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Good day ladies and gentlemen!
First off, thank you all for your patience for the anticipated posting of this blog. It was a long time coming. Secondly, I sincerely apologize for the lateness of this blog post as I had to get the desktop computer set up at home and obtain a USB-to-WiFi dongle to have wireless internet (it is sold on Amazon for less than $10). Ethernet cords are messy, and my work laptop was discriminating against WordPress.
Without further adieu, I give you all “#BecomingBrazela! A Beautiful Union in Cancun, Mexico 2018”
My last paid vacation of 2018 saw my girlfriend Leslie and I travel to our first trip outside of the United States together: the Excellence Riviera Resort in Cancun, Mexico. The reason for this trip is not only to see a completely different area of the planet and to get some much needed rest and relaxation, it is also to bear witness and to celebrate the union of my brother Ricarto and his fiancée Salina.
Our day of travel began on a foggy Thursday morning on the date of October 4 where we arrived at Philadelphia International Airport with a huge assist from our friend Aaron Stallworth. After standing in the line ride to have our passports confirmed and obtain our boarding passes, TSA on the second floor was the next stop. The TSA checkpoint was rather breezy as we made it through without incident in approximately 5 minutes. After retrieving our carry-on luggage, we traversed the terminal and located where we were to wait for our flight with Frontier Airlines at about 8:30 AM where we were to depart at 10:34 AM (WERE to depart; more on that later).
We went to Dunkin Donuts to get ourselves coffee. After sitting down and having our coffee and I poured Kahlua in Leslie’s coffee to get her relaxed for the long flight (Leslie hates flying for more than 1 hour), I received a call from Ricarto who was checking our status. I informed him that we are already at the airport and we do not kid around when it comes to travel, especially flying. He was very happy to hear that we were ready to get down to Mexico where he was located for his first night with his soon-to-be bride and wife. I asked him how did he like the resort, and he said “Man, you are going to like it!” Hearing this news made Leslie and I even more excited to get to Excellence Riviera Resort in Cancun even more. About 20 minutes later, Leslie and I went to the gift shop to purchase snacks for the flight (more on this later).
After foraging for snacks for our 4 hour flight, we decided to get our US money converted to Mexican Pesos. The US Dollar’s strength was evident as for each 1 US dollar, we would have received 19.11 Mexican Pesos. We wanted to convert about $60 to pesos, placing our pesos count around 1,149.13 pesos. After speaking with the agent who calculated fees AND a commission that we did not know about until after walking away, we would have had to fork over $80 to get our pesos! Leslie stopped me from paying, we thanked the agent and walked away.
Upon returning to our terminal, we grabbed seats and waited for the boarding call. While waiting, I noticed a few of Ricarto’s Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brothers: Obinna, Michael, Damon, Armand and TJ. After greeting them and having small talk, the announcer called for passengers from Zone One to begin lining up to board the plane. Leslie and I were fortunate enough to be placed in Zone One and were first in line (aside from those in wheelchairs).
We waited. We waited… WE. WAITED.
The announcer informed us that the plane’s cabin was being inspected and cleaned and will begin boarding shortly. Moans and groans can be heard throughout the area as well as the airport. It is worth noting that the announcer has one of the SOFTEST voices I ever heard. I know that I along with everyone else were STRUGGLING to hear him!
We waited. WE. WAITED.
While waiting for Frontier Airlines to get their plane together, Al (Ricarto’s cousin) showed up and talked me and Leslie up where the announcer informed us that they are doing a mechanical check. This frustrated everyone waiting to get on the flight, AND it caused those waiting in wheelchairs to get on board to be removed from the wheelchairs because Philadelphia International Airport was running low on wheelchairs! Seeing flyers who needed wheelchairs being removed from those wheelchairs made the delayed boarding by Frontier Airlines even worse due to their lack of timeliness. After more waiting, the announcer made the boarding call.
FINALLY!!!
After the wheelchair flyers boarded, Leslie and I went on. We got to our seats and…
Ladies and gentlemen, imagine a cot for sitting and it has the same uncomfortableness as a cot; no plush cushioning, no reclining or anything. THESE ARE THE CHAIRS FOR FRONTIER AIRLINES. Trust when I say, there were A LOT of sore asses during and after the flight. It did not help matters any when our flight was held up even more because of 2 drunk people who were escorted off the flight. A flight scheduled to take off at 10:34 AM left Philadelphia International Airport at 11:45AM. At least no one had an emotional support squirrel on our flight that day…
*Leslie is not a fan of takeoffs*
Leslie and I LOVE window seats, and taking pictures of what we see while flying the friendly skies (unless said skies have turbulence, which happened a bit during our trip). When I noticed that the houses on the ground were gone and replaced with the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I told Leslie that we were right over the Gulf of Mexico. She asked me, “How do you know?,” to which I responded “Do you see any houses out there?” Leslie looked out the window, gave a smile and went back to listening to her music.
