Playa del Carmen...

Okay, I know I’ve been remiss on posting, but I have been traveling around the Yucatan so I have good excuse. My first day at Playa del Carmen I’ll have to say was a bit of a disappointment. Since I’m used to Isla (and I know it’s unfair to compare ANYTHING to Isla), I just found it much too “hip” for my Mexican taste. A lot of people like that sort of thing when they go on vacation…I prefer less commercialism.

So, after my first evening of celebrating with the crazy Canucks, I went in search of Huevos Motulenos for breakfast. This little place is called the Hacienda and it’s only a half block from the hotel.

It’s a cute little place and I had heard (from the Canadians) that they had an excellent steak, so I thought I’d give them a try.

Can’t beat the prices…

But the Huevos Motulenos were not what I expected. They look pretty on the nice Mexican plate, but they had red, green and yellow peppers, no refried beans, no plantains and NO peas!! How can you call that Huevos Motulenos, I ask you?? Oh, well…they were okay, but a bit too heavy on the peppers.

So, I walked around town. The main drag is 5th Avenue where they have all the fancy shops, restaurants and natives selling their wares. My hotel sits at the north end of 5th Avenue, so it’s away from the crowds and the noise, which is good.I find that when I go to Mexico, it takes me a day or two to get into the picture-taking mode and I have to tune myself into what kinds of photos I want to take. Playa didn’t evoke the creativity in me, so this first day, I just took your regular touristy kind of pics.

Being from Texas, I think I'll pass on the Texas Burger Company since I can have those any day I want...

Another one I'll pass on...

Playa obviously has the usual Mexican construction issues. These guys were trying to move the scaffolding with the little ladder on top and the two guys moving the scaffolding didn’t see that the ladder was about to fall, so there was a lot of yelling and scrambling to keep it steady. Ha!

So, here are my toes in the sand...

And my view from that spot...

Various beach shots...

A night shot of the glitz and glamour...

Those somber Mayan women worked at this shop. She wasn’t posing for this photo…every time I walked by she was just standing there.

This place is just around the corner from my hotel (haven’t been there and won’t be going)…

For lunch I tried La Vagabunda…

Of course, the usual chips and pico de gallo (which was great, by the way)…

And the cheese enchiladas with verde sauce. They were good, but I don’t think I’d get them again.

My more interesting picture-taking came about when I took the bus to Vallodolid and Chichen Itza. I think it will be awhile before I do a post on those because they will take more time. I’ll just end with these teaser pics from that trip.

The colors of Valladolid…

Chichen Itza was amazing and covered a LOT more ground than I thought it would. The gods were smiling on me because the incredible blue sky and white fluffy clouds offered a great backdrop for the ruins.

I wanted to see a cenote, so I had a taxi take me to the one closest to Chichen Itza, wait for me, then take me back so that I could catch a bus back to Playa.

Then there are the MANY photos I took from the window of my bus rides. The towns in between all the stops offered some pretty interesting opportunities.

Today is my first beach day. It has not been hot here at all. I worked up a sweat walking around Chichen Itza, but it has been very pleasant with lots of nice breezes.

Till next time…Feliz Navidad everyone!