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Cancun & Cozumel: Conquering WilmaBy Robert PainterO.K., I’ll concede that Wilma won. She was one tough bully of a hurricane that found an easy victim and just kept pounding. But that was just the first round. I visited recently and discovered that not only is Quintana Roo fighting back, but much of the state will be better than ever. Quintana Roo? That’s the name of the state in which Cancun & Cozumel are located. Quintana Roo - fun to say and a fun place to visit.
Checking into the Nichupte’ Destination Spa I found a colorful little village that included not only the spa treatment areas, but several restaurants, colonial style private villas, swimming pool, sauna, gym, bars and even a topless beach, all overlooking the Nichupte Lagoon. And, of course, a temazcal.
The Westin’s circular lodge by the beach holds the Temezcal bath chamber, centrally heated by rocks. When boughs of herbs are laid over the hot rocks and the rocks are sprinkled with water, a richly scented steam begins the sweating process necessary to relax and purify the body and to release toxins. This is a time to meditate and clear your mind. Afterwards, a dip in the ocean is perfect. The Ritz-Carlton experience at their Kayanta’ Spa is everything you might hope for. They have a 5,500 square foot, beachfront spa offering a “multidimensional experience for all senses featuring exotic textures, relaxing aromas, gentle flavors, soothing sounds and colors.” Imagine a picturesque “palapa” on the beach, curtained for privacy in which you’re receiving a couples massage to the rhythm of the waves as the come ashore only a few feet away. Think of the Lol-Ha, a traditional Mayan bridal bath to leave skin and spirit relaxed and luminous. The Zac-Xib man’s treatment includes a vigorous body scrub and bath therapy. Enjoy the Spa Valet services, water rituals essential oils, plant extracts, facials, body wraps and all that the Kayanta’ Spa has to offer. Kayanta’, inspired by the Mayan phrase, ka’ a yaa’n tah , means “to be reborn.” What better name? The first member of Leading Spas of the World in Cancun, the Spa Del Mar, recently named one of the top 50 spas in North America has an exciting spa program designed particularly for Moms-To-Be. The Nurturing Massage for the Mother-To-Be is designed to deal with the aches and pains experienced by this special circumstance of pregnancy. The special treatments are coordinated around the varying stages of pregnancy and the Mom-to-be is placed in a different and comfortable position on the special bean-bag cushion developed to achieve maximum benefit with the least discomfort. The Spa Del Mar at Le Meridien Cancun Resort & Spa offers their Signature Wrap combining locally dug Mayan clay, rich in minerals, with sea plants, and unpolluted Marine Algae. This clay is applied in massage movements over the body which is then placed in a warm wrap followed by a Cellutox Deep Tissue Muscle Massage. Le Meriden also provides its guests with a full complement of special classes, a fitness area, sauna & steam rooms, cold plunge pool, Jacuzzi, Vichy rain shower, hydrotherapy and an outdoor lounge pool as well as an extensive menu of additional spa treatments. I had a 50 minute Aromatherapy massage which kept me relaxed for the remainder of the day. After four days of luxuriating in some of the top spas in the world I found it necessary to respond to a family emergency and fly home immediately. I couldn’t have been more relaxed to deal with these problems, but, on the other hand, I knew I wanted to return and end my next visit on a better note. When I watched the news and the pictures of Cancun and Cozumel being pummeled by Hurricane Wilma I remembered all the wonderful people I had met during my visit and wondered how they had fared. What about their jobs, their homes and their families? My return to Quintana Roo was just a few months after Wilma’s visit. Just driving down the streets of Cancun you might be hard pressed to even find signs of the storm. When you walk on the beach, however, you’ll see some of the results. One of the hotels had hundreds of mattresses stacked outside in the pool areas. There were bulldozers working on stretches of the beach pushing around large piles of concrete and rebar. Construction crews were busy - some of the reconstruction work seemed to be going 24 hours a day. Beach renourishment was in progress. Some hotels are still closed, some were more lightly damaged and reopened quickly, some are just now opening and dealing with the inherent detail problems of any “new” hotel. One thing is for certain. Cancun is up and running. The weather is great, the water is perfect and occupancy is high, partly I would think because of the reduced number of available rooms.
South of Cancun and north of Tulum in the beautiful Mayan Riviera is the spectacular five star all-inclusive Barcelo’ Maya Beach Resort . It is one of the most colorfully painted resorts in the area. I couldn’t stop taking photographs. Every angle of every building against the brilliant blue sky was magnificent. The grounds were expansive with over a thousand rooms, tropical gardens, swimming pools, six restaurants, including a buffet by the beach, a disco, shopping and, of course, a spa. There is even the 1200 seat Kukulcan Theatre with a different show every night with live music. A kids center, tennis courts, mini golf, a diving center and more will fill your time. And, if you get tired of all this fun and relaxation you can easily drive a few minutes down the road and visit the Xel-Ha Waterpark.
What more is there to do when you visit Quintana Roo? Plenty. Because I came down the spas and to check out Cozumel I didn’t have time for everything that I would have liked. I have already decided that my next trip will begin with a visit to Tulum, the grand Mayan city overlooking the sea. I’ve visited Mayan villages in the jungle, but never one built adjoining the sea. I’m planning to spend a day exploring this magnificent walled city just down the road from Xel-Ha. Quintana Roo is waiting for you. So what are you waiting for? When You Go: More Cancun Information:
www.cancun.info Photos by Robert Painter |
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TM
I
was in Cancun a few weeks ahead of Wilma enjoying the spas. If there is a
Spa Heaven it must be Cancun. The whole point of that trip was to unwind and
enjoy as much time as I possibly could in the Caribbean Sea, in the sun, and in
the spas.
Temazcal? For you U.S. and Canadian readers the Temazcal
is the Mayan version of the sweatlodge. The word Temazcal comes from the
Nahuatl language used by the Aztecs. The ceremony offered by the Westin Resort
& Spa was reportedly used by the Aztecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Mayans and other
indigenous groups as a therapeutic and purifying ritual.
If you’re wondering about cruise travel to Cozumel I can
tell you that it hasn’t stopped! This, the busiest cruise destination in the
world, is going strong. But, with a few changes. The cruise docks are wiped
out! But, that’s a minor problem. The solution was easy. Until the docks are
rebuilt, instead of stepping off your cruise ship onto dry land, you’ll just
step off onto large boats that will ferry you quickly to shore. These are not
the tiny tenders that toss you about in some of the smaller ports of call.
These are large vessels that, in the calm seas of Cozumel, will transport you
safely, comfortably and quickly to shore.
As for Cozumel
itself, with 3,000 hotel rooms ready for visitors as of February 2006, they are
back in business and ready for your arrival. All the roads are completely
open. I drove all the way across the island and circled the southern half
and could see that most of the shops, excursions, restaurants and dive operators
were open and busy.
The Xel-Ha Waterpark
was busy when I arrived. Not mobbed like a Disney park in the U.S., but
comfortably busy with lots of people, lots of things to do and lots of space to
do it in. Do what? How about a giant chess game for the kids?
Snorkel in the slow river and the turquoise lagoon
surrounded by thousands of multicolored fish like Rainbow Parrots, Blue Tans and
French Angelfish. Stroll through the jungle and see some of the 100 bird species
and nearly 230 plants species. Study Leatherback marine turtles in their natural
habitat. Ride a bike, leap from the Cliff of Courage, cross the floating bridge
in the Path of the Wind, snorkel into the Mayan Cave and Ixchel’s Canyon and
then collapse on Hammock Island.