The Sequimers visit Mexico

Dear friends,
You did not hear from us for quite some time after our last Sequim area hiking adventure to Lake Angeles. Here is the reason. We were gone on a longer trip to Mexico. Now, we are back home in sunny Sequim. Well, we were a little concerned when we read online about all the bad weather news in the Seattle area, while enjoying the sunny, blue skies of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Our Sequim house made it just fine through some tough November rains (most rain recorded for November ever, even sunny Sequim broke its records). Now, it looks like we brought the sun back home with us from Mexico. The Sequim skies are sunny and blue with a few clouds coming and going. Instead of heavy clothes, a vest will do fine as an outdoor protection. We love to be home.

How did our trip to Mexico go, you want to know. Let’s cut a long story short. It was our first trip to an all-inclusive hotel in Mexico. Keoki had been to Mexico some 30 years ago, but that does not count. There were no inclusive hotels then anyway. We had done quite a bit of research for our Mexican vacation - isn’t the Internet great for that purpose?! - on vacation spots in Mexico, on all-inclusive hotels in Puerto Vallarta and on the hotel we had finally decided for…the Royal Decameron in Bucerias.

We read our way through the Trip Advisor reports written by travelers who had stayed at the Decameron before. Over 90 % were positive and assuring, which made us feel good. The bad reports troubled us somewhat and made us a little concerned and aware what guests encountered, like an Iguana under the bed or an upset stomach (Pepto-Bismol was in our luggage). We also knew ahead of the time what building we wanted to be at…by the ‘adult only’ pool. We had requested a room there, which worked out great.

Here is our experience in a few words…we had all the 14 days sunshine and blue skies (we were actually happy about each cloud in front of the sun, as it was at times too much heat for us Sequimers 88-90F), beach was endless in both directions, water was a little murky from steady surf (mostly OK for swimming), several pools to choose from (we preferred adult only, no screaming kiddos and no loudspeaker noise or music from daytime ‘actividades’), food was plentiful and great variety to choose from (what looked ‘funny’ we did not eat, I also stayed away from fresh lettuce).

We liked the option to eat dinner ‘a la carte’ at one of the 5 restaurants, like Thai, Japanese, Italian, Mexican and Steak House instead of the buffet. Mostly we enjoyed our food…nice setting w/white tablecloths & candle lights, with salad bar, appetizers and all the drinks you want (not first class but average quality). The staff was well trained, friendly and accommodating. Most of them spoke decent English, otherwise they had to cope with our beginners broken Spanish. We improved somewhat within the time of our vacation in Mexico. Some Spanish classes could not hurt.

All in all, we had a wonderful vacation in Mexico but are happy to be back home in the crisp autumn air of sunny Sequim. More Sequim adventures will follow from the ‘Sequimers’.