On Sunday morning, it was off to the airport. We bid our wonderful hosts Georgie and Matty adieu and checked into our separate flights from Sydney to L.A.
See originally, we had planned that only I would go to Mexico, as it was my dear friend of 23 years, Selma Sue, that was getting married. However, in a moment of spontaneity in Puetro Galera, Philippines we made the executive decision to switch it up entirely. Instead of me going to Huatulco and back to Sydney to join Adrian before embarking on our Himalayan adventure, we would go together to Mexico and travel south through Central and South America for the rest of the year... And so it goes.
The only hiccup was that my flight had doubled in cost and so I was left to fend for myself in United Economy aka the 8th level of Hell, while Adrian enjoyed the wonderful Fijian hospitality including a joyful 3 hour layover in Nadi, on an Air Pacific flight. Bula b****es!
I landed in L.A. and even managed to escape to a nearby gym to work off some serious fatigue and wait out the 8 hour layover before our connection to Mexico City.
I met up with Adrian at the Aeromexico desk and we kicked it for another few hours until at last we boarded our plane and were enroute to Mexico.
We arrived in Mexico City late, around 11 pm. We checked into our digs at the Aeropuerto Ramada and crashed into some serious zzzz's.
In the morning we woke up and pried ourselves out off our king sized bed and hit the gym for a lackluster workout. We called it after 30 minutes and snuck down to catch the inclusive breakfast. We were surprised to see the waitstaff cleaning most of what was left of the rather impressive breakfast spread, as it wasn't scheduled to be over until 11a.m. We still had another hour. Or did we??
I was somehow convinced we were in Mountain time and had an hour and a half before we had to leave for the airport. It was only then when we checked the trusty Ramada wall clock that we were abruptly informed that we had 30 minutes to clean ourselves up, repack our bags, and get to the check in counter.
In a flash we were showered, packed, shuttled, checked in, and sipping a shot of Cazadores washed down with a Negra Modelo con limon. We were finally in a Mexico state of mind.
The flight to Huatulco was quick and painless and we were greeted at the tiny Huatulco Airport by Jaime who promptly wished me an enthusiastic (and belated) "Happy Birthday" before whisking us away to our to our home for the next 5 days; Dreams "All Inclusive" Resort- Huatulco.
We'd hoped that we would be greeted by some of our friends who'd been there for 2 days already, but alas the lobby was void of familiar faces when we walked in...we checked in and threw on swim suits and hit the pool.
After only a few seconds wander we ran into Sally who told us that the crew was indeed waiting for us in the lobby. We snuck up on the welcoming group from behind for our very excited greetings... It turns out we'd missed them by about 2 minutes due to Jaime's sick driving skills.
Within minutes we were drink in hand, and entering the pool where the rest of the gang had set up shop. The rest of the week was spent pretty much in this manner...in or around the pool with plenty of cold drinks being served up by the legendary, incomperable waitress Prima who took it upon her self to keep us well hydrated during our stay.
Other highlights included of course, the incredible wedding of Selma and Steve. The ceremony was beautiful, the dress stunning, and the bride was glowing! Steve, you polish up quite nice as well! ;) And a mention must be made to the fierce reception dance party that left most of us sweaty and severely out of breath.
Adrian would certainly note the deep-sea fishing excursion as a highlight, despite his lack of sleep, he managed to help pull in a couple of nice looking fish that fed the whole party for dinner that night.
Desires dance club served up hours of fun, including a one-of-a-kind glowstick rave to celebrate Jenni's 30th Birthday, a Mexican vs. Gringos dance off, and one of the best "Shout" dog piles I've ever seen!
The final evening was spent as a group on a sunset cruise. It was a fun time out, but I think it's fair to say the week and rough seas had caught up with most people. We had to have a 'rescue' boat come rendezvous at sea to take the 8 fallen comrades back to shore before things got messy.
In a nutshell, the week was incredible; full of late nights, great laughs, the most amazing old friends a girl could ask for, and more food and booze than any one person should ever consume!!
Big Congrats to the new bride and groom. Selma, Steve: love you both! It was such a blessing to be able to share such a monumentous day with you!