I Went to Mexico During The Swine Flu...

It was perfectly fine. I flew to Cancun to head down to the Riviera Maya, a newlt developed stretch of beach with upscale resorts about 20 miles South of Cancun. The noticeable difference was lack of tourists and an empty flight from Houston. Nobody on my plane wore a mask but I did see hand sanitizer. I left in the height of the flu pandemic as the news got worse on a daily basis from the WHO, the news from Mexico became less intense with far fewer deaths and cases than were initally reported. The disparity of reporting was so off the wall, I did not trut anytihng being said. The lack of cases in the US also caused me to wonder if this was really all that bad...

So, Bravely off to Mexico we went to samply the new luxury resort-Banyan Tree at Maykoba. This new resort is the first by the Asian chain of smal all villa resorts built in North America. Acapulco is opening soon... The Banyan Tree is Thai run and designed with only 132 villas ranfing from 1150-3000 square feet each. Each villa has a courtyard with a private pool and is situated on a natural mangrove offering a truly unique setting. This is not a typical resort. You get to your villa by boat, electic cart, or personal use bicycle. The resort is spread over a huge area and is part of a 600 acre larger resort that currently include a much larger Fairmount property, a Rosewood Resort, and a a World Class golf course. It is set in a dense natural jungle with mangroves teaming with wildlife and all resorts have beachfront access with swimming pools, restaurants, beach clubs, and glorious poweder sand beached no longer found in Cancun to the North!

The resort as all in the area had less than 10% occupancy. I was told tourism died overnight throughout Mexico with the closing of all bars, clubs, and most restaurants. The US government request for non-essential visits to Mexico did not help. There was alos not one confirmed case of swine in the Yucatan. The cruise ships, tourists, and everyone else stayed home... This recent flu event has caused catostrophic economic impact Worldwide as commerce slowed or stoped in many places across the globe due to the media fear created over false information.

So, all of this aside, I enjoyed the most glamerous resort with personl service, gourmet food incuding a fabulous Thai Restaurant sitting on a mangrove with crocodiles-ooh!, A stunning beach club for sunning, excellent shrimp tacos, a fantastic Thia spa with gorgeous Thai attendants, bicycle rides from my villa to the beach, walks along the beach at sunrise and sunset, naps in the pavilion next to the private plunge pool, and more gourmet dining-enough to satisfy the most discriminating palate. All in all it was a perfect 10 for a resort stay and NO SWINE FLU!

I encourage travelers to make the trek back and support Mexico whose economy has come to a halt. Go to their safe and hospitable resorts, stay away from those border towns though... PErhaps take a Summer cruise to the Yucatan to experience the beauty of Mexico's beaches and Mayan culture...

It was a wonderful stay for 5 days during a World Crisis....