Hey!!

No one told me it was daylight savings time!! I didn't hear a word about it while I was in Mexico. Of course, time is definitely different down there than it is up here north of the border. Personally, I prefer the Mexican definition of time better.

But I digress. Back to Puerto Morelos. These are just some miscellaneous shots I took around the town. When I was deciding where to go in Mexico, I asked a friend who's an avid Mexico traveler what he thought of PM. He said he thought it was a "dumpy little town." Unless it's been a long time since he's been there, or maybe he went to the PM across Highway 307 where most of the natives live...but I would definitely not say that PM is "dumpy." On a side note, I'm sorry I didn't get to the other side of PM...I would want to do that if/when I go there again.

This is the start of the very short malecon they have next to the water. The only boats you see on the beach or at the piers are very small fishing and snorkeling boats. They are extremely protective of the waters here because of the coral reefs. They don't let any large boats inside this area.

And this is where the malecon ends...about a block away from where it starts.

The zocalao in the middle of town with the nice playground...

In the middle...

From the zocalo looking to the sea...

The Alma Libre Bookstore is a well-known landmark here. Unfortunately, I never happened to be on the square when it was open...

This place looked nice, but I never made it there, either...

Another street on the zocalo. The restaurant on the far left end where the red car is parked is where I had...

...these vegetarian enchiladas. Very, very good. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I would definitely recommend it. A very small place with only about six tables.

I stopped here one night and had...

...lettuce wraps because I wasn't that hungry and wanted something different. These were really good, too. It was a pork filling and was very flavorful.

It took me three days to find a placed that served Huevos Motulenos. I know, I know...I'm anal about Huevos Motulenos...what can I say?

They were absolutely excellent...probably the best I've ever had.

And a shrimp cocktail at one of the places that sit right off the beach. It didn't have little bits of cilantro and onions like I like, but the sauce tasted great nonetheless.

This lovely lady was cooking chickens as I walked by one morning. Boy, did they smell great!

Here is the artisan's market about a block or south south of the zocalo...

Even though I said I wasn't going to compare PM with Isla, there was one big difference. There are only a couple of restaurants/bars that furnish umbrellas and/or chairs on the beach who will bring drinks down to tourists. You're pretty much on your own when you go to the beach. Everyone brings their own chairs and umbrellas and food/drinks. There's no schlepping of big fancy drinks up and down this beach! Also, there are no natives selling their wares up and down the beach...not one! (Well, at least during my trip.) Here's one of the restaurants that does furnish umbrellas...

And here's a view of the beach from that restaurant. By the way, see those white-caps way off the shoreline in the distance? That's where the coral reefs are and some of them are very close to the surface, so that's why there are waves way out there.

Other differences: There are only a couple places that have tables on the sand. Most restaurants have open patio areas, but nothing like Picus where you feel like you're almost sitting in the water. Also, there are almost no trees on the beach where you can sit under. The few trees they do have are too small for shade and are pretty far back on the beach.

Wasn't it nice of these guys to line up so evenly for this shot?

They were working on this crazy place which is RIGHT next door to where I was staying. They would be hammering up a storm at 7:00 in the morning. I don't know what it was before, but the hotel manager said it's going to be a restaurant. I thought it was really neat and wish I could have seen them finish it.

Crazy windows...

And look at this stairway going up the outside of the building. I'm hoping they don't eventually serve drinks up there, because they might have a few accidents with people trying to maneuver that stairway on the way down! Anyway, I think it would be worth another trip there just to find out how this place looks when it's finished.

There aren't a whole lot of places that look like this on the shore side of PM. I took a walk on the south side of the zocalo where there were some smaller homes.

A fixer-upper...

Local eatery...

A "small load" laundry day...

I thought this place was cute...

An interesting hotel for sale...

A cutie in one of the shops...

These guys roam around the town entertaining everyone...

Gulls on boat study...

I wish I could have been there for the bazaar they were having on the Saturday I left. Apparently, it's a yearly thing.

This planter was sitting in my hotel lobby. I swore the flowers were fake, but when I was standing next to it one day, I saw that it was a real plant. Wow...beautiful!

This is something I only saw once on this trip...the Mayan ladies with their embroidered dresses.

I still want to do a post on the north side of PM...as well as the Little Mexican Cooking School class I took last Tuesday, so stay tuned. So, I'll end with this shot of a wall that is across the street from my hotel.

