Cancun 2

Tuesday 4/10

Tuesday morning Andrew went for a swim in the lap pool, and then I went to a poolside yoga class. The instructor was a weather-beaten, long-haired, crystal-wearing type who advised us, in what seemed like purposefully broken English, to do deliberate breathing at sunrise, on either side of noon, and at sunset, and as a result we’d be able to see new things, even new colors. I’m in.

We ordered room-service breakfast, which was arriving just as I got back to the room. The waiter set up our big dining table as though we were in a restaurant. Then we headed to the pool for a long morning of swimming, popsicles, and lunch. We had pool chairs right next to the pool, which was great.

L&G and I took a sun break at 10:30 to do some pottery painting, which was much more expensive than I’d anticipated but which we all loved. There were two big tables of unpainted pieces which had been prepared with black painted outlines, so it was like painting a 3D coloring book. Lucia chose a fish, Greta chose a pig, and I chose a salamander. We left them with the pottery person, who said he’d touch them up and glaze them and we could pick them up tomorrow. Then we went back to the pool. We were able to eat lunch right at our pool chairs because the wind had died down enough for the umbrellas to be set up.

We had a rough patch when we came back to the room for a sun break after lunch. L&G had simply worn themselves out, and they were both sunburned, and they were just tired and done with everything. Even Lucia, whose energy level is generally an even, unwavering, endlessly refilling HIGH, was sprawled on the couch, refusing to do anything. We eventually did get them to go back to the pool, and they both had a frozen drink while sitting in the pool, and we had a nice time. They agreed to wear hats even in the pool, to prevent further sunburn on their faces.

Dinner was a Taco Tuesday celebration at the Mexican restaurant, another stellar meal. There were mini quesadillas made to order, each tortilla made by hand in a small press before being cooked on a big flat cooking surface. There was tortilla soup, rice, beans, all kinds of tacos made to order, and a big bar of toppings. Then a variety of desserts. Delicious margaritas. Live traditional music. A great meal.

Even though it was quite late after dinner, we went back out to the pool for some night swimming, a novelty that thrilled the girls. They were so excited to be swimming in the dark, in the beautifully lit pool, looking up at the stars. We didn’t stay too long. We got back to the room just as the turn-down service was finishing up, so they got to open their souvenirs of the night.

So: a great day sandwiched around two grueling hours.

Wednesday 4/11

Everyone slept in today. (Except me, of course. I wake up at 6:30 no matter where I am, but at least here I could read on the balcony with the sound of the ocean in the background.) We went to the breakfast buffet this morning, and I let the girls have as many pastries as they wanted without insisting on a balancing portion of eggs. The pastries here are seriously delicious. I, too, had a breakfast of pastries.

L&G have developed a deep loathing of sunscreen, and sunscreening them up is an ordeal, and this morning there was the emergence of the Most Stubborn Child on Earth (Greta), who refused to get ready to go outside, and the only ones who could talk her out of her deep, dark, stubborn hole were Roary and Wee Wee, voiced by Lucia. Sigh. Anyone looking in on the way we interact with dolls and stuffed animals in this family would have some understandable concerns. Happily, Wee Wee helped Greta come to the decision that she WOULD get ready, which she did with a smile, and we had our best pool morning yet.

Andrew borrowed a football and a snorkel and mask from the sport desk, and I got my own taste of snorkeling today. The pool is so beautiful. I’d forgotten that otherworldly underwater feeling that you can get only with goggles/mask/snorkel. I floated all around, looking at the fancy tiling on the pool bottom, and people’s legs.

Somehow L&G decided they’d play Monkey in the Middle with Andrew, and it was this activity that set the day on a new level of fun. They were WILD about this game. It struck such a chord with them. They played all morning. The game changed from the usual rules to a much more nuanced game where Lucia and Greta were on a team trying their best to defeat Andrew. There was a lot of splashing and lunging and fighting for the ball. “I almost drowned!” Greta announced ecstatically during a trip to the bathroom. Andrew’s favorite moment was when Lucia suggested they stop actually playing the game: “Let’s just fight!!” she said.

They had mango popsicles, virgin pina coladas, and virgin mango daiquiris. We had lunch on our pool chairs again. I occasionally skulked around the pool with my snorkel. I picked up our pottery, which the pottery guy had embellished beautifully. Perfect souvenirs. We ended up not doing a post-lunch sun break and stayed out until about four. (The girls wore their hats without a break. This really saved their faces today.)

We had a little down time in the room, and eventually got ready for dinner. Tonight it was an Argentinian dinner on the pool deck, which meant Andrew and I could sit and relax while L&G ran around on the sand. Good food again. We’re stuffed.

We’d promised night swimming once more, again an exciting thrill. When it was time to go back to the room, Lucia couldn’t find her flip flops. We looked everywhere. A worker looked around with a flashlight. They were just gone. And then we got back to the room and found them there. She’d been so focused on getting back to the pool she’d forgotten to wear shoes, and none of us had noticed.

The small boxes were waiting on the beds. Thrilling.

Aside from a few schizophrenic Greta-is-exhausted moments, it was a perfect day.