[Composed 11/27/2024]
¡Hola! Greetings from the beautiful Riviera Maya, Mexico! It may be 6:30pm, but after heading to Dulles Airport at 4am (as it's the day before Thanksgiving), we're wiped and ready to call it a day. As travel days go, however, this one couldn't have been smoother.
Not only was our trip to the airport and check-in easy, but we even managed to enjoy a real breakfast at Chef Geoff's. We shared an avocado toast with vegan sausage; I can't recall eating such a nice meal in an airport terminal.
Our flight to the Cancun Airport was equally effortless. We're so used to the short runways and steep climbs out of DCA, that the gentle takeoff at Dulles felt comically tame.
Customs in the Cancun airport was a nearly automated affair, taking little more than a scan of our passports, a photo and 30 seconds of waiting. Baggage claim, too, was laid back. It wasn't until we walked through a set of doors into the airport's lobby that we got our first taste of what tourist crazed chaos can feel like.
All around us folks were hawking their services; from taxi rides to tours. Fortunately, directly opposite the doors was the Hertz rental counter, so finding where to go next was easy. Neighboring Hertz was Budget or Dollar or some other rental company. As we stood in line, I couldn't help but notice the rep next door actively trying to sell travelers on renting a car: "rent a car, it'll be cheaper than a taxi!" Since when did a car rental become an impulse buy? I had to admire the man's sales chutzpah in the face of such long odds.
Once at the front of the line, we got our instructions: go out and find the gal with the pink hat and clipboard, she would transport us to the real Hertz counter. As we walked through the airport, we turned down offer after offer. At one point, I noted an especially persistent sales person urgently trying to get our attention. Turns out, he was a Hertz employee trying to escort us to the correct spot.
Within a few minutes, all the noise was behind us. Shira filled out a mountain of rental car paper work, and before we knew it we were on our way to lunch at Puerto Morelos.
Puerto Morelos was .... nice. Nothing magical, but I suppose just what we needed: a chance to acclimate a bit to Mexico, and have a solid meal. The guac, quasadilla and fish tacos were good. Because tap water is off limits, I relished getting a coke. Ahhh, coke with cane sugar and not corn syrup, that's the good stuff right there. It didn't help our impression of Puerto Morelos that as we looked around for a restaurant, it started to downpour.
After lunch and the rain, we made our way to the town's only sight: El Faro Inclinado, the Leaning Lighthouse. In 1967, Hurricane Beulah tore through the area and damaged the lighthouse's foundation. The result is the tilt that we see today. You could be excused for not being impressed by Faro Inclinado, as there's not a whole lot to it. Personally, I have an affinity for lighthouses and all things Atlas Obscura, so it gets a gold star from me.
From Puerto Morelos we made our way to our resort, The Fairmont Mayakoba. The driving was easy enough, until Google Maps informed us that we needed to make a U-turn on route 307, the main road running along the coast. Shira waited patiently for a chance to go, but the cars just endlessly streamed towards us. How exactly was one supposed to do this? Eventually a small gap opened and she went for it.
The Fairmont, as we one would expect, is gorgeous. Our room overlooks the 8th hole of the property's golf course. The view is great, but even more impressive is the wildlife spotting I've been able to do in just the short time we've been here. A green heron perched on a nearby tree, giving me a chance to take some great close up shots. Across the way, a limpkin has been doing some hunting, giving me a chance to capture this guy as well.
We talked about exploring the resort or going to dinner. But ultimately, we decided to call it a night. There's something luxurious about just crawling into bed and saying the rest of the world can wait. Besides, we're meeting a guide at 7:00am in the lobby tomorrow. That means our first real day of vacation will be starting before we know it. Let the adventure begin!
