Saturday, March 14^th: Deborah and I drove to the Park ‘n’ Fly at Pearson Airport to take a Porter flight to Cancun. We stopped for a quick lunch at Vino Volo – a sandwich and a $19 glass of wine. The wine was Riverlore Sauvignon Blanc 2024 from Marlborough, New Zealand. The cost of a bottle at the LCBO is $14.80. Outrageous mark-up!

Our flight was delayed three hours. The choice of wine on the flight was Jackson-Triggs Pinot Grigio or Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon. At Cancun Airport, a small bottle of water costs US$6. We had booked a bus ride to our resort, Akumal Bay, as transport to the hotel was not part of the package.

Our room on the second floor of Building number 4 – like all the rooms at the resort – faced the ocean. On the balcony is a whirlpool. We could not figure out how to turn off the air conditioning, and it was so cold we had to sleep in our puffy jackets and socks.

Sunday, March 15^th: The beach is littered with sargassum to the point where they have have to plow every morning.

There are any number of iguanas of all sizes that bask on the lawns, completely oblivious to the guests. Akumal in the Mayan language means “place of turtles,” a motif you see everywhere – on the bed covers, the ashtray on the rubbish bins and on the bar maps.

We had our pre-lunch Margarita at an outdoor bar. I asked the barman what the best Tequilas were for shots and for Margaritas. (Cabrito for Margaritas; Campadre for shots.)

Tonight is Oscar night so we decided we would have dinner in our room and watch the ceremony on television. We bribed a barman to give us an unopened bottle of Matinal Merlot 2024. The problem was we couldn’t find an English feed of the Oscars so we had to watch the whole thing in Spanish.

Monday, March 16^th: At lunch we met a group from Pensacola, Florida. All the men were wearing floral shirts emblazoned with headshots of their wife.

Apart from the communal dining room where everyone had breakfast, there are four restaurants to choose from. We dined at Nuvola this evening. Deborah saw a woman who was sitting alone and suggested she join us. It turns out she is a well-known Canadian artist – Amanta Scott (see www.amantascott.com).

The wine: Bouchard Aîné & Fils Pinot Noir.

Tuesday, March 17^th: Spent a half hour in the pool doing AquaFit exercises before lunch. Then we attended an introductory Spanish class.

This was followed by a lecture on turtles by Alejandro Millan, the nephew of the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan – an impassioned activist for the protection of turtles. Only one in 1,000 of turtles born survives, he told us.

Every evening when we return to our room, there is another piece of towel art.

Tonight we ate at Alux, the Mexican restaurant.

The wine: Matinal Chardonnay 2024.

Wednesday, March 18^th: By the pool is the Sushi Bar, where they make sushi to order.

Today’s towel art:

Dined at The Grill. The theme is a Brazilian meat restaurant. We began with the salad bar and then we ordered a steak. Deborah had bitten into a Serrano pepper, which exploded like a volcano in her mouth.

The wine, Alma de los Andes Merlot Reserva 2022 from Chile, and slices of grilled pineapple carved at the table calmed matters down for her.

Dessert: chocolate square.

Thursday, March 19^th: A very windy day.

We walked the beach into Tulum, the nearest town.

I took a painting lesson. I had to copy a painting of a turtle. Here’s my effort – which is on the way to the AGO.

A glass of Le Chatoniere Brut, a Spanish Cava, at the bar before dining at K’ooben restaurant, “a blend of traditional and innovative culinary experiences.”

I ordered a bottle of Kumal Chenin Blanc 2021 from Swartland, South Africa, for our two fish dishes.

Friday, March 20^th: A day at the pool, drinking Margaritas and chatting to new friends. A return visit to The Grill restaurant with Kelsa and Dave. This time we went full Brazilian and had all the different skewered meats that were brought around, including the delicious grilled pineapple. In addition to the Matinal Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 that was offered, I ordered a bottle of Luigi Bosca Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 from Mendoza.

At the bar, we listened to a local rock group and drank a glass of Martell Cognac VS.

Today’s towel art:

Saturday, March 21^st: Today we leave the resort – a place of a thousand thongs. So, the thong is ended, but the malady lingers on.

A long drive to the airport in Cancun – there was an accident on the highway, so it took us four hours to get there. Luckily we had left ourselves enough time to catch the flight home. At the duty-free shop we picked up a bottle of tequila to remind us of our week in the Mexican sun.