kccoopers in Playa: the sequel - Page 2

FunShine · 12-16-2009

Lovin' the trip report! More please!

LucyE · 12-16-2009

Well that is true, HC is better for Arrachera.. But El Fogon has the beans, the fruit drinks (agua de melon, agua de jamaica, etc.) and the best part, they have guacamole! HC doesn't.

kccooper · 12-16-2009

Day 2

I'm diving with Paulo today so wanted to get a nice big breakfast before we headed out. I convinced the girls to get up with me to try out La Cueva del Chango. Another one of those places that has been touted as a must do in Playa. We walk north on 5th to 38th

and turn towards the beach and there it is

- but it's not open yet! I'm supposed to be meeting Paulo at 8:00am at Pluto Dive so we arrive at LCdC at 7am and they don't open until 8am -

. So we wandered back south along 5th looking for something to eat and finally found some muffins and croissants at Au Cocoa - I can't remember the cross street, maybe 32nd? Anyways, the croissants were delivered at about 7:20 and were quite good - they had chocolate and turkey & cheese. They also had some fresh squeezed OJ that was good but not chilled (I know you're going to say "what, you didn't have the wonderful coffee?" Unfortunately, we don't drink coffee). Not exactly La Cueva del Chango but it was good and would just have to suffice.

The girls headed for the beach at Mamitas and I met up with Paulo at Pluto Dive. Got our gear and the rest of our group and headed for the water. We started out at Baracuda - here's Paulo and my dive buddy for the day - Jim.

And some underwater shots (I bought a Canon 1200 and the underwater case for it right before we left on the trip. So my first attempt with underwater photography didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped but I did get a few decent shots.)

Here's where we stopped between dives and Paulo showing us the plan for our next stop - Sabalos:

Some pics from Sabalos:

All in all 2 pretty good dives but there were about 7 other boats of divers at Sabalos so it wasn't as good as it could've been.

Got back to the dive shop around noon and then headed back to the condo to change, grab the girls and head to meet up with some friends staying at Fusion. They got really cheap rooms there and were very happy with the place. We ventured north to El Pirata for some fish tacos - can't say the anything else on the menu was noteworthy and the prices were not the cheapest around but the fish tacos there are awesome!

Once again, our bill was wrong. WTF?

How hard is it people? This time they added an extra entree that they claimed was from the table next to ours and was accidentally put on our tab. Whatever - there was only one other table of people in the whole place. At this point I'm trying really hard to remember that I'm in Mexico on vacation and it's probably snowing back in Kansas. Things could be much worse...

So to try and help me calm down further, we opt for some massages on the beach. There are a bunch of places offering massages for anywhere from $17-$25 per person for an hour. I don't even remember where we ended up but the girls went one place and I went to another because the first place we found only had 2 tables so I let the girls have them. The massages were very good (but not as good as the ones we had at Veronica's later in the trip). Definitely worth the $20 plus tip.

We headed back to the condo to clean up and then out to 5th to find some dinner. We opted for Babe's - the one on 5th on the north end. We ate at the other Babe's last time we were in Playa and really enjoyed it. Not so much this time. This was probably the worst meal we had the whole trip. It's not that it was horrible but it was definitely below average. Here are some pics, though:

The mango margarita was ok but I couldn't even tell if there was tequila in it. The shrimp and crab rolls were just ok also. The red snapper was pretty good but the best entree was easily the teryaki chicken - it was excellent.

Walked 5th for a while and then headed to Mega to get some beer and snacks and just check it out.

Finally headed home to try and get the computer working with the free wi-fi at the condo. Although I'm pretty computer illiterate, I got it working. As much as I did not enjoy toting the stupid laptop through the airports, it was totally worth it to have internet access at the condo.

Tomorrow, Tulum!

Friday · 12-16-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by kccooper

Day 2

Some pics from Sabalos:

Beautiful ! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

caramba · 12-17-2009

Great pics, Cooper.... and great to meet you at Bad Boys, too. Looking forward to the rest of your report!

trishab83 · 12-17-2009

Quote:

We headed back to the condo to clean up and then out to 5th to find some dinner. We opted for Babe's - the one on 5th on the north end. We ate at the other Babe's last time we were in Playa and really enjoyed it. Not so much this time. This was probably the worst meal we had the whole trip. It's not that it was horrible but it was definitely below average.

Sorry to hear you were disappointed with your Babe's experience. It's a favorite place of mine, but most people I take there are simply underwhelmed. That picture of the teriyaki chicken absolutely made me drool...and I don't even like teriyaki! Ohhh, what I wouldn't give for some of their peanut sauce right about now!!

