As a planner, you do things in advance. You attempt to anticipate any problem and attempt to solve the problem before it originates. In heading to Mexico, we booked our flight, hotel, car rental, etc. — easy for us with as much as we travel. I did my homework and found what forms were necessary to avoid delays and we were off to Mexico without any issue.
Now the one thing I did not anticipate was the weather. Grant had sent me a picture of a hurricane that hit Cabo on Thursday. I laughed it off because it was a Hurricane 1 hitting Cabo San Lucas directly. I thought— well that was Thursday and we get there on Friday. Well…if the weather hits on Thursday they probably are going to be cleaning things up on Friday. Since living in California, I have become a bit obtuse to hurricanes, tropical storms, and even rain all together with the minimal amount that we get. Any hurricane hitting Cabo has lasting impacts.
We crossed utilizing the Cross Border Express like we generally do to get into Mexico. This helps us fly out of Tijuana and save hundreds of dollars. We sat in Row 1 and were off. The flight took a bit longer and it was likely because they were attempting to avoid bad weather. When we landed— we noticed that some spots were without power. As we walked over to the pitch-black rental car area it was a bit spooky. Like—what am I doing? I am following a stranger into a parking lot full of cars where they can stuff me in the trunk.
As this was running in my head and as I got closer, I realized that there were multiple cars with headlights. The power and internet were down due to the storm and they were utilizing the cars as “offices” to help customers rent cars. Unfortunately, when it was our turn in line the internet stopped working. Instead of waiting, we just hopped in a taxi and drove off to our hotel.
The area from the airport to Cabo San Lucas reminded us of Rancho Mirage in the Palm Springs area --a hilly, desert area, that was well manicured with vegetation and lights. We drove approximately 35 minutes and arrived at our “dark hotel” called Riu Santa Fe. They had a generator or minimal power as they were able to check people in. With the time change, it was late, but we looked online and since this was an all-inclusive they said they had food 24-7. To our dismay, they forgot to update their website.
Annoyed, the front desk attendant offered to order us tacos and have them delivered. Hell yes! He called the people in front of us and we were to have them soon. Grateful, we left and anticipated his call that they would arrive. I wandered around the sprawling beach resort, while Grant waited patiently for the tacos. After an hour and a half of no one answering the front desk— we realized the tacos were not going to happen— and so we went to bed.
On Saturday morning, we got up early and went to a breakfast buffet. It was a pretty good spread and we loaded up on sugar. If you drink alcohol and want a lot of it— this is the perfect hotel for you. There were bottles in the room, a mini-fridge stocked with beer, multiple swim-up bars, multiple bar stalls, and even a random sports bar. Shots, shots…and more alcohol. And…I am not drinking. Grant grabbed a drink, but we did not get our money's worth.
In Mexico, if you look like a tourist there are going to be about 20 people asking you if you want something. Sometimes they are more persistent and a swift/curt “no” generally gets them to chase the next person coming down the street. Even though the hotel was on the beach, there was a slew of people trying to sell us something right on the water. We swiftly got through the herd and wandered onto the beach. The tide was strong and not safe to swim. While beautiful- we stayed clear. After taking a few goofy photos, we walked to the hotel and swam at one of their pools.
On our walk back from the pool, we stumbled upon the spa. If you signed up for a time you got to use the private jacuzzis for free. After soaking for a few, we cleaned up and headed to our one tour of the trip, which was to see the famous arches, divorce beach, and the natural rock formations. The boat ride was great but short. They tried to upsell us on snorkeling, but we passed. Pro tip: we booked the water taxi ride for $22 versus the “snorkeling + water taxi” that cost $89. On the boat, the upsell price was only $15. Something to consider if you are sort of interested, but don’t want to spend that amount.
A bit sunburned due to not putting enough suntan lotion on— we reapplied, went swimming, ate dinner, and got ready for an all-day travel day from Cabo to Cancun.
The next morning we boarded Volaris from Cabo to Mexico City and then to Cancun. Volaris is fairly flexible with the size of your carry-on. However, Viva Aerobus, the airline I am on now as I write this is very stingy with bag sizes. You are probably safer buying a carry-on even if you just need a backpack. They have their staff picking people out of line. Be warned.
When we finally landed in Cancun, we knew where we needed to go and power-walked away from the people trying to sell us tours, taxis, rental cars, etc. The rental car experience was far superior to that in Cabo. Something to note— the price they quote is not the price you pay. Add $20-25 per day due to additional mandatory insurance. It’s a thing throughout Mexico. You wish they would just put it in your reservation price, but they don’t. So you get there and have a car rental reservation for $10 a day when in reality it's $30 a day. A big letdown and makes you feel like you are getting ripped off. Not sure why they have not changed this, but I guess it's a big moneymaker.
The last time we were in Cancun we got pulled over by the police and fleeced of our money. A bit apprehensive, we decided to face our fear and just do it. No problem this time. It seems like if you are going into Hotel Zonearosa it's where it is more common. Our hotel was on the outskirts as we intentionally wanted to avoid this area.
Everyone in customer service in Mexico will ask you — how long are you staying? Where are you from? It’s small talk about you. I prefer silence, but when we checked into the hotel I was a bit tired and not in the mood to deal with someone else wanting a tip. The front desk agent asked— where are you from? Los Angeles. (It is bigger than San Diego and more people know it). How long are you staying? We leave tomorrow at 7 pm. What are you doing here for such a short time? I am going to a Fertility Clinic and dropping off a sample of my sperm to be used in the fertilization of our frozen eggs. That one caught her by surprise, but she smiled and handed us our room keys.
Monday morning, we got up and drove to the clinic. We met with our coordinator for the first time in the flesh having Zoomed with her previously. We then talked to the doctor/embryologist and then left the sample. Afterward, we communicated with our coordinator about our concerns and she eases some of them. Creating the baby is our first concern and then getting the baby from Mexico to the US is the other. We are working with a Mexican attorney to help facilitate this and are confident we have a path moving forward.
Afterward, we returned to our hotel Villa Del Palms. We had to vacate our room due to check-out time but were able to continue to utilize the facilities. I had been a ball of nerves leading up to this so I wanted to get a massage. The reality did set in on this one—not everything in Mexico is cheaper. $85 for a 30-minute massage is way overpriced, but I was there and wanted it. It also lets us use saunas, jacuzzis, showers, etc. Grant went swimming in the beach, while I got my massage. When the clock struck 5 pm it was time to leave. We dressed, left, returned the rental car, and boarded the plane.
Everything went according to plan on this first trip. You can plan as much as you want, but sometimes life has other plans for you. That does not mean I am going to be less neurotic about planning every minute of our trips— it just means that I am going to have to have contingency plans for the unexpected. We took the first step in a bigger plan on this trip and are optimistic that everything will work out. :)