Vacation

For the summer of 2002, Catherine and I vacationed with my parents in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. This new resort area is located just south of Cancun. Our resort, Xpu-Ha (pronounced esh-poo-ha) is located 90 km south of Cancun airport on about 20 km north of Tulum, the only Mayan city to have been built overlooking the sea. Xpu-Ha is Mayan for "Brackish water," indicating the state of the water in the lagoon.

The resort was like a five star Jurasic Park. The open air reception desk was under a roof shaped like a giant snake head.		The rest of the snake body meandered past the gift shop, lobby bar, and various service desks (tours, rental cars, etc.)
	There were fabulous hanging sculputures/light fixtures throughout the snake. At the end, we were greated by a Mayan style sculpture - fountain. There were also many sculptures of animals around the lobby. Please don't feed the animals.

The resort is made of "villages" that consist of six bungalows each. Each bungalow has two rooms, one of the first floor and one on the second.		Both of our rooms were on the first floor in the same village. The resort was fairly empty, we were told there was only a 30% occupancy the week we were there.
	The villages are grouped and named, we were in the bird group, Tucan village. There were a total of 38 villages spread over 80 acres. It was very large area comprised mostly of mangrove swamp.
	The rooms were fully equipped for luxury. Each had a king-size bed, double jacuzzi tub, double vanity, and shower. Water pressure was great, and the sink water was purified, so you didn't have to worry about brushing your teeth. Every day we got a new towel sculpture.
	On the patio there were great wall decorations, a couple chairs, a large hammock, and a double chaise lounge. Our view looked out on the estuary, but was mostly blocked with trees.

Dining

	The food was excellent everywhere in the resort. The decor was awesome, these pictures are from the entrance to the a la carte restaurants, Mariachi and Bambu.
Breakfast, lunch, and a buffet dinner were served at Ragazzi. The buffet included local and international specialties. There was also a grill were you could get omelets, French toast and pancakes for breakfast and steaks and seafood to order at lunch and dinner.	Bambu served Oriental and Italian cuisine on alternating evenings. Both were excellent, including sushi appetizer and an excellent shrimp scampi.	Mariachi was, of course, Mexican fare, including an incredible Chicken in Mole sauce and Shrimp with Tequila and Lime. Not to be missed was the Flaming Mexican Coffee for desert.
	One Tequila Two Tequila Three Tequila Floor.
	Mike: MAS TEQUILA !!! Dad: No mas, no mas....

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