Without our plastic bracelets- A trip report

Jacko · 01-17-2005

We just got back from 10 wonderful days in Playa from Jan 3rd to Jan 13th! We were determined to break the AI habit we had developed over the years and spend some quality time together..we'd been to the Riu Palace and the Grand Cozumel, and many other AI's throughout Mexico and Jamaica...but this time we would do it different. So, armed with tons of info from this wonderful site, our Playa Deal Card and our Mapchick Map we set out...its not as pretty as MichaelHolmes, nor as techy as Kinz's report, nor certainly as inexpensive as CWGraffix's trip, but it was our trip and it was wonderful..so here it comes...

Day 1- Took the 65 peso Riviera Bus from Cancun....you really do have to wade through the masses of taxi drivers telling you the bus doesn' t exist or it's "over there" (the WRONG direction!)...go right as you exit the terminal and cross in front of the airport all the way to the end....pleasant ride to Playa in air conditioned comfort..even with an American movie en route. Arrived at the bus terminal in Playa and dragged our overly packed suitcases (full of toys for the children) to Steve and Delmy's wonderful place...the Playa Maya hotel...right on the beach with a great view from our room. Warm and friendly management and staff...made us feel like we were at home....although in a different paradise

Well okay, now for a little food...you simply MUST try the Coconut shrimp at their beach restaurant...yummy! Later on we stopped in at Los Almendros for some great antojitos and finished our day with 15 pesos worth of the best Churros we have had since we lived in Spain..get 'em at the square!

Day 2 Spent the morning at the beach and wandered around La Quinta into the afternoon checking out all the amazing people, sites, colors and smells....

Later on we went to Oasis where we indulged ourselves with their 12 peso shrimp tacos, excellent and HOT green salsa and a cerveza (or two?)

We just had to have one of these cool gourd lamps so we picked the best one we could find and got a really large one for 500 pesos.

Had dinner at Las Brisas, which can be really inexpensive, but we splurged on their 270 peso Mariscada platter for two..fish, shrimp, lobster and pulpo with all the trimmings...wonderful...although its not what we would call great atmosphere and the margaritas were pretty sour!

Stopped off and checked out the Deseo bar....really cool, but outrageous drink prices....settled for a beer on the beach and off to bed.

Day 3. Took a great walk north to Cueva del Changos for breakfast...had wonderful empanadas with Nopales, Chaya and Mushroom...their juice is fabulous as well. Got to see a toucan, but no Changos (monkey) in sight!
Really interesting looking place with great atmosphere and very nice people!

Back to the beach for the rest of the day with lots of walks....

Massage for Linda at the Playa Maya ($45) and dinner at Oasis (Sopa de Mariscos...huge bowl and wonderful)! More paseando down La Quinta and off to an early sleep....its tough out here in paradise with just you and your wonderful lady!

Day 4. Breakfast at Playa Maya (Chilaquiles) and then off to Punta Venado for some horseback riding on the prettiest beach /jungle area you can imagine..$110 for two for a good 1.5 hour tour..and we were the only ones besides our Argentinian/Italian guide Nikko....do you remember that travel commercial where the guy envisions picking a tour that his wife might like just a little too much because the guide was great looking....well, Nikko was quite the looker!

Oh well great horses, great time and she came home with me!

Had lunch at a small Italian Cafe (great prociutto sandwich) next to Cafe Meditteranea...(edit..how could I forget)...met some Playa Peeps at Tequila Barrel for drinks! Enjoyed meeting Ketch and wife, Tzeenut (Tony), his wife and mother in law, CWGraffix (Chris), Cyburai and a few others whose names I can't remember! Met Joe and his wife from Java Joe's.....and finished later on with dinner at Cafe Meditteranea...great service and atmosphere! Great day!

More later!

cuffedlinks · 01-17-2005

WOW...great!

Super photos too....including the additions to the multimedia section...

You've really helped inspire me to the non-AI route....

...soon.

