Our trip to Cancun this summer was our first attempt at the traditional “beach vacation.” In the past, our trips have always been packed with activities. This time, we decided instead to splurge on a luxury beach resort near Playa del Carmen. Unsure of how long we could survive doing nothing, we opted for a brief 4-night stay with no activities planned in advance. We even saved a few bucks by traveling during hurricane season and forgoing travel insurance. But when we heard about Hurricane Irene moving up the East Coast, we knew we were in trouble. By the time I left work on Friday, we found that our Sunday flight had been canceled. We spent nearly 4 hours on our cell phones, Skype, and Twitter, desperately trying to reach a Delta representative. Luckily, we averted the crisis by arranging to fly out a day earlier, which meant frantically packing and rushing to the airport within 2 hours of our phone call to catch the flight. Arrving in Cancun a day ahead, we checked into the Courtyard Marriot near the airport, but only to realize that Melody had forgotten her contact lenses! Frantic again, we hopped onto the local bus to look for replacements. Luckily, we saw a Sam’s Club along the way and leapt off the bus in joy. With all our remaining pesos and some broken Spanish, we were able to get a new set of contacts to restore my wife’s vision. Our stay at the 5-star Rosewood Mayakoba resort was nothing short of extraordinary. Sipping our welcome cocktails, we were taken to our suite on a boat tour through the private lagoon. After docking, our butler introduced us to the amenities – private boat dock, heated plunge pool, roof deck with day bed, and both indoor and outdoor showers. We enjoyed a sea side Mexican dinner on site with classic sopa de lima and conchita pibil. On Monday, we ferried to Cozumel to visit the Chankanaab national park, where we swam with dolphins, sea lions, and even manatees! We also snorkeled for a couple of hours, though the required life vests and bouyant salt water made it difficult to dive below the surface for underwater photos. We returned to Playa del Carmen in the evening for dinner at Yaxche for delicious authentic Mayan fare. The next morning started with Melody accidentally dropping her Kindle on the floor and my erroneously deleting the cell phone settings for PlayOn streaming. Cut off from our usual entertainment, we took advantage of the resort facilities – the sculptured swimming pool, the club room pool table, and of course, cable TV, where we watched Serena Williams crush her opponent at the US Open. On Wednesday, after our kayaking attempt was foiled by stormy waves, we decided to stay by the beach, where the constant offering of free goodies like mango popsicles, strawberry slushies, cucumber eye covers, facial massage, and sunglass cleaning service (you can’t make this stuff up) kept us in utter relaxation. We returned to Boston refreshed, and thankful to have the long weekend ahead before returning to work.