February 16, 2011: Playa del Carmen

The city of Playa del Carmen is part of the fabulous “Riviera Maya”, also known as the Mayan Riviera. The “Riviera” is a thriving tourism district which follows coastal Highway 307 parallel to the Caribbean coastline of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The Riviera is located along the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula, and it is incredibly beautiful. The district historically started at Playa del Carmen and ended at the village of Tulum. Today, the towns of Puerto Morelos and Cancun (north of Playa) and the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto (south of Tulum) are also being promoted as part of the Riviera Maya tourist corridor.

The Riviera Maya was originally called the “Cancun - Tulum corridor”. In 1999 it was renamed as the “Riviera Maya”. The Riviera Maya is famous for its large scale all-inclusive resorts and a historical tourism base of smaller boutique hotels as well as the many fine-dining restaurants available along Highway 307 and on or near the beaches. Luxury travel entities have been instrumental in increasing luxury villa rentals and yacht charters in the area. However, these only represent a small fraction of the total tourism accommodation available. Government development plans include establishing a number of medium sized (i.e., approximately 200,000 inhabitants) cities within the Riviera Maya with initial planning spanning 20 years. Target areas for urbanization include the towns and villages of: Puerto Morelos (technically outside the Riviera Maya), Puerto Aventuras, Akumal, Chemuyil, and Tulum.

A major attraction throughout the Riviera Maya are coastal and reef aquatic activities dependent on the coastal water and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (also known as the Belize Barrier Reef) which begins near Cancun and continues along the whole length of the Riviera Maya continuing southward all along the coast of Belize to Guatemala. This barrier reef system is the second longest in the world. Activities at the most visited locations include Jet Skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming in cenotes, swimming with dolphins, zip-lining, horseback riding, sailing, and guided jungle tours. Archeology is also a big tourist draw in the area, including the popular archeological sites operated by the Instituto Nacional de Archeologica such as Tulum on the coast, and Chichen Itza and Coba located a short distance inland. The self-named ecoparks of Xcaret and Xel-Ha also include some smaller archeological ruins as part of their attractions, but these natural water theme parks operated by private business consortia attract much larger crowds due to the diversity and range of activities provided, such as swimming with captive dolphins. The long and the short of it is... the Riviera Maya is paradise … and just a couple hours by air from the United States.

After a late afternoon walk along the beautiful beach that is the epicenter and very definition of Playa del Carmen, I jumped in the shower and then took a short siesta to get ready for the evening’s festivities. My young Scandinavian friends were meeting me next door at “their favorite mojito bar” – Siesta Fiesta – at 7:00 PM. They were right on time, and at such an early hour it was no problem getting “ringside seats” directly across from the band stand.

The Fabulous Siesta Fiesta Restaurant & Bar FAH on Fifth Avenue in Playa del Carmen

Tobias and Trygve told me that the place featured live music every night, so we would have a great view of the band when they started playing. We ordered some enchiladas and beer (“cerveza”) for starters and got started catching up on our respective “stories”. Tobias and Trygve told me they met when they were both working for the Thomas Cook Group. I had heard of this company before, but I had no idea how idea just how large, broad and diversified the company is. Thomas Cook Group plc has been in business over 170 years and currently has more than 22.5 million customers, 31,000 employees throughout 21 countries, and nearly 3,500 stores all operating under the founder's name. The company offers its guests a myriad of different vacation destinations and experiences, and my Scandinavian buddies had worked at some of the more exotic destinations in Europe including the Canary Islands. The first band took the stage at about 8:00 PM, and they were pretty decent. Two young ladies sitting next to us were shouting something about the band, so I turned to them and asked if they liked the music. They told me that they had heard this group and another group (that starts playing at 9:00 PM) the previous night, and that the second group is really good. The talk about the bands had cracked the ice a little bit, so we talked a little more about Playa del Carmen and I told them that we had just arrived by van this afternoon from Belize. “Can you believe Belize is only about four hours from here?” I asked them. “Really?” one of the gals remarked.  “Yes”, I told them. “And you can take a bus there for less than $20.00.” “Wow!” the dark-haired woman (whose name I found out a few minutes later is Megan)  remarked. Megan's eyes gleamed brightly as she smiled excitedly and said, “I can’t believe Belize is that close. I’m definitely going down there next time I come down”. I told Megan she looked like somebody famous and she said I was probably thinking of her resemblance to Meryl Streep. "Exactly", I said. "A younger, hotter version of the legendary film icon." For sure. The photo below will give you the general idea.

The Lovely Megan (Ontario, Canada)

“Hey”, why don’t you guys join us over here”, I suggested, as my silent partners kept glancing over at this crazy old timer holding court with the two lovely young ladies. I was not at all surprised that Tobias and Trygve were quiet and shy as Minnesota is the land of Scandinavians -- and I am 50% Scandinavian myself-- so I am very familiar with the phenomenon. Eventually, the women moved their chairs next to ours and we made it a five some. Now the entire table could take part in the conversation, and we had a great time talking about the band and our respective trips. The girls, Megan and Jenn, were both from Ontario, Canada, and they were very cool—and attractive. Megan is a social worker and had recently broken up with her boyfriend. Jenn is a nurse. Jenn said later that she thought Tobias was “super cute”. She had told Megan that her nickname for Tobias was “Hot Swedish Love”.

