Christmas is very near, which means desperation when you realize you just remembered you forgot to buy someone a gift. When I traveled before (B.B. Before Baby), it was easy to buy gifts. Heading off to far-way places like Morocco or London or Detroit made buying gifts you know they didn’t have easy. Sure, they might not like it, but, receipt or no receipt, it wasn’t going back.
But Christmas also reminds me of the obvious thing: Mexico. Who doesn’t want to go south when it starts snowing? Sure, I enjoying trudging through snow-covered trails as much as the next masochist, but a nice warm weather vacation is a perfect winter break.
I’ve been to Barceló Maya four times. The first time was with friends the year I was laid-off (i.e. fired, as laid-off suggests I would be brought back) during the Dot Com bust. (That was the year I spent a month in Europe. Hey, I had the time. ‘Nother story.)
The second time was with then-girlfriend Andrea. I loved Barceló so much that I wanted to take her there, and she loved it too.
Which is good, because the third time was our wedding. So it would have really sucked if she hated the place AND had to get married there.
And the fourth time at Barceló Maya was our first trip with the then-one year old daughter. But we will not speak of that trip right now.
Every time, I’ve gone in early December because 1) the weather is nice and 2) the place is decked out for Christmas.
There is just something about palm trees decorated with Christmas lights to put me in the holiday season. If I had a palm tree, I would have lights on it year-round, and the neighbors would hate me. Along with the lights, the festive color of sunburned tourists really adds to the shades of green in the palm leaves. Lobbies with Christmas trees, Santa hats on lizards – what doesn’t Barceló have? It’s beautiful.
The third trip, my wedding, we stayed ten days, and at the end of our stay, the place really picked up. Whereas before we could quickly grab grub at the buffet lines, now there were a plethora of tourists ahead of us. The beaches were busier, as were the pools. If you ever decided to go to Barceló in December, I would advise going earlier in the month, before the big Christmas rush.
Not that there is necessarily a bad time to go to, but if you’re looking relax, I recommend Barceló Maya outside of the Christmas rush. It’s worth the trip just for the lizards and self-service piña coladas. Man I wish I had those at work.