October 28 to November 9 2018
October 28th
My flight to Playa was interesting. There was a woman in her sixties sitting next to me in the exit row. I assume since she was sitting in an exit row she flew enough to be at least Silver Medallion. She also was aware that we were flying in a 737.
Once we took off she was trying to figure out Delta Studio, how to operate her monitor, and how to turn on her overhead light. When the flight attendant came down the aisle pushing the soda cart, she literally complained to her about not getting an app with her Delta American Express card. The flight attendant tried explaining to her that she needed to download the app. She didn’t like that but she let the attendant alone eventually.
I put my headphones in and started watching a movie as soon as possible.
I usually book a private van through Canada Transfers or USA transfers for the ride from the airport to my hotel in Playa but this time I booked Grayline, which is a shared shuttle. It only cost me $20.
It was an interesting shuttle ride. I shared the shuttle with two couples. The driver told me that he was going to drop them off first. However, they were kind of rude to the driver, so at one point he leaned over to me and said, I am going to drop you off first.
I booked my hotel at Sunrise 42. It is a little further north than I would have liked but only by a block or two. It was a very nice hotel. The room was big and the front desk people were very friendly. Breakfast was included but was pretty basic. It was cereal, coffee and yogurt. It was a great deal because I paid a little over $40 a night.
It was after 3 pm by the time I got to the hotel and checked in. I hadn’t had much to eat so I went to my favorite place to get small bites, Club de la Cerveza. I had bruschetta and a Minerva microbrew. For dinner I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Los Aguachilies. They have two locations, I went to Constituentes and First Avenue. The black bean and shrimp tacos were great.
The Vikings were playing and I’ve known for a while that you can find a bar in Playa that will have your teams game on. I started watching the game at Guy Fieri’s and left at half time to find a bar with the game on that is a little closer to my hotel. Unfortunately every bar that I passed on the way back to my room had the World Series on.
October 29th
I had my free breakfast at Rey David. It is a restaurant that is located on the main floor of the hotel. It was not very good. It was fruit, frosted flakes, bread lettuce and sandwich meat.
My work pays for my phone but it doesn’t work internationally. I guess I shouldn’t complain. I have an unlocked phone that I use when I travel. I also have a T-Mobile sim that I use with that phone but for some unknown reason it doesn’t always work when I am in Mexico. This was one of those times.
After breakfast I walked to the OXXO store so I could get a TelCel sim. Of course it chose that moment to downpour but the rain doesn’t last long. Unfortunately, I had to walk to the TelCel store to get the sim activated. I had data for the rest of my vacation so it was worth for getting wet.
On the way back from the TelCel store I walked down CTM to Beyond Diving and booked diving for tomorrow. There is a pizza by the slice restaurant just down from my hotel called Pizza Italia. It was great pizza and it was extremely cheap. Unfortunately they do not serve alcohol.
When I got back to my hotel I put my swimsuit on and went to the rooftop pool. There were two small pools on the roof along with lounge chairs. My only complaint about the pools is there is no shade on the roof. Once you get out of the pool you immediately start to bake.
I went to Muy Salsa for dinner. I ate there in February. It is just okay. I could not decide where to eat so I decided to stick with a place that I was familiar with even if it wasn’t great.
October 30th
I need to eat before diving so I bought two containers of yogurt. I thought the yogurt would be more filling than the free breakfast.
I walked down to Beyond Diving. Eric and Sandy owned the business. Eric was the dive master and web guru and Sandy ran the office. They have a very friendly dog called piggy.
The diving was good. I was starving by the time I got back. I went to Puerto Cocina Urbana. I had a Cupaca Amber, which is a Mexican microbrew and spicy shrimp tacos (again). Both were excellent.
One of my favorite places to people watch in Playa is Au Cacao. I walked to the nearest one on 5th Avenue, ordered a latte and watched the people go by.
October 31st Halloween
I started the day diving with Beyond Diving. The divemaster was Steve, I recognized him from Mexico Blue Dream Diving. They call him Scuba Steve and he recognized me but with the hundreds of divers he see every year I am not so sure. Both dives were good.
Steve recommended Calamara de la 10 so I walked there for lunch. I had blazing hot shrimp tacos. Very good.
I love Halloween in Playa. The first time I stayed in Playa over Halloween was in 2012. I had no idea what a party it was back then. I was diving the next day so I went out early for dinner and saw kids and adults walking down 5th Avenue in costumes but the crowds were sparse. Most costumes were the traditional skeletons but there were some superheroes and other costumes.
I was in Playa over Halloween last year and it was amazing. I was staying between Calle 26th and 28th on 5th Avenue. I was far enough north that I didn’t expect 5th to be busy until I got to Constituents but I was wrong. I left my hotel about 9 pm to grab dinner and the streets were packed with people in costumes both locals and tourists. The energy was amazing. From previous years I knew that kids would be asking me for treats so I brought all of my change with me and handed it out to the trick or treaters at dinner.
I was staying further north this year, Calle 42nd, but it was busy by the time I got to 38th. I had a quick dinner and wondered around. I was a little early, 5th Avenue was busy but not as crowded as they usually are on Halloween.
After dinner I walked past the clubs on Calle 12. It was about 10 pm and the clubs were deserted. I had a fairly long walk back to my room since I was on Calle 12 and my room was on Calle 42 so I decided to make my way back to my room and if I heard a good band at one of the bars I would stop in and listen.
