One of the best perk which an employee can get is a holiday to Cancun with your loved one to celebrate Valentine's Day! While at HRT, I was part of the lucky lot. Being in the transition phase of F1 to H1B, I was quite skeptical if I would be able to make it but alas Malay and I were booked for the trip. Tons of thanks to Julia!
Malay and I were to meet at the Cancun airport. Malay was flying all the way from India. I flew from New York to Cancun with a stop over at Charlotte. When there are hurdles you can never rest till you have reached the final destination of travel. As I arrived at Charlotte, we got to know all flights ( to Cancun and Hawaii) were overbooked. Some flights from New York arrived pretty late due to the stormy weather. As extra flights have been scheduled to accommodate passengers, the airlines was in short of pilots! I was quite scared to know that passengers were stuck in Charlotte for 2 days! The crowd was getting so impatient that volunteers started coming up for flying the plane! The airport was a complete chaotic scene. After a long wait of 6 hours, the good news was finally announced that a plane has been scheduled. Hurray! Oh wait! The bad news was of the 200 waiting passengers about 120 would be allowed on the flight. They declared people with seat numbers below 23 cannot board the flight. My seat number was 23F! When luck favors you nothing, you breeze through all problems without doing much. I was really lucky to be on the flight and even though I felt sad for the ones who would have to wait for an indefinite period at the airport, I was could not help grinning broadly. What could be a better than being able to spend 14th of Feb with him on the sunny white beaches of Cancun!
I captured this breathtaking shot from the flight. Finally I landed at the Cancun airport. Malay had arrived from Mexico City and was already waiting for me. Clearing immigration we started towards the Riviera Maya, our last and final stop. Mayakoba, the Fairmont resort is tucked under a forest canopy. It was dark by the time we arrived. Escaping the New York snow and cold weather, this place was heaven. After a quick check-in we were transported to our casita (villa) in a golf cart.
The design and decor of the casita was in complete harmony with the mangrove forest around. They never fell short of ways to perfectly pamper us. The luxurious bathroom had a soaker tub and a garden next to it. Malay and I decided to have a quite dinner at La Brisas Restaurant. There was sensual harmony about the place. Hearing the waves of the wonderful Carribean Sea we enjoyed our wonderful dinner. We went to bed looking forward to the next 3 day of fun and frolic.
After an good breakfast next day, we went for a walk around the resort. On the way we met several friends from HRT. Mayakoba had a network of crystal clear waterways. It offered the feel of 5 different ecosystems - mangrove, tropical forest, lagoon, water canals and coastal dunes. As we reached the beach we were stupified by the breathtaking blue lagoon infront of us meeting the blue sky in the distant horizon. Julia had booked a super fun suite with an infinity pool for all of us. We lazed on the hammock and gazed at the sea.
After a while we decided to take a walk on the beach. As we strolled, it felt like we are time warped. I was walking on the soft white sand, dipping my feet in the warm and crystal clear water, letting the wind in my hair, in the arms of the guy I am going to spend the rest of my life with.... Every moment felt like I was living a dream.
Later that afternoon we went for a horse ride on a more secluded side of the coast. Malay's horse was galloping in parts and mine was quite excited about trotting on the water, playful and joyous.
