Description: Who can resist all the gourmet meals and tropical drinks on offer in Cancun? Definitely not me. While I am a “happy fat girl,” I don’t intend to become a “BIG happy fat girl.” And that means I have to incorporate exercise (and plenty of it) into every vacation. In Cancun, this is easy. To begin with, the entire place is set up to make exercise fun. There is a broad walkway running all along Boulevard Kukulcan with beautiful trees, shrubs and green grass offering some coolness, especially in the early morning. You can run, walk, or rollerblade for miles. There are also two really great sections for cycling with long, smooth paths and good lighting for nighttime riding. These are from Kilometre 1 to 10 and from Km 21 to 25. There are excellent golf courses near Km 8 and Km 18 and the Grand Oasis hotel has its own nine-hole course. There is the gorgeous beach for running, swimming, volleyball, soccer, and water sports. Almost all the deluxe resorts have basketball and tennis courts, not to mention huge swimming pools, well-equipped gyms, and classes in aerobics, yoga, and dancing. Some places also offer step classes. I really like going the gym and you would be amazed at whom one meets in the gym. In addition to the “beautiful people” such as visiting celebrities (hey, they don’t all take their personal trainers with them!), there are usually professional athletes and often the resort entertainers working out. At the Grand Oasis, the gym is run by Alejandro Meza (“Alex”), who definitely qualifies as a beautiful person, a celebrity, and a professional athlete. Alex was Mr. Mexico in 2000 and he is a credit to the sport of bodybuilding. He is also multi-lingual and totally charming. He runs the gym with good humour and excellent service.
I also like stretch classes on the beach. The hot sun and sand really warm up the muscles so that flexibility is dramatically increased in a stretch or yoga class on the beach. Many of the hotels have great yoga instructors but my favourite is Oscar Arce at the Grand. He is quite serious in his teaching but also very attentive and supportive. I took one class with him where he had to communicate in French, German, English, Portuguese, and Spanish with the participants. Somehow, he got his message across and we all stretched as if we were made of rubber bands. Oscar also works with children in the Oasis Day Care program. He laughs and teases the kiddies and gets them all very active in games and sports.
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