Wheeling in Playa. Trip Report from April 14th - 28th 2007.

[4wheeled]

Before I start I’ll share a little background info. It may help you make sense of where I’m coming from. I use an electric wheelchair to get around since falling off my motorcycle 23 years ago and ending up a quadriplegic. C5 incomplete. That’ll mean something to some, for others, it means I have use of most of my shoulder muscles some wrist and complete biceps, no triceps. I can use a manual wheelchair but only on the flattest surfaces. Once I am in my electric chair I am totally independant......I can drive my adapted minivan and when it comes to eating and drinking, I have no problem whatsoever I’ll make mention of some things concerning accessibility but for the most part this will just be a regular TR. I’ll do a separate one after with specifics about the hotel and around town concerning accessibility as I saw it.

I’ve been travelling somewhere hot n sunny for the last few years with a bunch of guys I grew up with. The stars have aligned just so, that they’ve been able to arrange to get away from their lives to hang out. We all get along great. I couldn’t imagine better friends.
One of my travel buddies is also my attendant who assists me with my personal care (getting in and out of bed, dressing, bathing....etc ) He, Kris, works where I live in an apartment building that has 15 wheelchair accessible apartments and provides 24 hour support services to their tenants.

Ok, here we go. Kris is working his usual 12 hour night shift from 7:30 pm the Friday night before we leave so after throwing me in bed at 10, he is back at 2:30 to get me up and finish my last minute packing. I have a wheelchair accessible cab booked for 4am and Kris has arranged to end his shift then. Mike is driving the other guys to the airport. We have a 6:20 flight with Skyservice and since we sprang for the ‘premier’ option with Sunquest ........which gives us lovely gold coloured luggage tags, two free drinks, free head phones, $15 discount coupon for an excursion, $75 off next sunquest rip, express check-in ......we aren’t required to check-in until 2 hours before the flight. Still, Mike has arranged to pick Les and Steve up at 3:30. Yikes! His 18 year old son David is going with them so he can have the van while dad is away.

Kris and I arrive at the airport about 5 to find Les and Steve sitting on a bench with their bags across from the Skyservice counter. "Why didn’t you check-in? Where’s Mike? Why you grinnin’ Les? Ok, what’s up?" Seems they arrived a little after 4, unload, say goodbye, enter the terminal, Mike asks where is his black carry-on bag. Uh oh. He runs back outside to see David has wasted no time in leaving. Les and Steve both live outside the city and since I made all the trip bookings with travel agent, I get all the tickets sent to me. I had mine and Kris’, Mike had all of theirs...in his carry-on. Well, itsa good thing Mike likes to be early or he wouldn’t have made it back to his place by cab and back with his son in time. By the time Kris and I checked in, Mike was back, phew, big sigh all around. Let the fun begin!

It is about 5:45 now and Les forgets he has gum in his pocket so he gets to remove his shoes at security. A little background on the guys here. You might think Mike is the forgetful one but you’d be wrong. He thought the others had taken his bag out, they didn’t, really just a minor oversight with huge potential for disaster. Steve is a firefighter, so definitely the most responsible of the group. He is also the senior member, dare I say old man? Not that 54 is old, but Les and I are still in our 40's. Ok, we’ll both be 50 this year but we all feel like we’re still 20 something, especially when we are on vacation.
Back to forgetfulness, Les is a fisheries biologist and is currently back at school for his Masters and maybe PhD. No way we’ll ever be able to call him Dr. with a straight face. Think along the lines of absent minded professor and you have Les. It’s actually just a very relaxed, devil may care, hey I’m vacation attitude but if anyone is gonna lose something or be late, its Les.
I booked this trip last July, early I know but the price was right and the sooner I booked the sooner I could stop checking online for other hotels and deals. Les didn’t know if he could go until December and had to book his flight and hotel separate. He was flying Skyservice too but a different flight leaving 10 minutes after us. Ha ha, see ya there sucker! Except his pilot got on the intercom and asked everyone to hurry up and sit down if everyone wanted to leave Now or wait half an hour. So he beats us there and We end up being a half an hour behind schedule. Oh well. We’ve landed. Ahhh, the warm air rushes in the door, I’m in the first row. Now to wait.....first on, last off....come on folks hustle it up!
We have to deplane onto the tarmac which does not bother me anymore. In fact it usually means once I get carried down the stairs in the little aisle chair (think two-wheeler) I can get in my chair right there instead of having to transfer into a rickety old manual chair and going to baggage claim. Usually. But the grounds crew guy in the white shirt who lectured me about not moving around while they carried me down the stairs or else they would drop me, says they have to bus us to the terminal and my chair will be there. "But my chair is right there!" I point. "NO." Ok, onto the nice low bus via a beautiful portable aluminum ramp my chair could have used, off we go to the terminal still in the aisle chair. Not really comfortable but I always expect this sort of thing.

