December 16, 2002
"Hola, Cancun!"
| We returned home from the
300-Way Skydiving World Record
Attempt on Sunday, around 12:00 p.m., at which time we began the frantic task
of packing for the next phase of our vacation: a six-day excursion in Cancún,
Mexico. It was going to be a nice substitute for the luxury vacation that we
would have had in Maceió, Brazil, had the 300-way not been moved to Eloy, AZ. When the organizers moved the 300-ways to Skydive Arizona, they also decided to shorten the event by a few days. However, we had already been approved for the two weeks of vacation needed for the event - and I certainly wasn't going to give up my second week off, not even for John's work! John and I spent many an evening from June until September, trying to figure out where to go during that second week. We briefly talked about spending time in Southern Mexico, in the Yucatan peninsula, but disregarded the idea in pursuit of other sites in the US. We then looked at a number of national parks, including Big Bend in Texas, Death Valley in California, Arches and Zion in Utah, and many others…but in the end, our thoughts returned to Mexico and the Yucatan. We spent many weeks thereafter pricing different vacation packages on Travelocity.com and Expedia.com until we finally found a price that we liked. The package included three round-trip airfares to Cancún on American Airlines (now that she was two, Mary would have her own seat on the plane) and six nights at a five-star resort - the Sheraton Cancún. In October, I booked the trip on Expedia.com - the Verleys were going to paradise after all! Packing for Cancún began as a logistical nightmare because we would be in Eloy during the entire week. In the end, though, everything fell neatly into place. For instance, the closing banquet was held on Saturday instead of Sunday (as we had originally thought), and the jumpers were released from jumping on Saturday, which allowed us to go home early on Sunday, rather than late. That gave me oodles of extra time for packing. In fact, the only thing that kept me from getting packed any faster was that our dryer went on the fritz while I was washing clothes that I needed to pack! On Monday morning, though, we were all packed and ready to go when Erika arrived at our house at 5:50 a.m. to take us to the airport. Since ours was an international flight, we had to check-in at the ticket counter, rather than curbside. Doing so usually means long lines, but that morning, we were fortunate to have a short line, in which we only had to wait about ten minutes. The only problem we had was when we finally had our turn in line, when I handed our itinerary and passports to the ticketing agent. Each of us had a passport - John and Mary had brand new ones that we had obtained when we thought we were going to Brazil, and I already had a passport, having gotten it in 1997 to spend two weeks in Europe. When I got married in 1999, I neglected to have my passport changed to reflect my new name until recently - and all the passport office did was make an amendment on the last page, stating that the bearer's name should now read Heather Jean Verley. Unfortunately, this caused a great deal of confusion for the agent, because he thought that I was Heather Thomas and not Mary Verley's mother! Although we tried to point out to him that the passport had been amended, he still didn't believe us and told us that Mexican law required that both parents accompany a child into Mexico. In order to allow us to fly to Mexico, we would have to show him Mary's birth certificate, which would show that I was Mary's mother! And did I bring Mary's birth certificate? No, I did not, because I figured that her passport was the only identification I would need for her! The agent left the desk - probably to go talk to his supervisor, because he brought our passports with him. When he returned, he offered no apology to us for the delay, but he did continue with the check-in process, stating that he was just trying to obey Mexican laws. We explained to him that a) obviously Mary's birth certificate was used in obtaining the passport, and b) in order to apply for her passport, BOTH parents (meaning us) had to show up at the passport office. At that point, however, the point was moot, because he was going to allow us to travel to our destination. Whew! After that mess, the rest of the day went smoothly. The line at the security checkpoint moved quickly, and our flight took off on time, at 7:55 a.m. Although Mary had already flown twice before, this time it was much different. We had decided to leave the stroller behind and let Mary walk through the airport - it wasn't any easier, but at least we didn't have to struggle with it when boarding the plane. Also, as a ticketed passenger, Mary was allowed to have her own carry-on items, so we filled up her backpack (a gift from my friend Manuela, in Germany) with toys and books to play with on the flight. That was very exciting for her, except that she did not like having to put it on the conveyor belt at the security checkpoint! Since Mary had her own seat on the plane, we let her pick which seat she wanted, and she chose to sit by the window. During taxi, John made sure to point everything out to her, such as the baggage handlers, the other planes, and the gates. Then, during take-off, Mary watched out the window and shouted, "WHEEEE!" She was having a wonderful time - it was fun for her to be in an airplane. And except for one or two short-lived fits of frustration, she was a good little child, much to the delight of the other passengers…and us, too! Our flight to Cancún included one stop in Dallas-Fort Worth. During our two-hour layover, we ate lunch at a pizza place and then ran Mary around the terminal to make her nice and tired for the next leg of our trip. It worked, too, because she fell asleep an hour into the next flight. At 3:30 (local time), we began our descent into Cancún. From the air, just as the