Paradise in spite of Cancun

The flavorful mix of American, European and South American visitors keeps Playa fresh, tasteful and fun, even during the height of Spring Break, which reaks its own havock up the road in Cancun. Playa puts you in a good location for day trips to Valladolid, Tulum, Chichen Itza and more without having to stay in Cancun.

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We rented a car, but it isn’t exactly necessary. Buses run all up and down the coast from Cancun to Tulum, and specially organized tours will take you to just about any tourist site. We wanted the freedom of our own car, and since we weren’t staying in a hotel that provided transportation from Cancun airport, we rented a car for about for the week rather than go to the trouble of getting to the Cancun bus station and taking a bus. If you are budget minded you can get a bus down to Playa for about .

The tree lined gated community of Playacar Phase I seems oddly out of place here, but it was lovely, cool and quiet. I rented a villa in the Villas Xaguar located on the main road of Bahia Del Espiritu Santo. This neighborhood boasts some impressive houses, many of which are right on the ocean. The beaches here are clean and uncrowded, but are eroding at an alarming rate. Playacar Phase I even has its own Mayan ruins, which, at first, we wondered if they were constructed just for the tourists, but our host, Carlos, assured us they were real. He explained that the temples located here in Playa del Carmen were believed to be used to prepare virgins for sacrificing in nearby Cozumel. Here, young girls would be "checked" to assure their status of being intact, then sent on their merry way. Carlos, a colorful character to be sure, also claims that the area has a certain magic about it, and that if you take your photograph in the vicinity you will capture your aura. He also claimed that there were known to be little Mexican "leprachauns" who inhabited the area and played tricks on people. I’m always a sucker for local folklore, but didn’t manage to get a picture.

The villas were picturesque, situated around a small pool. They had air conditioning and ceiling fans, full kitchens and comfortable beds and bathrooms with lots of towels. The kitchens were supplied with ample purified water, coffee maker, toaster and blender, but minimal pans and cutlery.

The Villas Xaguar advertised TVs, VCRs and stereos with CD players, which was not exactly true. We had a TV/VCR combo with no tapes and no cable hook up, so we could only get two hazy channels. The furniture inside was all wrought iron, not conducive to lounging. Other villas had straight backed wood chairs like you’d find in a doctor’s waiting room. The manager of the villas, Carlos, assured us that good furniture was on its way from Guadalajara, conveniently after we were leaving. Somehow I doubt it.

The villa was cleaned immaculately every day but Sundays, but sometimes the pool needed a little tidying up.

For a one bedroom, prices start at $400 (per week) for one person low season, each additional person is $25/day. There are five buildings on the site, two houses with two bedrooms, and three three-story condos that can easily hold over ten people.

I recommend it, but keep in mind its not a hotel, and not entirely luxurious. I''m pretty adaptable and wanted a homey atmosphere, which the Villas Xaguar had, in spades.

My impressions are mostly anecdotal, for I didn''t stay here, but used the restaurant and pool area on several occasions.

Located between Playacar Phase I and the town of Playa del Carmen by the pier, this hotel is ideally situated…until the cruise ships unload at bar/nightclub Senor Frog’s next door. Anyone who booked an ocean view room on the north side of the hotel is in for some noise: incessant police whistles, mediocre party bands playing frat house standards and the basic hoots and hollers while normally good girls dance lewdly on the bar. We could hear the noise several blocks away.

One lady from Texas told us her room was spartan and uncomfortable, and that for a five star hotel, she was extremely disappointed in the service.

This hotel does have a large section of condos with their own pool and palapa area teeming with kids, a rather pleasant "neighborhood" atmosphere for a vacationing family.

We did not stay there, but we did eat there several times. The breakfast buffet was forgettable and the lunch under the beach-side palapa was, frankly, terrible. Tell me how a Mexican hotel can make perfectly awful dry crumbly refried beans, I don’t know. They do have a limited vegetarian menu and a kids menu.

While we had plenty of beach where we were staying in Playacar Phase I, the times we craved umbrellas, cold drinks and lounge chairs, we had use the pool deck area if we ate in the restaurant (or say we did). Otherwise, a security guard will chase you off.

website: www.lunata.com

I didn’t stay here, but was so enchanted with its old world charm that I couldn’t resist poking around. Located on the pedestrian tourist center of 5th Avenue, an inviting orange stucco enclave leads to a cool secret garden. Stepping inside felt like entering another world. From the back we could see rooms with covered balconies that overlooked the garden. Rates started at 250 a night, with weekly rates available, (the receptionist shrugged when I asked and said, "Sure, we can work something out."). Oddly enough, the hotel offered 6 hour rates. I know what you’re thinking…I’d like to think the 6 hour rate is for people wishing to get out of the sun to have a place to change and shower in comfort. Think what you like, it was lovely and I would definitely give it a try, but I do not know what the service or rooms look like.

