i went to playa del secreto. i met rhonda and chuck, the best people ever! and i am now in love with that place. it is going to become one of my regular destinations b/c the place is beautiful and rhonda and chuck are amazing people!
so, i wrote email recaps to my family soooooooooo if you'd like to read, here they are...it was an amazing trip, so enjoy my friends!
DAY 1: A Mexican Adventure whew, the adventure begins...did you know that 430am is sooooooo early especially when you then have to drive 2 hours!?!? Yea, it is... Everything with meeting and driving to atlanta went well, we parked at fastpark and hopped directly on the shuttle which took us to the airport...once at the airport check in and everything went smoothly until we boarded the plane and found out that the guy who fueled the plane couldn't fuel international flights so we got a later start, but made up time in the air...landing about the time we were originally scheduled to arrive. Even tho the descent was crazy choppy and kasey (jessy's sister) was feeling pukey, we still made it! After waiting for everyone to get off the plane, bc we were in the last row, we went to get our bags and go through customs, everything was grand until we found out we only had 1 of thr 2 required forms so we had to go back around, get the form and get back in line...ugh. Then we got outside and couldn't find rhonda or chuck (the fabulous people we are staying with)...then we couldn't get our phones to call out to their phones but jessy could call their son, so we called him and asked him to call his mom and tell her to call us, oy. Finally rhonda comes to find us at the other international terminal where she has never picked anyone up before...problem was, airtran wasn't listed on any signs so she went with the terminal she normally goes to pick up people in...oy. THEN the adventure really begins...we headed out with rhonda to meet some of her friends at punta nizuc, except punta nizuc is mostly hidden so we drove around for ages and ages until we finally stumbled upon this tiny sign saying rio nizuc restaurant and viola we parked, walked through some trees and it opened up to this huge point with tables and a bar and lots of palapas...it was a cute place and definitely a fabulous place to have our first mexican drink! We had salsa and the other people rhonda was meeting had a fish which you get to go back to a nasty cooler and pick it out, whole fish and right in front of you the dude cuts it open with a nasty rusty knife and and uses a piece of wood to hit the handle of the knife to make it cut all the way through the bone and head of the fish...seriously ick! Then on to sandy villas and a bit of time on the beach...the sand is crazy soft and water crazy blue however it was a little rough, so we only swam a little. So we went to the pool for a little swim which was followed shortly by a delicious dinner in town at puerto moreles at a chinese pizza place...such a weird and extensive menu but their friend owns it and she came to hang out with us and we got to sample yummy things and thought about eating the pizza named after chuck...hah! After dinner we walked around puerto moreles and went to their condo they rent on the beach and had a great view of the clear skies from their little rooftop patio place...really lovely and fantastic...I want to go back and take pictures during the day... Then it was back to the villas and time to crash, yay! Lovely first day in mexico! DAY 2: More Mexico Adventures We got up a little early and had some zucaritas which means little sugars aka frosted flakes with tony the tiger and everything...hehehe and then it was off to the cenotes pronounced seh-no-tays...lovely little thing....in fact it wasn't very little. It had a lush tropical atmosphere around it with birds and lovely trees, it had a zipline that you could ride to the middle and then drop into the water which we declined to do but jessy and I did jump off the cliff platform thingy which was terrifying and fun! There was a tour group there when we got there and after they left another arrived, but we had a few minutes alone to chill and enjoy the area...rhonda brought floating noodles which were awesome, so we just sat around and watched others go on the zip line... Lovely area, really beautiful, a cenote is a sinkhole filled with fresh water and connected to others through underground canals...mega cool! After that we had lunch in puerto morelos overlooking the ocean, it was delicious and sooooooo beautiful! Then of course it was time for a swim in the pool followed by showers as the a/c man worked on the a/c in our villa bc it wasn't working the night before and we slept in another villa :) After showers it was off to playa del carmen...chuck and rhonda stayed at playa del secreto, but they gave us a mexican phone and called roosevelt, a cab driver, to take us... Roosevelt was soooo nice and we all had a good time even through broken english and spanish...hilar! The afternoon was mega hot but playa del carmen had some lovely shops so we bought a few things and had a lovely time before dinner at ronaldi's where I had fish kabobs which were deeeeelish and jessy had these shrimps is some delicious sauce...scrumptious! Additionally, they kept calling us charlie’s angels as they were calling to us to come visit their shops…hilarious really! We got a kick out of the nickname especially since they also called kasey chicken legs…and they meant it in a nice way…something was