we've never done - a stay at a megaresort. *gasp*
{i swore as c and i both have no desire}
i know some love them because they are so easy. food and activities are
all taken care of, entertainment is provided and everyone speaks english.
it's safe and there's no planning...you don't even have to leave the walls
of the hotel if you don't want.
for alot of reasons, this is not the experience i prefer.
the biggest being it offers no enriching cultural experience.
when we travel, c and i want to experience how people around the world
live, what they eat, how they speak, etc.
all inclusive hotels simply don't allow for this.
these hotels could literally be dropped anywhere in the world,
and guests wouldn't know where they were except for a themed dinner
one night, a little architectural detail/decor and overhearing the staff speaking
amongst themselves speak the language of the place. for dozens other reasons,
inclusives are not where i want to spend my vacation.
so why did we stay at the grand palladium vallarta resort which was
exactly the controlled environment we try so hard to stay away from?
one reason - there's a really good surf break right at the hotel's beach
that's tough to get {you hike through the jungle to get there}.
since we had already had almost a week in the town of sayulita,
and hiking a distance to a surf break with fairly young boys seemed
a bit much. there's lots of years ahead for that.
finn and scout would tell you we stayed at this resort because it had a
zoo and that they could eat anything they wanted all day long,
but these weren't the real reasons.
since i couldn't capture great overall photos of the resort, i pulled
these from google {the sand writing photo was all me though}.*grin*
most of our time was spent down at the beach playing,
as we prefer the ocean and sand to a pool.
christopher surfed when the waves were up,
and when they weren't, he found other things to do.
he met a guy from canada and while they played a few games of tennis,
the little guys and i were introduced to a game called pickleball,
which is similar to tennis but the racquets are a bit different.
later, i took a private one hour spanish lesson, beachcombed and hiked
with the boys, and we all visited the hotel's small on-site zoo multiple times.
we all grew to love this game and ended up playing every day
{sometimes a several times}. it's wonderful that the boys are a little older
because we were able to play doubles - one kid with one parent!
we had so much fun and it was great exercise.
{with all those buffets around, we needed it}
the hotel offered babysitting and clubs for kids so we visited them as a family.
they had a baby club for kids under 3, a mini club for 4-12 year olds, and a
junior club for teens. as we walked up to the mini club to see what it offered,
the welcome sign included color cartoon characters {which we later learned were popular
from a children's television program in mexico}. the boys groaned and said it looked like
it was for preschoolers, and though i didn't say outloud, it really did.
and when we toured it, it was more or less set up for kids under 7.
we visited the junior club which was located in the building next door.
as soon as we walked in, both boys were in heaven. the room was open and sparse with a
simple color scheme, full of bean bags for lounging and included several game consoles.
there was a pool table as well. in my politest espanol, i asked the young worker if the boys
could stay or even just finn but the staff member said he couldn't allow it.
finn was visibly disappointed.
c and i let the boys know that we needed some adult time together and were going to drop them
off at the mini club for 2 hours. they weren't thrilled about it it, but were good sports and
remembered they had their books with them. c and i headed over to the adult pool that had an
infinity edge and overlooked the ocean. it was lovely. we relaxed and drank a margarita.
when i went back to sign out the boys, they were watching a movie with some
other children and asked me to come back in 2 hours because it had just started.
i was more than happy to. later, when i picked them up, the young lady who oversaw
the club said they had practiced earlier for a performance that night and asked if we
could drop them off at the theater on site at 7pm so they could perform in a show.
"of course" was my response, slightly surprised finn agreed to do it.
that evening after dinner, we dropped the boys off for rehearsal and came back to see their
show. the cast was the hotel staff and the children of guests. scout and finn were clowns
for the first few acts, and the last act was a magic show and scoutie was the assistant.
scout was a little shy on stage but he performed well, doing exactly what he had rehearsed.
finn looked like he was having the time of his life up there - grinning for his parents and dancing
like a lunatic when the gangnam style song came on. it was part of the show.
{will this song ever go away - please} the boys had a great time and c and i gave them
a standing ovation when they came out to take their bows with the rest of the cast.
the show cheesy but the kids had fun.
a few days we practiced archery, something i hadn't done since
high school. they didn't have a small bow so finn and scout
used two hands to draw the string back.
{i started this post last night but was too tired to finish}.
i might have a few more trip photos to share, but for the most part,
i think i've documented our time together in mexico.
we'll be back...but not at any all-inclusive.
