Ancient Mayan ruins highlight our last day in Mexico

We ended our week’s stay at the El Dorado Casitas Royale in Rivieras Maya with an enjoyable excursion to ancient Mayan ruins in Tulum, about an hour away.

Like most of the week, we had glorious weather which made for great viewing and photography and a pleasant bus ride.

This was our second visit to this famous architectural site but we learned a lot more with the help of a knowledgeable tour guide.

Our outing also included a stop at a cenote (see-note-a), an aquifer with significance to the ancient Mayans. The cenote is one of thousands in Mexico where a pool of water was formed from underground seepage.

We ended the day with a second visit to the culinary theatre at Fuentes, featuring Mexican dishes. The guests were guided through the exquisite five-course meal by a live chef and sommelier.

This has been an amazing experience and we look forward to coming again.

Thanks for following our travels through this blog.

Resort pays attention to detail in every area

Our memories of the El Dorado Casitas Royale Resort in Riviera Maya will last a lifetime. By far, this is the most comfortable, relaxing and enjoyable resort vacation we have ever had.

Of course, we still have another full day ahead of us, but we already feel overwhelmed by the variety of experiences we have had in just a few days.

As we began today, we had breakfast in the popular Cocotal restaurant. As we left the restaurant, we encountered a group of Mayan elders who offered to perform a morning ceremony for us. Happily we accepted and joined in honoring the four sacred directions. Cintra took part in an additional purification ritual.

We enjoyed another aqua gym that doubled as fun in the pool and much needed exercise for my knee.

We ended the day with another great dining experience in the popular Italian restaurant followed later in the evening with a lively musical concert and breathtaking circus in the main stage.

As we wandered through this massive resort over the past few days, it was striking to note that much of it is tropical forest. The resort buildings are nestled among an expanse of coconut and other tropical vegetation. The villas are along one mile of beach front on the Caribbean Sea.

The resort property in fact occupies some 450 acres of forest, the size of a small town. What’s more amazing is the meticulous care that is taken of every part of the property.

As we walk through the grounds or simply relax outdoors, it is always noticeable that workers are watchful for leaves and branches that are out of place or sand that drifted on the walking paths.

The resort is heavily committed to environmental protection and preservation of green spaces. Even more, it operates a massive greenhouse where it grows all its fruits and vegetables that are served in the restaurants on site.

The Eldorado includes luxurious presidential suites, adult casitas villas and a property for families. We occupied a fully equipped villa in the adult casitas.

The landscaping of the El Dorado is spectacular with tasteful blends of greenery, walkways, pools, fountains, lawn decorations and hedges. To add to the aesthetic advantage of the property is the extraordinary architecture utilizing modern design elements combined with traditional hacienda decor.

There definitely are many reasons to feel at home in this beautiful resort and even more to return someday.

Remarriage by Mayan rites

On vacations like this, you never know what might happen next. Like suddenly finding yourself being remarried by Mayan rites.

Yes. We were about to enter a Mexican Fiesta, when at the entrance to the hall, a Mayan “elder” invited us to a special ceremony that he said will renew our marriage. Curious, we accepted, were asked to hold hands, close our eyes, while he and another leader chanted and said words we didn’t understand. With our eyes closed, he circled us and smudged us. After the five-minute ritual, he blessed us and asked us to choose a gem stone each and told us the significance of the colors of our stones to our marriage.

The Mayan welcome was part of numerous displays and sales booths in front of the hall where the stage show was to be held. We were early, so we seated ourselves in a strategic location.

Shortly afterwards, we were asked to help ourselves to the buffet. We were among the first to scout the food and it was the most amazing Mexican food choices one could ever see.

It was a surprising and overwhelming end to another wonderful day in the El Dorado Casita Royale in Riviera Maya.

The earlier part of the day was spent joining the aqua gym classs in the large pool followed by back massages in the resort spa. Cintra has made progress in reading a novel to pass the time.

It turned out to be a windy day, but it was still good enough to sit in the beach hut and enjoy the view of the Caribbean sea.

Once again, it was a day full of memories from a spectacular sunrise, to a Mayan ritual, to great food and Mexican music, dancers and a 16-piece Mariachi band.

Buenas Noches.

The theatre of Mexican cuisine

Warm temperatures, brilliant sunshine, a gentle tropical breeze over the Caribbean sea all made for another enchanting day in Riviera Maya.

Our third full day at the Mexican resort provided more opportunities to relax, walk around the complex and enjoy the food and drinks that seem to be everywhere.

Cintra discovered the tequila tasting on the beach and took advantage of this special Mexican experience. She enjoyed it mostly for its educational aspect such as learning about the types of tequila, and the varieties of fruits and mixes that go without. She also discovered tequila cream, another alternative to Bailey’s.

The other memorable event for the day that we happily shared was the Mexican food show, TV style. Not only was this informative and entertaining, it offered an absolutely tasty five course meal, complete with wine pairing. Cintra said she liked the food a lot more than the wines that were selected.

This theatrical dinner, featuring a professional chef and sommelier, seemed to be one of the most popular attractions in the resort. It is one of the few places requiring reservations.

We are feeling reasonably well, including my traces of a cold and moving a bit slowly with my new knee.

More tomorrow.

Day starts wet and ends with dinner on the beach

A thatched-covered hut with a spacious mattress and pillow, and located on the beach across from our room, turned out to be our alternate home for our vacation here in Riviera Maya.

The resort has dozens of these sheds all along the beach, along with scores of chaise lounges, for the comfort of guests.

So much of the day was spent in our personal shed relaxing and enjoying the sights and sounds of the Caribbean Sea.

It was an unusual a start of the day as it was wet from an overnight downpour. The clouds were dark and threatening and the forecast called for showers.

It slowly cleared up, the skies became sunny, and we hurried over and staked our spot for the day.

We made excellent picks for breakfast and lunch restaurants and enjoyed exquisite cuisine at both locations. The special activity for the day was aqua exercise that I looked forward to especially for my knee. It was a lot of fun as we both took advantage of this session with a professional trainer.

We continued our quiet afternoon and ended the day with the resort’s signature romantic dinner on the beach. The combination of elegant ambience in a hut on the beach, a perfect dinner companion, delicious food, impeccable service and live saxophone music, made for a memorable experience.

Given the enchanting evening, one might overlook for a moment the rest of the complex, if not North America, was focused on a historic championship football game. We thought we’d catch the last quarter on TV when we returned to our room, but the TV signal was lost. It still turned out to be a great day for the Eagles and for us.

Bye for now. Moses and Cintra

A day of relaxation in Eldorado resort

As we continued to familiarize ourselves with this sprawling resort complex, more and more of the guests we meet confirm that this is their favorite vacation getaway. Some have been here annually for up to eight years.

That is not likely to influence us to do the same, but we are appreciating just some of what appeals to visitors.

Obviously, the climate is the big factor for most resorts, especially in tropical destinations. Then the always green, lush, vegetation.

Resorts like the Eldorado Casitas Royale offer a wide range of internal attractions as well as facilitate external excursions to showcase the life, culture and history of the country. We do not expect to do much by way of excursions on this vacation.

One of the appealing aspects of the resort is the comfort of the suites, with conveniences like inside and outside showers, double sinks, and private jacuzzi, and a porch with a day bed. Our room is literally feet from one of dozens of swimming pools and swim-up bars.

Today, we spent planning our week, relaxing on the pool side chaise lounges and beachside beds, dipping in the pool and enjoying the cuisine of paella on the beach side for lunch and fine dining in one of their popular restaurants.

We expect more of this pattern for the rest of the week. Although Sunday, instead if whooping it up at a big Super Bowl barbecue, we will enjoy a quiet romantic dinner on the beach.

BTW,I saw it is -41 with the wind chill back home.

Gotta go shovel some sand.

Riviera Maya promises exciting week

In just a few hours of being in El Dorado Casitas Royale Resort in Mexico, we are already in awe of the breathtaking experiences in store for us in the next seven days.

It was a long, tiring flight from Regina, to Calgary and finally to Cancun, and suffering with a lingering flu, but connections and the transportation were so smooth and trouble-free that it took much of the stress of travel and illness away.

We have just settled into one of our most amazing suites in this massive resort complex on the edge of the Caribbean Sea. It would be too much to describe the comforts of this space, except to say it will be hard readjusting to our regular lives in a few days.

We started our Eldorado experience by hopping on the resort shuttle to savor the famed D’Italia Casitas for supper, and it did not disappoint.

We look forward to plotting the details of our busy week to make the best of this second phase of our winter vacation.

Thanks for taking the time to follow our travels.