And of course the Playa Maya and Steve-O

mckinzie · 01-17-2005

Great trip report so far Jacko

Awesome pics too.
Can't wait for the rest of your report.

tesa001 · 01-17-2005

come on........don't leave me hangin'.........

t

Jacko · 01-17-2005

Day 5 (Friday)- As we didn't want to plan ahead too far and reserve the hotly contested for spots on the famous (and more intimate) James and Anna tour, we took this day to go on the Alltournative tour to Coba-Pac Chen ($90 each for the full day). Took a long bus drive from Playa to pick up another 12 people and proceeded to Coba with a a great guide (Victor) who repeated everything in French and then English as we had French natives on board, French Canadians and a young American honeymooning couple....I think it got tiring for Linda as she speaks French as well as Spanish and English! Very nice people and a great time! Coba was cool...

But thats a lotta steps....could we make it?

I mean its really high!
Well..she's almost there!

But she is tough!...Yes, she made it!

Joined by her favorite Playa Mayan of course...and what a view!

Later, We took the most wonderful, rocky ride on "almost a road" to Pac Chen, a typical Mayan village with no electricity where everyone seems so relaxed and not concerned about time. We hiked through the jungle and then rappelled (sp?) into a beautiful cenote cave (Jaquar cenote) and zipped lined our way across a beautiful Mayan Lake.....hiked back to the village and had a most marvelous Mayan meal at Pac Chen.

Canoed on the lake for awhile and headed back.
Had dinner at Babes with great egg rolls of varying sorts, wonderful Smoothie and Frappe! Another wonderful day in paradise!

Day 6- Saturday....What a beautiful morning!

Headed to the square for some fresh fruit in a bag (10 pesos)
Good for walking along the beach and seeing the local creatures

And later for a drink with more Playa Peeps......Hi Mellory and Syrita!.... fresh in from one of my native states of Michigan!

Lunch at Hot! (Great Pastrami sandwich and coffee milkshake!)
Opal shopping (did I actually agree to go shopping???) at Opalo y Ambar for Opalos Canteras (Opals in the stone) and later to Yaxche for dinner...(get the garden seating)

Yaxche was one of our best meals in my opinion....Masawal (sp?) soup (lime and chicken flavors) was phenomenal, cochinito de pibil on banana leaves was wonderful along with neat fruit drinks called a Coba with Strawberry, orange and Chaya. Finished the night with a walk down to Ciao Gelato for my favorite chocolate decadence delight!

More later

birdman · 01-17-2005

Great report glad you had a good time.

**SunKneeMarie** · 01-17-2005

Great report, great pics... obviously nothing short of a great time!

mustsmyle · 01-17-2005

We are doing James and Anna's Tulum tour...would you recommend the Alltournative tour of Coba, or can you see Coba easily on your own?

Beachnutt719 · 01-18-2005

Great photos and report. Thanks for sharing.

Nerak936 · 01-18-2005

Wow, Jacko!! What a delightful trip report!!

We leave in less than 6 weeks for our first non-AI experience, and your descriptions make my mouth water even more for both the fun and the food! <img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_3_2.gif' alt='Drooling' border=0></a>

Glad to hear you two had such a nice time!! Looking forward to the next installment!

Brimnerclan · 01-18-2005

Awesome Report....and Pics.

pmb · 01-18-2005

Jacko - great report and beautiful pics. Thank you!!!!!

Jacko · 01-18-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustsmyle

We are doing James and Anna's Tulum tour...would you recommend the Alltournative tour of Coba, or can you see Coba easily on your own?

mustsmyle, I do recommend the tour because of the people you will meet and the "extras" you do like visiting the Mayan village, rappelling into the cenote and the zip line fun. A little more "drive time" though as they pick folks up from different hotels along the Mayan Riviera. I am sure you could do Coba on you own by renting a vehicle and then get a guide (or just hang around one of the groups already getting the tour), but we have not tried this ourselves.

You can do Coba itself by walking, on bicycles they rent or even with the Mayan taxis they have there (bicycles with 2 seats in the front). We chose the walking route! Have a wonderful time!

tesa001 · 01-18-2005

i'm green with envy............nice report.........

t

andy766 · 01-18-2005

I have never taken the bus into town, Where do you pay for the ride?

