Indigenous Peoples Day Weekend otherwise know to many as Columbus Day
weekend I was afforded the opportunity to experience Mi Casa Es Su Casa
Holiday Weekend 8 in Playa Del Carmen and Tulum Mexico.
I knew
about this event at it's inception 8 years ago when Julius The Mad Thinker told
me about it.
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| Julius TMT & Me |
At that time I remember being interested but wasn't
excited about the idea of vacationing at a resort. Typically my travel
vacations have been based around exploring the music, nightlife,
cuisine, culture, and some tourist attractions in major cities. I enjoy
the architecture, pulse and mix of people in an urban metropolis. The
idea of vacationing at a resort was a foreign concept to how I get down.
This experience however would prove to open and change my mind.
In previous years when
I would travel to the Winter Music Conference it was primarily because
of the music, hanging out in South Beach, going to the beach and
partaking in cuisine.
The Mi Casa experience is more about
camaraderie and vacationing with music being important component but not
necessarily most important. Music however is what links most of the
attendees together to establish friendships and relationships but there
are also several other aspects of the trip that make it so amazing.
The Vacation
Whether
you are staying at a 5 or 6 star all inclusive resort next to the beach
or one of the boutique hotels good times will be had. I'll speak first
hand about my experience of staying at The Royal which is the top tier 6
star resort featuring all inclusive drinks and food.
My
initial thought was I'll just stay at a boutique hotel because I won't
be in the room much and was fine with becoming familiar with the local
cuisine. As far as drinks go, I would be fine with a visit to the liquor
store and obtain my beverage(s) of choice to last the entire trip.Then
when talking with a few people they were telling me I should go all
inclusive so I first chose the less expensive Gran Porto Resort. After weighing the
pros and cons I was still leaning toward the Gran Porto
Resort but was still uncertain. Many of my friends suggested I stay at
The Royal. When the deadline to switch to The Royal was fast
approaching, I had compared the amenities but I hadn't compared the
restaurants. The two things that sold me on The Royal was having access
to either hotel, having access to all of the restaurants in either hotel
including the French fusion restaurant Maria Marie. If I stayed in the
Gran Porto I wouldn't have access to Maria Marie. Another difference would be unlimited access and slightly better
drink and food packages. The Royal has 24 hour room service which I
never used mainly because there is a game room with pool tables, TVs,
food and drink that is open 24 hours so it was easier to stop there on
the way to the room and grab something quick if hungry. Also The Royal
is adults only and the Gran Porto allows kids.
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The Royal
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The Royal at Sunrise
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Parties, Events, and Culture
There
were several parties throughout the extended weekend and all of them were good. None stand out as my
favorite. Lot's of DJ sets that were on point. I attended dance class to
check out my homie Andre Rockmaster from Sao Paulo who was spinning on
one day then teaching on the other day. Participating in the non-party
events was actually very enlightening. Most of the people who
participated in the dance sessions were local to the area which I
thought was really dope because it showed me another aspect of Mi Casa
which was integrating house music into the local community and
connecting with the native citizens.
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| Andre Rockmaster & Me |
It reminded me of a
love and peace filled colonization with a positive end result for all
parties involved. Unlike Columbus and his comrades, instead of just showing up and taking advantage of the natives and their land they were giving something back and including them in this mission of spreading love. There was also a dance and performance showcase that
featured B-Boy crews, dance crews, individual dance performances, vocal
performances, and a dope authentic hip hop set by We Love Soul's very
own DJ Kwest_on. This was another opportunity to get the local community
involved.
Socializing at the parties and all
activities in between were great opportunities to connect with old
friends and meet new ones. I had an opportunity to hang with people I
met years ago at WMC and meet new friends. The energy and love was
definitely there. What was really dope was re-connecting with people I
don't see very often but it felt like we picked up where we left off
when hanging in other cities and countries. Friends from ATL, Cali,
Montreal, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, NY, Boston, Philly and of course my
Chicago peeps.
The clubs/venues were all really nice! Especially enjoyed the ones that were outdoors or near the beach.
What
else makes Mi Casa so special is you don't have to be a lover of House Music to really have a good time. The entertainment and music is "all
inclusive" too. Turntables on The Beach which is the Mi Casa version of
Turntables on the Hudson in NY plays a variety of Soulful music that
appeals to everybody. This is important because although a lot of people
go to the parties not everybody goes to all the parties but everybody
goes to Tulum.
There's nothing like partying while on the beach and in the ocean.
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| Outside Papaya Playa Beach (Tulum) |
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| The Ruins |
A whole lot to say here about Tulum but you can't really put it into words and would need to be there to experience it. .
Sunshine, partying on the beach and in the ocean, great weather, warm water, great people.
Prior to Tulum I took a bus that would take us to visit the Ruins first then headed to Tulum.
For
me a trip to Mexico would not be complete until I was able to
experience a bit of history and ancient culture. Another great aspect
about this trip is being able to experience a variety of dope touristy
activities if you want or just relax, or party, or all of the above.