Happy daylight savings time, everyone!

New doorways...

Yep, I changed my header picture. I've decided that since I'm exploring new places, my header photo needed to explore new places as well. And I think I may make that an on-going thing...and not necessarily just from Mexico. There are a lot of interesting doors out there...and I have lots of photos of them to prove it.

I just got back home from Puerto Morelos (PM) tonight and am pretty wiped out, but wanted to make a quick post. So, what did I think of it? Since I have been to Isla Mujeres so many times in the past four years, I tend to compare it with wherever I go in Mexico. I decided to stop doing that with this trip.

Simply put, I had a great time and met some very nice people. I will go into more detail with future posts, but I would definitely go back to PM again. There are pros and cons to every place you go, but PM is peaceful, friendly, small and laid back. I went snorkeling for the first time in my life and saw an abundance of coral reefs, colorful fish and a stingray.

The town is surrounded by national parks...the coral reef in the sea and the mangroves on the other side, so it will never grow like Playa del Carmen has grown. It's always a little strange to go to a new place, but by the end of the week, I was very sad to leave Puerto Morelos.

More details to come when I've recovered from the traveling mode...

Akumal Side Trip...

On Wednesday, everyone woke up to tremendous winds. I left my window open during the night and the curtains were going crazy when I woke up. By the way, I haven’t used air conditioning a single day on this trip…a first for me. The winds didn’t let up all day. The night before I met a nice couple from Wisconsin who invited me to share dinner with them. We ended up going to a local club/restaurant to listen to a Minnesota band by the name of Liquor Pigs. Unique, huh? Actually, I thought they were pretty good…kind of a jazzy sound and a few of their songs had a Bob Dylanish flavor. Anyway, we decided to have breakfast together at a tiny little place on the beach with a woman who lives part-time in Puerto Morelos .

Because it was so windy, the beach was pretty dead.

Here is the couple who own the restaurant…they’re from Quebec, Canada.

And here is Chris, Linda and Alan. They look happy, but we were all pretty miserable because of all the sand that was blowing into our faces and food…although we made the best of it. Linda jokingly referred to it as our own personal treatment of micro dermabrasion. Haha!

Alan offered to take my picture, but I said, “But my hair looks awful!!” Ha! Here I am with my awful hair.

And here’s breakfast…

Since there was no way it was going to be a beach day, I decided to take a day trip to Akumal. When I’ve been on the bus going to Valladolid and Tulum, the stop at Akumal looked pretty isolated to me.

So it was a little unnerving to get off there all by myself. You have to cross back over the highway on a walking bridge…

But it’s only a ½ mile walk into Akumal and this is what you see when you get there…

I just followed the street and ended up walking right past the main district. But I did see this little place for sale. Cute, huh?

When I realized I went too far, I decided to cut through to the beach so I wouldn’t have to backtrack. Mistake. The beach behind the homes along that area is NOT a beach. It’s extremely rocky with lots of fossil-like stones and, worst of all, VINES!!

So, I’m hopping from rock to rock, trying not to touch the vines, because once you touch them, you’re infected and will eventually be eaten by them. While I’m hopping around, I see one lone new athletic shoe on the rocks. Yep…they must have gotten that guy…all that’s left is his shoe. Sorry I didn´t get a picture of that...I was too busy just trying to survive.

All this time, I’m thinking to myself, “This better lead to the main area, because if I have to go back, I’m just going to throw myself into the sea.” Fortunately, it did..

Akumal is actually a little bay in a very small village-like setting…and very picturesque.

The sand is coarser and a little darker.

I stopped at Lol Ha for lunch…and was beaten up again by the winds. I opted for a club sandwich for lunch because it seemed like an Americanized-type restaurant.

Obligatory palm photo…

This strange looking thing is on the outside of the restaurant. It probably has a story, but I don’t know what it is.

It’s a very touristy place and there are a few artsy type shops as well as the typical souvenir shops.

More tile painting…

Only one restaurant off the beach…

A tiny market…

I’ll have to say that I thought Akumal was kind of strange. There just doesn’t seem like there’s that much to do and there aren’t many restaurants or bars. I think snorkeling and diving is a big thing there so that may be their main draw. I don’t think I’d ever go back. But, as usual, that’s just my dos centavos.