Tuesday December 30th (Day 1)

Ahhhh, Xcaret!
We woke up to my wife’s alarm at 6:30 AM and expected to have a wake up call at 6:45 AM. We didn’t get the wake up call until 7:00 AM and so we were glad that we didn’t only rely on only one source to provide for our timely departure.

We arrived downstairs at 7:25 AM. Brant’s email said that departure would be from 7:30 AM to 7:45 AM and to get there a few minute early. We found ourselves in a lobby full of people waiting for tours: Xcaret, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Isla Mujeres, etc... Sheraton was considerate enough to provide a large atruim totally bereft of any seating where tourists could get to know each other by complaining about standing, standing for long periods of time, and standing while waiting for shuttles and busses that were late. Those Sheraton people, so crafty!

We were picked up by our Grey Line operator. It was an easy transaction- he calls your name and you follow him to the bus. We thought initially that “being picked up at your hotel” meant that we would be picked up at our hotel and proceed to our destination. Silly us. “Being picked up your hotel” actually means that you are picked up at your hotel, delivered to an intermediate station where you pay and are divvied up into different busses going to their destinations. This did not bother us since we’re pretty easygoing. However it adds about an hour to your trip, so be prepared.

Tip #6: The Tours: Be on time! Wait exactly where your concierge tells you to wait! If you are taking a Grey line tour, expect to be picked up at your hotel, delivered to an intermediate station where you pay, and then divided into different busses which will then actually take you to your destination. For Xcaret we got to the park at about 10:00 AM after leaving at 7:30 from our hotel.

Xcaret: We liked Xcaret. There was a load of stuff to see and do. We loved the fact that there was an easy map to follow and, once out of the main pavillion, it seemed pretty easy and not terribly crowded.

Our strategy was “See and then Do.” So first we went to see all of the stuff that we wanted to see:
The Aviary was great. This was where we were first impressed by the proximity that they let you have to the animals. Birds are almost in your reach and there is a deer at the entrance that actually IS in your reach to pet if you’d like.
The Butterfly Pavilion: Very impressive. You’re in a net covered building with plants and a waterfall filled with Butterflies. It was here when we started to see that the Mexican culture is much more orderly and gentle than our own. If in the US, we were sure that the butterfly pavilion would be filled with smashed butterflies. Here in Mexico, not a smashed bug in sight.
Aquarium, manatees, puma, jaguars, TURTLES: Again, we went crazy seeing all of these wonderful animals SO up close. We loved the turtles especially since there were so many and they were so lively.

By the time we SAW everything that we wanted to see: Monkeys, turtles, manatees, bats, crocs, etc etc etc. we were exhausted and stopped to eat. We searched out and ate at La Cocina. Great food in good amounts, reasonable price, BIG drinks. It was a warm day so we appreciated taking a break.

After lunch it was getting late: about 2:30 PM. We were so tired by this time that we decided against the “doing” part of the trip. Instead of taking the river trip (which was impressing us less and less as we saw it from above- it looked kind of uneventful and dirty) we walked to the beach, observed the turtle feeding and dolphins doing tricks just long enough for the night show.

At 5:30 PM we headed off the night show. It was heralded by our tour operator as “not to be missed.” OK- call me a cultureless Philistine but I could have easily missed this and felt oddly ahead of the game. The show opens with a mock game of Pok-to-Pok (is that right) which is somehow unfulfilling because the guys had limited time so it was clear that they weren’t competing with one another... they were helping each other score so that we could see what it looked like when someone scored (imagine watching a soccer game where both teams helped one another get it into the goal and you’ll have about the picture). Then there was the really only scintillating part of the show- they turned off the lights and played a game of street hockey with a ball that was on fire. Now THAT was interesting. For me, light something on fire and hit it with sticks and you have my attention.

After that the show went on to a cultural celebration of the different dance styles that came from different regions in Mexico. My wife pretended to be interested for my sake for about 45 minutes. I pretended to be interested for her sake for the same amount of time. At the end we turned to each other and said: Are you interested in this? We both replied that we were about at the point where we might chose suicide over staying any longer. We exited.

We felt 10 times worse for the kind Canadian couple seated next to us. They were told that the Night Show was not to be missed either. They were so convinced that they paid the full $42 admission fee and came into the park just for the show. At the time my wife and I were having our epiphany, they also turned to us and said, “Thank goodness, we felt like we were the only ones.” They left promptly with us.

Tip #7: Xcaret Night Show: Unless you are REALLY into the traditional dance of the Mexican people, the night show really IS to be missed. It was LONG. Oh... it was LONG.

We returned to our bus at the designated 8:15 departure and waited until 9 PM to really get going: other tourists a never nearly as punctual. We returned to our hotel by 10:00 PM and found ourselves once again hungry. At 10:00 PM all cultural considerations fly out the door and you seek quick, reliable sustainance: McDonalds. This is our McDonald’s story as related to Brant- the seller of the 2-for-1 card (do a search on "Brant", "2-for-1" and I'm sure you'll find it) (actually I got the details wrong with Brant because I told him it was after our third day that we went to McD’s but it was after our first!):

Quote:
We were famished and we had planned to forego our regular cultural culinary excursion for a quick bite to eat at Mickey D's at La Isla Mall across the street. By the time
we were there, we were ready for some kind of sustainance. I took out the
2 for 1 card and the employee said that they didn't take the card. I
subsequently took out the map that the 2 for 1 card provides and showed
him that their McDonald's was prominently listed as a place that took the
card. The employee continued to insist and even brought the manager. The
manager then affirmed that their establishment did not accept the 2 for 1
card. Frustrated by that time (what could we do?) we left the restaurant
("It's a matter of principle," I told my wife.) Anyway, another 20
minutes of searching for food took us to Johnny Rockets just before they
closed.


So we ended the day with a Johnny Rocket’s Burger and went to sleep in preparation for the next day