Slice of paradise...

We just returned from an honest to goodness vacation. We've only had a handful of real vacations in our married life, and treasure each of them.  This one was to Cancun, in March, dodging a whopper of a blizzard, which made it that much sweeter. We went with sister Deb and her husband, John. They have a whiz bang membership that allows them to travel to amazing resorts for well deserved relaxation. Sometimes we hitch a ride. This year our niece Aimee came, too, as a bonus.

We stayed at The Grand at Moon Palace.  It is aptly named. Think; cool marble, wonderful lighting, the scent of ocean and some sort of herbal infusion in the air that was light, enchanting and everywhere. We had a suite, with two bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, two Jacuzzi's, two full bars, refrigerators, three lovely porches with comfortable furniture, and maid service. The showers were big enough to have a party in. Aimee had a bed in the sunken living room, between the two bedrooms, below the enormous dining area. It was pretty sweet. 

The windows on the lower level?  Ours. Much, MUCH bigger than our house. And did I mention maid service?

Here is our room. There is a sunken area past the beds with a huge hot tub, then a patio beyond.

One afternoon there was a wonderful storm, with thunder rolling in over the ocean. I sat on the patio with a good book, and listened to the incomparable sound of  palm fronds rustling in the wind, and  rain hurtling out of dark clouds. Magical.

The courtyard outside our door had a lovely fountain. The grackles made me laugh by filching packets of mayonnaise off of the tables at the nearby outside snack bars, and bringing them to the ledge you see here. Standing on the blue packet with their over-sized black feet, they pecked a neat  hole, then scooped up the oozing condiment. Next, a saucy drink. Repeat.

After a winter that has been as wintery as this, it was nice to see flowers. And greenery.

Of course, I was entranced by any glimpse of wildlife that I could find.

We did stop, thank you.

Sadly, I didn't get to see a "cocodrillo," as one of our drivers taught us to pronounce crocodile. But there were many signs telling us that they were about.

We spent peaceful time on the beach...

Replenishing our depleted supplies of Vitamin D. Also Vitamin A as in "alcohol," because waiters were constantly passing by and asking if they might bring us a mohito or some tropical delight. As it was all included in the price of our stay, it was hard to say no.

There were kids splashing, and us splashing, and crabs scuttling in the seaweed.

We went on an excursion and snorkeled out on a coral reef. We saw brain coral the size of cars, (over 500 years old) a variety of colorful fish, a barracuda and a few in our group saw a large ray.  Another day sister Deb apparently stepped on a ray and got a nasty sting.  Luckily she recovered fairly quickly, but it gave us a bit of a scare.  

I read, six books or more, spending happy hours under an umbrella, listening to the waves curl and slap. 

It was deeply relaxing. There was a lot of seaweed at this beach, and walking in the surf it would curl around our ankles like warm cats. Tractors with special equipment attached cruised the beach and scooped it up into astonishingly tall piles. I hope they are turning into lovely mulch. 

At other resorts we have been to the food is mostly... fine. Some of it is quite good. At this place, it was all amazing. Each meal more marvelous than the last. And we didn't have to cook any of it. Or wash a single dish. Aimee discovered Chinese Pomegranates, and loved them. I feasted on ripe melons and pineapple so sweet and fresh it made my taste buds dance.

I mostly left my camera inside, afraid I'd get sand in it and cause ruin. I've done that trick before. 

But we stopped for a few posed shots. 

Besides the long beach, there were also swimming pools. Plural. I'm not sure how many all told, but more than we had time to get into. Some were heated, some not. Some for adults only, rowdier ones for people who wanted to play volley ball or be entertained by a MC with planned events and contests, or loud music. One had a water slide, and the air was filled with the music of laughter and splashes. All of them offered hot tubs, lounge chairs, and more people offering to bring us drinks or snacks.  Decadence with a capital "D." 

 Our travel went off fairly smoothly, and Rachel kindly stayed here to brave the blizzard and take exceptional care of hearth, home and animals.  We came back rested and content, with stores of warm memories to tide us over until winter loosens its bitter grip, or until we take another little detour to paradise.