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March 18, 2008

See you in nine days

3/18 (Tuesday)

We got up for breakfast at hostel (fruit on crepes) with David, Tamara & the Swiss girl. Nothing for Hol to eat (lucky in this case). As we packed up, both David and I had a touchy stomach (must have been the b'fast?)... We headed over to El Cucerro to get an egg for Hol. I had toast and coffee hoping my stomach would recover. We caught a cab into town to the ADO terminal. David headed south to Chetumal while we headed North to Playa Del Carmen. We promised to meet up again, 9 days from now, in Piste. The bus was playing the movie Cars, in Spanish.

We arrived in Playa and walked down to avenida 15 and calle 4. There were a couple of hotels that David had suggested from his guide book. The Tucan was booked, but we were able to find a room at the Posada Barrio Latino. A little higher then we wanted to pay at $85 US, but quiet, clean, and encantador with nice people (and dogs).

We headed out to find a libreria for a guide book (we'd been using David's up until this point) and phrase book. My Castellano (Spanish) hadn't been used in decades and wasn't that good to begin with. We wandered towards a shop that the hotel attendant thought might have something for us... Turned out to be a souvenir shop. Shot glasses and t-shirts. Foraging on, we got sucked into an upscale outdoor mall. The Newport Fashion Island of Playa (seriously). Starbucks, sushi, high end clothing, watches, sunglasses and jewelery stores set amongst stone fountains and art pieces. I was somewhat surprised there was no apple store, really.

There were several different street performers here... The old 'metallic' statue that taunts passers by and then stands still. Mayan warriors doing traditional (I hope) dances. There was a decent troupe of street/break dancers and an amazing spray paint artist -- almost more performance art than the finished product. I wish I had brought my camera out, but I'd left it locked in the hotel room. Finally, thanks to Hol asking a helpful and well spoken travel guide/booking agent (Miguel @ ave 5 and calle 1), we got a small map and directions to the Mundio bookshop where we bought our bibles for the next two weeks.

We headed over to the Tucan to get some early dinner (nachos, salad y cerveza), then walked down to the main street. Playa is now so commercialized and it being spring break, the place was jumping. Bars, shops, jewelery stores, clubs, real estate agencies (selling property and condominios) were all lit up and hawking their goods. Playa seemed very cosmopolitan compared to Tulum - it the majority of the accents appeared to be from Europe. The crowds were multi-cultural, from affluent Mexican, Spanish and French families to euro trash Italians and white trash Americans, oh, and don't forget the Spring Breakers and Frat boys. Unfortunately, it's also expensive and manufactured. In some ways like Disney... Although no doubt the mega resorts and water parks that dominate the riviera maya beachfront do a much "better" job at this. $5 margaritas and $2 beers are okay, but I saw plenty of menus with $20 to $40 entrees...

Back at the hotel we wrote up a quick cheatsheet for hotel searching in the morning... About 5 good possibilities thanks to recommendations from friends at Tulum, the guidebook and David.

Photo Album:
http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+5/

Posted by ben at March 18, 2008 10:00 PM


« Sian Ka'an \| Main \| Desperately Seeking Lodging » March 18, 2008 See you in nine days 3/18 (Tuesday) We got up for breakfast at hostel (fruit on crepes) with David, Tamara & the Swiss girl. Nothing for Hol to eat (lucky in this case). As we packed up, both David and I had a touchy stomach (must have been the b'fast?)... We headed over to El Cucerro to get an egg for Hol. I had toast and coffee hoping my stomach would recover. We caught a cab into town to the ADO terminal. David headed south to Chetumal while we headed North to Playa Del Carmen. We promised to meet up again, 9 days from now, in Piste. The bus was playing the movie Cars, in Spanish. We arrived in Playa and walked down to avenida 15 and calle 4. There were a couple of hotels that David had suggested from his guide book. The Tucan was booked, but we were able to find a room at the Posada Barrio Latino. A little higher then we wanted to pay at $85 US, but quiet, clean, and encantador with nice people (and dogs). We headed out to find a libreria for a guide book (we'd been using David's up until this point) and phrase book. My Castellano (Spanish) hadn't been used in decades and wasn't that good to begin with. We wandered towards a shop that the hotel attendant thought might have something for us... Turned out to be a souvenir shop. Shot glasses and t-shirts. Foraging on, we got sucked into an upscale outdoor mall. The Newport Fashion Island of Playa (seriously). Starbucks, sushi, high end clothing, watches, sunglasses and jewelery stores set amongst stone fountains and art pieces. I was somewhat surprised there was no apple store, really. There were several different street performers here... The old 'metallic' statue that taunts passers by and then stands still. Mayan warriors doing traditional (I hope) dances. There was a decent troupe of street/break dancers and an amazing spray paint artist -- almost more performance art than the finished product. I wish I had brought my camera out, but I'd left it locked in the hotel room. Finally, thanks to Hol asking a helpful and well spoken travel guide/booking agent (Miguel @ ave 5 and calle 1), we got a small map and directions to the Mundio bookshop where we bought our bibles for the next two weeks. We headed over to the Tucan to get some early dinner (nachos, salad y cerveza), then walked down to the main street. Playa is now so commercialized and it being spring break, the place was jumping. Bars, shops, jewelery stores, clubs, real estate agencies (selling property and condominios) were all lit up and hawking their goods. Playa seemed very cosmopolitan compared to Tulum - it the majority of the accents appeared to be from Europe. The crowds were multi-cultural, from affluent Mexican, Spanish and French families to euro trash Italians and white trash Americans, oh, and don't forget the Spring Breakers and Frat boys. Unfortunately, it's also expensive and manufactured. In some ways like Disney... Although no doubt the mega resorts and water parks that dominate the riviera maya beachfront do a much "better" job at this. $5 margaritas and $2 beers are okay, but I saw plenty of menus with $20 to $40 entrees... Back at the hotel we wrote up a quick cheatsheet for hotel searching in the morning... About 5 good possibilities thanks to recommendations from friends at Tulum, the guidebook and David. Photo Album: http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+5/ Posted by ben at March 18, 2008 10:00 PM		Bookmarks Ben's Resume Ben's Lists Mehling Photo Album Flickr Photo Album Recently Archived Cozumal and Playa Palancar Akumal Desperately Seeking Lodging See you in nine days Sian Ka'an Coba Ruins Tulum Ruins Finally! Background Micro Credit Archives August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 Etc. Search: