Family Vacation in the Yucatan Peninsula
December 23
We arrive in Playa del Carmen without any problems - as soon as we could get past all the time-share hawkers. The villa was perfect! Once we got inside, all the grumbling and worries seemed to melt away. Mom looked like she was floating on a cloud, she was so content. We decided to walk down Fifth Avenue in search of food and eventually found our way to a Wal-Mart (of all places). We stocked up on groceries, went home and had a nice simple dinner at home, Cao-style, i.e. each man for himself.
We arrive in Playa del Carmen without any problems - as soon as we could get past all the time-share hawkers. The villa was perfect! Once we got inside, all the grumbling and worries seemed to melt away. Mom looked like she was floating on a cloud, she was so content. We decided to walk down Fifth Avenue in search of food and eventually found our way to a Wal-Mart (of all places). We stocked up on groceries, went home and had a nice simple dinner at home, Cao-style, i.e. each man for himself.
December 24
In the morning, we woke up and walked to the nearby beach to check it out. The waters were a spectacular blue. I watched as mom and dad cautiously dipped their feet in the ocean. It was such a joy to see them finally start to relax. The Liaw parents arrive in the afternoon. We all went out for a late lunch. I ordered the Drunken Fish which was cooked tableside by Adrian, a wonderful chef. We sat on the balcony with the ocean in the background (yes, that blue above Suny's head is really the ocean!)
We then took another trip to the real supermarket where the mexicanos shopped. We came home and Mom Liaw made an incredible red snapper out of essentially nothing! This was our first Christmas dinner together as 1 family.December 25
The Liaws took to the Reef Club, pool aerobics, tennis, beach, snorkeling, kayaking, and all-you-can-eat food. We were glad we didn't stay at an all-inclusive, because that food gets pretty old pretty fast. Meanwhile, the Caos took to the town and enjoyed their own walks along the beach.
The Liaws took to the Reef Club, pool aerobics, tennis, beach, snorkeling, kayaking, and all-you-can-eat food. We were glad we didn't stay at an all-inclusive, because that food gets pretty old pretty fast. Meanwhile, the Caos took to the town and enjoyed their own walks along the beach.
December 26
There wasn't much more to do in Playa, so we decided to venture across the waters to the island of Cozumel for some real snorkeling. We went on a 2 hour excursion in a glass-bottom boat, as the parents didn't want to swim, while the kids went out and hunted some fish. We saw a barracuda and a humongous school of fish, as far as the eye could see (or as much as I dared turned my head without letting water get in my snorkel)! There were so many tourists, as there were no fewer than 5 cruise ships in the port. Our nightmare, but it made my father very happy to see all the ships. He was obsessed with the ships. He videotaped them as we came ashore, as we went out on our own excursion, as we were walking along the boardwalk, as we waited for the sun to set. He even took pictures of pictures of cruise ships! We waited for the sun to set and then boarded our ferry to go back home.December 27
We got up early and got 2 taxis to take us to Xcaret, an ecological theme park. After 2 days of unstructured wandering, we thought it might be a good idea for the family to do something more structured. At Xcaret, you get a little taste of everything mexicano, from the butterfly house to the acquarium to the aviary, from ruins to the cenotes (underground rivers in caves where you can snorkel). In the aviary, there was one parakeet that was hilarious. My parents were laughing so hard, I've never seen them laugh so hard! Suny's parents went around teaching all the birds Chinese. Ni hao ma? One bird goes "hola hola hola" and then laughs maniacally "ha ha ha ha ha!!!" My dad now wants to buy a parakeet and train it to speak Vietnamese. We also got to swim the cenote, though it took us twice as long because we're all bad swimmers waiting on each other. But that was the highlight for me. I can't remember the last time I did something with my dad. At night, there's a spectacular show that highlights the history of the Mayans, the Spanish conquerors and then all the different parts of Mexico. In the end, Suny and I were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't so "theme-parkey" and our parents loved it (my parents thought it was the best part of the whole entire trip).
