Playa del Carmen

For photos in facebook, click here

So a beach vacation in Mexico isn't our typical vacation thing.  We started talking months ago about the need for a real family vacation, since we usually spend our time off visiting family on either coast.  We started talking about going to belize and seeing the ruins of Tikal ... And invited both our moms so that we could see family at the same time.  But then my boss offered us his 3 bedroom condo in playa del carmen, Mexico.  So we took it and booked spring break on the beach.

We (mojo and Rachel) left Friday morning at 4am to catch our flight.  We flew to Houston, had a short layover, and the flew to cancun.  Rachel did well with the travel.

We rented a car in Cancun and drove around Playa trying to find our condo for a while.  We ate a street stall-type of restaurant and crashed.  Unfortunately the air conditioner in our bedroom was not working, and we fried Rachel's noise maker in the process of playing with the plug.  Rachel did not sleep well that night, and was wide awake at 3:30am!  Grandma and Nana arrived after we spent the morning exploring the area and getting groceries.

Our spacious 3 bedroom condo was 30 steps from the sand of an amazing beach and 35 steps to the pool with a swim up bar.  The location was AMAZING!

Rachel had a blast every day jumping the waves, running from the waves, digging in the sand, throwing things into the waves, and getting sand all over herself.  It was fun to see her excitement - the ocean and beach are totally new for her.

Sunday we drove 2 hours to the ruins of Coba, which we really enjoyed.  It was a very hot day, and involved lots of walking from one ruin area to another.  We wish we had taken more cold water, paid for each of us to be on bikes, and had more pesos.  But we really enjoyed the ruins.  Jason and I climbed up the steep steps (42m) of the pyramid, and the view from the top was a little frightening and energizing.  I was proud to be much faster ascending and descending the stairs while pregnant than most others taking on the task.  Jason sprinted up the stairs, just to show off.

On the way back, we stopped to buy road side fruit from a stand, where I got to show off my terrible Spanish.  We spent less than $3 on 1.5 kilos of mangoes!  YUMMMMYYY!!  Then we had lunch in the town of Tulum, and Rachel was thrilled to be able to order pancakes for lunch.

Monday morning Jason and I snuck away to go snorkling at a cenote, or a cave-type swimming hole.  We just did out own cheap thing in our rental car, rather than going on a tour.  It was interesting, but nothing thrilling by any means.  We hoped to go to an amusement park of sorts later that evening called Xcaret, but it poured with rain and was pretty harsh outside, so we took it easy.

Tuesday we went to Chichen Itza.  It was a long drive for Jason each way, on a boring highway.  We had a little trouble at the provincial border crossing because we hadn't remembered to bring our passports with us, but Jason managed enough Spanish to get us through.

Chichen Itza was cool enough, but didn't live up to all its hype in my opinion.  Maybe if I was there on a solstice day to watch the shadow of the sun cast a snake image that moved down the stairs of the pyramid, I'd be more impressed.  Or maybe I'm becoming a ruin snob after Macchu Picchu and Ankor Wat temples.  Anyway, I'm glad we went.  Rachel entertained us in a different way than most people probably see the sights - more interested in playing games/watching lizards/running away and falling over than the buildings.

Wednesday we lounged around in the morning and then went to Xcaret in the evening.  We donned life jackets and swam for 45 min inside a man-made cave.  It was very fun, and Rachel did awesome 'swimming' for that long.  After we dried off and warmed up, we tried to see a few animals before going to see the cultural show.  We watched some traditional sporting activities, including an on-fire version of floor hockey that I would love to try, before Rachel and I left to go play elsewhere and let the rest of the gang enjoy the remaining dancing/entertainment.  I wish we had more time at Xcaret to see all the other animals and sights.

Thursday morning we went to the Tulum ruins, and by this time perhaps we were a little sick of the ruin thing.  Or maybe the heat and crowds seemed more annoying, but we didn't enjoy these ruins as much.  After some wandering around, we drove to Akumal beach for lunch and then went snorkeling.

Snorkeling at Akumal beach was the friendliest place to snorkel in the world.  Warm, clear water that is shallow for a long way out.  Turtles nest in the area from April - June we think, so we were thrilled when we saw sea turtles underwater anyway.  We were most proud of Nana and Grandma for trying to snorkel, despite some initial anxiety about the activity.  Nana even saw a mommy and baby turtle!

Friday morning we caught one last walk on the beach before heading to the airport and flying home.  We had expected to be in Houston for 5 hours and land home at 11pm in Denver, for a long yucky travel day.  But in Houston we were able to get on an earlier flight and be home in bed by 11pm.  Rachel was pretty grumpy and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day, so we were thrilled with this change in plans.  Our bags and car seat made it, too!

Anyway, as much as we sometimes poo-poo the 'typical' Mexican vacation that so many North Americans seem to make every year, we had a really nice time.  It was lovely to have some heat, some ocean, some pool, some adventure, some family time, some relaxation.

And now we can be excited about planning bigger, more adventurous trips in the future!