Right next door to the Siesta and Fiesta, these two tiny hotels looked like good bets for travellers on a budget.

Both were fronted by open air bar/restaurants that were consistently busy. I saw some families staying here but it looked like a mostly younger college-aged crowd. Conveniently located on 5th Avenue, it has one and two bedrooms with private baths, fans hammocks and balconies, refridgerators. The Media Luna restaurant is right out front and looked to be a popular place for breakfast. Good if you plan to spend most of your time on the beach.

This tiny hotel looked like good bets for the budget minded. Situated next to The Posada Freud on the pedestrian part of 5 Ave., this place was fronted by open air bar/restaurant that was consistently busy, completely outdoors and covered with trees, with a bar and a large screen TV. It had a fairly standard Mexican/American menu: I tried a ham and cheese quesidilla with guacamole and a lovely tall frozen margarita. I was not disappointed. I saw some families staying here but it looked like a mostly younger college-aged crowd.

This tiny Italian bistro just off on 5th offers plain but tasty pasta dishes. I had homemade gnocchi, which was marvelous. The owner, a young fellow who studied in Canada for a time, runs a clean friendly place that I would highly recommend. My travelling companion and I were joined by a gal who was staying in the same villa with us. As it turns out, she knew the owner from a previous summer visit, so we were treated royally with after dinner tequilla shots. I have never, in my whole life, though, sent a wine back, but the house wines here were more like vinegar. Order carefully. Who goes to Mexico to drink wine anyway? The food was great.

100% Natural is a chain restaurant that you can find all over the area. They serve wholesome, natural "health" food: smooties of all types, whole grain pancakes and waffles, pastas and fajitas. They’re great for breakfast and lunch. I had a tall mint lemonade that was perfectly tart and so cold that I couldn’t get enough of it and had a second, with a nopales and cheese omlette. (Nopales are tender green "paddles" of cactus cut into strips; they taste like green pepper and are terrific). My companion had a coconut strawberry banana smoothie and whole grain waffles with a fruit plate. She found the waffles too sweet but I liked them. This particular 100% Natural was set in a lovely cool tree covered garden with tables in a sort of "treehouse."

Because it always seemed busy, we figured this charming, Italian owned restaurant on 5th Avenue would be a good bet for dinner. Serving breakfast lunch and dinner with a Mexican/Italian menu, Los Mananitas looked much better than it actually was. The service was fine– our waiter, Guiermo, sat with us for most of our meal practicing his English. The style of cuisine is "rubber;" I had a greasy, tough Mexican style arancherra steak and my companion had grilled gruper and hard (read: old and reheated) rice. Because she’s that type, my companion went over to the owner to mention that the fish was chewy and rubbery. His response was merely a shrug and the bland reply, "No it isn’t." Later I had to laugh when I came across an ad in a local paper for the restaurant that boasted: "Personal Attention by the Owners." Not recommended.

I’ve eaten here a couple of times and wasn’t disappointed. Its covered, open-air dining "room" isn’t exactly lovely, but can hold a lot of people. Their two-for-one Happy Hour special seems to go on all night. The pizzas are far from New York City quality but still tasty, especially when you’re sick of tortilla chips and salsa. I tried a chorizo and black olive, and a green pepper and onion. Both were delicious and crispy, great shared for a snack when the idea of dinner seems too much. The house band, Expressions, plays every night on a stage viewable from the whole restaurant. These guys can play, great if you like the pan flute. They play South American music with Mexican standards mixed in.

The owner and some waiters danced with a few of the customers while we were there, but the little dance floor is usually empty. Shame, because the music is great.

Karen’s seems to be into flaming dishes: waiters prepare flaming entrees of chicken, beef and shrimp table side for you. The Flaming Mexican Coffee is a Kodak moment if ever I saw one; three waiters perch on chairs one higher than the other, all holding stainless steel gravy boats. The one sitting highest ignites his gravy boat full of liquor and pours a flaming cascade into outstretched ladles until finally, the bottom man carefully pours the liquor into a cup of coffee.

If the Disneyland atmosphere of XelHa and Excaret turn you off, there is a better, cheaper way of snorkeling and exploring the wildlife of the Yucatan coast. Tiny beach spots south of Playa, like Akumal and Paamul, offer the wildlife and activities without the glitz, the cost and the crowds. Secluded, quiet and lovely, Akumal is a great bet for snorkeling, diving and fishing. This area seems to attract Americans, but saw a lot of what I assumed were local Mexicans bringing their kids here to swim and play. Another nice feature is that the beaches are covered with short palm trees, providing just enough shade. There is no charge to get in, you can stay all day, eat shop and play here. No bargains in the gift shops but high quality crafts that you won’t find in Playa.You can stay here, too. There is a row of tidy looking cabins along a stone sea wall that overlook the lagoon.