We got up early and got 2 taxis to take us to Xcaret, an ecological theme park. After 2 days of unstructured wandering, we thought it might be a good idea for the family to do something more structured. At Xcaret, you get a little taste of everything mexicano, from the butterfly house to the acquarium to the aviary, from ruins to the cenotes (underground rivers in caves where you can snorkel). In the aviary, there was one parakeet that was hilarious. My parents were laughing so hard, I've never seen them laugh so hard! Suny's parents went around teaching all the birds Chinese. Ni hao ma? One bird goes "hola hola hola" and then laughs maniacally "ha ha ha ha ha!!!" My dad now wants to buy a parakeet and train it to speak Vietnamese. We also got to swim the cenote, though it took us twice as long because we're all bad swimmers waiting on each other. But that was the highlight for me. I can't remember the last time I did something with my dad. At night, there's a spectacular show that highlights the history of the Mayans, the Spanish conquerors and then all the different parts of Mexico. In the end, Suny and I were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't so "theme-parkey" and our parents loved it (my parents thought it was the best part of the whole entire trip).December 28
This was supposed to have been our day of rest. We ended up walking the whole entire length of Fifth Avenue, all 30 blocks. And then we took my parents to the Reef Club because they didn't go the first day. I didn't realize this but my mom had actually wanted to go swimming but hadn't because she was so self-conscious. She had spent the morning of free time searching all the shops for something to wear. Once we convinced her to get into the waters, it was almost like she was home. She was the best swimmer of us all! That moment of seeing mom and dad in the water made this vacation worth it for me...it was the most precious moment and I wish all my siblings had been there to witness it.
December 29
Armed with a car, we ventured onto the Mexican roadways, complete with topes (speed bumps or ditches in the road where you have to slow down from 80 kmh to like 5 kmh - no joke!) and everything. Mexicano drivers are not that crazy, but the tourist drivers are all bad, as were we. We were going to drive to Coba and Tulum, a 
short road trip; however, we missed a turn and ended up on the road to Chichen Itza with no turning back. So we changed our plans and went to Chichen Itza for the day. This was the whole reason I had chosen to visit the Yucatan (plus it was the warmest place I could find that was a 2 hour flight away). Chichen Itza has 4 sides, each side has 91 steps, plus the platform on top makes 365 steps total. There were 2 other solar calendars in Europe but it was the Mayan calendar that was most accurate so that we only had to correct for the "leap year" once every 4 years. Mayan culture also is credited with having played the earliest form of basketball where they would bounce a 4 kg rubber ball off their hip into a ring 6 meters off the ground! Overall, this was a very dark dark society with lots of human sacrifices that eventually caved in on itself.
short road trip; however, we missed a turn and ended up on the road to Chichen Itza with no turning back. So we changed our plans and went to Chichen Itza for the day. This was the whole reason I had chosen to visit the Yucatan (plus it was the warmest place I could find that was a 2 hour flight away). Chichen Itza has 4 sides, each side has 91 steps, plus the platform on top makes 365 steps total. There were 2 other solar calendars in Europe but it was the Mayan calendar that was most accurate so that we only had to correct for the "leap year" once every 4 years. Mayan culture also is credited with having played the earliest form of basketball where they would bounce a 4 kg rubber ball off their hip into a ring 6 meters off the ground! Overall, this was a very dark dark society with lots of human sacrifices that eventually caved in on itself. December 30
On the road again. This time to Tulum, the beautiful ruin on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It was the most beautiful archaeological site I had ever visited. You walk through the thick settlement wall and feel like you just stepped into another world, a place frozen in time. After Tulum, we hit the road back to Cancun for our final meal together as we celebrate our first family vacation.
December 31
After we bid adieu to the Liaw parents, we took the Cao parents on a "submarine" adventure to see all the fish in the reef off Cancun. We saw a sting ray and a turtle and tons of fish of all sizes and shapes. The final "cherry topping" was being able to catch a stand-by flight so we would get home while it was still light...and being upgraded to first class, seat 1A! I was praying I would get the upgrade so that I could give it to my dad. And I didn't even have to ask for it. Whatever last bit of grumbling was left was gone by the time the plane landed in Houston...except that First Class got to eat a meal and coach didn't...but that's ok in my books. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment