Home At Last

We got back from our Spring Break trip late Thursday night, tired, worn-out, and jet-lagged. Friday morning was spent in a blur of running errands and trying to catch up. To top things off, I'm battling a nasty ear infection that made diving and flying excruciating, along with a touch of tourista - and I can guarantee I didn't get it from drinking the water. 

Friday afternoon a swarm of house guests showed up for the weekend (thanks, honey!).

So posting has been a bit sporadic and perfunctory recently. Hopefully things will trend upwards next week.

We had a great time on our trip. Friends of ours had rented a beachfront villa in Playa del Carmen, about 40 miles outside of Cancun, Mexico. At first I was adamant that there was no way we were going to some third-world country overrun by narcoterrorists and kidnappers. I stood like a rock, holding that postion.

Unfortunately, my wife and kids were like a river that over time wears down the rock.

In my defense, I did a ton of research on crime rates, locations of narcoviolence, availability of assistance, and all that good stuff. I was reluctantly persuaded that the risk was minimal, so off we went.

The flights down and back went smoothly. The villa was quite luxurious - our bedroom suite alone was somewhere between 1500 - 2000 square feet.

Back view of the villa.

Our bedroom suite (not shown: the wood-paneled walk in closet and the large bathroom with jacuzzi tub and shower stall big enough for two with multiple shower heads - it was like being in a car wash).

It was right on the beach, and came with a staff (maid, cook, and gardener/odd job man). I'm embarrassed to say how affordable the whole deal was. We normally don't travel in this style, but I sure could get used to it.

The weather was superb, the people warm and gracious, the town and beach were wonderful, and there was no sign of trouble.

View of the beach...

... from the backyard.

The diving was adequate - moderate visibility, nothing special in terms of fish or underwater scenery - but hassle free and easy to get to/from the dive spots.

All in all, things went well.

Still, I was never able to fully relax or get 100% comfortable until we landed at IAH. It felt really, really nice to be back in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Would I recommend a Mexico trip to someone else? It depends on where you're going, who you're going with, and your tolerance for risk, or at least uncertainty. We went to a relatively safe part of the country, with people who had been there before several times and knew their way around. As they put it, "Would you refuse to go to Palm Springs because L.A. has a high crime rate?"

That's probably as good a situation as you can get down there. If you can find something similar, than you should be okay. 

Otherwise, be very, very cautious.