Cancun Challenge, Nov. 26-27

[Box and Won]

Is anyone going? I may see if it will work for us.

[Emoracze]

Would love to, but my wife's cousin set her wedding date for that weekend. So instead of sunny, warm Cancun, I'll be in NYC at the end of November (probably freezing my billikens off).

[Scoop]

I'm gonna try.

[TheA_Bomb]

Is anyone going? I may see if it will work for us.

Can I room with you? I hear Cancun is romantic that time of year. Appletinis for all.

[DirtyRican]

Can I room with you? I hear Cancun is romantic that time of year. Appletinis for all.

Are you a tall boy in a brown paper bag kinda guy?

I am out, a smaller DirtyRican is arriving the week before.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

A couple nice articles

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/16/17335592-gunmen-kill-6-at-bar-in-mexico-resort-town-of-cancun-5-wounded?lite

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/14/mexico-crime-cancun-idUSL2N0D10IX20130414

[slu72]

_{Oh, yeah I'm booking right now. Nothing like a nice decap to ring in the new season. I think SLU should give A Bomb a free trip in return for security services.}

[Westy03]

A couple nice articles

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/16/17335592-gunmen-kill-6-at-bar-in-mexico-resort-town-of-cancun-5-wounded?lite

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/14/mexico-crime-cancun-idUSL2N0D10IX20130414

Im going to Riviera Maya in August for a wedding. Yikes.

[jimbofive]

Are you a tall boy in a brown paper bag kinda guy?

i sure as sh1t am.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Im going to Riviera Maya in August for a wedding. Yikes.

Don't forget to pack your pistola.

[Bobby Metzinger]

Turn 31 on the 26th. If they have a 31 flavors down there, I'll treat. Otherwise, I'll be on the Farm in Palo Alto for ND-Stanford that weekend.

[drkelsey55]

1. Gosh, 31. Almost over the hill. 44 more years before you don't get...nevr mind too politcal a discussion for this board.

[Bobby Metzinger]

1. Gosh, 31. Almost over the hill. 44 more years before you don't get...nevr mind too politcal a discussion for this board.

Thanks, Doc Hope all is well with you, sir!

[Billikenboy]

I will be there with my Malta Classica Azucar de Cana in hand! Join me won't you?

[Taj79]

I'd love to know where these bars actually are because I'm willing to bet it's nowhere near where I have been. I've been to Cancun twice and never made it into "Cancun city." The Hotel Zone, the tourist area, is physically separated from the city by water -- the lagoon Nichupte. If you are anywhere near the city, you could be quite fuoked. The only reason I was told to go to the city was if I wanted to see a real bullfight. No thanks.

Riviera Maya is also fine, provided you are on the resorts as far as I can tell. The drive through there from Cancun to Tulum was not "eye appealing" to say the least. Neither were the back roads to Chichen Itza or Coba. But the world is a dangerous place and shat happens everywhere. Know before you go.

The wife and I once drove Aruba to San Nicholas to eat at Charlies Bar, a reknown local hot spot. We parked on the street and found out we had to pay a "parking fee" that was later described as "insurance" or "protection." There are stories like that all over a web page for that bar at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147251-d148238-r46971911-Charlie_s_Bar-San_Nicolas_Aruba.html

If you are at a place where everything is all-inclusive, why would you go off-site to spend money unnecessarily is beyond me. Folks tend NOT to open fire at a pool bar nor do decapitations usually occur.

[Scoop]

I'd love to know where these bars actually are because I'm willing to bet it's nowhere near where I have been. I've been to Cancun twice and never made it into "Cancun city." The Hotel Zone, the tourist area, is physically separated from the city by water -- the lagoon Nichupte. If you are anywhere near the city, you could be quite fuoked. The only reason I was told to go to the city was if I wanted to see a real bullfight. No thanks.

Riviera Maya is also fine, provided you are on the resorts as far as I can tell. The drive through there from Cancun to Tulum was not "eye appealing" to say the least. Neither were the back roads to Chichen Itza or Coba. But the world is a dangerous place and shat happens everywhere. Know before you go.

The wife and I once drove Aruba to San Nicholas to eat at Charlies Bar, a reknown local hot spot. We parked on the street and found out we had to pay a "parking fee" that was later described as "insurance" or "protection." There are stories like that all over a web page for that bar at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147251-d148238-r46971911-Charlie_s_Bar-San_Nicolas_Aruba.html

If you are at a place where everything is all-inclusive, why would you go off-site to spend money unnecessarily is beyond me. Folks tend NOT to open fire at a pool bar nor do decapitations usually occur.

Have some all time stories from many nights in St Nick. Shady place.

[JMM28]

The city of Cancun isn't that bad. I was just there in February and walked around downtown at night, no problem. It is no different than visiting Chicago or St. Louis. If you stay out of the bad neighborhoods you're fine.

For anyone going, I would highly recommend a day trip to Isla Mujeres. Take the water taxi, rent a golf cart for the day, and hit the north beach. It is one of the most incredible beach settings in this hemisphere. And you can get drunk as hell and drive a golf cart around on the streets.

[Old guy]

I have been in Mexico many times and never felt very unsafe there. The water, ice, fruit, and raw vegetables are a real problem there which can really get to you if not careful. But I never felt unsafe in the towns among the people there, yes there is poverty but there is a lot of poverty in the US as well. My beef with all inclusive resorts is that food can be absolutely awful, cooked hours in advance and plainly not good. I would strongly suggest to everyone going there to limit drinking to bottled liquids and to insist to be given unopened bottles and no glasses or ice. Beer and diet coke or bottled water is the way to go in Mexico. Wherever you are and whatever they tell you about their water purification equipment, stick to bottled liquids unless you want a very intimate relationship with their sanitary facilities. As far as the violence reports you read in the media, Mexico is a very large country with lots of people and good and bad areas. You are not safe in certain parts of the US either.

