Chilling Experience in Cancun

Think Cancun and you think year-round sand, surf and sunshine. Right? I've been to Cancun several times now...five, maybe six. I've been in the summer, fall, winter and spring months. Cancun has been consistently hot and hotter. This is as it should be. That's why people flock from all over the world to vacation there. That's why they pay the big bucks to fly all the way from Europe, Australia and Virginia. It's a place to thaw out and warm up.

Not so last week. A cold spell hit the Mexican coast. Of the seven days in Cancun, we enjoyed two hours (Note: HOURS, not days) that the temperature rose to 80. That was on Thursday before we had to leave on Friday. The other 166 hours of our vacation had an average temperature of 66 with 25 mph winds. You think I'm kidding. I'm not.

It's really funny to watch people when this happens. There are those who are determined to enjoy their fun-in-the-sun fantasy. They try so hard to make it work. Dressed in bikinis (Yes, the European men wear bikinis--However, I was shocked when I heard a bikini-clad man speak with a North Carolina accent!) and wrapped in several beach towels, they lay around the pool and try to look nonchalant as the winds blow the tall palm trees to dip their leaves into the water.

Making the best of it, ladies dressed in their finest sleeveless, backless sundresses and strappy sandals for dinner. Everyone still wore shorts, tank tops and flip-flops during the day when not wrapped in beach towels. My feet were freezing right along with the rest of me! Remember, this is Cancun. That's the only clothes we packed.

So what did I do for seven days? I read a book...a very good, 1020-page book by Ken Follet, World Without End. And I ate. I ate nachos and salsa. I ate pasta with meat sauce, cheese sauce, ham, vegetables, marinara and Alfredo sauce.. I ate steak and fried potatoes. I ate french fries with cheese, chili and salsa. I ate oatmeal, about a pound of bacon each day and eggs. I ate turkey, chicken, ham, pork, fish, and sushi. I ate croissants, crepes, cake and ice cream. I ate alligator, rattle snake, ostrich and zebra--just kidding. If it sat still, I ate it.

Oh, and I slept...a lot. Not such a bad vacation after all!