Mexico 2002
Flying from Vancouver, the west coast of Mexico is one of the easiest to access and most affordable Sun and Sand vacations. This time we would use a travel agent neighbor and stay at the Club Med in Manzanillo, it would be a vacation I would never forget, it nearly killed me.
We flew into Manzanillo and took a LONG bus ride (60 miles) to the resort, after a 5 hour charter flight and a 2 hour time difference, that makes for a very long travel day. Club Med Playa Blanca sits on a small cove called Playa Rosa in Mexico, Manzanillo to the south, Puerto Vallarta to the North. A soft sandy beach is contrasted by large rocky islands in the small bay.
Like any traditional all-inclusive resort there was a nice beach area as well as a large pool, with a smaller pool below for those too lazy to climb all the stairs to the main pool. Most of our time would be spent in the ocean, not the pool, we didn't come all this way to swim in a public urinal.
Speaking of stairs, the rooms were on the hillside above the resort area... whatever direction you went, was a sloped trail or stairs, your choice. Handicap accessibility was not a concern here. The room was nice in a spanish tile and plaster way, but as soon as we arrived we discovered a very interesting ant trail... It led from the outside gardens, across the living room area to a pile of crumbs from a previous guest. We would have to be very careful of having food up here.
There was the traditional buffet Restaurante, and two others that you had to make a reservation for. The El Pelicano and El Zapata were worth trying a couple nights, if only to mix up the menu. Much like any Mexican all-inclusive, the food was basic, cow, pig, chicken... with rice and tortilla's thrown in to provide a Mexican flavour, it was not bad, just expected, and consistent.
The resort was full of things to do, from the typical beach activities like kayaks and small sailboats to archery, tennis, basketball, horse back riding, even a floor hockey rink. On the first day of our trip I developed a bit of a head cold, but a couple sinus pills from their medical office and I was ready to do anything, including a rapid ascent up their rock climbing wall, and coming in second place in an archery tournament.
When it came time to be active, there was lots of options, from very active to very lazy, you could get involved in activities like volleyball, aerobics, soccer, or you could just laze about in a hammock. For me the beach chairs and the hamocks looked most appealing. They had an area labelled as the circus, we found out it was actually trapeze lessons, but it was always so busy we never had a chance to try it out. Given my luck on trips, it was probably just as well.
As I was feeling a little under the weather, most of our daytime was spent lounging on the beach, absorbing Vitamin E, and reading. Snorkeling and Scuba Diving was available from the resort, so I took advantage of the snorkel and fins, but the water was a little rough towards the islands.
One day we got energetic and borrowed a 2 person Kayak, apparently I wasn't as energetic, as my back would get sore right away, so I let Norine play tour guide and paddle me around the islands. At least I had a good time.
Every day we would encounter one of the Club Med staff up to no good... one day he was a cross dressing lifeguard, another day he was in a shark outfit wandering the grounds. He did a great job of keeping the guests entertained. The nightly shows were less entertaining, so memorable, I can't remember what any of them were. There was dancing, singing and music, beyond that?
On the last night of our stay were two of the highlights. During dinner we noticed splashing on the water, and a chain of Dolphins swam along the horizon, leaping and spinning as they crossed from left to right. This was followed by one of the most fun and strange dancing events I have ever been to... a FOAM party. Two huge fans blew a wall of foam over the dance floor, and a DJ pumped all of our favourite songs and few local faves, as we danced the night away in a 6 foot high pool of soapy foam. You never got to hot, and you could easily step into the foam for a few second break. As the night progressed the swimming pool had more and more foam icebergs as people came out of the club and dove in to the pool to get the soap off. What a blast!!
Epilogue
As you may have read in other travel diaries, I have a strange tendency to wind up with small injuries as a result of my travels, or my clumsiness, this trip took that to the extreme. As mentioned above, I developed a head cold shortly after my arrival, and dealt with it as such during the trip. Once I was back home and at work, the cold didn't go away, and in fact started getting worse and worse. When it got to the point of being to sick to work I went to the doctor, and discovered I had contracted some form of viral infection... could have been something I ate, something I drank (intentionally or otherwise), or even airborne. Whatever it was, it kicked my ass. The first round of antibiotics did nothing, the double dose did nothing, and the last try of Super Antibiotics before going to IV finally turned it around. I was sleeping close to 22 hours a day, and my skin was a grey colour according to Norine. 3-4 weeks off work and I finally recovered. Years later I would discover that the virus was the likely cause of Liver Damage I would have.
Whether it was related to health issues, or the deteriorating quality of the resort, I don't know, but the Club Med Playa Blanca closed after 9/11, and will likely never re-open. A local bought the property to tear it down and build a private home, as of today it is a deserted shell of a resort... RIP Club Med Playa Blanca