Theres a little ice cream stand on the beach; maybe it was my imagination, but the scoops of coconut and chocolate ice cream that I had were maybe the most delicious I’ve ever had. Dunno. Maybe it was the sun.

See "Restaurants" for 'La Buena Vida,'well worth making the trip down to Akumal for Buena Vida alone. When you come through the gate for Akumal, turn left and carry on up the road for about a half mile until you come to a restaurant with a strange prehistoric fantasy creature skeleton on the sign.

About a 20 minute drive down Highway 307 brings you to Paamul, which I can only describe as a tidy, quaint trailer park.

The inhabitants live in RVs parked under large palapas, but there’s nothing cheesy about the place. Some of these palapas have lofts and gardens. There’s a small, tight community here, (mostly Americans it seems) who buy these palapas for around $8000 and pay an annual maintenance fee, if you will, of about $3400.

The feature is snorkeling and diving. We were told by one father and son scuba team that the diving was the best in the area, maybe better than Cozumel.

We met Steve, an middle-aged hippie from Detroit who held court over the beach with his leopard print umbrella, who couldn’t say enough nice things about Paamul, shunning Playa and its "Gringo Avenue" as being too commercial for his tastes.

There are cabins for rent here, too, a spartan row of cinderblock that looked a little grim for my tastes. The reef here is big and sprawls onto the beach. Not sure about the snorkeling: the water seemed strangely oily – whether this was pollution or some aquatic expulsion from the reef I don’t know. The scuba divers told us that they saw some sort of very rare reef "spawning" the previous day. I saw some lovely little fish, but found the area a little empty. My companion had the misfortune of getting stung on the face by a small jellyfish, which killed the desire for snorkelling in me entirely. She recovered about fifteen minutes later.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting under a palapa, then had dinner in the open air restaurant on site. I think we had the best meal of the whole week here. I had spaghetti with marinara and avocado; my companion had gruper with vegetables. Israel, a young waiter here with a ready smile and Valentino eyes, gave us our first salsa lesson while a few other dinners ambled in and watched. They have some evening events, like dances, once in a while, and I imagine that the folks who live here come out for the bar at night.

It looks a lot closer on the map than it seems driving, especially when your tiny rental Chevy has no radio or air conditioning. The guide books say its about a 30 minute drive northw est of Tulum, but I’d put it at an hour easy. Turn off Highway 307 just past Tulum then follow the signs inland for Coba. The road is narrow and pocked with pot holes and ruts. Along the way you’ll encounter little villages (really little more than a couple of cinderblock huts or palapas and a stray dog or two). You’ll know it’s a village when you hit the ubiquitous speed bumps in the road. Speed bumps seem to be popular in the Yucatan, and ruinous to your car’s suspension.

The site is easy to miss. We sailed right past the hand painted sign. There’s a small fee to park in the dirt lot and a strip of craft stores. The site boasts the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula, Nohoch Mul, that’s taller even than the Castillo at Chichen Itza. The jungle hums with bees and we’re told its not uncommon to hear howler monkeys.

I was most impressed with the Temple of Churches, which allows you to climb up only to a certain point. Once inside you are also accosted by guides, I suspect a few of them to be freelance, who will take you around. There is very little signage or description, so you may want the guide, or at least a good guide book.

These ruins seem older than Chichen Itza, and in a more advanced state of decay. Each site is spaced out quite a bit. You can rent bicycles for $2.50US once inside, and I would HIGHLY recommend it, unless you are really craving a long humid walk through the jungle. Go early, take insect repellant and water. You can climb Nohoch Mul, but I took a pass, both from the heat and from the crumbling state of the long stair case. I ventured up a few steps to the first big landing and could see the other pyramid poking out from the treetops. Its quiet and remote here, much less commercial than Chichen Itza and very impressive in itself.

Pass on the cafes here, unless you have an iron stomach and want to tempt fate. The craft market didn’t offer anything I couldn’t find anywhere in Playa at the same prices, but I was delighted that the bathrooms (which they charged us $10Mex (about a dollar) to use were really clean. In fact, I was impressed with the cleanliness of bathrooms all over the area, and I’ve seen some scary ones living in New York City. You can get tours from many places in Playa, but I don’t know how much they are.

Slick, American style, a very international, mostly college aged scene. We stepped in our first night and listened to some hypnotic South American drumming. Combined with a steady ocean breeze, I could have gone into a trance I was so relaxed and engaged by the performers, who both drummed and danced. Other nights, however, were dominated by loud, cheesy American music (Anyone for "YMCA" or the Macarena?) It’s a beach club during the day, with dinner served outside in the sand. There is the ubiquitous dancing on the bar for those drunk enough. The bar resembles a pirate ship complete with sails and a bartender in eye patch and tight leather cod piece. Pick your night, it can be good and can be cheesy, but over all fun and popular with an international set.

Oh my did we have fun at Calypso, a salsa club preferred by locals of all ages. A great, authentic local scene, open 7 days a week. Believe it when they say it doesn’t get going until midnight. Its true. We went four nights in a row. Saturday night was THE scene. We danced all night long to the point of exhaustion and sore feet. I must admit I was a bit intimidated at the start. Really good salsa dancing is fantastic to watch. If you just like to sip drinks and watch, you’re more than welcome. I danced, and danced, and danced. Local men are not at all shy about walking right up to you and asking you to dance, and are gracious about demonstrating the steps. Now I stand at an even six feet, but caught the eye of five foot two Alberto, who had me whipping around the crowded floor complete with dips and turns. I left with a rose, a few crushed toes and some great memories. ***Don’t miss***

Touting itself as a daquiri bar on the northern, quieter end of 5th Avenue, Senorita Margarita is just a tiny square palapa with swings for bar stools. This must be "the" gimmick for bars in the area, for we saw this in a few places, but enjoyed it none-the-less. Our bartender that night was a friendly but soft spoken young man who surprised us by revealing he was actually in the army and only bartended part time. There is a decided military presence on the beaches here in Mexico, and these black uniformed, machine gun toting soldiers are, in my opinion, far more intimidating than US soldiers. This fellow, though, was friendly, seemed well educated and chatted with us most of the time we were there. No evidence of a bathroom that I could find. Could be a problem if you’re there for a few mango daquiris.

Most restaurant beach clubs seem to carry on into the night with music and lively bar scenes. The Blue Parrot, is an old standby in Playa. We saw all kinds there, but the place seems to be frequented by the "Grateful Dead" set and the place had a hippie carnival atmosphere. You can get a henna tattoo while you sip a watery "rum y coca" and watch hippie chicks dancing to American music.

Its a scene, and locally famous, around long before the hurricane.

The main drag just off the beach, Avenida 5, has been closed for pedestrians only and is overrun with restaurants and gift shops. The street is the life blood of Playa's tourism.

When you get sick of shopping, Avenida 5 is great for people watching. Sit in a cafe or just camp out on the plaza. Local women sell cups of fresh fruit, while taco and juice carts set up around the plaza where locals buy their breakfasts and lunches.

Prices are on par with dining out in New York City, no kidding, and the food ranges from decent to spotty. (See restaurants). The other thing to do is shop, and you can find a really lovely selection of Mexican crafts, and junk. It all depends on what you are looking for. The selection of weaving, pottery, silver and gemstone jewelry and decorative pieces is definitely better than what you’d find in Cancun, but the prices are still pretty high.

You can get lots of silver and amber here. The silver is touted as a great bargain but I think its mostly a rip off. I did see some unusual opals -- wild multicolored fire opals, and firey orange cherry opals that I've never seen before and covetted, but did not buy.

The stores on 5th Ave were not too keen on bartering but would offer a meager 10% discount for cash in pesos. Go off the avenue for some better deals. My weakness is pottery: I found two pottery shops just off 5a on Calle 2 that would engage in some mean bargaining, and I found a better quality and variety of craftsmanship. Look for the nightclub Crocodilo on the north side of the plaza and go into the craft market on the ground floor.

Because the entire area is scattered with reefs, snorkeling is possible anywhere, even in the busier beach area near the pier. The water was for the most part calm and bath water warm. Its salinity made the water great for floating.

Dead center is the pier, where the ferry to Cozumel docks. North of the pier is a busy public beach area, and south is Playacar, much quieter with, in my opinion, better swimming but somewhat dull if you like people watching.

People watching here is perfect. Because of the strong European and South American presence here, topless sunbathing is pretty common. The young international flavor of the beach makes it special here, much more enjoyable than nearby Cancun.

There is little shelter from the sun along this beach, and conveniently, the beach front restaurants and clubs will rent you a chair or some shade for about $2.50 to $3 US for the day. Money well spent, in my opinion: the sun can be brutal, even in the cool winter and spring months.

Another natural wonder to check out are the cenotes. The Yucatan Peninsula is almost all limestone, and with limestone, comes caves, naturally. All over the area, along the coast and inland, you'll find cenotes ("seh-noh-tays"), underground swimming holes, of all sizes.

As you head down Highway 307 towards Paamul, you'll see handpainted signs for cenotes. You'll find not much more than an opening in the earth. Once you climb inside, you can swim in this underground cavern and check out a wide variety of aquaitic life. These cenotes are linked to a vast underground network of rivers that lead to the ocean, making it possible for fish of all sorts to find their way there, even to cenotes as far inland as Coba. (The road up to Coba has about three cenotes that I recall.) One well known cenote is in the city of Valladolid, about two hours west of Cancun, on the way to Chichen Itza. Well worth the experience if you are adventurous.