Weddingbee

As many of you may recall, Mr. Peppermint and I honeymooned in Mexico (the “Riviera Maya” area, a.k.a. the Yucatan).In choosing the destination, we had a few requirements:

• somewhere neither of us had been
• short flight (no more than 5 hours)
• decent weather (no hurricanes, snow storms, etc!)
• Culture (i.e. museums, history, something aside from just mixed drinks)
• Relaxation (not just culture). Beaches, massages & mixed drinks

We also liked that we could drive between destinations (come on, we’re from LA and there’s nothing that can beat a good ol’ road trip). We hadn’t driven in a foreign country before and had heard that the driving can be a bit aggressive. Now, having done it, I can say that it was a great decision and offered us flexibility and a great way to take in the entire region.

While I perhaps should have re-familiarized myself with my Spanish books, we quickly learned what certain traffic signs meant (a crossed out “E” means no parking!). Here’s our favorite:

Topes! (i.e. speed bumps)

We got into the Cancun airport in the late afternoon (btw, that airport is nice and efficient!), and headed straight for the rental car. The sun was starting to set and we didn’t want to get completely lost on our way to our first stop: Playa del Carmen. We managed to stay in good spirits even with our map packed deep in my suitcase in the trunk and the ever-darkening sky. I will confess that we did make one wrong turn into the ‘wrong’ part of town, but managed to find our way relatively quick. The bigger hiccup ended up that while we had a beautiful, centrally-located hotel we didn’t realize that the center of town is all blocked-off for pedestrian only traffic (a nice feature, but when you have some hefty luggage and a rental car to take care of, not so peachy keen). Nonetheless, after much confusion (a.k.a. “maybe we can get through on this street”…only to run into a policeman and a set of cones), we did it! We found public parking (most of the hotels don’t offer parking–another thing I should have looked into…!)We stayed at the ultra-modern Mosquito Beach. As the name suggests, it is right on the beach. Fantastic location and nice beachfront. Our room was a “dive in,” where the balcony opened onto the pool where you were encouraged to dive right in!

The main street (5th Avenue) is shut off for pedestrian only traffic and is bustling with great shops and restaurants (Italian, Mexican, Yucatanean, you name it!). I’ve heard that Playa del Carmen is a mini-Cancun and, while I haven’t spent much time in Cancun, the comparisons seem appropriate. We had a great time there and it was a nice transition into the culture of the peninsula, but as a local later told us in Merida, they often refer to it as “gringo-ville”. For better or for worse, tourism is a staple of the economy and they know it!

We took a day trip to Cozumel Island (poor Mr. Peppermint got a little sea sick on the ferry over!). We ate at the delectable Guido’s and hit the Cozumel Museum. I’m definitely a museum person and I would advocate hitting up this small gem. Okay, so some of the exhibits left a lot to be desired, but the top floor in particular gave a good overview of the island and its history. Another activity on the island (aside from the requisite fruity drinks) was off our honeyfund: We did horseback-riding through the coastal jungle and along the beach–at sunset!–at Mr. Sancho’s beach club. It was a great experience (and we’re not even “horse people”) and a great way to take in the island.

Given my love of theme parks, I couldn’t pass up the chance to go to Xcaret, the “Disneyland of ecoparks”. We spent a few hours there, but I can see how you could easily spend a day. They have a number of stage shows depicting Mayan rituals as well as zoo exhibits with bats, turtles, dolphins and more. Our favorite part was the underground river where you float through a long river that takes in you caves and through the majority of the park.

One of our fave items we packed: our Vibram shoes (good for hiking, water sports, & just plain getting attention):

Our last stop before driving south to Tulum was the Xaman-Ha bird sanctuary. What a wonderful place–very open and “natural”. Truly a great stop and a great protector of many native birds. All in all, “playa” was a great first stop. It had great food and a fun atmosphere!

Stay tuned for the next chapter of our trip: Tulum & Chichen Itza!!

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