Mexico May 2012

I was invited to a wedding in Playa Del Carmen Mexico in April of 2012. To be honest I was skeptical of going because of the drug violence that was plaguing the country at the time. I decided to put my worries aside and head down for a long weekend by the beach. This trip was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. First off i was very nervous about going to Mexico with all the violence I was hearing about in the Media. Secondly I was finally finishing my Bachelors degree. I didn't take the typical route through school, it took me 12 years and 3 different schools to obtain my Bachelors degree. This trip was the very end! I had one more test to take, which was online, and it was going to be on the first day of the wedding trip. I wasn't concerned about the grade but it was a symbolic ending to a major achievement in my life. I took my test and immediately popped open a beer and celebrated. The years of work were finally done and I was in a beautiful beach hotel.

I stayed at and all inclusive resort named Hacienda Tres Rios that is situated between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen right on the water. The hotel was beautiful and had multiple pools with 2 spots for private beach access. There were multiple restaurants on site and you could get drinks and food from any restaurant, even sitting on the private beach cabanas.

Beach side wedding

The wedding I went to had events that covered 3 nights. The night we arrived there was a welcome Happy Hour at the hotel to let the wedding guests mingle and have some cocktails. On the second night a Rehearsal Dinner was held in the ballroom of the Hotel. All of the wedding guests were invited to the rehearsal dinner which was a different experience. It was almost like a wedding without the vows and formality. There were drinks and a buffet and allowed the guests to continue get to know each other further. On day three there were multiple events the guests were invited to. the Bride and Groom split up and went to separate pools on site and had a mini day of bachelorette/bachelor party during the mid morning. The evening of the third day was set aside for the wedding. All guests were bussed to a private beach near by for the wedding and reception. It was a beautiful beach ceremony followed by a dance party, drinks and dinner.

Main Beach view from my cabana bed!

 As I mentioned earlier there was plenty of beaches and pools at this resort. The main pool was in the middle of the grounds and was surrounded by cafe's and restaurants. The second pool was near the beach, soccer pitch, and beach volleyball courts. Both pools were beautiful but I spent most of my time on the beaches. Living in Phoenix I have plenty of access to pools year around, so I wanted to spend time at the luxury I don't have at home. The resort had 2 areas for beach access, both had cabana beds and a wait staff to bring food and drinks. The main beach was directly behind the resort but the water was full of seaweed. It must have been the wrong time of year of the water around Cancun. The only time I spent on the main beach was laying in the cabana drinking frozen drinks. It wasn't horrible by any means. The beach I spent most of my time at was the lagoon beach. This beach  had beautiful blue water protected by natural seawalls. The water was warm and the cabanas were quiet, it was exactly what I needed. The only down side....no drink service!

Just a little monkeying around in Playa Del Carmen

On one of the last afternoons we decided to take a trip into the town of Playa Del Carmen. We hopped in a cab and the driver dropped us off in the tourist area where all the shops and bars are located. It was quite the adventure as we went from bar to bar having beers while shopping for souvenirs. While in town I was able to pick up a Mexican National team jersey to add to my fledgling collection of soccer kits.





On the last day before traveling back to Phoenix we spent the morning kayaking the cenotes near the hotel. Cenotes are a cave or sinkhole that lets ground water come to the surface. The Cenotes near the hotel had beautiful clear blue water, started back up in the jungle, and flowed to meat the ocean right on the beach of the hotel.