Adventures in Wanderlust: October 2013

I finally got a passport so last month I took my first trip out of the country to Mexico. I split a beach front condo with 3 friends in Playa del Carmen for 7 days. "Playa" is a coastal resort town in Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and is about an hour's drive from Cancun. It 's at the center of the Mayan Riviera and offers a relaxed atmosphere and a European flavor, unlike Cancun where you may find your aunt that wears shirts with sassy sayings on them may go to vacation.

We took a bus to Playa from the Cancun airport, but ended up realizing when we were leaving that taking a cab was about the same price split between us all and much more convenient. Our cab driver played that "What a Feeling" song from Flash Dance from a burned cd he had that was labeled"disco". It was a good decision. On the bus there was a European guy that had the same haircut as me sitting in front of me. It wasn't nearly as fun as the cab ride.

When we arrived in Playa we simply walked through the streets to our condo. Everything in Playa is walkable distance and I love that. There's no need for a car once you're there. The streets are full of open air restaurants and shops. Around 5th avenue and the area leading up to the beach is the main touristy area where the streets are cobblestone and everything looks like the background to a romantic movie. The employees of the shops are not shy about trying to get you to come in the store or offer you things so get used to saying "No gracias". Also, there seem to be more massage places in that small area than I've ever seen per capita in any city. It's very catered to white people. The bars are mostly big clubs that play disco and club type music. They're really big on partying. There was one bar I could actually sit in and the music didn't make me feel like my face was melting, but otherwise the bars are pretty hoppin'. A few blocks up the areas aren't as touristy and they don't speak English. These were the areas I wanted to go to. This proved difficult for me since I hadn't learned Spanish and didn't think about not having 3G or wireless every where so that I could just translate on my phone. The more authentic and less touristy restaurants and shops were extremely cheaper than the places around 5th Avenue, but trying to communicate made me feel like a dumb white lady.

We stayed in Luna Encantada. It was perfect. It's directly on the beach and every condo has a view of the ocean, as well as the infinity pool. The condo was very nice inside and one of the bathrooms had one of those fancy showers that has a bench in it in case shampooing your hair wears you out and you need to sit down. They provided us with a huge thing of filtered water in a dispenser. There was a full kitchen so we went to the grocery and cooked a lot of our meals. The beach lounge chairs in front of the condo are reserved for people who are staying in the condo, so it was nice to not have to worry about anyone taking our spots. There was a really nice man that would come wait on us right from our lounge chairs on the beach. There was a restaurant attached to the condo so we could order food and drinks. There were also lots of little restaurants right on the beach that you can walk to. You don't have to wear shoes to go out to eat, so I was obviously overjoyed. Just a short walk on the sand and you can get yourself some beach side fish tacos. PERFECT.

One day we hired a driver to take us to the small colonial city of Valladolid and to the Coba Ruins. Valladolid was refreshingly authentic and not overrun with tourists. The city is very Mayan, and most of the women still wear the huipil, white cotton blouses or dresses adorned with bright, flowered embroidery. It was the real Yucatan with colonial architecture and 19th century structures.

The Coba ruins were probably my favorite part of the entire trip. Coba is a large ruined city of the Pre-Colombian Maya civilization. Archaeological evidence shows that Coba was first settled between 100 BC and 100 AD. The ruins are set in a jungle around two lagoons. The ruins are scattered on different paths of the jungle. We decided to rent the bicycles(it was only about $2) to ride around to go see the ruins. Since this was an actual jungle, we saw lots of little creatures in the wild like a huge tarantula, lots of lizards, and even a lemur! If you get a chance to ride a bicycle through a jungle, I suggest taking it. The Nohoch Mul pyramid is the biggest pyramid of the Coba ruins and you're allowed to climb it. Once at the top you get a beautiful view of the jungles and lagoons.

After Valladolid and the Coba ruins our driver was nice enough to stop at a cenote(water filled sinkhole/underwater caves) and let us swim for a few minutes. You have to rinse off before getting in so you don't taint the pure Mayan water. The water is crystal clear and feels amazing. The people of Yucatan say that just getting in the water gives you a spiritual cleansing. After the cenote we had to head back to the condo, but next time I'd like to make it to Tulum as well.

The day after our excursion ended up being Mexican Independence Day(September 15th) and we got to experience the celebrations. Again, all of this would have been easier if I spoke Spanish. There was a speech and fireworks and a band played on the Municipal building. There was a small carnival and food tents set up as well. It was really neat to get to experience while we were there, and I regret not being able to understand what was being said.

This pretty much wraps up the trip. Otherwise we mostly just laid on the beach when it wasn't raining(we went during their storm season) or drank tequila.