The airport guy pushing me, blue shirt, is very nice from Czechoslovakia.... Kris is from Poland so they reminisce about places in common they know. Get thru immigration (blue shirt is able to cut around the line ups and take us right to a guy) and there is Les at the baggage claim grinnin’ like a fool. Where ya bin buddy? Ok ok, good for you, you beat us buddy.... now find my chair! (I’ve known Les forever, we actually played together in our playpens in adjoining backyards, so when it seems I may be barking orders, its with love

20 minutes later we have all our bags except Mike’s and my chair. Hmmm. There it is! Believe it or not, they’d put the chair on the luggage belt! Go figure. The thing weighs 325 pounds! The belt stops, the guys haul it off ( I have handles that I hook on it to make lifting it much easier)
We put the batteries back in, leg rests on, untape the control box, power up and yippee, it all works. Les finds Mike’s bag, he is on a roll and proud of it, off we go to customs and 5 green lights. I zip thru the terminal in search of the "Welcome Paul" sign outside and to tell the Sunquest rep we aren’t taking the bus. Of course Les finds him. I’ve already taken my watch off so am not sure how late we are but our van guy is parked close by and happily moves the van closer to the curb to make throwing me in the seat easier. Itsa neat new Toyota van with raised roof, folding rear seat to accommodate chair and a seat with a headrest that gives me good back support. If we had the portable ramp from the airport bus I could have wheeled right in the back. Off we go, do we want to stop for cervazas? No thanks, it isn’t noon yet(as if that matters) Kris and I had champagne and oj with breakfast on the plane. He had a beer too then a good nap. I watched ‘The Queen’. Eegads are we there yet?
The drive is uneventful and looking very familiar, it is our third time to the Riviera Maya....the second to Playacar. We stayed at the IB Tucan/Quetzal 2 years ago. It is so nice to see the lush tropical greenery....playadise. Now I’m grinnin’. I don’t even feel tired.

The Riu Tequila is very nice. Got a big horse in the driveway. Itsa little cloudy but nice and warm.

No one checking in, the busload from Sunquest beat us there. Carlos, call me Charlie Brown, gives us our paper work to fill out, hands over door keys, safe key, (real keys, no cards, well the place was built in 98, its all good) towel cards, explains everything very well, most efficient. But Carlos, my room is wheelchair accessible right? No senor. D’oh! Someone is leaving tomorrow so you can move then. Ok, not perfect but no problem. Rooms aren’t ready yet, come back at 3. Its 2 now? Nope, that’s Toronto time, it is only 1 o’clock. Zip off the pants legs, put a t-shirt on in lobby bathroom, the guys change and off to the pool bar/restaurant.

I’m not totally in vacation mode yet because I can’t decide what to drink. Sad I know. Steve and Mike are big on the fancy mixed drinks. They are dessert hogs so anything sweet will do. I end up having a shot of tequila and a beer but for the life of me can’t remember if Les or Kris joined me.
I’m not hungry but the guys get a plate from the buffet. Ok I guess I could eat a few chips n salsa. I intended to take food pics because that is one of the things I most enjoy in others trip reports but didn’t end up doing a very good job.


Spent the rest of the day checking out the Yucatan across the street, the intended beach area for Tequila guests. walkway to beach. Kris, Les, Steve and Mike. fresh white meat ready for sun!






We ate at the buffet restaurant that first night and most others.

There are only two specialty restaurants available to the Tequila, a Mexican and a Steakhouse.
The entertainment staff are outside the buffet at night promoting the show that night. Not sure what the theme was this first night but liked the outfits. We didn’t see the show that night. I forget where we hung out but went to bed fairly early.

day two
The rain woke me up early. Uh oh. They have nice big umbrellas in the closet but still managed to get wet going to lobby, no big deal. Breakfasts here are similar to most AI’s I’ve encountered. Lots of choices from already cooked to cook to order. No complaints from anyone.
Don’t remember the show theme for tonight either but still loving their outfits. Big smile for the wife Kris.



Get the keys for the accessible room. Only difference really is roll-in shower which is very important. Sink counter is too low to get under but taps are not lever handles anyway. I managed fine in this room with Kris’ assistance.




Rain stopped and sky cleared....amazing! I never worried that it wouldn’t. We check out the beach at the Playacar today. A much smaller resort than Yucatan and Tequila. There are 3 access points to beach which are all level, no stairs, 2 of which I can actually wheel onto the beach for 10 feet before sand gets too soft. Perfect. Can't get to the water but its ok. We set up shop and enjoy the breeze, sun sand and sights. Definitely some good sights here.
The beach is indeed hurtin’. They’re attempting to reclaim beach front with the big black and some white bladders full of sand. Seems to be working to some degree but it seems insignificant compared to the drop off in some spots.








Walk into town after dinner for a look see. Les didn’t make the trip as he was having some....issues. We picked him up some immodium at the little shops in Playacar and ran it back to him before setting off.

Town looks the same except for condo construction at south end. Is nice feeling to recognize places from previous trips and from info gained on here. Mike had a phone card and since we were around the corner from Carboncitos I called my sister and had her call Kris’ wife so they could see us having a margarita(very good. the hotel’s were not) and waving at the camera every two minutes like fools.

[TeeZet]

I remember well when you joined the forum asking about Carboncitos accessibility.
Nice report so far!
Keep it coming!

[Dijo]

really good time! Thanks for sharing and anxiously awaiting more!

[TEX]

Great report thus far, 4wheeled. My wife and I are taking my 5 year old son to Mexico for the 1st time in July. Just so happens we will be staying at the Riu Tequila. Thanks for posting the pics and report.

[debk]

Can't wait for the rest of the report - LOVE all the pictures! Gives us all a much needed Playa fix!

[MartyC]

Good trip report. Good food pics are sometimes hard to get. Nice try anyways.

[4wheeled]

i got a lot of good info from here. had a long list of places to try and barely made a dent in it. will obviously have to return.

[4wheeled]

Monday and Tuesday
Hung out at the Playacar’s beach. Can’t tell from this pic but we were happy!


Tuesday afternoon the activity by the pool was the beer drinking contest which Kris had expressed an interest in so I signed him up. I almost signed up too but my forte is drinking thru a straw and also wasn’t sure I felt like chuggin a lot of beer. Kris professes to be a champ chugger of half litres of beer back in Poland. As well as able to chug a litre of milk. Huh? Who’d want to?
(He is waiting his turn, back left)

round 1

Anyway, sure enough he performs quite well....has one tie which they break by having to use a straw (I’d have beat him) 7 or 8 plastic cups (the small ones) of beer later, he is in the final. Final consists of doing 5 pushups first and downing at least a half a litre. Ta dah Kris triumphs. burp burp burrrp! Got a buzz yet Kris? He feels fine but full, goes for a walk, has a lie down and 2 hours later...burrrrp....what’s for dinner? Atta boy.(no more pics, I got the final as a movie)

We’re all set for dinner in buffet about 7 and stop to ask for more pillows at the desk from Carlos. We’ve heard there is another speciality restaurant, Asian style at the Yucatan but that we cannot book it. I figure I’ll ask anyway. "Carlos, the room is fine thank-you, I need three more pillows, great thanks, hey, can we book at the Asian?" "No sorry." "Ok, no problem. Is Anilu around? (Anilu is the public relations manager I e-mailed with prior to booking when I was checking out accessibility) I just want to meet her and say hi." "Let me find her." He goes and gets her and also asks about the Asian.