definitely lost in the translation though! Hah! Then it was off to see the fire dancers at the blue parrot...they were amazing and crazy all at the same time...and it was fun until one of them threw his fire baton thingy on accident and it appparently hit someone in the crowd, crazy! I have the throwing part on camera but not who it hit...madness, and he just picked it back up and started twirling it around again! After we got back to playa del secreto, jessy and I went to look for sea turtles and kasey went to sleep...we saw 4 newly marked nests, but no sea turtles so we'll have to go back another night. Then it was time for bed, where rhonda had already set up everything for us and we just crawled in and went to sleep...soooo nice. DAY 3 & 4: Buenos Noches! The time here seems to be fleeting, but it is fabulouso! After our busy day on Friday we took Saturday to be completely lazy...originally it was going to be a day at the beach, but the weather didn't really cooperate with that, so we played cards and had margaritas under the palapa with rhonda while chuck had a siesta...hah! Of course I had already had a morning siesta as I laid around in the hammock chair whilst rhonda prepared breakfast of some fab eggs with tomatoes, peppers and onion with toast and blackberry jam and grapefruit and mango juice...delicious! We also filled Rhonda and chuck in on our playa del Carmen adventure and the charlie’s angels bit, which we kept up with chuck for the rest of the trip…hilar! Basically the entire day was relaxing and delightful we did go out to the beach in the late afternoon and laid about before coming in to get ready for dinner at a lovely meixcan restaurant in town...dinner was scrumptious and then we headed over to the gringo bar to listen to a mexican band...so fun! It was basically on the street and the minute we walk in with chuck and rhonda the next song is sweet home alabama, hah! We stayed for most of their set which was nice bc it was kinda cool and they were a good band, we even had some people from texas who at staying at sandys villas come to meet us at the bar, so that was nice... After that it was a fruitless walk on the beach to find sea turtles...we didn't see a single one or any tracks sadly...but there's always tomorrow, yay! Ok, so that was yesterday and today is tomorrow and we’ve had a fab day again! Morning bagels with chuck and rhonda then to drop chuck for a round of golf while we went to puerto morelos to go snorkeling on the reef. Geeeeeeeez snorkeling was beautiful! Soooo many fish and such beautiful coral...it was super shallow so if we stood up it would be shoulder deep and waist deep in some places, so shallow that I was often afraid I would accidentally touch the coral. I really think there was more fish around than in australia at the great barrier reef...still beautiful! I took the underwater camera and let Pas, our guide, take photos, bc he would dive down to get really close, I'm excited to see what photos he took for us! After snorkeling we walked over to chuck and rhondas beachside apartment and met up with rhonda to relax on the beach and go for a swim...delightful really! then it was hammock time and dinner time...seriously, I love playa del secreto and puerto morelos...yay! DAY 5: Buenos Dias! Ohhhh it is so hot here! Last night we sat around playing cards after rhonda made us a lovely dinner of gaucamole, mango salsa, chimichangas and chips! Sooooooo good...then for dessert it was mango daquiris, seriously rhonda is spoiling us with her delicious meals! And drinks! We stayed up entirely too late and didn't even go look for sea turtles, tortugas in spanish :) we also enlightened Rhonda to the humor of the charlie’s angels comment b/c it took a day for it to click that chuck’s nickname could be Charlie instead of chuck and that was why we kept saying good morning Charlie and he would say good morning angels…or whatever…it was hilarious! We ALL got a kick out of it! At any rate, it is SO sad that we only have 1 more full day in mexico, it has been just amazingly beautiful and adventurous, loving it! We spent the morning today waiting an hour for the bus...we booked seats to tulum ruins on an 847am bus and got up early so chuck could take us to the bus station and then we waited til 950 for the freaking bus...dude sooooooo hot and sooooooo uncool! The bus ride was pretty good and uneventful, but the ruins were gorgeous! Of course, the moment we got in there we were eaten alive by mosquitos as we searched for bug spray...I have sooooo many mozzie bites it is ridiculous! The ruins were awesome but we did a mad dash through them bc it was so hot then it was a dash to the ocean to cool off and take more photos bc the ruins overlooked the ocean they were extra super scenic! After that it was some lunch and then a walk thru some shops and a little fun haggling :) jessy and I make a good team with that :) Then it was off to wait on the bus which thankfully was only 20 mins late this time...so off we went back towards puerto morales...of course nothing is ever easy so when we are close we try to call chuck and rhonda to tell them we're almost back and need a ride from the bus station but alas, the mexican phone they give us will not work sooooooo I grab my phone and don't really expect it to work and then chuck answers and I say hi and tell him it is lenor and he is surprised, we had a good laugh lol but come to find out they were worried they hadn't heard from us and rhonda's call to