Exploring Our New Surroundings
August 3rd, 2002 ~ Day 2 ~ Continued
Despite the initial blast of brown, smelly water, the shower was a welcome refreshment, and we were ready to face the rest of the day. We got a better look around the room. It was nice, but should by no means be considered 4-star. It was about on par with what I would expect from a Motel 6 in the States. No big deal. There was a safe deposit box in the room, minus the lock, which was available to rent from the front desk for $2 per day. However, due to its small size - roughly 10″ wide x 6″ high x 6″ deep - and also the fact that it was mounted in the closet behind a decidedly inoperable closet door, we opted to just keep our suitcases locked with some little padlocks we bought before we left Lubbock.
The bathroom consisted of a single sink and mirror, with a separate area for the toilet and shower. In one wall of the shower was a small screened window with exterior glass louvers that could be operated with a handle. The screen would have been adequate for keeping the bugs out except for the fact that it had many small holes in it, allowing many small moths and spiders to get inside. We found that closing the louvers didn’t really help. However, the glass globe light fixture in the shower area seemed to be their ultimate destination, as quite a cache of dead bug carcasses had accumulated inside.
The walls and ceiling were painted concrete, and the floor was tiled, not with handmade Mexican clay tiles, as we had guessed from the photos on the Reef Club’s website, but rather with basic brick-red mass-produced commercial-grade tiles. No big deal. The furniture had a rustic look that went well with the room. There was a sliding glass door, adorned with Reef Club stickers, which opened onto a small balcony that held two chairs and a small table of the white plastic Wal-Mart variety.
Last but not least: the beds. Think of the hardest bed you’ve ever encountered in your life, or indeed in your wildest imaginings. Now tell that thought to shove off and make way for the reality that is the Reef Club Granite Dreamer mattress. Dear Lord. I can’t even imagine why human beings would manufacture such hard mattresses, except, perhaps, for military use as shock absorbers for tanks being dropped from planes into enemy territory - without parachutes. The mattresses were hard. They were hard. And then they were hard some more. The key, we found, is to exhaust yourself throughout the day, so that you have no choice but to sleep at night, no matter how uncomfortable you are.
We left the room and headed toward the center of the resort grounds, where the main pool, restaurant, and bar were. We were determined to make the best of our stay, if for no other reason than just to spite our hosts. I hadn’t eaten since my early morning Snickers breakfast at the DFW Airport, and Kristina hadn’t eaten anything at all, so our first stop was the main hotel restaurant, La Casona, which is open throughout most of the day. It is a buffet-style restaurant with its own unique smell, and a menu including a fairly wide variety of not-quite-tasty food ranging from grilled chicken in peanut sauce to deep-fried banana slices to semi-liquefied cheese cake with chocolate frosting. The most precious gem I found in the restaurant was Coca Cola Light, the Mexican version of Diet Coke. We had been told that all the beverages and ice in the hotel were made with purified water, so I dove in and had a splendid time. This despite the bees, who seemed to find the cuisine more appealing than we did.
After dinner we walked around a bit, taking in the scenery and the cool evening breezes. We were treated to a spectacular, somewhat surreal sunset unlike any we’d ever seen, resplendent with blues, pinks, purples, and fiery orange. That really seemed to help wipe away the day’s events, and we felt happy and serene for the first time.
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