Throughout the pandemic we have been able to travel and make it work out. The last two years we have headed to Mexico and it has been awesome. I really like Mexico and it is a place where I feel I get to relax and get to know myself again. We went twice with our kids and once just the wife and me.
I like going sometime after Christmas, because it helps beat the winter blues. With our kids we went to the Maya Palace and Shauna and I went to Xcaret Mexico once.
Our kids love the all-inclusive because you can have whatever you want. The Xcaret is very nice, is all-inclusive, plus you can go to any of the amusement parks associated with the hotel--Xplor, Xel-Ha, Xenses, Xcaret, and there are a couple of others. We took our kids to Xplor once and they really loved it. When Shauna and I went together it was raining hard, but we still did most of the stuff anyway. You are in the water and wet anyway, a little rain is not going to hurt--unless you are flying on the zip lines and rain is smacking you in the face.
With the kids we also were able to swim with the dolphins and that was a highlight of everyone's trip. We did the dolphin swim in early 2021 so the entire resort was practically empty. COVID was still wreaking havoc, but for us it proved to be a great time and things were available and mellow.
We thought about the Xcaret for our whole family, but it pretty expensive and the beach situation is terrible at Xcaret--in that there is really no good beach and for kids that is almost as important as the food. So the Maya Palace was an easy decision. The beach at the Palace is awesome and we have found the snorkeling to be some of the best we have experienced--turtles, stingrays, barracuda, fish of all kinds, and fun reefs to explore.
There are tide pools as well that have been equally fun. We have found conches, sea starts, urchins, fish, eels, and crabs.
The food is decent as well, although not as good as Xcaret, but for kids usually quantity over quality is what wins the day.
We took several excursions as well. Across the main highway is a nice cenote (natural pool). This is a story all of its own. I am generally a frugal chap, but can be persuaded otherwise sometimes. Our friend Aubrey did not want to cross the main highway on foot so we hired a taxi to literally drive us across the street. It think is cost about $30 or $40. This was silly to me a bit and so I resolved on the way home we would walk.
As we got to ready to pay for entrance, Shauna got into an argument with the lady selling tickets because of the price and dropped the F bomb. This is the only time I have ever heard her say that, but I laugh every time I think of it. Anyway, we finally got in and had a good time swimming in the cool fresh water and letting the fish clean the dead skin from our feet and legs. We also jumped off a little cliff they had there. To my surprise Ruby jumped from the cliff. This after she had been traumatized after falling from the Arvidson's waterslide and smacking her mouth and teeth on the edge of the pool.
The cab was supposed to come pick us up after we were done, but to my delight he was not there. I asked some of the kids to walk to the road and see if he was out at the main highway. I then caught up to them because Sam want to go with the big kids. Well, we got out to the highway and no taxi to be seen. Shauna and Aubrey then walked out to the road and by this time Kurtis and Joaquin had already crossed so we all went across and did not have to pay a taxi to drive us across the street. Post one for the frugal chap.
We also went to Tulum with the kids and they liked it, but were ready to go once they had made it to the beach overlook.
