We started out in a second floor room with many stairs, but on the second day, the travel agency rep offered to have our room changed. We were moved from the second floor in a quiet corner of the resort, to a main floor room in the middle of everything. However, the lights didn't work, and the key cards didn't work, so we were treated to a parade of workmen, few of whom spoke much English. but within a day, everything was done. We found out that key cards require batteries that have to be changed periodically, as do the batteries in tv remotes. More than one part of the lights was out, and they had to get into the wiring, so that meant an electrician. Everything could have been fixed the first day but when the electrician knocked on the door half an hour after we went to bed, we asked him to come back the next day.
Our room really was in the middle of everything including the entertainment pool where there was something going on all day,
everyday.
Below is the view from our entrance way. Each room runs across the whole building with an entrance on one side and a sitting balcony on the other. The red-roofed structure in the first picture is the Aqua Bar. In the next picture, it appears again on the left side of the second picture. Then the tree in the last two pictures is the same, so you end up with a bit of a panorama.
The Aqua bar and attached pool was where we did most of our swimming.
This is a view of the bar from the center of the pool. the white rail fence you see to the left of the bar is at the top of a waterfall into the next pool, which is very shallow and mainly used as a kiddie pool.
"Hola!" from Cuba. there are actually ceramic tile covered bar stools under the water for patrons to sit on.
Here is David in the middle of the pool, taken from where I was sitting at the bar. Behind him you get a good view of the waterfall into the pool. Actually, the water system in each of the pool is self contained and re-cycled, but the plumbing is well hidden and disguised as "rocks". You can also see one of the flights of stairs going up the hill behind him.
As the pools descend, there is a flight of stairs on either side. David ended up having to walk up them one day,but I avoided them like the plague. The bottom of the cascading pools is just above the beach, and at the kiddie pool below the one with the Aqua Bar, But the two are really closely attached, almost on top of one another.
I didn't get to swim in the ocean, although David went one day to look around. There is a reef aways out, and between the beach and the reef the water is quite shallow. Ideal for families, but not good for me., There was a beach bar, and food stand. One day, David suggested that we get a hot dog from the beach bar for lunch. We had to get a cart to take us there, and when we told the fellow what we wanted to do, asking him to wait while David fetched the hot dog, he drove as far onto the beach as he could. While we waited, he was telling me that he and his family live quite close to the beach and often have an early supper , then spend the early evening at the beach. After eating our hot dog, he took us back to the main reception area, where we went to the buffet for ice cream and fruit for lunch. Some odd looks from the serving staff there!
The Porters, who also drove the little carts, were the people we interacted with the most. Some of the carts had three passenger seats and some two. All but one of them were battery powered, and keeping the batteries charged appeared to be challenge, perhaps because the terrain was so hilly. Often they would not use power on down hill sections. One time the cart ran our of power, going up the hill on our way away from the main reception area, and we came back down the hill via gravity.
This cart is having its battery charged. Behind it is the lobby bar, and the whole reception and lobby area was open air, although with a sturdy roof.
This is getting very long, and I'll post some more later.
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