us wouldn't work so chuck came to wait on us at the bus station, I love them! After we got back to the villas, we hung out with everyone while chuck grilled lobster and then we had a lovely feast! Amazing cooks! After dinner it was turtle time, so kasey, jessy and I head out to the beach and take rhonda's phone so if we see one we can call them...well after we walk awhile, take some silly photos and start walking back, kasey TOTALLY sees a turtle! And that was it, we did a lot of silent jumping and then called rhonda so she and valerie (a lady from new hampshire that also lives down here) come down to the beach and we sit and watch. We named her margaret, but maggie may for short after the rod stewart song we sang in her honor :) she was huge and soooooo slow and it was super cool to watch, seems so unnatural but yet it is so natural...and we totally saw a turtle, like maybe only 3 feet from her, too cool! ANNNNNND just over her was a shooting star! Kasey, jessy, me and Rhonda were all sitting on the sand watching Maggie do her thing and kick around some sand and then all of the sudden, we gasped, I hit Rhonda, kasey hit me and we got really excited b/c there in the sky was a shooting star…jessy sadly missed it b/c she was looking at photos on her camera, but DUDE it was soooooo cool! Oh it was a happy night and tomorrow we're going to see the sunrise, yayzers! DAY 6 & 7: Let the Sun Rise… Jessy and I got up super early to go check out the sunrise and it was TOTALLY worth it…soooooooooooo gorgeous! The alarm went off about 610am and kasey just rolled over with the pillow on her head (our cue that she’s not going to go see the sunrise) but jessy and I were up and armed with cameras…sadly we should have had bug spray too, b/c the mosquitoes were out…ugh. We made it out to the beach just before sunrise and started snapping photos! It was GORGEOUS! I took TONS of photos b/c I just couldn’t stop myself, even though I was being eaten by mozzies… There were some low patchy clouds out on the horizons, so not only did we see the beautiful orange-y red sun rise out of the ocean we also got great views of it peeking through the clouds as it climbed higher and higher…seriously, AWESOME! After that, jessy and I “took a nap” and woke up a few hours later to relocate our lazy party to the beach! It was a GORGEOUS day! Which we spent laying out and swimming in the BEAUTIFUL water! Rhonda came out with scruffy and Kirby to play with us on the beach so we all went for a swim as scruffy and Kirby watched from the shade of the palapa…then it was lunch time, so Rhonda whipped up some lovely sandwiches and snacks…she and chuck are amazing hosts! I love them! After lunch it was siesta time on the beach…but we were armed with books, towels, sunscreen and a surfboard…yes, surfboard. We took the surfboard to give it a try…which was hilarious and so hard! We had a great time…I got to my knees and jessy rode several waves on her stomach and we got great pictures that look as if we weren’t complete idiots out there. Of course, my arms are not freakishly long like jessy and kasey’s so I couldn’t hold the surfboard up against my side b/c I couldn’t reach the edge…so it basically slid down my body and was hilarious for all to see…oooooh it was funny! After surfing it was sitting time again as we watched the day creep along on our last day at the beach… Then we retreated to the villas to shower and get ready for dinner at david lau’s in Puerto morales to eat “chuck’s pizza” which was DELICIOUS! Also, jessy and I had a margarita made by Valerie and whew, it was strong! Then it was time to do a little last minute gift shopping and then home to have our coco loco drinks from the freshly cut out of the tree coconuts that chuck and Rhonda had whipped up for us and a swim in the pool :o) THEN it was time to try some tequila from tequila, mexico…which is apparently sipping tequila, oy…craziness and kinda good. And then it was a lot of card playing with Rhonda until kasey was sleepy so she retired to bed…Rhonda, jessy and I sat around talking for a few more minutes and then jessy and I went for a walk on the beach…twas a beautiful night!!! Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd sadly we didn’t see any turtles, but we did see a HUGE hole and some tracks where a turtle had come and gone…so we wished those turtle eggs a good life and headed back to the villa…weeeeeeeeeeeee! When we woke up the next morning our time at sandy’s villas had come to an end and sadly we were packing up and heading out…we had a lovely morning just relaxing and packing and sharing photos with Rhonda and looking at her photos before chuck took us to the airport…Rhonda had to wait on some people to come to the villas and chuck was headed to Costco after the airport so we were off on our journey home and they were off to do some errands and work around the villas…I’m totally going to miss those guys! Must. Return. Soon. The journey home was much more painful than the journey there b/c customs was a line nightmare…but other than that…things were good and I got to meet jessy and kasey’s mom and my family and their family all had dinner together before we left for marlee’s and to pass out fun giftees :o) I love adventures…and I love new places, but playa del secreto and visiting chuck and Rhonda is going to have to become a regular occurrence in my adventuring! | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
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