01-17-2005	#1 (permalink)
Jacko añejo Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 18,357	Without our plastic bracelets- A trip report We just got back from 10 wonderful days in Playa from Jan 3rd to Jan 13th! We were determined to break the AI habit we had developed over the years and spend some quality time together..we'd been to the Riu Palace and the Grand Cozumel, and many other AI's throughout Mexico and Jamaica...but this time we would do it different. So, armed with tons of info from this wonderful site, our Playa Deal Card and our Mapchick Map we set out...its not as pretty as MichaelHolmes, nor as techy as Kinz's report, nor certainly as inexpensive as CWGraffix's trip, but it was our trip and it was wonderful..so here it comes... Day 1- Took the 65 peso Riviera Bus from Cancun....you really do have to wade through the masses of taxi drivers telling you the bus doesn' t exist or it's "over there" (the WRONG direction!)...go right as you exit the terminal and cross in front of the airport all the way to the end....pleasant ride to Playa in air conditioned comfort..even with an American movie en route. Arrived at the bus terminal in Playa and dragged our overly packed suitcases (full of toys for the children) to Steve and Delmy's wonderful place...the Playa Maya hotel...right on the beach with a great view from our room. Warm and friendly management and staff...made us feel like we were at home....although in a different paradise Well okay, now for a little food...you simply MUST try the Coconut shrimp at their beach restaurant...yummy! Later on we stopped in at Los Almendros for some great antojitos and finished our day with 15 pesos worth of the best Churros we have had since we lived in Spain..get 'em at the square! Day 2 Spent the morning at the beach and wandered around La Quinta into the afternoon checking out all the amazing people, sites, colors and smells.... Later on we went to Oasis where we indulged ourselves with their 12 peso shrimp tacos, excellent and HOT green salsa and a cerveza (or two?) We just had to have one of these cool gourd lamps so we picked the best one we could find and got a really large one for 500 pesos. Had dinner at Las Brisas, which can be really inexpensive, but we splurged on their 270 peso Mariscada platter for two..fish, shrimp, lobster and pulpo with all the trimmings...wonderful...although its not what we would call great atmosphere and the margaritas were pretty sour! Stopped off and checked out the Deseo bar....really cool, but outrageous drink prices....settled for a beer on the beach and off to bed. Day 3. Took a great walk north to Cueva del Changos for breakfast...had wonderful empanadas with Nopales, Chaya and Mushroom...their juice is fabulous as well. Got to see a toucan, but no Changos (monkey) in sight! Really interesting looking place with great atmosphere and very nice people! Back to the beach for the rest of the day with lots of walks.... Massage for Linda at the Playa Maya ($45) and dinner at Oasis (Sopa de Mariscos...huge bowl and wonderful)! More paseando down La Quinta and off to an early sleep....its tough out here in paradise with just you and your wonderful lady! Day 4. Breakfast at Playa Maya (Chilaquiles) and then off to Punta Venado for some horseback riding on the prettiest beach /jungle area you can imagine..$110 for two for a good 1.5 hour tour..and we were the only ones besides our Argentinian/Italian guide Nikko....do you remember that travel commercial where the guy envisions picking a tour that his wife might like just a little too much because the guide was great looking....well, Nikko was quite the looker! Oh well great horses, great time and she came home with me! Had lunch at a small Italian Cafe (great prociutto sandwich) next to Cafe Meditteranea...(edit..how could I forget)...met some Playa Peeps at Tequila Barrel for drinks! Enjoyed meeting Ketch and wife, Tzeenut (Tony), his wife and mother in law, CWGraffix (Chris), Cyburai and a few others whose names I can't remember! Met Joe and his wife from Java Joe's.....and finished later on with dinner at Cafe Meditteranea...great service and atmosphere! Great day! More later! __________________ Last edited by Jacko; 01-17-2005 at 08:43 PM.

01-17-2005	#2 (permalink)
cuffedlinks añejo Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The City of Presidents Posts: 16,003	WOW...great! Super photos too....including the additions to the multimedia section... You've really helped inspire me to the non-AI route.... ...soon. And of course the Playa Maya and Steve-O Last edited by cuffedlinks; 01-21-2005 at 04:35 PM.

