In and around Playa Del Carmen

Well it has been just over 4 weeks now and I now in my final week in Playa Del Carmen. I start the Marine Conservation Project on Friday the 11th. I am really looking forward to it.

All the friends that I have made in Playa have started to leave now, most people were on a 3-4 week course. It has been so much fun but at this point i am not massively confident that my Spanish will help me to survive. It is going to take many months of further study just to get it all to sink in. The most important thing is that i won´t starve!

There are so many things to do in this area so here are some photos of what I have been up to over the last few weeks. It mainly revolves around the beach and beer, some beach volleyball and then more beer. You will very quickly get the picture, life is not hard at the moment!

Isla Mujeres –

This claims to be a Caribbean Paradise Island. I had been given the impression that it was leaning towards the eco friendly way of life but it really was a little disappointing. The waters were amazing, clear blue for as far as you could see BUT, this place is totally built for tourists. There is barely a square foot of beach that doesn’t have a sun bed on it and every 20 meters is a bar/restaurant or a tour.

The Island is 7.5 kms long and about 300 meters wide, getting around was not difficult. However, there were so many cars and motorbikes it was almost a joke.

Luckily I was there with a great group of people. There were eight of us, 4 Swiss Germans, 1 German and Roberto who is Italian living in Switzerland. Unfortunately my Spanish has totally gone out the window and my head is full of German.

We stayed at a hostel. This was, believe it or not, my first time in a hostel sharing a communal room. It turns out that my other room mates were two Marine Officers on r&r. Initially I thought this was a good thing, I felt safe, but later I was taken back to the good old Navy days. I saw them at the bar showing the other travelers how to snort tequila up their nose with a straw, this was at 11pm and the bar closed at 4am. Sharing a room intoxicated Marines is not an attractive sight, no details needed just use your imaginations………

Sunday there were a few tired people so there was a lack of enthusiasm at the suggestion to hire bikes and cycle around the Island. Although the Island is only 7.5kms long it was not flat and it was a little more challenging that my body was prepared for, especially as I only had one gear.

Back to the beach to cool off and then home. My final weekend in Playa was a good one but there was a little more excitement at about 9pm when there was a power cut and the whole of Playa was in darkness. Luckily I am getting into this traveler thing and I had my torch at arms length.

Enjoy the photos.

The streets of Isla Mujeres, Colorful with Characture and full of tourist.

Christian finding his own palm tree to hide from the sun.

This sunset didn´t look promising to start with because of the cloud however, it was pretty amazing. The best way to enjoy sunset, a few beers and a packet of chips.....

Sara, Christian, Maxi, Nicole, Dominic, Thomas enjoying 2 for 1 cocktails at the hostel beach bar.

Roberto and Nicole, also enjoying the 2 for 1 cocktails.

Chilling with a Cuba Libre and Thomas.

The survivers - and then there were 4 unfortunately it was 6am!

This is not an easy move to do whilst intoxicated!

The beautiful waters around Isla Mujeres

Cozumel -

This is an Island, about a 30 minute boat ride from Playa. It has a reputation for good diving and there are certainly lots of dive hotels, dive shops etc. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was a little disappointing, totally built for tourists with really tacky shops and very little character. Tega and I decided to hire bicycles and head down to the south of the Islands. The sea was gorgeous so we stopped of for a snorkel and a swim. It wasn’t long before the decision was made to head back to the really nice looking bar that was right on the water with a live band! With a deadline of 6pm to return the bikes we peddled like crazy to get back on time. Full of beer and tacos we arrived back at the ferry having had another great day.

watching the sun set, again, over Cozumel

This was a really, it is 2 divers and lots of fish, turtles etc etc, it is not a great shot but you get the idea.

Playa Paradiso –

Playa Paradiso is near the Tulum Mayan Ruins. It is fantastic beach. The sand was so soft and the water was really clear. There were palm trees and beach bars and not to many people. Very relaxing, until later when I realised that my factor 50 had not protected me as well as I had hoped. I will spare you the pictures of that. I looked like a patchwork quit, a red and white one with bits of purple dotted everywhere.
We finished the day, like most, with a few beers on the beach whilst the sun set……

Heading down to the beach nice and early, Tega and Roberto

Sara and Roberto possing for one of many photos taken on the palm tree.

Getting ready for the sunset.

The nightlife –

It is a tourist town so there are lots of bars and clubs. The two we seem to magnatise to are the Blue Parrot and Coco Maya. They are next to each other on the beach, every night is ladies night. You can drink tequila, vodka and rum until it comes out of your ears. It’s is the cheap and nasty variety and many have suffered with it coming out of somewhere else!

As many of my friends will know - I like sitting with my feet in the sand watching the sun go down with a beer or a few bottles of wine, or a bottle of vodka. I have turned from sloaney to hippy over the last few years and I enjoy just going with the flow. This usually means the same old t-shirt, shorts and flip flops. The same three t-shirts will be featuring in all my photos, I am as happy as a pig in poop!

This is the last post from Playa. The next will be from Mahuhal, probably in about 2 weeks time so please tune in then to catch up with all my news.

I shall leave you with some photos of some of the lovely people I have met and the bars in Playa……..

Tega and Sara, in a dress. I felt a little underdressed so felt under pressure. Not sure if it will become one of my luxury items, although it may have to as the arse is about to come out of my jeans!
Betina, Nicole, Nicole, Maxi, Tega, Isabel and Roberto in one of our favorite restaurants - Italian!


Dinner on the beach. Judith, Stephanie, Tega, Nicole, Thomas, Domonique, Maxi, Christian, Sara and Alice.
Judith, Alice, Stephanie and Tega

Dominic, Maxi, Sara and Christian

Nicole, Maxim Tega, Sara, Magali and Judith


Flame thrower on the beach

With only a few days to go in Playa i am feeling a little sad about moving on but very excited about the next stage. During the first 5 weeks i have felt safe, comfortable and carefree. I have met some really great people and i wish that i could hit the pause button and hold onto it for a little longer but life moves on, as do the people. I think that i will struggle with this over the next few months but lets just wait and see.

To all my family and friends out there - you are missed and i think about the happy times often.

ADIOS AMIGO´S

Hasta Luego

xx

Sara

I know some of the photos are a little small but i hope to upload everything onto Kodak and post the links. You can then see all of the photos in a better size and format.