviera Maya near to Playa del Carmen. We arrived at the hotel and turned into the entrance where you then had to drive about half a mile to reach the entrance to the hotel as massive. It is the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in and talk about luxurious! Mum and David where there to meet us and Mum was very pleased to see me and a bit emotional but we weren´t too bad. We got to the rooms and we were next door to each other which was great and the rooms were amazing especially after some of the places we had been staying in the past few months. The rooms were big with the biggest bed in ever and they had en suite shower rooms and at the end of the room by the balcony there was a huge jacuzzi bath and then the balcony which overlooked part of the resort and the sea. In the room there was also a mini bar and optics which was all constantly filled up as all inclusive. After chatting away for a bit we were all so tired that we went to bed and slept for hours. Luckily Rob and I had no jet lag as the time difference for us was 22 hours so we had just gained a day. The first day was very hard we spent it lazying around one of the 7 pools they had along with 2 lagoons, tidal pool, dive pool, swim up bars, indoor spa with jacuzzis, saunas etc. I could go on but I expect your all jealous already. The place was unbelievable it was like a small village, it took about 20 minutes to walk form one end to the other or you could get a shuttle bus (we ony did this a couple of times). The breakfasts were buffet style and you just helped yourslef to whatever you wanted and there was everything, lunch you then had the choice of either eating buffet style again in one of the restaurants or at one of the snack bars by the pools and then there was a coffee shop which did ice creams, crepes, hand made chocs etc which opened in the afternoon and then there was about 7 restaurants to choose from at night. We ate sooooo much that we actually started to feel ill towards the end so had to calm down a bit. Anyway it was lovely just to relax and catch up with Mum and David and by the Tuesday we felt was should start arranging some sightseeing and stuff to do. As this was the first place we had been in for a decent amount of time, Rob and I decided to do our PADI course as it takes good 3 days and there were loads of places offering this so we booked on to do that. On Wednesday we all arranged to go to Chichen Itza which is a very famous archeological site and we thought we had better see some history whilst here (or rather David did and we just followed on). A coach picked us up and it took a couple of hours to get there and we then spent a few hours looking around and it was very impressive although very hot that day so we started to wilt quite quickly. Thursday was another day spent lazying around the resort and we went to the lagoon area and snorkelled which was fun. On the Friday Rob and I started our PADI course so we went for a dive and learnt some basics which was fine and we then had the afternoon free so headed back to meet Mum and David. Saturday was a fantastic day as we had booked to go to a place called Xel-Ha for the day, which was like a huge lagoon and river which links up with the sea. The place has become a park and there was loads to do with snorkelling, swimming, inflatable rings and cenotes. The snorkelling their was great and we spent most of the time doing that and saw tons of fish and rays. The Sunday was Christmas Eve although did not feel like it at all as there was not alot going on at the hotel to do with Christmas. The Mexicans tend to celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day and on the Eve they have a big meal and then open their presents at midnight, it is not as huge as it is at home. As not alot going on that day Rob and I did our 2nd day of our PADI which was the hardest as had to do loads of skills underwater such as taking your regulator out and taking the mask off which was all quite scary but we did it along with the couple of tests we had to take that day. That evening we went to one of the resturants that was searving a Christmas menu and had turkey as we felt we should along with another 4 courses and then all felt very sorry for ourselves when we could hardly move off the seats after. Christmas Day was spent again lazying around and it seemed very strange to think of you all at home celebrating whilst we were lying by the pools and eating very unchrismassy food. In the evenings the hotel had various entertainment such as music, casino night, circus, disco etc, however we spent many evenings playing cards whilst drinking huge amounts of cocktails and making our way through the cocktail list. We mainly played Hands Up Whist as it became abit competitive and Rob kept losing and would not stop playing until he won a game which never did happen. On the Tuesday (boxing day) although all feeling slightly worse for wear we went to Wet n Wild for the day. Rob felt like poo and spent the day on a lounger sleeping (no change there then), however me, mum and David managed to act like 10 year olds and went on every ride which was great fun and we then headed back to the hotel in the afternnon for a siesta before dinner that night. Wednesday was the last day of our PADI and we did 2 more dives and the exam and am very pleased to say we passed both with flying colours so we are now certified divers - Yippee and can now dive for fun rather than having to go through all those horrible skills before every dive. We are very pleased with ourselves and it was definately worth it. On Thursday we had booked to go to Puerto Adventuras where we would be swimming with Dolphins, Manatees and Sea Lions! This was the day we were all looking forward to best and we were