LucyE · 12-17-2009

Sorry about your experience at Babes. I've actually read that the original Babes is actually better than the one on the north end. So you kinda confirmed that. We went to the original one and my hubby just loved it. He would have eaten there 2-3 times this trip had he gotten his way.

James A. · 12-17-2009

I think you had your camera dialed in nicely...great underwater shots.

ciderrella · 12-17-2009

Great underwater photos. Thanks for sharing.

Northender · 12-18-2009

Hey KC

I was on that dive with you. It's just as well you didn't rush your family through Tulum the following day, as they canceled our night dive due to rough seas.

kccooper · 12-18-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northender

Hey KC

I was on that dive with you. It's just as well you didn't rush your family through Tulum the following day, as they canceled our night dive due to rough seas.

That totally sucks! I did get to go dive one more time. We went over to Coz on Tuesday and it was amazing! I'll post a few pics when I get to that day on my TR.

Timpete · 12-18-2009

Hey KC! Great report, wish we could be there with you guys. Great picture of mom and daughter. Keep the pictures coming, they are beautiful.

kccooper · 12-18-2009

Day 3 (Saturday)

Another early morning so we could get down to the ruins at Tulum before the crowds. Walked down 5th to and hit the taco carts for breakfast. We tried the shrimp, chicken and pork tacos and then I decided I needed to try a pork sandwich. All were very good! One word of warning, though, the salsas they have available on the carts are all pretty hot. There was one that was in a black bowl that nearly brought tears to my eyes. The girls bought sodas and I had some fresh OJ. Our friends from KC showed up for some breakfast at the same time so we hung out with them for a bit before heading south to Tulum.

If my daughter ever reads this TR I'm sure I'll catch some flack for that last shot.

After eating, we were going to catch the ADO to Tulum but decided to take a collectivo instead. Got dropped off at the entrance at about 9am, went to the ticket booth and waited around to see if any other folks that spoke English were interested in a tour guide so we could share and cut down on the cost. Yes, I am that much of a tight ass - just ask my wife. However, I'm also incredibly impatient so after waiting around about 5 minutes and seeing nobody else that might want to split a guide, I bit the bullet and paid just over $700p for our tickets and own personal guide. I think it was only $51p per person to enter the ruins, the guide was about $500p and I think the rest was for the "shuttle" to the entrance.

The tour lasted right at an hour. Each guide seems to have their own approach to the tour and ours was ok but he didn't cover a lot of the subject matter I'd heard on previous tours. He was very nice, though and spoke good English. The girls informed me afterwards that they were VERY glad that we hired the guide - it made the tour much more enjoyable and educational. FWIW, our guide's name was Lemmy. I know everyone posts pretty much these same pics but I'm putting them on here too:

I've been to Tulum 3 times now and was excited to be doing it on our own this time instead of with a tour so we could relax and wander at our own pace. We also went down to the beautiful beach and hung out for a bit. Although it was picturesque, there are life guards that keep you from going very far into the water and won't let you on the rocks. I wouldn't go back to the beach here when you could just head to another beach away from the ruins and have free reign. One other problem we ran into on the beach was that these darn European girls somehow managed to keep getting in the way of my picture taking. See...

After a half hour or so on the beach we headed out. Caught a cab to town and walked around the pueblo for a bit. Found Vincent's jewelry shop and it was as impressive as Silvergirl said. Didn't buy anything, though. Then it was off to Pollo Bronco. Kristin and I had some of this chicken when we took Mitch's Tulum and Beyond tour last year and were determined to have this for lunch again. And it did not disappoint. It was soooo good! Best $90p I spent - for a whole chicken. Also had the taters that were quite good too. The only down side was that they didn't sell cerveza.

We were all three totally stuffed and ready for some more beach time. Before we caught a cab we stopped in a little liquor store and struck up a conversation with the owner. A very nice older gentleman that gave us samples of tequila and a lesson on how it's made and so forth. We bought a bottle of Clase Azul and La Pinta from him.

Hopped in a cab and went to El Paraiso. The rest of the day and the peep meet at Bad Boys will be coming soon...

Mark711 · 12-19-2009

Hi neighbors! Wife and I are from Independence, Mo. and we love Playa as well! Try to go a couple of times a year. Do you have a red filter on your camera? Extra lighting used? Great report, awsome pictures.

