Viva Mexico!

Tom and I like to get out of Boise in the dead of winter and head to warmer climates.

This year we decided to go to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. 

We booked a room with our RCI points at the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort.

It is an all-inclusive resort, but we were able to opt out of the all-inclusive option.

We flew in to Cancun on Friday, January 18, and waited an hour in the passport control line, 

then got our luggage and waited another hour to rent a car.

We couldn't believe all the people.

Sara and Jon were flying in at the same time so we thought it would

be easy to hook up with them.

Thank goodness for cell phones because little did we know that  their Southwest airline flight landed in Terminal 4, we were in Terminal 3.

We finally connected with them at the Hertz rent a car as we waited for our car.
We finally got the car, drove to our resort and checked in and then drove to
Playa for some dinner at Don Sirloin,
a marquesita,(a delicious Mexican treat with nutella and bananas inside a crunchy crepe)

 and some grocery shopping at Mega.

Saturday morning, Tom and I headed out for a walk on the beach.

We ate breakfast in our rooms, packed a picnic and headed for our resort's beach.

It was a perfect setting.

Ah, the beautiful turquoise blue of the Caribbean.

Later Saturday afternoon we drove to Xplor adventure park.
From 5:30-11 pm you can do the adventure park in the dark
(well there are tiki torches) it's called Xplor Fuego.
It is super fun!
We first did the 9 zip lines.
Lots and lots of climbing but you get an amazing view of the jungle and the Yucatan pennisula.
The last and highest zipline you go through a waterfall on the way down and into the water.
We didn't have a water proof camera so we didn't get very many pictures,
but Xplor is so cool with underground caves and waterways that you float on a kayak,
a delicious mexican buffet dinner,
a jeep trail that you drive through the jungle and underground and over suspension bridges
that would never pass muster in the US.
We had a fabulous time!
Thankfully Sara had her camera in the locker so we got a few pictures.

We had a blast!
On Sunday morning we went to church in Playa del Carmen.
There are 3 wards that meet in the chapel that is right off the highway.
After church, we changed clothes, drove into town, parked the car and took the ferry
over to Cozumel.

We rented scooters and took a tour around the island.

 We stopped for lunch at a little bar on the beach

and pretty soon we were joined by a busload of people.

Then a van load of drunk people showed up.

Our serene spot wasn't so serene anymore.

We found some picture perfect spots.

We spent the day exploring the island, then turned in our scooters

and took the ferry back to Playa del Carmen for dinner.

We walked along 5th Avenue

 and saw the Mayans spin around on that tall pole.

We ate at Longastino Maya which had delicious seafood.

Tom and Jon had chicken cordon bleu which Tom said was the best he'd

ever had.  Sara and I had salmon.

It was yummy! Well, everything except the German drunk guy that wouldn't stop talking to us.
The manager finally had to kick the guy out.

Monday morning we took another walk along the beach.

Our resort's pool was beautiful!

After our walk, we met up with Jon and Sara and drove to Xcaret.

Mexico's version of the Polynesian cultural center.

We found a perfect spot on the beach and did a little snorkeling.

Saw the manatees and the dolphins

Took a walk through the butterfly pavillion

and the aviary.

Tom loves walking through the Mayan village

and the Church and cemetery grounds

where there are beautiful headstones and grave markers.

We floated through the underground cenotes

and ate a delicious Mexican buffet dinner.

Can you tell I was having a hard time holding that ridiculous

hat on my head?

We watched the equestrian show

then headed to the Mexico cultural show.

These guys greet you along the way.

It was another fabulous day!
Tuesday we got up early and drove to Tulum.
Sara and Jon had never been there, so we dropped them off at the ruins and
Tom and I headed to the beach.

We picked them up around noon and drove south of Tulum to the Papaya Playa Project.

Whoa how times have changed.  It used to be a sleepy little beach

with some tables and chairs you could use if you bought a drink.

Now they charge $50-$75 per person to use a chair/bed/lounger.

Ridiculous!!

We opted to find our own spot on the beach.

See all that seaweed on the beach?

It is an unusual year for seaweed this year,

so workers spend hours day after day, trying to

haul the seaweed away.

That night we ate Mexican food at Kaxapa in Playa.
It is a Venezuelan restaurant.
I had the fried plantain something or other.
It was really good and something new.
 

We walked around our resort afterwards and enjoyed the full moon.

 
 
We got up early on Wednesday and drove into Playa so we could eat breakfast at

Cueva de Chango.  It is one of our favorite places to eat and usually has a big wait,

so we beat the crowd.

I had banana and yogurt crepes with granola.

Yum!

We shopped on 5th Avenue, then drove back to our resort and went to the beach and the pool.  

The beach was super windy so I hung out at the pool while Sara and Jon hung out at the windy beach.

We drove into Puerto Morales for dinner and walked along the beach.

Crazy, windy hair!

We ate delicious, authentic Mexican food for dinner at Cantino Habenero,

and that chocolate cake was to die for.

Thursday morning we took another walk on the beach.

Just look at all that sea weed.

It is back breaking work for all the workers who have to remove it all.

We saw many iguanas lounging in the sun

We drove Sara and Jon into Cancun on Thursday so they could see

the hotel strip and the beautiful beach.

We did a little shopping

and had more Mexican food for lunch.

My fish tacos were delish!

We then had to drive Sara and Jon to the airport and said adios as

they flew back home to Colorado!

It was so fun having them with us in Mexico,

especially since Jon speaks Spanish.

For dinner, Tom and I at at La Famiglia for some Italian food.

What?

It was actually my favorite meal.

We had bruschetta and a delicious fettuccine with camerones.

Friday morning we took our last walk on the beach and checked out of our resort.

We drove back to Puerto Morales

and spent the day at the beach.

It is a very laid back beach.

There were even free beach chairs and umbrellas.

They had a seaweed picker upper tractor.

Tom treated us to a couples massage in that little shack, right on the beach.

Ah, heaven.

Happy relaxed campers.

We finally left the beach around 4 and drove into Playa where we checked into the Hotel Morgana 

for one night.

It was a cute, boutique hotel I found on Trip Advisor.

They even gave us each a free drink.

For dinner we ate at our favorite taco place, El Fagon.

The tacoes al pastor are so good.

It was a rainy night in Playa as you can tell from my hair.
We crossed the street to Mega and ate our last "marquesita" in the parking garage.
Then we took our umbrellas and did our last minute shopping on 5th Avenue.

We flew home on Saturday in the middle of a rain storm.
It actually made leaving a little bit more bearable.
We even ran into bad traffic outside of Cancun because lanes of traffic were covered
in storm water.
We were glad we had left for the airport early.
Adios Mexico! Hope to be back soon!