It's finally time for the Cancun recap!
I only had 139 "favorite pictures" from the trip, but I will try to cut back for this post! If you want to see more pictures, just visit my Facebook page for a complete album.
It all began when the alarm clock went off at 2:15 am on Sunday, May 27. Of course I was so excited I jumped right out of bed, did my make up and hair, and packed up the rest of my toiletries, then we hit the road (not much traffic at this hour!) We made a pit stop at Walmart for sunglasses and cash, then drove the 2 hour trip to Indianapolis International Airport. Upon arrival, we parked and rode the shuttle to the terminal. Check in was easy as we had printed out boarding passes at home and already "checked in" online. All we had to do was check our one piece of luggage and head through security. We were taking a nap at our gate by 5:30 and our flight did not leave until 6:55. I hit up Starbucks for an iced chai and then boarded the first plane.
It was a short flight to Philadelphia where we had a 3 hour layover. When we arrived at our next gate the attendant asked if we were interested in being volunteers. After explaining that we would connect in Miami and then go to Cancun, getting us there a mere 2 hours later than planned, we decided to go on an adventure. We ended up getting two free vouchers for future flights so now we can visit friends and family out west sometime within the next year. So that was exciting! We took our flight to Miami, had almost no layover there, and we finally arrived in Cancun!
We booked ground transportation to the resort through a company called Best Day. There was a guy waiting for us outside the exit at the airport. I am so glad we did book through them because they were easy to find and we didn't have to worry about talking to dozens of people trying to get you to ride with them. He took us right over to the van, we signed in, and waited five minutes til they loaded up our luggage and headed to the resort. Nothing bad to say about Best Day. They were so easy to work with and very helpful/nice.
We pulled up to the GR Solaris at about 6:00 pm. Just in time for dinner! Check in was a breeze. Every guest has to wear a bracelet for the entire visit, and if you lose it, you pay $70. They also give you a towel card that you exchange for a clean towel at the pool. The bell boy was so nice, showed us up to our room and brought our luggage. He gave us a little room tour and showed us how to work everything.
We were very impressed with the cleanliness of the room and resort overall. Our room had a king size bed with tons of pillows, a big shower, a balcony with an ocean view, and last but not least, our own private jacuzzi on our balcony. It was "private" in that it was just for us, but not so "private" as all the balconies on the other side of the hotel had a clear view of our balcony and hot tub. We didn't let it bother us, but it was kinda funny that people could go out on their balconies and just stare down at ours.
Are you ready for the view we got to enjoy every day? Here it is!
Wow!!! I could not get enough of that turquoise ocean.
Let's see that again, shall we?
I did not edit the color of the above photo. That is literally how turquoise blue the ocean is in Cancun. Absolutely breathtaking.
After we were done looking at the ocean from our room, we explored the resort and ate dinner at the restaurant by the pool.
A typical buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, rice, fruits, breads, cheese, and flan. YES FLAN!! I love flan and I was so happy to see it on the dessert bar the first night we were there.
After we had dinner, we explored some more, then changed into our beach walking clothes. We took a nice long walk down the beach and looked at all the other hotels lit up at night. After our walk, we were tired so we went to our room and had a peaceful night of rest in our king size bed.
The next morning, I could see a peep of sunshine coming in under the curtains and I just had to get up and see the morning ocean. I suddenly wasn't tired and I wanted to enjoy every minute I could. There was plenty of time to rest as I spent many hours dozing in my lounge chair on the balcony and on the beach.
We had a delicious breakfast of french toast, eggs, pastries, bacon, sausage, and tons of fresh fruits. And the coffee in Mexico is delicious, by the way. Then we made our reservations for Marco Polo, the fine dining restaurant we ate at two out of the four nights we were there.
After breakfast, we walked around all the pool areas and I took some pictures so you could tour it, too.
Matt found a giant chess board over by one of the pools.
Now are you ready to see the beach? I mean that is the main reason we chose to go to Cancun: for the soft, white sand and the clear and turquoise water.
Is this real life??
Our days consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, relaxing under our tiki hut, laying by the pool, eating snacks, drinking pina coladas, eating lunch, taking naps, reading books, walking on the beach, cleaning up, going to dinner, watching an entertainment show, walking on the beach some more, and going to bed. Get up the next morning, repeat previous day's activities. We never got bored of this routine. One "extra" activity we did was parasailing. We took a jet ski out to a pontoon boat and went soaring over the ocean. It was pretty sweet! We would definitely do it again. Here is the view from our balcony of someone else doing what we did.
I took a few pictures of myself...but I got some of Matt, too.
And some of us together...
Here are some of the foods and drinks we enjoyed.
I would highly recommend a Cancun trip for anyone in need of some quality R'n'R. We seriously did not want to leave, but we did feel very relaxed and refreshed by the end. We will definitely be returning some day for another beach vacation.
