Janet goes to Mexico! Finally updated…..
? One week of sun, beach activities, exploring the ruins and practising Spanish the Mayan Riviera in Mexico.
The temperature guage on the dashboard showed 29? C and it was 1140pm! Guess I didn’t need to pack the lightweight fleece I took for the cool evenings….
I exited the customs area at the? Cancun? airport to find a gentleman waiting with my name on a sign. I enjoyed a private car ride to the hotel, with a complete set of instructions on? how and when to reconfirm my return transfer. So far, so good. After all, I was alone. The transfer took about 50 minutes on the highway south of Cancun? .? There are some serious speed bumps where the speed limit goes to 80km: metal hills on the road look like a spike belt but rounded. You wouldn’t want to hit one going too fast!!
The driver was keen to answer all of my questions. If you? complain about your long workdays, consider the Mexicans: those who live in tourist areas work whenever the demand is there- often up to 14 hours a day. After all, that is their livelihood and if there are no tourists there is no work. Tips are never included in service prices, but always welcome. There is no preference for USD vs pesos – it’s all money! The exchange in Oct. 2007 was usually 10 pesos = 1 USD, 9 pesos = 1 CAD.
The 5* Riu Yucatan is lovely. Open, spacious and the lobby and buildings are a? pleasing combination of colours (mostly muted ochres) and light. Felix was waiting for me at the? reception desk, chipper despite the hour. He explained the hotel layout, guidleines for the restaurants and gave me a map. It was a short walk to my room along cement pathways lined with trees, bushes and lush grass. My room was on the third floor, which made me glad my suitcase wasn’t any larger, as there are no elevators. The room was very large with wood furnishings and trimming on the arched doorway into the bathroom. The toilet was in its own room off the shower/sink area. This place had it all: hair dryer, minifridge stocked with Corona, orange crush, pepsi and soda water, as well as bottled water. The dispenser on the wall held 4 liquor bottles: Jose Cuerva, Gin, Vodka and Scotch. ?
Monday: Up at 715am after a lousy sleep- I was too excited. My first glimpse in the daylight was of a hot, sunny day already. The balcony was a good size : 2 chairs and a table with room for at least another chair, and WOW an extendible ? clothes rack attached to the wall for hanging bathing suits etc. The view was of lush gardens and trees below, with several varieties of birds providing a morning welcome. It was already close to 30 C when I started out for a 50 min roundtrip morning beach walk to the right of the hotel. There is poor signage along the beach in front of the various hotels, which probably only mattered to me as a travel professional, since I wanted to know which resort was which.
The beach is gorgeous.. white sand, very little garbage and seaweed washed up, and easy on the feet. There is a sharp drop at the edge of the surf, varying from 6″ to 2′, depending on the time of day and location. A terrific way to start the day!
The buffet breakfast was excellent. The quality, selection and presentation of the food was amazing. Food to satisy many cultures for their breakfast pleasures ! There were friendly, smiling servers, but you were also welcome to get your own tea/coffee/juice etc from the central service area. (which also had Corona on tap but I did not have any at breakfast time so I am not sure if it was functioning then). Right inside the restaurant was the hostess taking reservations for? dinners at the various a la carte restaurants. October is not high season, but I saw no indication of anyone having trouble getting a reservation for the night and time they desired, which can be a common complaint at all inclusive resorts.
I found a? beach chair easily. It was not crowded and there were lots of trees but lots of sunny areas too. I could move the chair around? to follow the shade without running into other guests.? Several people had left towels, books and clothing on their chairs as they went into the water or walking, so I did the same. I? would not have left anything valuable, but? each day I left my towel and bag with sunscreen, book etc unattended without worrying about? them.
I walked about 40 min round trip to the left of the hotel, along an increasingly narrow beach. There were 2 resorts which had no beach area left at high tide, so I was glad to be at the Riu? with its large sandy area. There were activities each day at the? pool, so? the beach was quiet, except for the late afternon beach volleyball game. A constant parade of people taking out sailboats, windsurfers, kayaks and just swimming or walking kept me entertained if my book didn’t.
The buffet lunch did not disappoint! Quite a variety of hot and cold? dishes, fruits, salads, desserts, etc.? The guacamole was fantastic!!!? ?