peninsula came into view, we could see the thick green jungles and the beautiful turquoise seas lapping onto the white sandy beaches. There were a few high clouds in the sky, but it was still sunny and warm - a welcome change from the cold, winter-like weather that we had left behind in Phoenix. The high temperature in Phoenix was fifty-five degrees that day; in Cancún, it was eighty! Ahhh! As soon as we landed, all of the passengers filed off of the plane and followed the signs towards Immigration. There, we were quickly ushered through Immigration, where we had our passports stamped and our tourist visas issued. Next, we collected our luggage off of the baggage carousel and wheeled them through customs. That was interesting, because it was just like driving across the border into Mexico. We had to push a button on a stoplight to see what our fate would be: red means "alto" - stop and get searched - and green means "pase" or go ahead. As always, we received the green light, so we thanked them and continued on. The next stop on our adventure was obtaining our rental car. Although rental cars were expensive in Mexico, we decided to get one anyway, to have the freedom to go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I'm glad that we had reservations, too, because getting a rental car at the airport was nothing short of a mess. Instead of the neatly organized desks and lines that are customary at US airports, the car rental area of the Cancún airport consists of one row of single desks, each one depicting a company sign. At each desk, there is an agent yelling out, "Hey, you need a rental car? Rental cars, here!" It was a loud, disorganized mess, but had we not had a reservation, it could have been much worse. We found the Hertz counter and explained that we had a reservation, so the rental agent immediately took us to an awaiting van, where he transported us to the Hertz rental building. There, we filled out all of our paperwork and eventually drove away in a Dodge Neon: a small car, but perfect for what we had planned. Upon leaving the Hertz center, we made our way to the hotel. All of the resorts in Cancún are located on a strip of land between the lagoon and the Caribbean Sea called the Hotel Zone. Although it is very beautiful, the Hotel Zone is not much different that driving through San Diego or Miami. On the right hand side of Kukulcán Road, there are many, many resort hotels, including the Hyatt, the Hilton, the Westin, the Ritz, and so on. (We were staying at the Sheraton, at kilometer marker 12.5.) On the left, there were restaurants, shopping centers, and tourist attractions of every kind, some of them with known American names. We passed by several McDonalds and Subway restaurants, as well as Ruth's Chris Steak House, Houlihan's, the Outback Steakhouse, a Warner Bros. Store, and so on. It didn't give you that feeling that you were in the Yucatan; we were going to have to go elsewhere for that experience, that was for sure!  Checking into our hotel was simple enough, and within fifteen minutes, we were
finally in our hotel room, ready to begin relaxing! The room, though not
totally luxurious, was very nice, with a private balcony overlooking the
Caribbean Sea, two double beds, cable TV, white tile floors and a beautiful
marble bathroom with a separate shower made for two people. (John and I
appreciated that feature.) By the time we got to our room, it was dinnertime. While I unpacked a few things and got organized - and while Mary played with her toys - John searched for a restaurant for us to try. He suggested that we go to Carlos N Charlie's, so that was where we decided to go. As we left our hotel room to drive to dinner, Mary gathered up all of her dollies to take with her. There were three of them in all: Dolly (her favorite), her new Osh Kosh Ballerina dolly, and Tigger. We didn't want her to take that many dolls with her, but at that point we were too tired to argue with her. By the time we reached the lobby, though, she was down to only two dollies - Tigger and Ballerina - so we figured that she had left Dolly behind in the hotel room. The experience that we had a Carlos N Charlie's was great - it was, in fact, a nice welcome to Cancún. Our dinner was not only delicious, but the presentation was exquisite. And the drinks! Let's just say that I stopped counting Weight Watcher's points during that trip, because I didn't want to know how many points were in my margaritas! After dinner that night, we returned to the hotel and took a short walk on the beach. The Sheraton, like most of the hotels on the strip, had a private beach, equipped with thatched umbrellas and beach chairs, where you could be served drinks. Could it be that I was going to be served drinks by cabana boys after all? John promised me that I would be able to get at least drink served there during our trip. Since it was still early in the evening, John and Mary and I decided to take a walk around the hotel, so that we could see what type of amenities we would have at our disposal. In addition to two large swimming pools, there were many shops and restaurants, a putting green, racquetball and handball courts, a children's playground, and ruins - yes, Mayan ruins! We hiked on a short trail leading from the hotel to a small Mayan ruin atop a hill between the Sheraton and the Park Royale. Though it was dark outside and the spotlights were turned off, we were still able to get a good look at the ruins and read the signage all around it. Having seen the entire hotel, John and Mary and I returned to the tower and took advantage of yet another amenity: the hotel bar, which was directly downstairs from our room. We ordered a couple of beers - and a juice for Mary - and relaxed to the sound of guitar music. Then, after we were finished, we retired to our room for the night, so that we could get a good night's sleep. Return to The Verleys in Paradise. | |
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