Mexico 2022. Day 3. Watch Out For the Bats.
We got up, dressed, and headed to breakfast.
It was pretty much the same. They keep trying to seat us outside but it’s so hot. I am not built to sit outside in the heat while eating. I got avocado eggs and today we shared the pancakes, which were extra fluffy.
After breakfast we decided once again to ride down to the beach area and got seats at the adult pool. It’s weird because the resort is pretty full but the pool was empty at 10am and nothing seems crowded. Though I guess we aren’t going to the family pool which is probably more crowded. Anyway, I guess that’s one of the good things about this place.
After getting set up I decided that I was going to go to the Pueblito today! Tzvi didn’t want to come with me so he stayed at the pool and read. The Pueblito is the little village within Mayakoba (so you need to leave the hotel, but not the larger complex that has the four hotels). I rode my bike to the front of the hotel and got a (fancier) golf cart to take me to the Pueblito. We drove out of the resort and about one minute into the ride we turned around and went back to the hotel because another family wanted to go to the Pueblito, but then they decided to bike so that was five minutes lost. Anyway, off we went. On the ride the driver asked if I had visited the Cenote – an underground cave next to the Pubelito - and I told him I hadn’t. I decided to go there first. A guide took me down and showed me the clear water that is full of minerals and then a ton of bats. Before we went down he asked me if I was okay with the bats and I was like ‘well, are they ok with me?’ It was very cool.
I came up and went to the Pueblito. I stepped into the first store and then it started to pour. That worked out because I was able to miss the downpour while I shopped. I bought some gifts for the girls and then hit the bakery. I got some orange liquor cookie and a chocolate chip cookie and then headed back to the Rosewood. That was as much exploring as I needed to do this trip.
[Tzvi: While Steph was gone I sat at the pool and watched the clouds coming in and the sky turning darker and darker. It was also getting windier and the pool attendants started closing all of the umbrellas and taking away the pillows. Eventually everyone abandoned their seats and went to sit under the covered area behind the pool. I laid on a swing for twenty minutes reading while it rained. Then the rain cleared and everyone went back their seats.
We sat at the pool, had lunch, got drinks. I had a mudslide that was basically a milkshake with vodka, and Tzvi had a frozen margarita that came in tin bucket filled with ice. We spent a lot of time reading in the pool. The water was so nice and it was so hot out, I think we were in the pool for hours.
For lunch I had a Caesar salad with hazelnuts and Tzvi had the fish burrito. It smelled fishy but Tzvi really liked it.
Our Michigan friends were at the pool again. He has a tattoo of Michigan on the bottom of his foot. I asked him if it was painful and he didn’t seem to think so. I can’t even deal with it when they touch the bottom of my foot during a pedicure. He must really love Michigan (the state, not the college, because he specifically said he went to Michigan State and doesn’t care for the University of Michigan).
Late in the afternoon we ordered some pre-shabbat guac, because God forbid a day should go by without guac.
Towards the end of the day we saw a bunch of the staff members heading down to the beach, and a bunch of them were in matching shirts. Then we heard cheering, so we went to check it out. Turns out they were having a staff volleyball game so we sat and watched. It was Executives and Food and Beverage vs. Butlers and Lobby/Front staff. It was fun to watch. I’m not sure who won.
Then we headed back to the room and made some phone calls.
From there went to the gym. [Tzvi: After some moderate workout I decided that a day full of drinking tequila and mezcal and eating guac wasn’t the best lead-up to a core workout, so I decided to take advantage of my bicycle and my surroundings and got my exercise outdoors. I biked all over the resort and ended up going through the area where the residences are. They’re basically gorgeous massive houses that look like the modern places going up all over Los Angeles.]
We got back to the room and got ready for Shabbat and dinner. Dinner tonight was at Agave Azul, the sushi restaurant. We were a little late. I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. The food is really excellent, but the experience is just like eating in a great restautant. Usually there would be nothing wrong with a meal in a great restaurant, but at this hotel there are so many grand dining experiences (see, e.g., our last two nights), that having a great meal in a great restaurant was a bit of a letdown. I have no idea how we’re ever going to go back to regular life after this trip.
We sat outside (most of the restaurant is outside), but it was really hot and I think the humidity really got to me here. Next time we eat inside. Also, the table was wooden with slats all throughout the surface so Tzvi kept dropping food through onto his pants, but that’s probably more of a ‘Tzvi is a slob problem’ than a restaurant problem.
The food was delicious and we ate the exact same thing we had last time. Edamame, cauliflower, sushi rolls, and dessert that looks like sushi. We also had the same waiter we had last time, who was very nice but because the shape of the outdoor space is kind of awkward we could never find him. At the table across from us there was a young couple. They also couldn’t get the server so he just went to another table to get soy sauce. At some point he asked ‘have y’all eaten here before?’ He said it was so good he needs to find Mexican sushi back home. Turns out ‘back home’ was New York (despite the “y’all”). They told us they were from Texas but had moved recently to New York. She just finished her first year at New York Medical College and he’s a lawyer with a big New York firm. They just got married and are moving to the Upper East Side. It was so funny because they are SO Texas but they are excited about New York. They don’t think they’ll be there long term though. He was also talking about work and mentioned that his supervising partner works remotely from Israel! SO random.
After dinner we walked to Zapote just to see what was happening. We found Juan Pablo eating outside with his wife and said hello.
Then we came back to our room where our butler had drawn us a lovely bath with rose petals! The bathtub is so big that it takes 45 minutes to fill it, so we asked the butler to do it for us, but the rose petals were a surprise. It was so nice.
Good day.