Our Home Away From Home — Jun Baniqued Images

This is our fourth visit to Cancun. At this time we consider this place our second home. We first fall in love in this beautiful paradise in 2015 while trying to get away with the long cold winter of Massachusetts. Cancun is our home away from home. And while we no longer escape a dreading winter weather, we now come here to spend the long weekend and relax.

The first time we set foot at Westin Lagunamar, Bob and I were dumbstruck of the turquoise color of the ocean. The same experience we have all through the years that we have come back. This time though we are not lodged on our home resort; instead we are staying at the Westin Resort and Spa which I believe the first one established than Lagunamar. They are both nice, though there is wider shore of fine sands to walk on the latter.

1. the newly opened Mexican fusion restaurant- Sonora Grill; 2. Bob surprised by the fireworks before desert; 3. myself enjoying a Chichen-Iza Mezcal drink; 4. our friend JC explaining Mexican food to other owners.

The first two days are basically spent with owners events and updates. The night we arrived we were unexpectedly reunited with our concierge friend JC, who the last time, managed to arrange a great activity for us- wine and food tasting at an upscale Italian restaurant and a quick Mexican cooking lesson at the Ritz-Carlton. And while this trip was a short notice for him, he’s still able to manage to squeeze us in to the food tasting event at the newly opened Mexican fusion restaurant at Sonora Grill. I must say personally that this too, was a hit. The food were great, the drinks were phenomenal, and not to mention that we got to see other owners that we had opportunity to exchange travel experiences with.

The following day was a boring, 3 hours owner’s update. This is something we drag attending, but something came out good this time. But this is another story I will tell you some other time. After this, the rest of the day was ours. We decided to head back to our hotel room after the update ordeal; and rest for a bit then head out and walk the east side of the beach. I am still amaze how beautiful the color of the water is- though I worry that this part of Cancun is not as pristine as the area in Lagunamar (I see more seaweeds and some garbage as we walk; perhaps it has something to do with the inability to bring large equipments-due to lack of shorelines to regularly clean it like I always see every morning in Lagunamar). As we reached the dead end, we headed back to our room and readied for our dinner.

sunset at Navio’s in Lagos del Sol, Cancun.

Navio’s is a restaurant half-mile across Westin. It is situated at Lagos del Sol, the lake side of Cancun which was perfect to see the sunset. I’d say the place is upscale and so it raises the bar of expectations with the food. Bob and I ordered the pear salad with goat cheese and honey-lemon dressing for our starters. I had grilled octopus and he had the salmon fettuccine for the main. As we enjoyed these mouth-watering food, we both agreed that this meal is as equally superb from the owner’s dinner we had the previous night. We finished our dinner with a guava cheesecake, which by the way, was unusual pick for dessert yet, also delicious. After that, we trailed back to our hotel with some non-sensical bantering along the way.

a facade of the Mayan temple on top of the rocks overlooking the turquoise water of the beach in Tulum.

The third day we booked a half day tour to Tulum and once again, see another Mayan ruins. It was an express tour and didn’t have much time to explore the entire vicinity. In my opinion, unlike Chichen Iza and Coba, the Tulum ruins is rather simple. However, the biggest take away is that it faces a marvelous, untouched scenic view of the ocean with its signature of turquoise water and fine sands. None-the-less, it was a good tour.

On our way back to the hotel it started to rain. The forecast for this day was 90 percent rain. We were just lucky that while at tour and on our feet exploring the ruins, there was a glimpse of sunlight. By the time we got back to our hotel the rain has stopped. Bob and I decided to get some rest. When we woke up, we headed to the Thai restaurant we first discovered in 2017 the second time we were in Cancun. The rain again has started as we wait for our food. When dinner came, so as the hard rain. It was a night to remember; for both the dinner and the rain.

On Sunday, we decided to just chill. W had a nice breakfast buffet at our hotel; went for a walk at the other side of the beach and sunbathed and read books at the pool side. In the evening, we had our dinner at La Parilla- (the local Mexican food at La Isla- we regularly go whenever in Cancun) where we have drinks of authentic Margaritas. Where else to end this short trip away from home?