mmr@ritcv.UUCP (Margaret Reek) (03/29/84)
I went to Cancun a month ago, but did not stay at Club Med. Club Med is the furthest hotel/resort from the town, with less regular bus service, and on a part of the island that gets the wind and surf. We stayed at the Sheraton which is the hotel closest to Club Med, and would definitely recommend staying on the leaward side. The week we went the weather was lousy, cold and windy (very unusual, it was the same storm system that dumped 32 inches of snow at home while we were gone). We swam at our own beach only once in 8 days, because the wind and surf were so bad. Even on a good day the waves were several feet high. The leaward side was calm enough to go windsurfing, parasailing, etc. many days. One of the nice things about Cancun is that there is very cheap, frequent bus service that runs between town and the hotel zone. This way you can go to a different spot every day for meals if you are so inclined. The majority of buses turn around just after the Sheraton, and don't go on to Club Med. Be warned that the service at most restaurants is casual (a euphamism for slow and inaccurate). Don't expect to eat a quick bite of anything; we found that lunch took at least an hour. Also, we learned that it is considered rude to present the check before you ask for it, so you could sit there a good long time waiting for the check to appear. One must is to take Maria's private boat over to Isla Mujeres (sic). It costs $10 (US) round trip and is delightful. It leaves from Carlos and Charlies Restaurant at 11:00 AM and takes you to Gerafon reef for snorkeling. There are lots of schools of colored fish, and the water is very clear. You can even ride a turtle in their corral. After about 2 hours, the boat takes you down the beach to Maria's restaurant, which is very famous. They specialize in seafood, and have monster lobsters you can choose from their stock. It is not cheap, and they do not take ANY credit cards (they do take travelers checks). After a couple of hours there the boat takes you back to the mainland, to get back at about 5 o'clock. We did this twice since it was so nice the first time. There are many other ways to get to the Isla, but most looked awful. There is a ferry, other tour boats (usually huge with 50 or more people packed on like sardines), tri-marans (but there are so many people on them, they motor over, since they would sweep 20 people into the sea if they had the sails up and came about). Maria's boat holds about 10 people and is very pleasant. Not many know about it either; we had the boat all to ourselves the second time we went. In conclusion, Cancun can be a great place to be if the weather is good, and it is lousy if the weather is bad (but most places like it are too). If Club Med has all the services you want, stay there but be warned about the surf. If you think you want to roam around while you are there, stay at someplace like the Casa Maya, on the leaward side. Margaret Reek ritcv!mmr
gv@mtuxo.UUCP (g.valentini) (11/06/85)
Thanks to all those taht replied to my posting for information on Cancun. Unfortunately, we have had systems problems and all the mail that was in my "new" mailbox has been lost. It seems that the messages had arrived early Wednesday morning after the computer had stored its files in backups and there is no way to retrieve them. It's rather embarassing, but could the people who responded, please re-send you messages. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks George Valentini ihnp4!mtuxo!gv