To Sunny Cozumel, Mexico!
August 3rd, 2002 ~ Day 2
3:15 am.
Yep. 3:15 am. That, we decided, was a prudent time to wake up in order to make our 6 o’clock flight to Cozumel. Between the hotel alarm clock and a requested wake-up call, we succeeded in doing just that. We fumbled through check-in, proof of citizenship and all that jazz without much trouble amid scores of bleary-eyed tourist-types - they in their Hawaiian shirts, sandals, and straw hats - us in our jeans and short-sleeve-shirts. We were officially part of Allegro flight 321 to Cozumel Mexico, and all that with plenty of time to spare for a Snickers bar and a Starbuck’s Frappuccino in the airport.
Again, our plane left on time (with us inside, even) and we dozed off and on throughout the 2 ½ hour flight, our sleep punctuated with vain attempts to decipher the flight attendants’ instructions regarding things like airplane safety, immigration, and customs procedures recited in broken pseudo-Spanglish monotone over the plane’s somewhat functional intercom. We filled out the necessary forms and kept on snoozing.
At about 8:20, we realized that the Texas farms below had given way to lots and lots of water, something we were entirely unfamiliar with. We woke up in time to catch the last few minutes of the flight, watching the Gulf of Mexico scroll by, followed by what looked like acres of jungle on what turned out to be Cozumel island. We landed on the one runway at the airport and watched the terminal get smaller and smaller as we rolled on past it in an effort to slow down. After an amusingly long time we stopped, and commenced an even more amusing U-turn maneuver and headed back down the runway to the terminal.
After we got out of the plane and watched one man unload the plane’s payload of luggage, we claimed our bags and strolled through customs and immigration, stopping only to push a button attached to a mock traffic light, which immediately glowed green with the word “PASE”, indicating that we hadn’t been randomly chosen for a luggage search. Smiling in spite of the alarmingly oppressive heat and humidity, we followed nice men in white pants and blue shirts embroidered with the Reef Club logo to the van that was to take us to our Four-Star All-Inclusive Beach Resort.
One surprisingly speedy van ride later, we arrived at the Reef Club, our romantic beach resort getaway where we were to spend 7 glorious days and nights in 4-star tropical luxury. At about 9:15 we made it to the check-in desk, where we (and the rest of the vacationers that had just arrived) were informed that check-in wasn’t until 3 o’clock, and that our luggage would be placed in a locked storage room until then. We had roughly six hours to kill.
We tracked down one of the bellhops, and after a bit of broken Spanish and exaggerated gesticulation, we managed to convince him to unlock the door to the storage room containing our luggage so we could get some cooler clothes to change into. Our previously comfortable jeans and tennis shoes had become unbearably hot and unforgiving in the Gulf climate. We changed clothes in the nearby restrooms, and set out to make the best of the wait. Our first thought was, of course, “free drinks!”. We headed for the outdoor bar on the opposite side of the huge, beautiful pool in the middle of the resort grounds.
When we got to the bar we were surprised to find that it was swarming with not only hotel guests but with bees as well. Just your average, run-of-the-mill honeybee-type bees, mind you, but on a grand scale. There were hundreds of them flying all around the bar, apparently drawn to the limes and the liqueurs and the soda fountains. They buzzed the guests and hovered around the two bartenders, who had evidently become accustomed to them. We were freaked out. We decided to forego the drinks and head for the beach for some relaxation. We found a couple of beach chairs that appeared to be unclaimed and dragged them to a shady spot where we planned to spend the remainder of our wait napping and taking in the beautiful scenery.
At some point I awoke, due either to thirst or to the burning in my feet and lower legs, which had come to be exposed to full sunlight as the hours passed and our shade moved. I decided to brave the bees and claim some free drinks as was my right as a guest of this Four-Star All-Inclusive Beach Resort. I got the drinks and took one to my new wife, who was also waking up and rearranging our chairs so as to better be in the shade. We sipped on our drinks and talked longingly about finally getting into our room and hitting the showers to wash away the humidity, then just soaking in the air conditioning for awhile.