While flying over the Gulf, every passenger was presented with 2 forms to complete to confirm their immigration status in Mexico. This is the first time I ever heard of such a thing to do so this was a new experience. Using the microscopic table which was latched on the cot chair, Leslie as well as every passenger and I completed our forms so we could present them to customs. I was always under the impression that a boarding pass and a passport was all that was needed to travel to another country.
Almost four hours passed and crossing into the Central time zone, we hear the landing gear descend and our flight officially landed in Cancun shortly after. Thankfully, Leslie and I took carry-on luggage on our flight as it is the least expensive alternative for Frontier Airlines (more on this later). After we got off our flight, we waited alongside Ricarto’s Kappa brothers and their wives for the rest of our party to depart the plane. Once everyone was together, we headed to Customs. After our paperwork was in order and our passports were stamped, we make a right then a left.
Then it happened: we were all greeted to the airport’s Wine and Spirits and smoke shop! I wish I had took a picture of what we saw! The prices were VERY reasonable and affordable as a few of us opted to not buy some spirits as we were going to be at the resort soon enough and will have our fill and more of the spirits that are a part of our all-inclusive package.
After a few party members fought the gauntlet that was baggage claim, we were outside and looking for our transportation. It was at this point where we got split up because of differing travel accommodations. Leslie and I along with Obinna Abara and his wife Chinwe took AmStar to the resort, which was around 30 minutes away from the aeropuerto. Sadly, we were unable to ride with Mr. and Mrs. Abara as their transport as full. Leslie and I were routed to another transport which we had to ourselves.
After going down a long road, we arrived at the front gates of the Excellence Riviera Resort! After passing through the gates, Leslie and I departed the transport and was greeted by a bellhop, and a door greeter who provided us with a cold hand cloth that had a light and delicious fragrance. After walking through a corridor to the large wooden doors, Leslie and I were blown away at the beautiful architecture of the resort. We were greeted again by a door person who handed us both a glass of champagne each. Leslie and I were taken aback by this luxurious feeling of lavishness as we sipped on the cool and crisp champagne which tickled out taste buds.
After checking in and obtaining our room keys, we went to our room and we were amazed by what we saw: a pristine room that Leslie and I agreed was too big for us both but was VERY beautiful! The view where our room is located is equally beautiful.
After changing in to loungewear as we were heading to the X-Lounge, an outdoor lounge area next to the beach, we ran into my brother Ricarto who greeted us warmly and thanked us for coming and making the sacrifices to be there for him and his fiancée for their special day. When we got to the X-Lounge, we were served hors d’oeuvres and drinks by the staff and we met the families and friends of the bride and groom.
When I say that people were having a great time eating and drinking, they were having a GREAT TIME eating and drinking!
After the X-Lounge, Leslie and I went to have dinner at The Grill, and we ran into a few members of our group before sitting at the restaurant. We saw that there was a table set up with more drinks and appetizers for everyone to enjoy. After mingling with our group, we went to the restaurant. Leslie had the steak and I ordered a burger. Let me ask you all something…
Have you ever eaten a burger or a steak that melted in your mouth? I SWEAR that is what happened when I bit in my burger and Leslie bit in her steak. The tenderness of the beef we had was absurd and it caused Leslie to never want to make a burger again (and I LOVE her burgers!). The downside was if we were to requests drinks, we would have to purchase them at the restaurant. Let me say this: if there is FREE ALCOHOL all over the resort AND in your room during your stay, why buy it? This was a no-brainer.
After dinner, we retired to our room and ordered dessert from Room Service. Leslie had the cheesecake and I had the tres leches cake. They were VERY delicious!
*the view from our room each night*
The plan for Leslie and I was to wake up early to see the sunrise on the beach. Sadly, it did not go as planned as it was raining. According to Ricarto, the rain only lasted an hour, and he was able to see the sunrise.
Damn: missed opportunity.
No worries: we still had Saturday and Sunday!
The beach was beautiful at this time of day as the sun glistened off the Gulf of Mexico and the white sand was cool to the touch. Leslie and I walked a nice portion of the beach hand in hand and enjoyed each other’s company. We noticed that another resort was next door to ours, and that resort was children-friendly. Leslie and I walked the beach back to the resort and headed to the buffet-style breakfast.
