I know how to speak Spanish!

A large percentage of the population learned how to speak Spanish in school, but MY classroom is this exotic Mexican resort in Riviera Maya. Hubby and I, along with my daughter, Dinora’s, family, flew down here to enjoy some family time together during school vacation week. It is an especially meaningful trip because we have all been pretty much secluded due to COVID,  but are now able to take this opportunity to socialize.

When we arrived at the airport in Cancun, I immediately noticed we were not following the dress code. Any group of five or more wore the same shirt. (Not squeezed together into the same shirt, of course, but the same color and type of shirt.) This made it easy to spot them amongst the million or so other tourists crammed together looking for their luggage. I kept losing sight of my family and made a mental note to remember the dress code for the next time we come.

After finding our luggage, we found the ground transportation to get to the resort and were soon conveyed into tropical surroundings worthy of a first-class vacation. Palm trees and flowers were in abundance, as were waterfalls and wild animals; turtles, coatis (animals that look like sloths) lizards and birds freely roamed the area. A very colorful peacock with bright blue and green feathers splayed in an arch to attract females also attracted Hubby, who spent evenings saving up pieces of crackers and chips to feed to him every morning. An alarm clock was not needed because “George” would jump up to our patio and belt out a loud screech promptly at 7a.m.. Hubby was almost giddy with delight as he would jump out of bed to reward the bird for waking us up.

The setting of the resort was Mayan, which was chosen because Dinora herself is Mayan and this was one way to somewhat share her heritage with her family, albeit commercialized with giant fake pyramids and temples. The resort rooms were tastefully decorated with Mayan sculptures and drapery, with huge palm trees and volcanoes in the distance. The resort was spectacular enough to feel as though we were in another country, which, of course, we were!

One of the biggest things I was looking forward to was not having a cell phone, assuming our plan would not cover calls in Mexico. Hubby enthusiastically purchased walkie talkies for us to use to communicate with each other. Alas, the phone service was fine, and no one, especially the grandchildren, were willing to give up their phones. The walkie talkies sat unused while the cell phones were dragged with us everywhere, conveniently tucked into water-proof bags and worn around our necks. So much for life in an ancient civilization!

The resort had exciting evening entertainment. A “Fire Show” took place by the beach, (where there was plenty of sand to put out a fire.) Dinora and I found the best spot to watch the show…sitting on a massage table in the grass roofed tiki hut! We were high enough to see over everyone else’s heads, and greatly enjoyed the fire twirling dancers as they swirled and threw fire balls. A staff person from the hotel came up to Dinora and said something very quickly in Spanish. Dinora smiled and shook her head in agreeance but had no idea what the woman was saying. It was only afterwards we learned the tiki hut was off limits during the fire show because of the likelihood it might catch fire if an errant fire ball was hurled in that direction.

We learned to love the entertainment no matter how corny or misunderstood. While the grandkids rolled their eyes at the Mariachi Band, they were amazed at the gyrations of the overhead acrobatics.

The food was Mexican through and through with plenty of pork, chicken, whole baby squid, exotic fruits and cheeses. The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were grilled, and refried beans and guacamole covered everything. Even the Eggs Benedict was enveloped in Mexican spices, with Churros for dipping in the egg yolk. The ice cream and sorbet were still recognizable, much to my delight.

So far this week I have learned to say “ola”, “gracias” and “por favor”. I can’t wait to see how many more words I pick up the rest of the week!