ClubHotel Riu Tequila

All-inclusive resorts are kind of like Las Vegas, only paid upfront. You're surrounded by cheap liquor and bountiful buffets. The weather causes people who should never be seen wearing swimwear in public to wander around scantily clad, basking in the sun. Also like Las Vegas, anything besides lounging in the low-rent luxury will cost you. Everywhere you turn there are people out to make a buck off the tourists.

That being said, the relaxation and lack of attention on daily necessities is well worth the price. All I have to do is wander into one of the restaurants in the complex and take my pick of several cuisines. The minibar is restocked daily, and while I slept in too late to get breakfast (read: coffee*), I started my day with a vodka & orange soda on the patio, avoiding any caffeine-deficiency headaches.

I took my first step on the white sand beach around noon, and had my breath taken away by the neverending turquoise sea before me. I also immediately decided the sunbathing crowds and sweat from the noonday sun weren't worth the walk on the beach, although I did briefly reconsider before coming back to my room. I'm now off to lounge (in the shade) by the pool with a book, and will hit the beach again closer to sundown when everyone else is heading back to their resorts for dinner and the disco.

My only complaint is that I'm completely cut off technologically. The hotel website indicated free WiFi (although not in my room) which is an outright lie. They have a single hot zone in the bar, but there is a charge to connect. My Blackberry also deceives me about its ability to connect, saying that it has 4 bars using a Mexican cellular network, then switches to no signal and refuses to send a text. I've also stopped wearing my watch in this sticky climate, so without my phone, I have no concept of time.

So with that, I shrug and work on acceptance. I'm away to TRY to let go of the everyday world and embrace this timeless land of sun and sea and relaxation...

*I later discovered a Starbucks a block from my hotel, in a small tourist trap shopping center, but dripping with sweat from the sun and humidity, I decided against drinking coffee.