We leave our Tex-mexer (text messaging kid) in Independence now. He's 22 and has his hands full with a job, nursing school and two room mates. We played that game too on vacation a few years!

culater88 · 12-19-2009

Nice report, I didn't take a guided tour in Tulum and will do so the next time. Traveling with kids is challenging at times since their attention span is so short and the next time, it'll just be the adults.

Nice pictures, the underwater ones are great!

12-16-2009	#18 (permalink)
kccooper into ruins Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 71	Day 2 I'm diving with Paulo today so wanted to get a nice big breakfast before we headed out. I convinced the girls to get up with me to try out La Cueva del Chango. Another one of those places that has been touted as a must do in Playa. We walk north on 5th to 38th and turn towards the beach and there it is - but it's not open yet! I'm supposed to be meeting Paulo at 8:00am at Pluto Dive so we arrive at LCdC at 7am and they don't open until 8am - . So we wandered back south along 5th looking for something to eat and finally found some muffins and croissants at Au Cocoa - I can't remember the cross street, maybe 32nd? Anyways, the croissants were delivered at about 7:20 and were quite good - they had chocolate and turkey & cheese. They also had some fresh squeezed OJ that was good but not chilled (I know you're going to say "what, you didn't have the wonderful coffee?" Unfortunately, we don't drink coffee). Not exactly La Cueva del Chango but it was good and would just have to suffice. The girls headed for the beach at Mamitas and I met up with Paulo at Pluto Dive. Got our gear and the rest of our group and headed for the water. We started out at Baracuda - here's Paulo and my dive buddy for the day - Jim. And some underwater shots (I bought a Canon 1200 and the underwater case for it right before we left on the trip. So my first attempt with underwater photography didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped but I did get a few decent shots.) Here's where we stopped between dives and Paulo showing us the plan for our next stop - Sabalos: Some pics from Sabalos: All in all 2 pretty good dives but there were about 7 other boats of divers at Sabalos so it wasn't as good as it could've been. Got back to the dive shop around noon and then headed back to the condo to change, grab the girls and head to meet up with some friends staying at Fusion. They got really cheap rooms there and were very happy with the place. We ventured north to El Pirata for some fish tacos - can't say the anything else on the menu was noteworthy and the prices were not the cheapest around but the fish tacos there are awesome! Once again, our bill was wrong. WTF? How hard is it people? This time they added an extra entree that they claimed was from the table next to ours and was accidentally put on our tab. Whatever - there was only one other table of people in the whole place. At this point I'm trying really hard to remember that I'm in Mexico on vacation and it's probably snowing back in Kansas. Things could be much worse... So to try and help me calm down further, we opt for some massages on the beach. There are a bunch of places offering massages for anywhere from $17-$25 per person for an hour. I don't even remember where we ended up but the girls went one place and I went to another because the first place we found only had 2 tables so I let the girls have them. The massages were very good (but not as good as the ones we had at Veronica's later in the trip). Definitely worth the $20 plus tip. We headed back to the condo to clean up and then out to 5th to find some dinner. We opted for Babe's - the one on 5th on the north end. We ate at the other Babe's last time we were in Playa and really enjoyed it. Not so much this time. This was probably the worst meal we had the whole trip. It's not that it was horrible but it was definitely below average. Here are some pics, though: The mango margarita was ok but I couldn't even tell if there was tequila in it. The shrimp and crab rolls were just ok also. The red snapper was pretty good but the best entree was easily the teryaki chicken - it was excellent. Walked 5th for a while and then headed to Mega to get some beer and snacks and just check it out. Finally headed home to try and get the computer working with the free wi-fi at the condo. Although I'm pretty computer illiterate, I got it working. As much as I did not enjoy toting the stupid laptop through the airports, it was totally worth it to have internet access at the condo. Tomorrow, Tulum! __________________ Cooper

12-16-2009	#16 (permalink)
FunShine reposado Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,200	Lovin' the trip report! More please!

12-16-2009	#17 (permalink)
LucyE añejo Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Torrance, CA Posts: 7,240	Well that is true, HC is better for Arrachera.. But El Fogon has the beans, the fruit drinks (agua de melon, agua de jamaica, etc.) and the best part, they have guacamole! HC doesn't.

12-17-2009	#20 (permalink)
caramba añejo Join Date: May 2002 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 6,641	Great pics, Cooper.... and great to meet you at Bad Boys, too. Looking forward to the rest of your report!

12-17-2009	#22 (permalink)
LucyE añejo Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Torrance, CA Posts: 7,240	Sorry about your experience at Babes. I've actually read that the original Babes is actually better than the one on the north end. So you kinda confirmed that. We went to the original one and my hubby just loved it. He would have eaten there 2-3 times this trip had he gotten his way.

