Checking Out Playa del Carmen

August 19, 2017 Teressa Jackson

We left our Airbnb in Tulum Sunday morning and headed up to the main highway. Our load in tow, we flagged down a van marked "Colectivo" and wedged ourselves and our baggage inside. These vans run from Tulum to Playa del Carmen 24 hours a day, and are mostly utilized by locals. As passengers indicated their stops along the way, the van let them off. It also continued to pick up people, even though at times I was unsure how they would fit on board. They always did.

The trip was around 40 miles. Colectivo rides cost the same no matter where you get off, and we took it to the end of the line at their station in Playa del Carmen. The cost: 90 pesos, or around $5, for two passengers. Our cab for the final leg of the journey was what we came to know as the typical fare for most destinations in the city, a reasonable 50 pesos or just under $3.

We headed down to gaze at Playa's beach. The seaweed that has plagued most of our trip was, indeed, still an issue. Although the water was pretty, it was also a bit smelly. Next, we strolled a bit of Playa's Fifth Avenue, which we found to be mostly a tourist trap with aggressive sellers and trinket shops sprinkled amongst chain retailers. Not really our scene. Hungry, we caved and ate at a taco restaurant here, and were rather shocked at the bill of over 500 pesos, or around $30US. Considering we had better meals for less than 100 pesos in Tulum, it felt a little like a delicious robbery.

The cenote flowing into the sea at Punta Esmeralda

Over the course of our week here, Aaron and I sampled a few different beach areas, and found Punta Esmeralda to be the winner. This spot on the city's northern edge was packed with locals enjoying a slightly rocky beach and a cool, clear freshwater cenote spring/sinkhole that sent a constant stream of water gushing toward the sea. I couldn't resist chowing down on an elote (Mexican style corn on the cob with mayo, cheese, and chili) for 15 pesos (85 cents) while we were there. Delicious!

We spent a much more expensive day in Cozumel, which is located just across from Playa. The ferry cost $17US per person round-trip, and we rented a scooter for $40US to enjoy some freedom and avoid paying a fortune in taxi fare. The beaches on the island's east side were beautiful, but the rough waves made it impossible to swim. The island's west side is rockier and mostly geared toward snorkeling, but the area near Chankanaab National Park had a nice little spot where you could enjoy some beach and do some snorkeling.

While we enjoyed the jaunt to Cozumel, we decided we would definitely not be heading there for a stay due to the cost. Prices were inflated and mostly stated in dollars. The vendors would then charge you at a rate of 20 pesos per dollar, while the official exchange rate is actually $17.71 pesos per dollar. This created an artificial rounding on already too-high prices, meaning we lost 13 cents for each dollar spent. I just felt a little taken advantage of at this dishonest tactic, even though I know that this type of thing is somewhat to be expected in tourist areas. I suppose most cruise ship passengers wouldn't know the difference, but that doesn't make it right.

Aaron and I really enjoyed the quiet little neighborhood on North 28th Street in which we stayed in Playa, which was comprised of older but well-kept row houses. The Airbnb where we stayed was the best run of our trip so far, as well as being the least expensive. We were near enough to the beach but also close to plenty of authentic shops and restaurants on North 30th Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood. It was lively at night but did not feel unsafe, with lots of locals out for a bite to eat and people singing or playing music for tips.

We have definitely enjoyed Playa, although admittedly not as much as Tulum. Tulum's beaches, less touristy vibe, and low cost of living have probably made it the overall winner of this trip abroad so far. We'd go back to Tulum, and I'm sure that we will in the future.

Next up, we are headed out of Mexico, which makes me a little sad. I've loved our short time here and haven't felt unsafe or threatened one single time. I think if more people from the U.S. would spend a little time in this country, we'd have a lot more love and understanding. I think if I spent a little more time here, I'd really start to get those high school Spanish skills back, but I'd also probably gain 20 pounds from all the delicious food.

Speaking of food, one other aside - vegetarians and vegans, rejoice! Mexico is your friend. I have been truly amazed at the number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants I have spotted in both Tulum and Playa del Carmen. I actually haven't eaten at any of these specialty establishments, but most of the more "mainstream" restaurants have plenty of options for us non-meat-eaters, too. A pleasant surprise!

So, where will tomorrow take us? We are headed to Cancun International Airport, from which we will fly to Miami, but after two hours in the U.S., we'll leave again - this time to Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, a French/Dutch island in the Carribbean.