"Hi, hi, nice to meet you...you want to go to the Asian?" "Yes please. It’ll have to be tonight at 8:45."

"Ok great, for 7?" (We had met a nice couple from Nova Scotia)

Ruth wanted to dance with the gay one.

Hang on, Les isn’t gay, he’s a biologist! But Steve is our metrosexual.

Everyone was starving so we went into the buffet for appetizers, ya right. We chow down and practically have to run across the road to get to the restaurant on time. I was expecting Tapanyaki tables where they cook it in front of you. Nope. It was buffet style too with cook top at one end of the restaurant. They had sushi apps and everything I expected but just a different setup. Was disappointed with that but the food was good. The vino dinto was tasting good. Had fun. Boy were we full.

Wednesday/Thursday
Beach at the Playacar. See a pattern yet? I’m finding it hard to remember what was when. (the pictures are helping but Kris’ camera date is off by 12 hours so I’m getting confused.)
Dinner at buffet, it was a BBQ night with steak, ribs and chicken. No food yet but we were on our way. I think we just eat too fast to get good before pics.

We plan to go to HC Monterrey tomorrow so I have a little taste of the steak and load up on fish. Sorry, all ideas to take food pics have vanished.
So far we have yet to have a late night. Mike and Steve are early risers and usually had a noontime buzz going from the fruity drinks. Les is finally feeling better so we get into having el Jimador on the rocks with lime as our after dinner drinks. Kris is usually the responsible drinker, Mike can’t drink after eating. So Mike and Steve usually headed for bed first followed by Kris then me with Les trying to do us proud at the bar. He had his own room so didn’t have to worry about waking anyone up. We don’t just crash after dinner though, we play cards in the lobby. As I type that I’m thinkin’, woooooooo, exciting or what!?

Thursday we head to HC’s with map and directions from Claudia at the desk in hand.

Get there about 6. Perfect timing there is a table in shade with a breeze right outside the kitchen.
I’ve told the guys what is what but I’m a little stumped by nacional or imported. Have decided on nacional when the manager, forget his name, a Canadian transplant comes out and answers all our questions. 5 arrachera nacional, I opt for an onion instead of potato and try a michelada. Very different but ok. Couldn’t attempt two tho so went for Modelo especial next.

As anyone who has eaten here knows, the steak is fantastic!! Melt in your mouth, not a chewy bit anywhere. The sour cream stuff is right on and the onion and avocado just great. Careful to clear the seeds on the jalapeno, it was hotter than I expected.
The price per meal was 900 pesos and our total with about 8 beers and tip was $70US. Best meal so far and doubt any other steak would top it.
oops, all gone...

the crew.....guy on far left is manager

Wandered around fifth after but everyone was too full to stop and drink anywhere.

bellies full of beef

back in time to catch the girls before the show


Friday
Beach day. The typical beach day for me means reclining against something in the sun and reading til I start to get hot, then I move to the shade. Meet the guys for lunch. Read some more, watch afternoon pool activity, have a few drinks.
For the guys, they would walk the beach and then lay on the beach chairs. Have a few drinks. Mike got hooked on Les’ suduko book. Kris windsurfed. Les played ping pong and water volleyball. Steve had his ipod.



he played adults too

Buffet dinner. All is good.
Saturday.