Friends also went snorkeling and went to Chichen Itza.
Although,
Playa Del Carmen is the final Mi Casa stop each year, Mi Casa happens
in other cities and countries. The Mi Casa family has added Cuba as a
destination in 2017 and Costa Rica is already a destination. Kudos to
the Mi Casa staff for supplying such a diverse experience centered
around vacationing and music.
The Food
As many of you know I'm a foodie and love unique dining experiences. This was an important aspect of my trip because if I find a dish or preparation I like, I'll try to incorporate it into my repertoire. I also, just like to simply enjoy it. There would be times that I was scheduling dinner in between DJ sets I wanted to check out. If I give my thumbs up you'll know by how excited I am when describing and it's definitely worth checking out. Here is a critique of the restaurants on the resort campus.
Maria Marie: French & Mexican Fusion (mostly French)
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| Salmon & Vegetables |
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| Creme Brulee' |
Escargot, Mussels Au Gratin, 3 types of Bread with herb butter, Salmon with sauteed vegetables and a cream sauce, Creme Brulee, and Grand Mariner Souffle.
Everything was delicious. The Creme Brulee is served with vanilla and chocolate ice cream. I could've done without the chocolate ice cream but it was still tasty. The Grand Marnier Souffle was delicious. I'm not into Souffles much but this one was good this was served with vanilla ice cream.
Pelicano's: American grill style with mostly seafood options.
I met a few new friends while in line and while waiting for our table we grabbed a seat at the bar and indulged in the Fish Tacos along with Chips and Guacamole. Fish tacos and tequilla while waiting for our table? And yes, I'm all about that life. For dinner I had the grouper and the corn and crab bisque. It was tasty. Obviously more corn than crab which gave it a taste of cream corn but it was still cool. Fish tacos were the bomb especially since the toppings were custom. These would rank among the Top 5 on my running list of Fish Taco spots in North America. The Grouper was good but not great. It's probably because I'm not much of a grouper fan.
After sharing some with my friends I was able to taste the shrimp. The fried shrimp was good as well as the shrimp cocktail. Be forewarned the shrimp cocktail does not come with cocktail sauce. In fact there was no cocktail sauce at the restaurant but
they had an adequate tartar sauce/aioli that stood in the place of the cocktail sauce.
The Mimosa Salad would have fancy salad greens, hearts of palm, egg, smoked lox salmon, and smoked trout. Lots of special nuances here on this dish the smoked trout and hearts of palm stole the show on this one and the dressing tasted like a high end ranch/caesar combination dressing which in my opinion was a great choice.
El Meditteraneo: Mediterranean, French, and Italian flavors.
As I was walking to meet friends in the lobby, this was the closest option to my room. When I ate here, the buffet was over in the next 45 minutes so since it's all inclusive. I decided to put a few items on a plate and sample the cuisine. It was good but it was the buffet. Nothing really to write home about. I've heard dinner which is after 5pm is much better. I just didn't have the time to eat there again for dinner.
Spice:
Here's where I got creative.
This was the breakfast buffet spot.
My plate looked like this...Smoked salmon with cream cheese and shallots nestled tightly into a mini croissant. poached salmon, toasted English muffin with butter, cactus and other mixed veggies with chicken and mixed veggies. Fruit on another plate and lots of green juice to drink and for hydration and nutrition. Before checking out and heading to the airport the chef even made me a special plate of fish tacos (upon my request) which weren't on the buffet. He made enough so I could share with my friends and we all enjoyed them. Didn't do the the eggs or an omelet simply because I didn't have a taste for them but it did look good and could've customized my own omelette or scramble.
Asiana:
Asian Fusion Cuisine
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| Sushi |
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| Tempura Ice Cream |
I had the crab tuna salmon avocado and cream cheese sushi, crab &
scallion soup, Terryaki Red Snapper, Tempura Ice Cream.
This meal was really good. Not many places typically carry Red Snapper I think the Terryaki tuna or salmon may have been better for my main dish but the Red Snapper was still tasty.
The Tempura Ice Cream was interesting because the tempura batter was thick and good by itself.
il Pescatore: Italian
The Food was good.
Salmon, Grouper, Risotto, Fried Octopus Salad, Shrimp Soup.
Dessert:Too stuffed to eat dessert so it would be Kaluha mixed Disarrano (Amaretto Liquer) for a dessert drink.
We ate here after a long day at the beach in Tulum so I don't remember everything about the meal but it was good. If you eat pork remember to let them know to not put bacon or ham in your dish. Although it is not listed on the menu they still tried to slide some bacon into my soup.
In Closing...
The slogan for Mi Casa is "Rediscover Amazing" and that is exactly what we did.
Kudos to the Mi Casa staff for supplying such a diverse experience centered around vacationing and music.
Keep in mind that Playa Del Carmen is the final Mi Casa stop each year, Mi Casa happens
in other cities and countries throughout the year and the Mi Casa family has added Cuba as a
destination in 2017 while Costa Rica is already a destination among a few other places.