We ran into more family and friends of the bride and groom as we enjoyed a wonderful spread of breakfast meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, assorted fruits and vegetables, yogurts and hot chocolate and hot coconut drinks. Leslie’s and my palates for food were forever changed as we feasted on the deliciousness the resort offered.
After breakfast, we went to our room to get ready to enjoy the pool with everyone. As we traversed the corridors neat the pool area, we saw a coati burrowing in the dirt and enjoying a meal of whatever it could find (Coatis are omnivores; their diet consists mainly of ground litter, invertebrates, such as tarantula, and fruit. They also eat small vertebrate prey, such as lizards, rodents, small birds, birds’ eggs, and crocodile eggs. The snout, with an acute sense of smell, assists the paws in a hog-like manner to unearth invertebrates). After taking a picture of the coati, we went to the pool and enjoyed everyone’s company.
At one point, the resort had a “Act Like a Mexican” contest, where the winner got a prize. There were four or so contestants and each one did a funny yet not too shabby job of acting like a Mexican (mock gun shooting, grunting, asking for tequila and dancing like a Mexican to “The Mexican Hat Dance”). The winner that was declared was K. Franklin Scott, a Kappa brother of Ricarto’s. His prize after acting like a Mexican: a large bottle of tequila! Talk about all-inclusive: you will NEVER be dry at this resort.
After having fun in the pool, Leslie and I walked through the Chef’s Garden to see the ingredients used in every meal. We then returned to our room to get ready for the main reason why we went down to Cancun: the Wedding of Ricarto and Salina.
The wedding ceremony took place on the beach with some cloud cover; the setting was beautiful nonetheless. After everyone arrived and was seated, the music began and Ricarto came down the aisle in a handsome tuxedo and lavish black tuxedo shoes. When the music changed, it was time for the immediate family of the bride and groom to arrive. Everyone looked wonderful and very happy. The music changed once more, and Salina entered arm in arm with her father in a wedding gown that was exquisite and stunning. Despite 30 seconds of rain, the ceremony was brief and beautiful as Ricarto and Salina became the blessed union they were meant to become.
After the ceremony, the attendees and guests had hors d’oeuvres and cocktails before being ushered in the wedding reception area. Decorated in a brilliant purple haze, the dance floor was branded with the day’s date and a stylized letter “B” symbolizing the newlywed’s last name. The Maid of Honor and Best Man were introduced and then the bride and groom where they newly wedded couple entered the reception area hand in hand. After their first dance, the bride dancing with her father and the groom dancing with his mother, and posing with their wedding cake, dinner was served. A buffet of wonderful food ranging from ribs and chicken to fresh salad and sides along with delicious desserts was on the menu for the night as well as plenty of spirits and champagne. It was at this point that a lot of people were asking for water. You know that you are in a bad way alcohol wise when you are asking for water from the staff who was walking around taking drink orders and pouring champagne. After everyone had their fill or food and drink, dancing ensued and everyone had a wonderful time.
Saturday morning, Leslie and I attempted to see the sunrise again. My alarm went off at 6AM, and I turned it off after walking towards the TV in our room where my phone was sitting on a mantle. I looked outside and saw that it was raining again. I shook my head in disappointment, and returned to bed. Leslie and I woke up around 8AM and was disappointed to hear that it rained again at the time we planned to see the sunrise. We made a pact that on Sunday, no matter the weather, we were going to see the sunrise Sunday morning.
*room service on this morning: French toast, fruit, orange juice and coffee*
I do have to say in advance that I deeply apologize for not talking more about the food: I do not want to be reminded of how Mexico ruined our palates (in a beautiful way!), and how we are looking at American food funny at this time.
After we head breakfast, we got ready to head to the pool (Leslie and I along with Ricarto’s father wanted to explore off-resort to see more of Cancun. Sadly, this did not pan out as we had hoped as there were not that many people who were interested in traveling off the resort). We walked around the rest of the resort and discovered other gift shops and the remaining restaurants that were there. The Excellence Riviera is very beautiful and has a lot to offer. We entered the second gift shop in the resort and ran into Ricarto’s mom and aunt, as well as his frat brother and his fiancée. I was looking for water shoes, and we found water shoes! My day was made at that point!
When we arrived to the pool area, we saw people walking with coconuts. When we inquired, we were told of where people were getting freshly cut coconuts, and Leslie and I were lucky enough to get the last two for the day. The coconut water was very tasty, but we traded the coconut water for Coco Locos in our coconuts instead. This turned out to be a wise decision! After completing our drinks, I start to eat the inside of my coconut.
