On our trip to Cancun, we decided at the last minute to book an extra night at a resort instead of driving back right away to Progreso. The boys were very excited to check into the new hotel and we were off to an early start. We had stayed the previous night in the Comfort Inn by the airport and for $75US/night this was an ok night with comfortable rooms. This gave our departing guests a hotel close to the airport as they had to be on the way to the airport at 4:30am. After another great evening spent in Cancun and a dinner at Bubba Gumps restaurant we retired early to our rooms to be ready for the next day.
We enjoyed the continental breakfast provided by the Comfort Inn and were on our way… Well we tried anyways. After departing the hotel, I turned into the Pemex station to fill up on gas and was ‘clipped’ by a tour bus. After a painful conversation in Spanish and trying to get in touch with our friend regarding what to do with his car we had borrowed for the trip we knew we had to get the 3000MXN for the insurance deductible. I really felt good about the sincerity of the individual who was driving the bus and that he would honor his word and meet me later that day with the money. Of course this decision to meet him later after he had worked for the day and then went to the bank to get the necessary money meant that if he did not bring me the money I would be responsible for the deductible. As my day progressed more and more people informed me that this individual would probably not show up as it was cheaper to replace the drivers license he had given me than to give me the full amount requested.
I was waiting at the appointed time and the tour bus driver appeared early at my hotel! I was very thankful to this individual for honoring his word and the commitment he had made. When I returned 500pesos to him, he almost started crying and I knew how much it really meant to him. This was another very positive experience for us with the trustful nature of the people in this beautiful country. I believe this situation allowed me and my sons the opportunity to see how trustworthy people can be.
Right after dealing with the bus accident I proceeded to get gas for the car… Then of course the car would not start! With the help of the gas attendant we pushed the car up to the 7-11 parking spots where I contemplated the days events. I realized that I needed to get a tow truck so I started to walk to the road looking for street signs for directions. This is when I spotted the “CarFix” sign, first of all I was shocked to see the sign in English and then wondered if it really meant what it said! Sure enough they were able to help me, although it was a Sunday and their mechanics were all off duty, they agreed to look at the car for me first thing Monday morning.
So I loaded up the boys and all our backpacks, called a taxi and was driven to the Aquamarina Resort at kilometer 4.5 on the hotel zone in Cancun. By now it was almost noon, still to early to check in, but they did allow me to get our bracelets for the resort early and we walked with our bags to the pool area where we could jump in the pools. At the time we were exploring the resort, Noah jumped off the dock into the sand without me knowing it and then started limping. I thought he had just gotten a little sliver from the dock and asked him to walk to me… baaaadddd daaaaadddd:( After a couple of steps I realized this was more than a sliver and went to him to look at his foot. After I discovered all the blood on the bottom of his foot I quickly carried him to the closest ledge I could put him on to examine it better. It appears as though when he jumped off the dock, he landed on some sea shells which cut his foot in three spots. I had barely put him on the edge of the beach side bar when one of the hotel staff appeared with a first aid kit.
Together we cleaned out the wound and it was not as bad as I first thought. When the employee pulled out the large bottle of iodine, Noah screamed again as it was not very long ago when his mother used iodine on him for something else… I decided to just use alcohol swabs to clean it (from my first aid kit which I always have with me in my camera bag) and placed a very large bandaid on it to cover all three cuts. Noah was as good as new after a couple of tentative steps.
At this point, I went up to the pool bar and had a couple of ‘fuerte’ margaritas (strong – and Mexican fuerte is very fuerte!) followed closely by a draught beer. At this point the day really started to get better, we were able to check into the room a little bit early. Enjoyed the afternoon buffet and snacks before we went to the main restaurant for our dinner buffet.
The boys absolutely loved this hotel. It was their first experience ever with an all-inclusive resort and they cannot wait to return! There was a mini-golf course, jacuzzis, three pools, and of course the swim-up bar which they thoroughly enjoyed. I was amazed at how much food they ate at all the meals and they really did not have anything they did not like. Noah loved that after he finished his meal, he was able to then go get a piece of cake…followed by another piece of cake if he finished the first piece!
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