First excursion to Akumal bay. Plan is to snorkel and enjoy the beach. Pickup at 10 return at 7, van and driver booked on here. Thanks Heather.
Van is a Ford so a little higher lift in and out but the boys are rested.
Tried snorkelling last year at Xel-Ha and didn’t like the feeling of having my head lower than my very buoyant body (I swear its mostly air). Had a life jacket on so planned to try it without this time. Figured out before going that we needed an air mattress to put me on to float me out to deeper water so I wasn’t getting dragged on the bottom (us quads have to protect our butt skin)
So we stop at Walmart, our driver very pleasant and helpful. Not the best at English but better than our Spanish. The guys go in looking for a cheapo plastic air mattress....the kind they have in town for 4bucks but that I never thought to look for on our first 4 trips to town! They come out with a $15 mattress good enough to sleep on...so yes I brought it home. Turns out it worked way better than a cheapo plastic one wold have. No pump though so the guys take turns blowing it up on the way.

To make a long story short, not that you’ll notice by now, I didn’t do much snorkelling. I figured out why it bugged me though. Having snorkelled in my previous life it wasn’t the mouth breathing, it was the inability to lift my head out of the water on my own. I float like a cork and even with a rented dive belt which helped somewhat, I was not able to control when I lifted my head out.....this freaked me out.



The good news is the water cooled me off and laying on the mattress watching the girls walk by was very relaxing. The guys loved the snorkelling. I loved the beach because I could wheel everywhere.


The offshore breeze helped keep me cool. Because of my injury I don’t sweat anymore. That has its advantages but the disadvantage is that I can’t cool off normally. So for me to cool down I need to drink a lot of water and pee (sorry if this is too much info) I’ll also soak my head and feet with cold water. Anyway.....we love it here and are talking about returning.
We had a snack and a margarita at Lo Ha restaurant(if only the hotels could make em taste as real) I had fish tacos, Mike and Steve had fries, Les and Kris just ate chips and salsa. La cuenta was $60us incl tip. Definitely tourist prices but overall not too bad.


Had our driver, forget his name too, drive us to have a look at Yal ku lagoon on the way home. Bumpy road but ok. $7us or $700 peso admittance. Its 6 o’clock so we head back. Get back at 7 on the dot. Dress up for the Mexican specialty restaurant.

Food was okay, had a choice from 5 or 6 mains, I had fish...no pics. It would have been a much more enjoyable meal if they hadn’t treated the restaurant floor the day before with what smelled like creosote...no kidding. Its an open air restaurant but the curtains were down because it was very windy. Not the best dinner by far.
One week down, one to go.

.

[4wheeled]

just realized 3 weeks ago we'd finished our day at akumal, had dinner at the stinky mexican restaurant and were now having a cocktail oh well

[jflattracker]

Loving your report! We spent sometime at the Tequilla last time we were there. Can't wait to hear more!

[sauvichick]

I enjoyed your trip report! Awaiting the rest. Beach very crowded-don't like beach chairs that close ! It's sad that the beach is so eroded and the sandbags are so exposed due to hurricanes. But you all seem to be having a great time!

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by 4wheeled

The price per meal was 900 pesos and our total with about 8 beers and tip was $70US. Best meal so far and doubt any other steak would top it.
oops, all gone...

Bumpy road but ok. $7us or $700 peso admittance.

.

great report!

but....
methinks we can drop a zero

[Nerak936]

What a GREAT report!! Wonderful detail and wonderful pics. You guys were always having fun, weren't you?!?!!!

Thanks for taking the time to post and report all this, 4-wheeled. Hopefully this report will show other 4-wheeler types that Playa IS doable and enjoyable whether you're on two feet or four wheels! Way to go, dude!!!

Sure hope I get the chance to share a cold one with ya someday.

[SunKneeMarie]

great report... thanks!

[4wheeled]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

great report!

but....
methinks we can drop a zero

yer right of course babaloo. thank gawd my mental calculator works better than my .....i dunno....typing one?

and i failed to report we stopped in paamul on the way home to see if i could spot the new corona commercial palms (probably revealing too much about the reading i've done here) itsa beautiful bay there. was even a couple enjoying their "swim" together. wasn't a smokin baby to be seen though.