01-17-2005	#5 (permalink)
Jacko añejo Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 18,357	Day 5 (Friday)- As we didn't want to plan ahead too far and reserve the hotly contested for spots on the famous (and more intimate) James and Anna tour, we took this day to go on the Alltournative tour to Coba-Pac Chen ($90 each for the full day). Took a long bus drive from Playa to pick up another 12 people and proceeded to Coba with a a great guide (Victor) who repeated everything in French and then English as we had French natives on board, French Canadians and a young American honeymooning couple....I think it got tiring for Linda as she speaks French as well as Spanish and English! Very nice people and a great time! Coba was cool... But thats a lotta steps....could we make it? I mean its really high! Well..she's almost there! But she is tough!...Yes, she made it! Joined by her favorite Playa Mayan of course...and what a view! Later, We took the most wonderful, rocky ride on "almost a road" to Pac Chen, a typical Mayan village with no electricity where everyone seems so relaxed and not concerned about time. We hiked through the jungle and then rappelled (sp?) into a beautiful cenote cave (Jaquar cenote) and zipped lined our way across a beautiful Mayan Lake.....hiked back to the village and had a most marvelous Mayan meal at Pac Chen. Canoed on the lake for awhile and headed back. Had dinner at Babes with great egg rolls of varying sorts, wonderful Smoothie and Frappe! Another wonderful day in paradise! Day 6- Saturday....What a beautiful morning! Headed to the square for some fresh fruit in a bag (10 pesos) Good for walking along the beach and seeing the local creatures And later for a drink with more Playa Peeps......Hi Mellory and Syrita!.... fresh in from one of my native states of Michigan! Lunch at Hot! (Great Pastrami sandwich and coffee milkshake!) Opal shopping (did I actually agree to go shopping???) at Opalo y Ambar for Opalos Canteras (Opals in the stone) and later to Yaxche for dinner...(get the garden seating) Yaxche was one of our best meals in my opinion....Masawal (sp?) soup (lime and chicken flavors) was phenomenal, cochinito de pibil on banana leaves was wonderful along with neat fruit drinks called a Coba with Strawberry, orange and Chaya. Finished the night with a walk down to Ciao Gelato for my favorite chocolate decadence delight! More later Last edited by Jacko; 01-17-2005 at 09:55 PM.

01-17-2005	#3 (permalink)
mckinzie lightweight Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Highland Village,Tx (Kinz Standard Time) Posts: 13,552	Great trip report so far Jacko Awesome pics too. Can't wait for the rest of your report.

01-17-2005	#4 (permalink)
tesa001 beachaholic Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: houston, texas Posts: 268	come on........don't leave me hangin'......... t

01-17-2005	#6 (permalink)
birdman añejo Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Wa state Posts: 1,683	Great report glad you had a good time.

01-17-2005	#7 (permalink)
SunKneeMarie character encapsulator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 26,858	Great report, great pics... obviously nothing short of a great time!

01-17-2005	#8 (permalink)
mustsmyle very sparkly Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 36	We are doing James and Anna's Tulum tour...would you recommend the Alltournative tour of Coba, or can you see Coba easily on your own?

01-18-2005	#9 (permalink)
Beachnutt719 añejo Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,972	Great photos and report. Thanks for sharing.

01-18-2005	#10 (permalink)
Nerak936 añejo Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 18,645	Wow, Jacko!! What a delightful trip report!! We leave in less than 6 weeks for our first non-AI experience, and your descriptions make my mouth water even more for both the fun and the food! <img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_3_2.gif' alt='Drooling' border=0></a> Glad to hear you two had such a nice time!! Looking forward to the next installment!

01-18-2005	#11 (permalink)
Brimnerclan into ruins Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Windsor, Ontario (south of Detroit) Posts: 71	Awesome Report....and Pics.

01-18-2005	#12 (permalink)
pmb beachaholic Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 321	Jacko - great report and beautiful pics. Thank you!!!!!

01-18-2005	#14 (permalink)
tesa001 beachaholic Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: houston, texas Posts: 268	i'm green with envy............nice report......... t

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01-18-2005	#15 (permalink)
andy766 beachaholic Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Vermont Posts: 342	I have never taken the bus into town, Where do you pay for the ride?