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a Trip Report
Posted by Bob P on 01/28/03
Father & Son Trip Report 2003 - Jan. 18-25
My Father and I have always celebrated our birthdays together (at least
after I was born).
I was born the day before his birthday when he was to become 20 years old.
After ten
trips to Cozumel over the last four years, I decided this year to take my Dad
for his first
visit for his 71st birthday. (Yeah, do the math). This is our
story.
He had flown into Memphis (from his home in San Diego) a few days earlier.
When we
arrived at the airport at 5:15AM the temperature was 18 degrees.
(yep...Fahrenheit). It
was the first time I’d flown from Memphis when we had to first have the
plane de-iced.
Boy, was this ever the time to go to Coz!
Transfer in Houston went fine and our Continental flight landed on time at 11:35AM in
Cozumel. It was very windy with a mid sixties temperature and heavy clouds. I had
hoped to see the full moon rise on the east side that night, but things didn’t look good for
that.
Green light through security and a short wait for our suburban to load to take us to Playa
Azul Golf Resort and Hotel. My first time at this hotel and I had booked it only because
green fees were included in the rate and by golly, we love to play golf!
Having stayed at the Sol Cabanas (right next store) last year I had expected to find about
the same type of rooms , grounds, service, etc. Boy, was I wrong! The room was very
clean, water pressure excellent (even on the fourth floor), and hot water ever-present. I
was surprised to even find a TV with about 20 channels (many English). Beds were the
most comfortable I’ve found on the island (with the exception of the waterbed at Villa
Dzul-Ha). The owners, Fernando and Martha were ever present and you could tell it in
the staff.
It was still a little cool but we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view just the same.
We had the only balcony with a palapa-style roof. Not sure why, but I liked ours best!
View of the beach from our balcony.
We wasted no time heading to town to pick up our VW at Alamo. The Web Cam
showing the outside of the Dive Shop is located right next door. (You can see it next to
the logo)
After a quick stop at Mini-Golfito to pick up a phone card and drop off a few things
(snacks for the guard dog, Sunshine), we walked to Sonora Grill to have my “traditional
first lunch on the island” of Lime Soup and Grilled Garlic Shrimp. The food there is
always consistently great!
Despite the cool temps and clouds, I decide to take Dad around the island for a quick tour
in hopes that the winds might blow the clouds away and we might yet get our moonrise on
the East side.
We headed south and stopped by Chedraui for some supplies and Cerveza. I always like
at least a visit there. If you don’t know your in Mexico yet, you will after a shopping trip
there.
Our VW ran good but was missing both wing vent windows, luckily no rain. We jetted
down the old highway so I could point out the various spots that I had either stayed,
photographed or told stories about over the last few years. Dad was starting to feel like
he was on vacation.
First stop......Marley’s
The Reggae Music was blaring and the people were happy. We watched as people played
with the blow holes, had a cold one and headed back north along the east highway.
Despite the clouds I was trying to get to Coconuts in time for the moonrise just in case we
got lucky. We parked as the sun was fading and climbed the hill. Shrimp Quesadillas and
another cold beer and then a real surprise!
The sun broke through the clouds for one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve witnessed on
the island. And I was on the East Side!
Now I knew I was on vacation. Dad got to meet Elvis and then we drove back to town.
The hotel had our beds turned back and the housekeeper had done some of her “towel art”
with the linens and flower pedals. Nice touch!
Dad turned in and I stayed up to take a few night photos of the hotel.
View of the pool from our balcony as the music from a wedding in the restraunt floated on
the breeze.
A last shot of the hotel as my Full Moon finally broke through and the clouds raced away.
The promise for good weather tomorrow danced in my head as I too drifted off.
More to come as I have time!
We awoke about 8 AM after a great night’s sleep. The beds at Playa
Azul are the most
comfortable I’ve found at a hotel on the island. I threw open the
drapes that covered the
ocean view sliding glass doors to the balcony. The clouds were indeed
gone and the
winds had subsided. Oh Boy!