very excited. The dolphins were fantastic, there were 7 of us in our group and aswell as petting them we got to be pushed along by our feet so we came out of the water like superman and got to swim holding their fins. If anyone gets the chance to do this, I have a big tip - don´t wear a bikini! I am not saying anymore. After the dolphins we went in with the Manatee which have always been one of my favouties and they were gorgeous and we got kisses from them and got to feed them. The only thing was the water was a bit manky as you can imagine so felt quite scanky when we got out. The sealions were sweet although we didn´t get to go in the water with them, just pet them. We have a video of the whole lot (your lucky people) so don´t worry you will get to see it all when I get home along with the videos of the sky dive, water rafting, millions of photos of everything else so you may need to all book a good week off so I can bore you all! On one of the days (I forget which) we went into Playa del Carmen which is the main touristy area near to us and we wandered around the shops although you do get alot of hassle which is a pain. The friday and Saturday we spent making the most of the resort and Mum and David went to Tulum on the Saturday morning and then met with us in the afternoon. The hotel was amazing and we had been totally pampered and spoilt for 2 weeks and we were not looking forward to hitting reality after although at least we have more exciting things coming up. On the Sunday we packed up which was sad and said goodbye to Mum and David which was not as emotional this time as not that long before I come home. Mum and David headed off on their bus to the airport and Rob and I got a taxi into the centre of Cancun where we had booked a hostel for 3 nights. Well that was a bit of a shock to the system when we got there as you can imagine the difference in accommodation. Going from a 5* all inclusive resort to a hostel down some alley way in Cancun, I think the taxi driver thought we were mad. The hostel was okay though, it was clean and had an en suite although minus a toilet seat which made if rather uncomfortable. It did mean that Rob´s time in the bathroom was considerably cut down so was actually quite handy as we saved about 2 hours everyday! That evening was Christmas Eve so we got a taxi into the main hotel strip of Cancun which was about a 10 minute journey away and there were tons and tons of resturants. We went to a great restaurant and spent the new year there which was nice as they had live music and it was a good atmosphere. The next day everything was closed until about 3pm as everyone was sleeping off their hangovers so we wondered around the hotel strip looking at the shops and then that evening went to the Hard Rock Cafe which was great as very cheap food and they then had a band who were pretty good so we spent the rest of the evening their. Tuesday was our last full day in Cancun and we booked to go diving and we went out just off of Cancun and did 2 dives which were brilliant as we saw a couple of huge Moray Eels amoungst loads of other fish. On the Wednesday we arrived at Cancun airport and checked in for our flight to Lima via Mexico City. All went fine until we got to Mexico City and our boarding card said Gate 25 and the TV screens said Gate 19, so we spent 40 minutes running between the two to keep being told by the attendants at each gate that we should be at the other. At this point we had 10 minutes until the plane took off and were not happy. As it happened there was another man doing the same as us who luckily was Mexican but spoke great English so we tagged onto him and eventually he went mad at the staff, which soon did the trick as we were told that the plane was now going from Gate 36a? The furthest one away, so we ran and ran past all the bloody TV screens which were still saying Gate 19 and arrived at Gate 36a and just made the plane. We asked about our luggage and were told all was fine and not to worry! So we arrived at Lima and had a few hours before we were to catch an internal flight to Cusco, so we went to get our luggage and found out that no it had not been on our plane and it was still in Mexico! We informed them that we were now flying to Cusco and needed our luggage for obvious reasons and they have assured us it will be flown to Cusco and taken to our hotel by the next day (Friday) . So we have flown to Cusco and are staying in a nice hotel although the staff do not speak one word of English and we are having to use the phrase book a lot and it is very hard work. Yesterday when we arrived we spent the afternoon doing nothing as the altitude does hit you when you get off the plane and they say it takes a few days to acclimatise. It makes you feel heady and the air is very thin so feels hard to breathe plus we both had headaches but hopefully we shall get used to it. So it is Friday today and are bags are due to arrive although no sign of them, so we have on clothes which we hve now been wearing for 3 days, no toiletries, no warmer clothes and it is cooler here. We are booked onto the Inca Trail for tomorrow and if our bags do not arrive we can not do it as need our trousers, hiking boots etc. This afternoon we are meeting with a lady who looks after us whilst we are hear so hoepfully she can help.

Anyway apart from having no clothes or anything, Peru seems lovely. Very very different to anywhere have been before and the scenery is quite spectacular although not as touristy as imagined (we are out of tourist season) so feel we stick out like sore thumbs. Hopefully will be on the Inca Trail on our way to Machu Piccu tomorrow so keep you fingers crossed and will update you again soon.

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