I walked to the other Riu resorts to see what they were like. The Riu chain offers “stay at one play at 5″ with most of the hotels in the Playacar area. The Riu Tequila is not on the beach but has access right beside the Yucatan. There were 2 large pools, so it appeared to me that if you knew in advance that you preferred a pool to the ocean, that would be an excellent choice. Huge garden/trees throughout. It was VERY HOT. 35C was the forecast and I don’t doubt we got there. Not a great time of day to be wandering outside in the sun!
The Riu Playacar had bright mint green buildings, but was otherwise similar to the Riu Yucatan. I headed back to the shade at the beach, where the wind was very strong. The yellow flags were up and it was not good swimming as the waves were too big, but the body surfing was excellent- if you could tolerate being covered in sand when you exited the water….
Dinner at the buffet was as excellent as lunch and breakfast. Fresh fish grilled in front of you contained no bones. All sorts of salad makings, grilled meats and fish, Mexican food, pastas….The variety and quality of food was awesome and the decorations were works of art themselves. Animals carved from fruits, decorations from carved fruits and veggies, and an ice sculpture! One night there was even a butter sculpture.
I changed into more comfortable clothes and sat at the top of the steps looking out over the beach and waves. Very relaxing. There are no guards on the beach like in Cuba- just the lifeguards during the day. I was asleep by 9pm – not likely to sample the nightlife at this resort if I continue this pattern of days!
Tuesday I was up at 630 thanks to the baby next door. No soundproofing can prevent me from hearing that distinctive sound.? After? my? favourite breakfast of tea, bread and cheese, I enjoyed a longer walk on the beach. The tide was lower at 930 than at 730, so I could get around/through the rocky outcropping at the far end of the beach to explore further.?
I checked into tours in the lobby and booked a half day tour to see the ruins at Tulum. There were many choices of activites. In fact, next time I will plan a 2 week stay so I can do all of the sightseeing I want and still have time to enjoy the beach. I locked myself out of the room, but the maid let me in with no probem. The same staff work in the same area all the time, so she had seen me several times already. Again it was very hot, so I returned to the the shade at the beach with relief. The wind kept the worst of the heat away, but made it too rough for swimming. I tried the pool again. It was the only disappointment. There are actually 2 pools side by side rather than one large one. There is a swimup bar on one side, and the other has a? waterside bar which has seats at water level but is not accessible? by swimming. The water didn’t have that squeaky clean feeling many pools do. There were certainly lots of people and music at the pool, and several activities took place there throughout the week. My swim googles kept filling with water and I lost a contact in the pool, so I had to wear glasses for? the rest of the week.
Induging in the yummy lunch buffet found me sleeping in the shade for part of the afternoon. I awoke to see the lifeguards doing a practice on the beach. In my opinion the victim would have died if they worked at the speed they were practising, but hopefully in a real situation they would have been speedier. I enjoyed a long walk on the beach in both directions, refreshed by large waves on a regular basis. I discovered a shower by the pool so I could get rid of the sand before sampling the service at the poolside bar. I almost missed the towel return cutoff, but realized it was not of concern. At checkin you get a plastic card which you exchange daily for a beach towel near the pool. You get he card back when you return the towel. If you lose the card you are charged $20 US .
When I returned to my room, I discovered my fridge had not been restocked ( I thought it was supposed to be done daily) so I called the reception desk to ask for more water. They called back about 10 min later and I had to explain that I only had 1 bottle and needed more to get through the evening. Someone arrived a few minutes later with 4 bottles! Good service here! I enjoyed the sunset with a Corona on my balcony. This is what vacation is all about!
You can see Cozumel from the beach. It looks to be a couple of kilometres across, but distance is hard to guage on the ocean. Several ferries? are visible making the crossing throughout the day.? The buildings on Cozumel are very? clear? , appearing tall and white. You can even see the beach clearly in the sunlight late in the day.? I? saw a cruise ship going in or out, but it was too far out to see the name.
Dinner at the Mexican resataurant was very tasty.? The large salad bar had tortillas and? Mexican food makings as well as the usual north American fare. The jalapeno and chili peppers are always offered separately so it is easy to avoid them if not to your liking.? ? A wedding party was celebrating but that did not interfere with the service at all.? The red wine was not to my liking- tasted cheap? and very heavy. But the food and beer are excellent! ? I had the best seat in the place- a corner overlooking the beach and ocean, so I had a light breeze to keep away any mosquitoes (not that there were many anyway), and felt very comfortable alone. The staff are pleasant and always wanting to inquire where my family was- I guess they don’t see too many single female travellers.
