Travel: La Aldea del Pueblo Blanco Grasa

We are home after having survived our near-Mexican vacation in the village of the fat white people. This microcosm of nothing particularly Yucatecan, located about 90 clicks south of Cancun, is called the Barcelo Maya Palace and even K'inich Janaab' Pakal would probably have been royally pleased to carve out some hearts in these surroundings.

An interior courtyard.

A landscape carved from the jungle.

The palace had fresh water pools out the wazoo, like the frog pond.

And, for the kiddies...













Personally, I can't see traveling thousands of miles to dip my crusty butt in a swimming pool, especially since we have one of our own at home. The Caribbean water and a soft sand beach is what gets me wet...and sandy.

A positive, I suppose, on this or any all-inclusive is that you can drink yourself stupid (like the bride on her wedding night) and stuff yourself with food to the point of exploding. This is like a cruise ship but without the wave action...or the exciting shore excursions to various ports of call. Although, off site tours are available.

A big negative, for me anyway, is traveling thousands of miles to a foreign country and then doing your best to isolate yourself from that country and it's culture. The food was plebeian and in no way indicative of the cuisine of the Yucatan Peninsula or anywhere else in Mexico for that matter. There was plenty of it though if you are into quantity as opposed to quality. As for music...there was none except for a disco on an adjacent property. The closest I got to a strolling mariachi was the grizzled 12 string-guitar player on the beach at Playa.

While at the palace our daughter, son-in-law, my sister-in-law (Seestor) and I celebrated my trophy bride's birthday. We always try to go somewhere for her birthday because if she is traveling on the 22nd of May she will never get older...or so she tells me. Our Seestor had never been to the Yucatan and we love traveling with her and sharing new adventures.

I can now say, "been there, done that," and I am grateful for the opportunity thanks to our daughter and son-in-law hooking us up with a bargain price.

If an all-inclusive is your shot of tequila you might want to check out the Barcelo Maya Palace.