2014 PLAYA DEL CARMEN: Evening 2

May 20, 2014

We tried to get a reservation to eat at the Mexican restaurant La Hacienda but they were booked all week.  Aaron was bummed.  So back to the buffet we go. 

We were a half hour early so we picked one of the many huts to relax in and read our book/kindle. 

It was Country inspired food.  Not sure what it meant but there were some BBQ ribs and steak and pork chops to grill.  Beans and mojitos!

It wasn't so busy so I tried to videotape some of the buffet without being suspicious.  This is part of the main dishes and part of the dessert/fresh fruit buffets.

Waiting for the trolley.  Back to our room for a nap?  Maybe we can checkout the nightclub tonight.

2014 PLAYA DEL CARMEN: Day 3

May 21, 2014

So we didn't make it out of the room last night.  Once again I took a shower and relaxed... right to sleep.  I woke up in the middle of the night and ended up watching the new episode of Game of Thrones with Spanish subtitles.

But today is a new day!  We seem to be on a schedule.  Breakfast, beach, gym, lunch, pool.  Today I took pictures of the beautiful grounds of the resort.  There are a lot of neat sculptures lining the walkways.

This plant reminded me of Maui's Four Seasons Wailea.

 

They have villas with multiple rooms.  Impressive.  They even have iguanas hanging out on it's thatched roofs.

I'm trying to learn Spanish where I can.  I know the essentials... cerveza and banos, ha!

We didn't hang out at the party pool with the pool bars.  We went for seclusion and quiet instead. 

This sculpture reminded us of Keala back home.  We miss her!

Aaron and I were the only ones in the gym this afternoon so I got to take pictures of the areas.

They had decent bathroom and shower facilities but it's definitely not the Four Seasons.  There were no cucumbers for our eyes, no ginger tea for us to detox with and fluffy robes to lounge in.

 

Pool time!  We opted for some shade today since we sort of overdid it yesterday. Dang the pool feels so good! I could lounge in it all day if I didn't shrivel up like a prune.

2014 PLAYA DEL CARMEN: The local critters

Guests were fascinated with the local animals roaming around the grounds.  Coaties, iguanas and singing birds.  One tiny toad scared me to death at the trolley stop.  And apparently there was a crocodile in the swamp surrounding the beach.

 

Aaron and I forgot our camera tonight.  We had Italian for dinner.  We didn't get anything from the salad, seafood and bread bars.  We just tapped into the main dishes and made-to-order pasta stations.  Oh and don't forget the drinks and desserts.  We packed and went to sleep early (the usual time).  Aaron's back is stiff and achy.  Ibuprofen time!

2014 PLAYA DEL CARMEN: Breakfast buffet

Since we were one of the first guests coming for breakfast I got to videotape some of the food bars.

I wasn't able to videotape the made-to-order omelet station or the Mexican inspired bar.

2014 PLAYA DEL CARMEN: Day 4

May 22, 2014

Well time to go back to the real world.  This vacation was too short.  We grabbed some breakfast, walked around a bit and checked out.

 

 

I thought the checkout line would be long in the morning.  They didn't have checkout via the room TV.  Apparently no one is leaving the resort today except us.  We actually had time to relax before our shuttle came to pick us up.

Aloha Grand Riviera Princess!

Feliz Viaje is Have a nice trip!

Check-in was fast.  The agents were only concerned about the overweight luggage then anything else.  Going through security was very easy too.  We didn't have to take off our shoes, or in my case, slippers. We had time to grab some lunch and purchase some duty-free chocolates before boarding. 

 

Aaron is so lucky.  I upgraded him to the exit row and he got the whole row to himself.  I couldn't even sneak to sit by him since I didn't pay.  I had the seat behind him.