? I received a phone call? as I returned to my room. The connection was excellent but the news was not. I returned to the lobby to use the internet, hoping to find the business centre open- and it was – 0800-2200. I wandered around the lobby and open areas of the hotel. It is noticeably busier by 830pm than earlier- all the Europeans used to later evenings, I guess. Vendors had set up table displays and there was a cigar roller /vendor too. It appeared that the price of cigars was higher here than in Cuba. The outdoor show for children was just starting and appeared to be lively and entertaining.
Wednesday: up at 7, breakfast, then took a taxi to Playa Del Carmen (approx $5) to catch the bus to Cancun. The bus is $3.40 each way and is an air conditioned coach. It made 2 stops? and the customers were mainly locals with a few? tourists. Buses leave every 10 min or so. Scenery out the bus window? is not exciting- mostly the jungle along the highway. The movie on the bus was very loud and lousy! I got off? at the terminal and walked for about 2 hours. It was way too hot to be doing that!? It reminded me of a mixture of China and the Caribbean. Small shops dedicated to a single commodity along the road, many new cars, lots of VW bugs (original)? and some big name stores like Office Depot, Sam’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, Home Depot and Walmart.? ? Very little litter, except occasional piles of recyclables.
I did not see the hotel zone as it was just too hot. After 2 hours I was ready to take the bus back to the hotel! There are clean bathrooms (sanitarios) upstairs at the bus terminal with toilet paper, water and paper towels. All for 3 pesos.
I really enjoyed Playa del Carmen. The pedestrian-only street is lined with shops selling every souvenir imaginable. There is a large clean beach there and the ferry terminal to Cozumel. Prices were very good- low season is always that way!
It felt good to get back to the beach! Another excellent dinner featured the tastiest frech fish I have ever had.? No idea whay it was, though.
Thursday: 725am departure for Tulum, which worked out as breakfast is available from 7am. We had a mini van with 10 people in it from various resorts. They all had positive reports about their hotels. Going directly to Tulum would be about 40 min, but with the various detours to hotels it took about 90 min. Bottled water is provided. The entrance is a 1km walk from the parking lot, and there are a few toilets which were clean, had water and toilet paper. ( An experienced traveller always carries a roll and a small bottle of hand sanitizer just in case). We had a guided tour inside the ruins at Tulum for about 40 min, then about 45 min to explore on our own. Fascinating and not too large. VERY HOT and there is almost no shade, so be prepared with hat and/or umbrella,? sunscreen and water.? 
We were back at the hotel by noon so I rented a bicycle from the Riu Tequila ( $6) to go back into Playa as the souvenire t-shirt I bought was too big. The bike was a bit rickety but it worked. It came with a lock and a basket so was practical. The roads are good and the sidewalk allows bikes. I got turned around at the roundabout and ended up seeing more of the town than I had planned. Very high-end condos, nice vegetation? and colourful.
During a late lunch at the resort I ended up chatting with 3 people from Belgium who? were ending their 2 week stay. We? discussed many of society’s problems- in French- lubricated by pints of Corona on tap. (Just can’t get over that practicality!!)
Friday and Saturday were delightful and relaxing. The beach was busier as the wind had died and the? water looked just like a pool. I went out for an hour in a kayak and it was just perfect.
All of the water toys were well used.? I saw the third wedding of the week at this reosrt, and another on the beach next door.? I saw a Carnival cruise ship – I think it was the Fascination – ? on my last morning walk on the beach.? I made sure to enjoy the food and liquids during my last days. I will miss the food when I get home!
Saturday late in the afternon the sky finally got cloudy and it looked like quite a storm building up. I reconfirmed my transfers back to the airport and packed in the evening.
Sunday morning at 630 my ride was waiting. It had poured during the night and rained on and off before my flight, but I stayed dry thanks to the overhang at the resort and the airport. The airport has lots of shops and some snacks, and was very busy. Security was good and quick!
? Would I return? Oh yes – but for longer so that I could combine both relaxation and sightseeing. There is so much to see!! Now that I have stayed at a 5* resort, I realize the value of spending the extra money for the quality and service.
If you have any questions about the Playa del Carmen area, please contact? me. ? Have you been? What did you think of the area? Share your comments with our readers.
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