Time Machine: Riviera Maya - Day 2, February 13, 2010

A brand new day in paradise!  We didn't get up until very late in the morning.  Housekeeping didn't bother us because we turned on the "privacy light".  You flip a switch and a small rectangular panel lights up (albeit very faintly) next to your door.  It's hard to see the illumination.  I read reviews about how the housekeeper came into the room because she didn't see the light was on.  I made sure that wouldn't accidentally happen by using every possible bolt and chain on the door. (I do that normally anyway)

Another interesting feature of the room is the "Secrets Box".  I had heard it mentioned in a review, but I could not understand what it was from the context.  Now I know...it's a cabinet built into the wall next to your door, with access from the outside as well as access from the inside via wooden doors.  Of course, it can be bolted from inside the room!  You open the door and there is a space that is about 1.5'L x 1.5'W x 3'H that you can put stuff in.  This is a way to bus any trays/plates/glasses from your room without having anyone come in.  People on the outside can open the cabinet and retrieve the items.  In fact, I think room service can also drop off food through this "box" so they don't ever have to come in.  Since there is no bill or tipping, you don't have to sign anything, so it works out well.  We never used the box except the few nights that the employees dropped off daily activity listings, but it's a nice touch if you savor your privacy.  I probably should have taken a picture of this.

This morning, my stomach was growling so we decided to hit the World Cafe, which serves food buffet-style.  It was still breakfast/brunch time, which I love.  I always scout out the buffet first before grabbing food.  There were two stations that were preparing eggs/omelettes/waffles to order.  There was a whole wall of fruit selections and fruit drinks to choose from.  There was the standard hot fare like bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc. along with a few Mexican items like fajitas.  There was real hot chocolate that you ladle into a rustic hand-made clay mug.  The bakery section was abundant with the usual spread of pastries, breads, and bagels.  There was a cold salad area including cured meats and cheeses.  The selection was very good, even near closing time.  I try not to go to buffets when they're about to close, but with the late start of the day, I had no choice.  I was still very happy with the selections available.  (I didn't have my camera with me since this was an all-inclusive, and no wallets or purses are needed, just the room key!)  Since I was in a foreign country, I like to taste unique and local foods.  I tried a juice called "jugo verde".  I had no idea what was in it, and it definitely wasn't kiwi.  I just googled it now and it has all sorts of stuff in it like pineapple, orange, parsley, alfalfa, and celery.  Definitely unique!  I had my fill of ripe Mexican papaya from the fruit bar, yum!  I also tried a guava and a passionfruit.  In the hot food section, I found something called Aztec pie that reminded me of lasagna, but layered with tortillas and cut up into diamond-shaped servings.  I tried the fresh hot chocolate; I think they used whole milk in it as it was rich, but unfortunately it was on the tepid side as breakfast was winding down.  On the other side of the buffet were more fruit juice dispensers.  There was tangerine juice, and it tasted fresh-squeezed.  Labor definitely must be really cheap.  For dessert, I scooped some flan-like item.  Wiggly custard desserts aren't my thing, but since I was in Mexico, I had to try the local fare.  It was good, but still too wiggly for my taste.  After breakfast, we stroll back to the room to change into swimwear to lounge on the beach.  Everywhere we go, we hardly see anyone.  The restaurant was 1/4 full (it was about end of breakfast though).  The stroll from the World Cafe to the room was at least a couple of buildings, and we passed more employees than guests.  We didn't hear anyone last night or in the morning.  It was almost like the resort was half-deserted, but I heard that it was almost full.  Was everyone was locked up in their rooms doing adult activities, or out on excursions, or on the beach?  I didn't mind at all...I like being at a quiet resort.  It also helped that children under 18 were not allowed.

The hotel was on a very nice stretch of beach.  Have you seen the pictures on the website, especially the one with the sun-kissed couple on the beach?  That's exactly what it looks like.  I took pictures because I didn't think anyone would believe it.  The sky was a bit cloudy, so the water wasn't as bright a turquoise as it could've been, but it's still postcard-worthy.  We found some lounge chairs under a palapa.  There were abundant towels available while entering the beach area from the resort.  Servers were running up and down the beach.  It took a while for one to get to us as he was already returning with a huge load of drinks from previous orders.  We ordered beers and foo-foo drinks and relaxed with a Kindle in Babe's lap and an iPod plugged into my ears.  After a while, we decided to swim in the ocean.  There were gentle waves lapping up onto the beach.  Hardly anyone was in the water.  The temperature was a bit brisk, but it'd warm up when you immersed your body.  Our presence in the water invited other people to join in.  It was amusing to see a woman walk into the water up to her knees, afraid to dip all the way in because of the briskness of the water; she ended up wimping out.  Other people were more brave.  The water felt great once you got used to it.  When the sun would come out of the clouds every so often, it would be very warm.  The water was quite shallow; you could walk out quite a ways and not have to tread water.

After the dip in the ocean, we settled back to our lounge chairs.  We sipped on more libations while watching guests do bungee trampolining, followed by beach volleyball.  I'm sure you're wondering why we didn't join in...it was more like jungle ball with 6 or more players on each side.  Not my type of game.  If it was 2-on-2, that'd be a different story.

We noticed that there were cooks whipping up some kind of stir-fry on the beach in a huge wok.  I think it must have been 3 feet in diameter.  Babe went up to get some.  It was some sort of beef stir-fry with bell peppers; it was all right.  I went to the restroom and noticed a buffet set up near the pool.  There was a huge bowl of guacamole, loaded with chunks of fresh avocado...made possible yet again by cheap labor!  I grabbed a big scoopful along with some tortilla chips, and more papaya, yum!  When the wind started to pick up and sunlight was diminishing, we headed back to the room to wash up and get ready for dinner.

There were several restaurants on the second floor of the main building: Mexican, Italian, and French.  We decided to go to the Italian restaurant Portofino as it had the least wait.  The hostess gave us a pager and we went to the bar to get a few drinks.  The bar was in the lobby area and there were a lot of people there, but it wasn't terribly crowded or people pushing their way to get drinks.  The bartenders filled orders quickly and they didn't water the drinks down.  There were munchies such as pretzels, spicy peanuts, and white cheddar Cheez-its (had to control myself here).  Twenty minutes later, our pager lights up and we head to Portofino.  I would've taken pictures but it was quite dark inside for ambiance and I didn't want to blind everyone with a flash.  The most memorable dishes were the duck prosciutto appetizer and tiramisu.  The dessert wasn't cut from a pan, but made individually: a miniature coffee ladyfinger on the bottom, topped with a dollop of sweet mascarpone, dusted with cocoa.  It was quite tasty and light.

After dinner, we retired for the night.  The only activity going on tonight was dancing at the night club.  Secrets isn't one of those places with loud music everywhere and multiple events happening at the same time.  It's supposed to be a romantic place where you spend one-on-one time with your babe.  If you're looking for things to do because you're bored, this isn't the place.  Come here if you appreciate soaking in a double jacuzzi tub. :)