Taking on Tulum

August 12, 2017 Teressa Jackson

Bright and early Tuesday morning, Aaron and I packed our bags and checked out of Gumbo Limbo, our Airbnb in Caye Caulker. We were supposed to be at the water taxi dock at 6:30 a.m. Luckily, we scored a golf cart taxi almost immediately, so we didn’t have to lug our bulky load too far across town.

The water taxi took us to San Pedro first, where we had to clear Belizean immigration. It was pouring rain off and on, and the line moved at a snail’s pace. One man input our passport information into his computer, another woman took our $20 US exit fee per person, and another man stamped our passport to indicate we had left the country. There was a separate line for each – a study in inefficiency if you ask me.

When I purchased the tickets to Mexico, the woman working at the water taxi had told me that we had to pay the $20US Belizean exit fee and a Mexican entry fee of $25US. We learned on the way to San Pedro that she had told us the wrong amount for Mexico, so we had to quickly locate an ATM to get more money so they would let us into Mexico. Of course, in typical Belize style, the first one we found was out of order. Luckily, the second one was up and running.

Back at immigration, the line was nearing an end and almost everyone was ready to board again. We lined up, shuffled on, and off we went.

I don’t think that the water taxi ride is ever totally smooth sailing, but the water was especially rough due to the front end of Tropical Storm Franklin heading toward us. For nearly two hours, we rode what felt like a roller coaster while leaky windows dripped on passengers.

When we finally reached Chetumal, Mexico, we had another line for Mexican immigration. This one was far quicker and far more efficient than the one in Belize, and we soon paid our 500 pesos per person entry fee and were cleared. We scored a taxi for around the same price as the bus would have cost us, and settled in for a nearly 3-hour ride to Tulum.

I began to get an inkling of how much less expensive Mexico is than Belize on the ride to Tulum. We passed several vendors selling pineapples on the side of the road, and most were 5 or 6 pineapples for 50 pesos – which equates to around $3US. In Belize, we typically paid anywhere from $2-3 for a single pineapple.

Our accommodations also reflected this pricing change. The brand new, large, nicely appointed one-bedroom apartment was cheaper than nearly everywhere we stayed in Belize, and definitely the nicest place we’ve stayed on the entire trip.

Tulum pueblo (the town) dazzled us right away with its abundance of restaurants, shops, paved roads, streetlights, and artistic flair. While plenty of the type of bare-bones structures you might picture in Mexico do exist there, Tulum has equally as many new, modern, architect-inspired buildings. Murals line many of the streets, and an eye for décor and design is apparent. Tulum feels more like Europe than it seems related to any Mexican border town I’ve visited.

We rarely ate in restaurants in Belize, but the abundant establishments and the low prices of Tulum were too much to resist, so we typically ate out for a meal a day. These culinary delights included chile and egg stuffed and rajas (strips of poblano pepper) and cheese stuffed gorditas (like a stuffed thick tortilla), cream cheese stuffed and hard boiled egg stuffed tamales, loads of tacos al pastor for Aaron (like shawarma made of pork), quite a few vegetarian tacos for me, and a delicious stuffed pepper that was probably the best I’ve ever eaten. Most meals, including tip, were $5-10 for both of us together. Amazing.

I actually did do some shopping in Tulum, even though I try to keep my possessions minimal. My one pair of earrings had broken, and I just can’t stand to not wear something in my ear holes, so I picked up a nice new pair in a local shop. I also lost my sunglasses, so those were replaced as well. I am so grateful that I was in Mexico when I needed to make these purchases, as they would have been so far more expensive, or even impossible to even make, in much of Belize.

Our first outing in Tulum was to the beach, and it was breathtakingly gorgeous. Jungle-enveloped cliffs tumble down to some of the most beautiful waters I’ve ever seen, crystal clear and turquoise. The rocky shoreline reminds me a bit of California’s coast, but obviously the tropical temperature makes taking a plunge into the water a whole lot more inviting.

We couldn’t leave the area without visiting the Mayan ruins that sit atop the cliff along the sea, so one day we took a cab to this attraction. It’s immediately apparent that these ruins are the reason Tulum pueblo is here, and every person trying to sell tourists something within a 20-mile radius seemed to be on the scene to take advantage of the multitudes.

The blazing heat and big crowds at the ruins made our time there a little less enjoyable, but we made the best of it. I was excited to see a coatimundi just inside the entrance, and the views of the sea from atop the cliff were spectacular. It’s always amazing to think about what it must have been like to live in such a place, and to walk where these people walked, lived, loved, and worked.