I made coffee in the room and wrote a note to the housekeeper, “Mas Cafe’,
por favor,”
and left “la Propina” (tip) to insure that we’d get more coffee for the
next morning.
Dad decided to go for a quick swim. The temperature was probably 70 F
but, the water
was the typical 80. Cool, but not cold.
He did make a few woo-woo-woo sounds as he waded in. This shot shows the
restaurant
at Sol Cabanas in the background.
It was good to see him swim comfortably because I planned a good snorkel for
later.
I love this place for breakfast. (Sol Cabanas hotel restaurant). The food is
locally authentic, with lots of fresh fruit and
melons, and wonderful breads & pastries. The real treat is that the
tables are RIGHT on
the water. You can feed fish, crabs, and birds as you eat. Of
course if you walk away
from your table for long, they will help themselves. (not the fish...the
birds). If you are
staying in a north end hotel, make sure to take a walk up the beach in the
morning at least
once for a very pleasant meal.
After breakfast we strolled (or waddled) by to the hotel along the beach.
The coconut
trees were loaded.
We stopped for awhile at the hammocks on the beach to just relax. Life
was GOOD!
It was Sunday and we planned to find a comfortable place to watch the NFL
championship games. It had been a long while since we had been able to
do that together.
Too long! But it was still early, so we drove to the park that borders
the North Marina.
There is a great view of the marina and the gulf from there and one of my
favorite
photo-op spots.
We drove into town, found parking easily (Sunday morning) and walked to the
Mini-Golfito course to pick-up another phone card and I wanted to get Dad a
Candu Map
to keep as souvenir. For those of you that haven’t been, the mini-golf
course is sort of
“Coz Central” for some of us. It serves as a great spot to meet, a
valuable source for
information, and a super little putting course. Scott, Sally, and
Sunshine (watchdog)
make sure your Sangria is cold and beers are colder. They issue two way
radios to each
group so you can get refills from any hole on the course. Oh....and the
balls float. You’ll
find that valuable with waterfalls and streams that run throughout the course.
We walked around the square for awhile, until it was nearing game time. We
had
selected a spot to watch the games that was only a couple of blocks north of
the square. It
is easy to spot with the life size figure of a Green Bay Packer player
dropping a pass.
(life-size and real life too...... ;-) .
The club has in-house betting (we didn’t) and many screens with satellite
feeds from all
over the world. There was soccer, horse racing, basketball, football and
bull fighting (the
REAL thing) on various screens. At some point during one of the games we
kept hearing
screams and moans from another room, Curiosity (and thirst) got the best
of me and I
investigated. Every employee in the place was crowded around a ten inch
black & white
watching the rather brutal end to a bull fight. Hey, but once it was
over, I never got
thirsty again. (and there were two games back to back).
After the games we drove back to the hotel and walked across the street to
Casa de
Langosta (Lobster House) and shared what looked like a medium sized tail.
It is rough
when you have more lobster than you can eat. Your stomach says no no no
but your
mouth says yes yes yes. I’m afraid my mouth won! For those of
you that haven’t been
there, they only serve lobster and steamed vegetables. You select your
lobster tail from a
pan full of various sizes. Warning: the tail of a lobster that must have
been the size of an
Australian Shepherd will cause the others to appear smaller than they actually
are. Oh yes,
the butter is perfect and the bread...well, St. Peter would be envious.
The restaurant also prides themselves on their exotic drinks. Dad
ordered a Manhattan
with extra cherries. The bartender knew how to mix a Manhattan but
didn’t have any
cherries. (Apparently an important ingredient to a Manhattan). However,
after a few
minutes Dad’s drink arrived with a single cherry. Apparently the
waiter had run to a
nearby hotel and managed to get one. It scored big points with Dad,
though regrettably he
dropped the cherry as he was about savor its now Manhattan flavored juices.
We did
NOT ask for another. :-)
We waddled back across the street to our room after a really nice day. The
housekeeper
had made some little doggies out of wash clothes and placed them on our turn
back beds
with a couple of Hershey’s kisses. La Propina was working fine.
Next installment...we play the full size golf course and snorkel at my secret
spot.
Bob
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