[ACE]

I have been in Mexico many times and never felt very unsafe there. The water, ice, fruit, and raw vegetables are a real problem there which can really get to you if not careful. But I never felt unsafe in the towns among the people there, yes there is poverty but there is a lot of poverty in the US as well. My beef with all inclusive resorts is that food can be absolutely awful, cooked hours in advance and plainly not good. I would strongly suggest to everyone going there to limit drinking to bottled liquids and to insist to be given unopened bottles and no glasses or ice. Beer and diet coke or bottled water is the way to go in Mexico. Wherever you are and whatever they tell you about their water purification equipment, stick to bottled liquids unless you want a very intimate relationship with their sanitary facilities. As far as the violence reports you read in the media, Mexico is a very large country with lots of people and good and bad areas. You are not safe in certain parts of the US either.

Good point. I worked with a guy from Bosnia. He said that his mom was absolutely terrified that he was living in St. Louis, because she had read that our town was the murder capital of the U.S.

[kwyjibo]

Taj indirectly touched on this but the games and host resort are 55 miles away from Cancun. I am not sure why people are talking about Cancun (would Buffalo be a relevant discussion if SLU was playing in Olean?). I guess you could stay in Cancun but there are closer options (even Cozumel).

[Taj79]

kwyjibo -- depends on how you measure but I believe you are way, way off. Wikipedia says the games are played at the Moon Palace Resort, which is the first resort south of Cancun, the northernmost resort of what might be called the Riviera Maya. It's only about 15 miles south of downtown Cancun City just south of the airport. This is one of those places where if you go, you aren't going anywhere else because nothing else is around there. At least in the Hotel Zone, you can walk/bus ride/cabby to malls, golf course, swamp boats, restaurants, etc. Buses in the hotel zone are cheap and safe. It was like 7 cents per person per trip in December 2004.

@jmm28 -- hear, hear on the day trip to Isla. Isla is a tourist trap town tho ---- t-shirts, "real" cuban cigars, ash trays, all sorts of crap (but somebody get jimbo his own kama sutra figurine set will ya!). There is a wonderful cantina in the middle of town and I can offer a high recommendation and name if interested. Kids did swim with the dolphins there. Twice. Mexican cabbies = roller coaster rides. Prepare. There are parts of the townof Isla you could disappear in as well. It's that way everywhere.

Food, ice and water on the resorts were fine. Water, yes, I did the bottled in the rooms and all but when you're sipping Mai Tais or "frozen concoctions that help you hang on," well, you're doing ice and lots of it. Ive been to Mexico, Aruba, and Punta Cana in the gulf and had little to no issues with the dreaded Montezuma's revenge or dysentary. Resort food is going to depend on the resort -- you get what you pay for. The adults only section, the Royal Suites Turquesa, is excellent at Cana in the Dominican. RIU resorts in Mexico were quite grand. Barcelo and Palladium are good names to look for. The Cancun Oasis is where MTV does/did most of the "Spring Break" shoots. And it crap because of it. Anyone who's destroyed as hotel room on sprin gbreak (my ahnd is raised) knows what I mean. At my age, I don't want to be anywhere near where the spring breakers are ---- until the tips comes off.

P.S. -- there seems to be a lot more "bd" topless then there is "good" topless ..... and I'm relatively benign inmy grading standards. Kind of like "good thong, bad thong."

[kwyjibo]

Taj,

The event host Triple Crown Sports says the games are going to be played at Aventura Palace (I know, so many palaces!). That is south of Playa del Carmen and why I referenced Cozumel. In the past it has been at that other palace. According to Google that is 58 miles to downtown Cancun (less to the airport).

http://www.triplecrownsports.com/cancun/cancun.asp?eventid=31

[Taj79]

Touche kwyjibo. Did not know that.

[bonwich]

Oh, Taj. You're such a touchebag.

[Taj79]

Thanks oh, great bonowich. Appreciate that.

@kwyjibo --- given that the Adventura is the Riviera Maya extension of the Palace complex (Cancun Palace, Sun Palace, Beach Palace, Moon Palace, etc.) moving it from one to the other is not that surprising to me. This is NOT Cancun and should never be advertised as such. You go to this resort, going anywhere else is going to prove to be an adventure. There is nothing out there but beach, resort and jungle. Which would be fine by me!

I finally read the promotional flyer on this event at: http://www.triplecrownsports.com/cancun/cancun.asp?eventid=31

We will get two home games against two Mayan division teams from either Georgia Southern (280), Bowling Green (204), Oral Roberts (149) or Presbyterian (335). Thier 2013 KenPoms are in parenthesis. Blech. The four "bigs" in Rivieran division are us (18), Old Dominion (263), West Virginia (125)and Wisconsin (12). For strength of schedulke and OOC schedule sake, I'd guess I'd want Oral Roberts and Bowling Green followed by West Virginia and Wisconsin.

This bothers me ...."A ballroom is converted into an arena ....." and then it says the Mexican games "will be nationally televised LIVE in HD from the Aventura Palace Convention Center." Is this ballroom and so-called "convention cneter" the one and the same? Just curious.

Also, we went down here not too long ago under Rick's reign during the 2010-11 season, playing Northeastern and Southern Miss and Ole Miss in the "inaugural" Cancun Governor's Cup. This was in the Christmas timeframe. I see where it was also run in 2011. But no mention of it in 2012. That one was played at the Poliforum Benito Juarez, which is indeed in downtown Cancun. Has this event been cancelled after only two runs? Anybody know?