Sunday, February 22, 2009

cancun recap - post 1

my friend natalie gave me an adorable little travel journal before i left. so handy, and i did my best recording my thoughts. here is a bit from that:

journal - day 1 and 2

our hotel is gorgeous! amazing. it is better than i could have hoped for. the view could only be described as breathtaking. i woke up this morning to the gentle call of the ocean waves lapping on the beach. seriously?! the water is clear blue, oh so inviting. it beckons me. even from the fourteenth floor of this glorious hotel.

let me backtrack a moment to when we arrived in mexico. arriving in another country is truly something. almost as soon as you step off the plane, you are greeted by a series of long lines. the first of which is the longest - to have your passport checked and stamped. then it's off to your next wait...retrieving your luggage. this is where everyone is clearly waiting around with bated breath. will my luggage arrive? will it have been rifled through? deep breath. go to my zen place and recite a calming mantra. all will be well. ahh, there it is! my well-loved, slightly-worn, red bag. seemingly unrifled through. my mom had a less straight forward experience. the luggage gods made her wait a bit longer. but then, her luggage made it's appearance. all is right in the world. okay, off to our final line - customs. it's curious how this works. you stand in, yes another line, and when you at the front of said line a custom agent waves you to them. then you press an "oz-like" button and hold your breath. you want a green light. green is the color of freedom. green mean no invasive luggage search. red however...red is a different story. i don't want to know the red side of things. alas! once again, the travel gods have smiled upon us...we both recieved green lights. now what? surely we simply board our appropriate shuttle and are whisked off to our lovely hotel. not quite. what happens next is what i call my "celebrity experience". you exit the airport, step out into the humid cancun air, and are facing a large semi-circle of native faces holding signs and banners. it took us a little while to spot ours. once inside the shuttle, and a bit crammed in, it hits me that i am in paradise. we were handed ice cold towels that smelled of fragrant flowers, and a bottle of cold water. how refreshing!

our experience thus far has been lovely. truly enjoyable!

(i opened the drawer of the bedside table and saw a book of mormon. fabulous!)

breakfast on our balcony each morning. nice.


i had to take a picture of this "coke light". you ask for a diet coke, and this is what you get.



paradise found.

4 comments:

Grandma Dana said...

Lines are so much fun. You just never know how or when you will get thru them. You always have such insightful writing. The pictures are great--Who would have ever heard of coke light!

kim said...

Love the way you describe everything. Eating breakfast on the balcony would be so wonderful. Glad you were able to go and do that with your mom!

Adventures In The Land Of Hahl said...

isn't the humid mexico air so refreshing when you step off the plane?? it's almost like hitting a wall. love the view from your balcony. so.much.fun!! glad you were able to have a retreat away from the real world for a little bit.

Natalie said...

oh it's so fun to see where you were and hear/read your thoughts - it's almost like being there with you - can't wait to see the rest of your posts!