12-17-2009	#23 (permalink)
James A. sandbagger vidiot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bell Buckle, TN Posts: 3,102	I think you had your camera dialed in nicely...great underwater shots.

12-17-2009	#24 (permalink)
ciderrella ruined Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Washington State, USA Posts: 87	Great underwater photos. Thanks for sharing.

12-18-2009	#25 (permalink)
Northender sandflea Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: western U.S. Posts: 2	Hey KC I was on that dive with you. It's just as well you didn't rush your family through Tulum the following day, as they canceled our night dive due to rough seas.

12-18-2009	#27 (permalink)
Timpete beachaholic Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Virginia, Minnesota Posts: 285	Hey KC! Great report, wish we could be there with you guys. Great picture of mom and daughter. Keep the pictures coming, they are beautiful.

12-18-2009	#28 (permalink)
kccooper into ruins Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 71	Day 3 (Saturday) Another early morning so we could get down to the ruins at Tulum before the crowds. Walked down 5th to and hit the taco carts for breakfast. We tried the shrimp, chicken and pork tacos and then I decided I needed to try a pork sandwich. All were very good! One word of warning, though, the salsas they have available on the carts are all pretty hot. There was one that was in a black bowl that nearly brought tears to my eyes. The girls bought sodas and I had some fresh OJ. Our friends from KC showed up for some breakfast at the same time so we hung out with them for a bit before heading south to Tulum. If my daughter ever reads this TR I'm sure I'll catch some flack for that last shot. After eating, we were going to catch the ADO to Tulum but decided to take a collectivo instead. Got dropped off at the entrance at about 9am, went to the ticket booth and waited around to see if any other folks that spoke English were interested in a tour guide so we could share and cut down on the cost. Yes, I am that much of a tight ass - just ask my wife. However, I'm also incredibly impatient so after waiting around about 5 minutes and seeing nobody else that might want to split a guide, I bit the bullet and paid just over $700p for our tickets and own personal guide. I think it was only $51p per person to enter the ruins, the guide was about $500p and I think the rest was for the "shuttle" to the entrance. The tour lasted right at an hour. Each guide seems to have their own approach to the tour and ours was ok but he didn't cover a lot of the subject matter I'd heard on previous tours. He was very nice, though and spoke good English. The girls informed me afterwards that they were VERY glad that we hired the guide - it made the tour much more enjoyable and educational. FWIW, our guide's name was Lemmy. I know everyone posts pretty much these same pics but I'm putting them on here too: I've been to Tulum 3 times now and was excited to be doing it on our own this time instead of with a tour so we could relax and wander at our own pace. We also went down to the beautiful beach and hung out for a bit. Although it was picturesque, there are life guards that keep you from going very far into the water and won't let you on the rocks. I wouldn't go back to the beach here when you could just head to another beach away from the ruins and have free reign. One other problem we ran into on the beach was that these darn European girls somehow managed to keep getting in the way of my picture taking. See... After a half hour or so on the beach we headed out. Caught a cab to town and walked around the pueblo for a bit. Found Vincent's jewelry shop and it was as impressive as Silvergirl said. Didn't buy anything, though. Then it was off to Pollo Bronco. Kristin and I had some of this chicken when we took Mitch's Tulum and Beyond tour last year and were determined to have this for lunch again. And it did not disappoint. It was soooo good! Best $90p I spent - for a whole chicken. Also had the taters that were quite good too. The only down side was that they didn't sell cerveza. We were all three totally stuffed and ready for some more beach time. Before we caught a cab we stopped in a little liquor store and struck up a conversation with the owner. A very nice older gentleman that gave us samples of tequila and a lesson on how it's made and so forth. We bought a bottle of Clase Azul and La Pinta from him. Hopped in a cab and went to El Paraiso. The rest of the day and the peep meet at Bad Boys will be coming soon...

12-19-2009	#29 (permalink)
Mark711 way into it Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 214	Hi neighbors! Wife and I are from Independence, Mo. and we love Playa as well! Try to go a couple of times a year. Do you have a red filter on your camera? Extra lighting used? Great report, awsome pictures. We leave our Tex-mexer (text messaging kid) in Independence now. He's 22 and has his hands full with a job, nursing school and two room mates. We played that game too on vacation a few years!

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12-19-2009	#30 (permalink)
culater88 into ruins Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 61	Nice report, I didn't take a guided tour in Tulum and will do so the next time. Traveling with kids is challenging at times since their attention span is so short and the next time, it'll just be the adults. Nice pictures, the underwater ones are great!