One of the most enjoyable excursions during our time in the area, though, was a jaunt of around 3 miles west to the Grand Cenote. A cenote is basically a sinkhole cavern filled with freshwater. The Grand Cenote was home to a plethora of bats, fish, turtles, stalactites, and stalagmites. The water was jarringly cold, but we quickly became used to it. The gorgeous blue water was a great place to snorkel, and it was really intriguing to peer down into the dark and mysterious depths and see the formations.

We had planned to leave this morning, heading to Playa del Carmen, but it appears that our adventurous eating has gotten the better of Aaron. He’s on the mend, but we’ll be in Tulum one more day while he recovers. Meanwhile, I’ve had time to craft this write-up!

La Isla Bonita

July 31, 2017 Teressa Jackson

View from the plane as we crossed from Belize City to Ambergris Caye

From Punta Gorda, Aaron and I took off in a tiny 12-passenger Maya Island Air plane. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the airport, which was around the size of a small one-car detached garage back home. I sarcastically said that I bet they had wifi... but they actually did. The place was a one-man show, but that man was doing a great job running all facets of the operation. No security, moving sidewalks, baggage handlers, bars, restaurants, shops, or other amenities here. I will say, though, that it seemed far more efficient in many ways than the larger configurations in the U.S.

Our flight was due to leave at 11:40 a.m., and around that time, the plane landed, we boarded, and were off in a matter of minutes. We made a quick stop in Dangriga, where we picked up some more passengers, dropped some people off at Belize City International Airport, and had a short layover at Belize City Municipal Airport.

We boarded our second plane, returned to Belize City International to pick up some more passengers, and took off across the clear turquoise Caribbean waters. A few minutes later, we landed at San Pedro Airport and rode a taxi to our new abode on La Isla Bonita.

Yes, that's right. When Madonna sang, "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro..." in La Isla Bonita, she was referring to this place. They embrace the moniker, and it appears all over San Pedro town on businesses, hotels, and even trash cans.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the town of San Pedro. I knew it was the tourism mecca of Belize, where most everyone goes who visits this tiny country. That had given me the impression that it would be more polished and less authentic. I was pleasantly surprised to find that to be far from the case. After nearly a week on the island, the only familiar company name I've seen was far north of the town, at a Wyndham development.

While there are full-sized cars on San Pedro and Ambergris Caye (the name of the island that the town inhabits), the primary method of transport for most passengers is golf carts. Constant traffic, gasoline fumes, and noise result from these little carriages. I don't know what the hurry is, but everyone certainly seems to be in one, and I'm surprised I didn't see any accidents from this giant bumper-car experiment.

San Pedro Cemetery at sunset - not a bad view for eternity

Ambergris Caye is a short distance from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world and probably Belize's biggest claim to fame. On the island's east side, you can see waves breaking on the reef a ways out from shore, across the beautiful blue-green water.

We had been warned that San Pedro was pricey, but we found if you worked at it a bit, you could manage pretty reasonably. Aaron and I continued our diet of mostly beans and rice, and enjoyed a couple times out at restaurants, too. However, it had the most expensive Banana Factor to date, at a cost of 5 bananas for $1 Belize.

Snorkeling turned out to be far less expensive from San Pedro than we had been seeing on the mainland, and we booked a trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley for less than $40US per person. We've snorkeled a few other places in the Caribbean, but this was definitely the most impressive variety of sea life I've seen.

I got a huge blister from my flip flops a few days in, which meant it must be time to rent our own golf cart. We found a reasonable place to rent one and found it to be a great way to see more of the island than we would have seen otherwise, including a long and bumpy ride out to Secret Beach, which was a beautiful calm expanse of clear, shallow, blue water. Aaron nearly lost a shoe when it vibrated out of the cart on the way back, but thankfully we back-tracked and located it.

We had heard that theft was a big problem before leaving for Belize. Until San Pedro, we hadn't been the victim of theft or any other crime, or even an unkind word. One afternoon, we stopped at an El Salvadoran pupuseria for some amazing pupusas. When we got back, we were one beach towel lighter. As they belonged to our Airbnb, we ended up paying $15US for this incident. I think we'll live. :-)

Our next destination is Caye Caulker, a smaller island south of Ambergris Caye. The locals in San Pedro all say that Caye Caulker is what San Pedro was like twenty years ago, with sandy unpaved streets and a slower pace.

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