I am not a fan of coconut or coconut flavor. HOWEVER, the coconut I had that day… That will be the ONLY WAY that I will EVER eat coconut in ANY reality!
The resort provided a buffet lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs with fix-ins. Lunch was served outside near the stage where they hosted shows during certain parts of the day and night.
After we ate, we walked over to the pool with the floating bar. Leslie relaxed in a lounge chair while I got in the pool. Comparatively to Friday, Saturday was a cooler day temperature wise. After a while, the pool began to flood with guests and familiar faces. Ricarto and Salina arrived and the drinks started flowing heavily. By the time we started taking group pictures in pool I had the Coco Loco, a Hemingway Mojito and 2 tequila double shots. I was feeling LOVELY at this point as the sun dipped in and out of the cloud cover. After pictures and mingling with a good number of our party’s guests, I grabbed one more drink form the pool bar: a drink that started with the letter “K”. I decided to take the drink out of the pool and sit in the cabana with Ricarto’s father and Ricarto’s cousin Scott as we talked about the wedding and the growth we all experienced during our lives. Leslie noticed immediately that I had… one too many, and felt that it was best for us to take a nap in our room. Leslie tried to take my last drink (after noticing that I was spitting a little bit as I talked), and I chugged it down in defiance. After doing this act, Leslie held me up and walked us back to our room (with me incoherently rambling according to Leslie) where I got out of my wet swimwear and crashed on the bed for about 3 hours, only to wake up STILL DRUNK.
*NOTE* This is the second time in my life that I ever went to sleep AND woke up drunk. The first time was back in 2008 after a night of Jose Cuervo…
*NOTE #2: I usually default to eating when I get to a certain point in my drinking. I did have a few nachos and fries earlier, then the fucking seagulls got in them later with their flappy bird asses.
Leslie got up and started getting ready for dinner. She woke me up, I grumbled something to the effect of, “give me another 20-30 minutes”, and I rolled back over to sleep. By the time Leslie woke me up again, she was dressed and ready to walk out the door without me. I got out of bed (still drunk), washed up and got dressed (still drunk), and got my thoughts together (somehow, still drunk). We walked to a Japanese restaurant called Spice which was one of the many eating establishments located on the grounds of the resort. We were seated at a table for two in the dining area (unfortunately, the hibachi grill was a RSVP style setup; had we known that, we would have RSVP’d the hibachi grill), and we looked at the options on their menu. The food was fresh, plentiful and absolutely delicious, thus further damaging our palates (in a good way!) while enjoying our stay there.
After dinner at Spice, we returned to our rooms, had wine and enjoyed the view and cool weather on our balcony. I was stretched out on the couch and Leslie was in a chair.
Sunday morning rolls in and Leslie and I got up and dressed to see the Cancun sunrise. Our morning started in the dark as we walked past a few resort workers who were starting their day, and we made our way to the beach. We grabbed 2 beach chairs, listened to and watched the Gulf of Mexico bring in our sunrise. There were two problems:
- It was cloudy, and
- There was a bulldozer clearing away the red seaweed from the beach.
Those who saw my Live Feed on Facebook know what I am talking about.
Despite those two factors, the sun didn’t come up but the morning was becoming more apparent. The sky lightened up and Leslie and I enjoyed each other’s company as our departing time came closer.
After watching the sky lighten up for the morning, Leslie and I made our way to the Toscano restaurant for a buffet breakfast. While walking there, we felt water hitting us, and we knew that the rain had arrived. We moved swiftly to the restaurant and we didn’t get too wet when we arrived. Leslie and I were seated rather quickly and noticed Obinna and Chinwe at a table for four (they were the only two seated at their location), and we all wound up sitting together. Obinna and Chinwe arrived early to breakfast because they had an earlier flight that us, but all of us sitting together for breakfast made for a nice and comforting experience. About 10 minutes later, Ricarto and Salina walked in and saw us at the table and they joined in. Salina hobbled in, trying to hide the fact that she hurt her foot from the night before. Obinna and Chinwe said their goodbyes and they left the restaurant to get ready to head to the airport. After Leslie and I finished our breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Ricarto and Salina, we made sure to say good bye to Ricarto’s family members before we exited the restaurant.
Leslie and I returned to our room, and we packed the rest of our belongings and took a few more pictures of our room as constant and beautiful reminders of the amazing experiences we had at the Excellence Riviera in Cancun, Mexico.
We walked to the concierge building and said our final goodbyes to everyone there: both those departing to the airport, and those who were staying at the resort for at least another few days. Our transport arrived, they got all of our bags on the transport and we were on our way to the airport to return to Philadelphia.
After 30 minutes of driving in the rain, we arrived at the airport. We got checked in, converted our pesos into US dollars (minus the coins for souvenirs), and went through TSA with little issue. After we finished sorting our bags at TSA, we walked into what was essentially a mini mall INSIDE the airport AND it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!
We wound up at the wrong terminal because the labeling by the airport was incorrect. We had roughly 20 minutes to get to the right terminal, and I happened to run into Ricarto’s parents who were on the same flight as us. Great Fortune!! I run back to Leslie and tell her to come with me because the terminal in which we were sitting and waiting was the wrong one. We get to Ricarto’s parents in less than 5 minutes and waited alongside of them and the others from our resort who was also booked on the same flight.
It is worth mentioning that we did not fly the fiasco that was Frontier Airlines home: American Airlines was the return flight and we were RELIEVED. Plush and RECLINING seats, complimentary snacks, and they were prompt! Exactly how an airline should be conducted.
Our flight left on time, and we got back to Philadelphia 20 minutes early. After departing our flight, we got a ride back home thanks to Ricarto’s dad’s friend who met us at the airport.
*Leslie is still not a fan of takeoffs*
What can be said about Cancun?
A lot can be said, yet there is not enough that can be said about Cancun. The atmosphere was intoxicating and infectious, the views were breathtaking and vibrantly colorful, the ambiance was that akin to achieving inner peace, the alcohol flowed like strong rivers, the customer service of those on the resort grounds was that of which I am proud if I was their manager, and the food was incredibly delectable and luscious. These items scored a 9 out of 10: a great score for Excellence Riviera in Cancun, Mexico. Gracias, Excellence Riviera Cancun, por un tiempo incredible. Esperamos volver!
The weather was overall an 8 out of 10: it only rained in the mornings and that was where we wanted to see Cancun’s sunrise, and it was hot: the kind of hot where you WILL get sunburned if you are not hydrated and not utilizing the sunscreen often.
As far as points of opportunities goes…
Frontier Airlines is the focal point of the biggest opportunities. Their customer service leaves absolutely zero to be desired, for starters. They inaccurately timed the takeoff of their flight due to the maintenance and cleaning that had to be done without prior warning to those waiting for the flight to get to our destination. Their announcer was extremely soft-spoken to the point that his informing us of the plane’s progress was not only ineffectual, it was outright unnecessary due to his lack of care and urgency to inform us of what was going on. The plane itself was a pit unfit for those who are accustomed to having comfort during a 4-hour international flight which was nonstop. The overall customer service provided by Frontier Airlines should have come with a survey (it actually did in an email correspondence, and I LAID INTO THEM. Sadly, There was no essay portion where I would have demanded some degree of compensation from them for inconveniently wasting my and Leslie’s time and hard-earned money on their inferior product). On top of that, they have the unmitigated gall to CHARGE for refreshments during our flight!
This is where the airport candy and snacks come in: NEVER. AGAIN.
Life lesson ladies and gentlemen if you never did this before: the TSA measurements for food is mainly focused on beverages and liquids, NOT FOOD ITEMS. Bring your own food, save a shit ton of money in the airport. The only REAL money you should spend in the airport is on one, MAYBE two drinks at a bar to get you loose and relaxed for the flight if you are not keen on flying. As long as you do not get drunk to where you are kicked off the flight (those who were on the plane with us, we know what happened!), you are golden. We should have had drinks before getting on that disappointing and uncomfortably unbearable flight on that day.
Frontier Airlines gets a 2 out of 10: they AT LEAST got the destination, takeoff and landing correct.
Philadelphia International Airport gets a 7 out of 10: the check-in process could have been more efficient, TSA was quick, and things that needed to be accessed were accessible when the time was right. It was simply alright.
Thank you to my girlfriend Leslie who did a lot to make sure that every rabbit that was pulled out of the hat was intact and beautiful for this wonderful journey and experience. Thank you to my brother from another mother Mr. Ricarto Brazela and Mrs. Salina Brazela for thinking of me and Leslie as you wrote out your invitations and made your plans to go from two parties to one beautiful union and honoring everyone in attendance the privilege to bear witness to the epitome of #BlackLove.
Thank you to Excellence Riviera in Cancun, Mexico for hosting us and making our experience fun, enjoyable, memorable and drunk. As I stated before, we look forward to returning and making our stay last longer than a few days.
Overall, the experience was an amazing one filled with wonderful memories, great company, wonderful food and drinks, and great vibes. The wedding of Ricarto and Salina Brazela is one that will continue to make me smile each time that I think about their union and everyone who was there to witness #BecomingBrazela Become Brazela.
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Andrew Boyd, Poet 