Riviera Maya - Sandos Caracol Resort

We quite enjoyed our resort. There was lots to do and the food was great. They characterize themselves as an "Eco" resort, but it is a bit of a stretch. They have some animals running around and some undeveloped areas on the property, but if that is all it takes, it is a pretty low bar. Here are some pictures of the resort.

Here is our room. Every day the maids make a different animal by folding the fresh towels.

This is the resort layout. Darren's family was in building 53, near the west end of the resort. We were in #36, behind the reception centre. The other kids were in #15, straight north from the 24 hour snack bar.

There are four parrots that sit outside the snack bar every day during daylight hours.

There was also a herd of these coati. They are kind of like racoons, although there were also racoons and cats running loose on the site. All these animals hung out around the snack bar, which was the centre of activity on the resort. The cats could be around any time. The coati could be around during the day or evening. The racoons came out in the evening and hung around late into the night. They could be quite aggressive too. One time a raccoon jumped up on a table and stole Brett's hamburger while a few of us were sitting there. The resort periodically broadcast a message in the area to not feed the animals, but it mostly fell on deaf ears.

There were also many of these iguana/lizards.

There were some monkeys on the site, but they were seldom seen.

There were a few peacocks and hens around.

There were turtles in all the water features on site.

There was a banana tree in front of the Italian restaurant.

Riviera Maya Saturday 25 Feb 2012

We return home today. How did this day arrive so quickly? The week has just flown by.

We had breakfast with Darren and the boys while Sue attended yoga with Tyler. When we met up with them, we learned that we had some sickies on our hands. Brett was up frequently overnight to throw up. Carla was also feeling under the weather, but not to the same extent. It is tempting to blame food, but the food has been so good, that I find that hard to believe. Brett was feeling a little “off” already yesterday afternoon. Maybe he got a flu bug or too much sun.

Anyway, we had to check out by noon and our pick up was not until 5 pm, so we had to find a way to care for our sickies. Fortunately, Darren and Sue are here for another day, so Carla and Brett were able to sleep in their room most of the afternoon. Laura took Brett to the resort doctor who gave him a shot to reduce his nausea and stomach cramps and recommended an electrolyte drink for hydration.

The rest of us just hung out for the afternoon, relaxing. By the time the bus arrived at 5, Carla and Brett were both up and mobile, but still not feeling well. Justin looked a little sad and bewildered when we boarded the bus. He had a crowd of playmates all week. Tyler had a great game going with him just before the bus arrived. Suddenly we were all leaving. What is going on?!

We were through airport security by 6:30 and departed on time at 8:30. Before departure, the pilot offered us an opportunity to get off, saying there was a winter storm warning in Regina. We arrived a little early, just before 1:30 am, quickly made our way through customs and immigration and baggage claim, caught taxis, and were home by 2 am. While the weather at home was not real pleasant, the storm had not lived up to its advance billing.

Our sickies soon recovered at home, but Celeste was really bushed on Sunday and came down with flu symptoms on Monday that kept her down most of the week.

And so ends one of the best holidays ever for us! The Vancouver gang has one more day.

Riviera Maya Friday 24 Feb 2012

This morning Celeste and I took the boys on a resort pathway that has several exhibits of Mayan culture while the others went to yoga, gym, etc. The boys enjoyed following the winding paths with new directions around every corner, but, eventually they tired out and grew disinterested in new views of the same old jungle. We handed them off to Darren and Sue after a while and went our separate ways.

We gathered at the snack bar for awhile before embarking on our next activities.

Around noon I went snorkeling in the resort’s cenote (sen-OH-tay) – a sink hole filled with fresh water. The water was very clear with lots of small fish. The largest few were about the size of big perch. The shallow areas averaged about six feet deep, while there were a few deep areas that might have been thirty feet or more. We were required to wear life jackets so we could only cruise around on the surface.  

Shortly after I finished, Laura and Brett showed up for their own session.

Most of us gathered for another Italian buffet. Then Celeste and I staked out a table at the beach terrace again about 2 pm. When the others started arriving, we moved down to a spot on the beach where there were a few lounge chairs and some shade. We basically stayed there until 6 pm,

although Celeste, Carla, Tyler, Laura, and Brett all took some time to do the Mayan walk we had done in the morning.

After 6 we all wandered back to our rooms to clean up for supper, and then reassembled at the buffet to feed the boys and have a snack to tide us over.

Celeste took the boys back to their room for bedtime at 8 while the rest of us proceeded to our 8:30 dinner reservation at the steakhouse. Somehow, Darren and Tyler were tricked into drinking two huge Tequila Boom Booms with the same ritual of napkins on heads, etc.

Riviera Maya Thursday 23 Feb 2012

We had breakfast with Darren and the boys while Sue went to yoga. All the kids but Carla took in occasional morning workouts at the gym or yoga studio.

We later gathered back a the snack bar for ice cream cones and relaxing.

 Laura, Brett, Carla, Celeste, and I went to the adult pool around 12:30 while the little guys had their afternoon nap. Tyler had a nap too claiming he had had too much “sun” yesterday. Laura and Brett had a reservation for a romantic boat ride through the resort at 1:30. Celeste and I followed along taking pictures and keeping an eye on them.

We then were able to gather some tables and chairs on the terrace overlooking the beach. We were soon joined by Laura, Brett, Carla, and Tyler and spent our afternoon there, joined by the Vancouver gang after their afternoon rests. We generally relaxed, enjoying each other's company. Some went in the water, and the boys very much enjoyed a banana smoothie.

At 5:30 we took the boys to the Smurfs movie at the theatre, followed by the snack bar. By 8 we all headed home to get ready for our Brazilian restaurant reservation. Unfortunately, Sue decided to stay behind and put the boys to bed. They seem to have switched time zones and are now running on the same time as we Prairie folk.

On our way to the Brazilian restaurant, Celeste and I stumbled upon another Mayan show.

The Brazilian meal began with a buffet soup and salad bar. After that, the waiter brought eight courses of meat, one at a time, roasted on swords, carving off portions for each person. Each course was enough for a meal on its own. We were all full long before the end, but couldn’t stop. We all had to try the next selection, although we started leaving more on our plates. Each course was very good, but just too much food. We were all glad to finally get up and waddle back to our rooms.