Jenn the Nurse from Ontario

Unfortunately, shortly after the introductory material Tobias disappeared and Jenn got impatient and went off looking for someone who would pay attention to her. Tobias told us later that he was talking to his girlfriend back in Sweden on his cell phone. I was giving Megan bad relationship advice (who better than someone who had failed repeatedly over his career at this?) and our Norwegian pal Trygve was getting more and more intoxicated. At some point during the evening Trygve complimented me on my superb “wing man” skills and mentioned that he really liked Megan. I made the big mistake of failing to tell him that – in that case—he needed to tell Megan this rather than me. I probably forgot because I was also (a little) intoxicated and I also thought Megan was the bomb. 

We all bid our farewells at about midnight, and after hearing that Megan and Jenn had to check out of their hotel in the morning -- but did not depart until late afternoon I told them they could stash their luggage in my hotel room in the morning. I suggested we all meet at the Starbucks across the street from Siesta Fiesta at 9:30 AM if they wanted to do this. And that was that (but I DID get Megan’s e-mail and Facebook details so we have been keeping in touch since our February encounter).  I still think Megan is the bomb.

February 16, 2011 (Wednesday) [Leaving San Pedro: Again…]: Part One

Today I had to be sure to wake up at 6:00 AM (without an alarm clock s usual) so I could once again pack my bags and make sure I catch the 7:30 water taxi to Chetumal, Mexico (I was told to be there at 7:00 AM to make sure I got a seat). I had paid for my ticket (US$30.00) the night before just in case. While waiting on the dock (directly in front of my Hotel—the fabulous Spindrift) I met a friendly and interesting young (29 years) couple from Australia. They told me about the whirlwind world tour they were in the middle of – and mentioned a bunch of the exciting places they had already been on their voyage. They had already been to a number of great U.S. cities and would soon be heading to Europe. They gave me their web site (www.aviandange.com) which is no longer an active site but was active when I checked it upon my return to Minnesota in late February. It was a great web site which featured a map showing all the places they traveled and a bunch of interesting commentary about their adventures (too bad it is no longer active). I commended them for taking their dream “Ferdinand Magellan Voyage” while they are still young and energetic rather than waiting until they are old and feeble (or never at all) as happen with most people. 

The San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi was running a bit late on this particular morning, and we did not actually get underway until about 8:00 AM.

The weather was great for the cruise and the water was calm, so it was both a comfortable and beautiful experience. In no time at all – it seemed (it generally takes about 90 minutes)—we were pulling into the port at Chetumal. As you can see from the map (below), the water taxi brings you from the southern tip of Ambergris Caye all the way to the top of the Bay of Chetumal (which separates Belize from Mexico).

There were only a handful of fellow travelers on the boat, and during the voyage one of the water taxi employees (they have excellent employees by the way) told us about the van service they offer as an alternative to the “luxury bus” than ran daily from Chetumal to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Two of the best things about traveling by water are that you pay a slightly smaller "departure tax" for leaving Belize than you have to pay if you leave via bus or automobile and the customs process is much "classier" when you travel by sea. Just for fun I decided to take the van to Playa del Carmen offered by the San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi people. I could have taken the bus for about US$18.00, and the van cost US$30.00 -- but it would save the taxi ride to the terminal and would be yet another adventure. It was a fortuitous decision on my part, because on the long van ride I met two of the coolest young guys I could have hoped to meet along the way. One of the guys-- Trygve-- was from Norway, and his friend -- Tobias-- was Swedish.

A Photo of Me with My New Friend Trygve from Norway (on the beach in Playa)

My Other New Friend-- Tobias -- from Sweden

Fortunately, both Tobias and Trygve both spoke English well, because I can speak hardly a word of either of their languages. We had a lot to chat about along the way, and the van stopped at a tourist spot called the Blue Cenote for lunch. The cenote was beautiful and was supposedly over 200 feet deep. We saw several of the hotel patrons swimming right outside the hotel. The Scandinavians told me they had been in Playa del Carmen for a few days but got bored, so on impulse they decided to go to Belize to check the place out. They had no idea how far it was, so they were in for a shock when their taxi driver told them the price for the trip was US$120.00. But just imagine how much it would cost for a four hour taxi ride anywhere in the USA! We finally arrived in Playa and I had absolutely no idea where I was going, so I got off at the same place my new friends got off. They mentioned that they had seen a sign for a very reasonable hotel room near their place, and they even helped me find it. It was nothing fancy, but it was only 300 pesos per night (about US$30.00) and it was right in the middle of Playa del Carmen -- on the famous Fifth Avenue - so I was "all in". Their hotel was nearby, so we agreed to meet at the place next door to my hotel called Siesta Fiesta - which they said was their favorite mojito bar in Playa-- at 7:00 PM for some adventures. To be continued...