19 September 2021

Hacienda Del Mar

We find ourselves in Cabo San Lucas, at the "Hacienda Del Mar" resort.
It is beautiful.
The resort is new. Our quarters are wonderful. The beach is a four minute walk. There are rocks scattered along the strand and the surf pounds like a big bass drum. We can hear it from our balcony. We imagined we'd be able to see the water from our room. We cannot. And that's the first irritation of a few.
Whining follows:

We were told we would need to pass a Covid-19 test prior to boarding the airplane to come here. We were in Nashville, TN at the time we learned this and had to call home to find out who would do the test within 72 hours of our departure and what time we had to be there to get it done. We coordinated all that, tested negative for the virus, and got paperwork in hand.
It was still dark when we arose on the day of our flight. We showered, bundled our luggage to the car, and made our way to parking and the airport. We checked our bag and got our boarding passes. No one asked for our Covid documentation. They DID want to verify we had our passports.

Our stopover was in Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Ever been there?
It's a BIG airport. To get from one part of the place to another you must take a shuttle train. We used the train and got to our departure gate.
No one asked for our Covid documentation.

We land at "Los Cabos International Airport", get our bags and make our way through customs... not a big deal. We wend our way outside the terminal to find the shuttle for the resort.
We're stressed and tired. It's HOT outside. Thirty minutes we stand waiting for our ride.
But the ride is in an air conditioned van. Cold water is offered and accepted.

Arriving at the resort is a flurry of activity.
And here is where my main problem begins.
After check-in, a young lady escorts us to a private area and gives us a spiel-
If we sign up to hear a sales pitch we get 15% off all our meals in the resort, a free breakfast, and $100 credit in the resort's restaurants and bars.
I'm nearly deaf. She's speaking in heavily accented English, through a mask. I might as well be TOTALLY deaf. Thank Goodness Sara Jean can hear. But she's only understanding about half of what she is hearing.

Prices for everything are in Mexican Pesos. Initially it's a shocker to look at prices-
Gasoline at one station we passed was listed at $21.44/per... whatever. So we need to do a mental calculation to determine if we want to buy something.

The coffee pot in the room may as well be a radio. It appears brand new, but its function is a mystery to us.
We call the front desk for help. The maintenance guy shows up and explains how it works... in Spanish.
He leaves. We figure out we can boil water in our kitchenette then pour it through the grounds, cowboy style.
Brand new, worthless-to-us coffee maker.

TV-
We found Fox News on it last night before turning over to sleep. When we woke and tried to watch it this morning the screen said, "Press select to view". I press "select".
Nada. (That means what I did had no damned impact).
We call the front desk again. A different maintenance guy shows up. Remote in hand, he repeatedly presses "select". He gets the same result I got. He punches keys on his cell phone, then hands it to me. On the display it says, "Signal is down. Will be back up at 9 A.M.".

So our first day in this beautiful resort has been... unsettling.
-Stressful planning.
-Hectic travel.
-Language difficulties.
-Currency exchange.

Give me 24 hours of watching this surf while reading my book.
I think I may survive.




3 comments:

Well Seasoned Fool said...

It is wonderful you can travel and hope your stay is worth the hassle.

Personally, it will take something major to get me (1) On a commercial airline flight and (2) Out of the USA. My last excursion, driving, to Canada was a pain in the ....... Getting back into the USA worse.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Hope you have a wonderful time in Cabo.
As for covid tests, each country you travel to has different rules.At the present time you are not required to have a test to go to Mexico, but you will need one to go back to the U.S. Most resorts offer the service on site to their patrons and miraculously they all come out negative. I know your completely shocked.
BTW,American Airlines has a very good app on their website(AA.com) halfway down the main page. Click on the blue area that says "what's open, what's required". It will take you to a site called Sherpa. Click travel restrictions, put in your departure and destination country and it will tell you what each country requires for covid testing and quarrantine. It is the best and most comprehensive site covering covid restrictions out there. American Airlines agents actually use it to advise customers.
Looking forward to your upcoming trips with the trailer and bike. Meanwhile chill out in Cabo and have one for me on the beach.
Alex

Greybeard said...

We are enjoying a monsoon rainstorm today.
So indoor activities, (pretty much "in our suite" activities) are in order today.
Satellite TV service is down because of the weather.
Sara Jean's idea of spending the day sunning on the beach is OUT.
Dyslexic, she doesn't read so she'll be here chatting while I try to finish "The Airmen Who Would Not Die".

This is not what I imagined this vacation would be like. ;)