I didn’t hear any bands that interested me so I went back to my room and called it a night.
November 1st
I took a day off diving to get caught up on my chores. I did laundry. I didn’t actually do it myself but I took it to the “lavenderia” on the end of the block from my hotel. It cost $6 US to get my clothes washed.
I walked down to Evolve gym in Calle 26 and 5th. This is my new favorite gym in Playa. It is cheaper than the gym I used to go to. It also has more weights and the layout is better.
I went to Martina’s Beach Club for lunch. It turned out to be my least favorite beach club in Playa. The tacos were just average and the service was mediocre. After I ate, I went for a walk on the beach. Unfortunately, there is so much beach erosion that I couldn’t walk very far in either direction.
I went to Rey David for dinner. I read good things about it on Trip Advisor. It is the sister restaurant of the Rey David in my hotel. It was just Okay. I really miss That’s Amore. It closed within the last year. It was my go-to Italian restaurant in Playa. I would guess some people might not like it but it was good basic Italian food, nothing fancy. I always had good pasta when I went there.
November 2nd
I dove with Beyond Diving again today. We went to Cozumel. It is just a short motor from Playa to Cozumel. We dove Santa Rosa wall. This reinforces that that I don’t want to dive Cozumel. It was a nice dive but we didn’t see much sea life. It is nice to see reef formations and coral but I would rather see sea life.
The second dive was amazing. It was the C53 wreck. The ship is much larger than any of the C wrecks we have dove in Puerto Morelos or Isla. We explored all the levels of the ship. Of course, the battery on my GoPro died just as I got to the wreck.
I stopped at Pizza Italia and a slice of pepperoni and a coke for lunch. There are several good pizza by the slice places in Playa and this is one of them. A slice of pizza is 20 pesos that is a little over one dollar. It is usually pretty good but it depends if you are there early enough. I have stopped in for pizza late once and the pizza was a little stale.
I went to Michaleas for dinner and had crappy enchiladas. I need to stop eating on 5th Avenue. Since I didn’t stay out late for Halloween I decided to go out tonight. I started at the Tequila Barrel. I got a seat at the bar. The Tequila Barrel had just reopened after a remodel. It was kind of a dump before but the new version is definitely better.
They turned the bar into a Coyote Ugly clone.The bartenders had bottles of flaming liquor they fed to people through a funnel. They juggled bottles and did other tricks too. The waitresses danced on the bar and if someone form the joined them they were given a shot of tequila.
One beer was enough for me at the Tequila Barrel. I left and went to the clubs on Calle 12.
I started at Sanito Tun Tun. While I was drinking my beer I was watching Abolingo across the street. It looked like they were having more fun so I went there next. There was a group of about 20 Americans dancing and having a very good time.
After a while my ears started to hurt so I left (yup, I feel old). If I go back I will have to bring ear plugs.
It was after midnight when I left. I wasn’t quiet ready to go back to my room so I stopped at McCarthy’s. They had a really good Mexican rock band. They played some of the Mexican rock songs but it was mostly hard rock, usually in Spanish but some English.
That is the thing I like about Playa, I can go from diving Cozumel in the morning to a hopping disco at night, to an Irish bar with a Mexican hard rock band where I am one of the few non-Hispanics in the bar. This day was one of the days that makes me really like Playa.
November 3rd and 4th
I slept in today. I may have woke up just a little groggy from the previous night. I had breakfast at Pasteleria Italian Tiramisu. It is located on the corner of Calle 38 and 5th Avenue. I had a chocolate croissant and a latte. It is more expensive than Au Cacao and not any better so I probably won’t be doing back.
I just hung out most of Saturday. For dinner I went back to Pintxeria. Karen and I had eaten there in February for Valentine’s Day and liked it. I got the same waiter as the last time. A really nice guy. The food was as good as last time.
I had planned to go out that evening but I started to feel unwell. I went back to my room.
The following day I wasn’t feeling any better. I didn’t go very far from my hotel. I also felt bad enough that I did not eat all day.
November 5th
I prepaid to do a shark dive today. I wasn’t sure I was going to feel well enough to go. Because there is another dive after the shark dive. It takes about five hours from the time I leave my hotel until I get back and there is not chance to use a bathroom in between. I did not want to crap in my wetsuit. I took a chance that I would make it without an issue and I did.
I did the shark dive for the first time in 2013 and it was amazing but scary as hell. I decided to do it again this year.
The water was crystal clear the last time I did the shark dive. Today it wasn’t. There were also other groups of divers on the shark dive. My group was just me and Eric the shop owner.
We back rolled out of the boat and went down to the ocean floor ninety-five feet below. There was a lot of current and visibility was only about twenty feet.
I recognized the dive area from the first time I did the shark dive. There is a rope strung across the ocean floor. The other group of divers were in the water before us and they kept drifting in the current. Eric and I stopped at the shark area.
It occurred to me when we stopped that it was just Eric and I. Last time I did the dive we had three divers, two divemasters and a camera person. This time it was just Eric and I to watch each other’s backs.
We were stopped at the shark site for about five or ten minutes without seeing anything, when out of the haze came a bull shark. It checked us out and moved on and a short while later another bull shark appeared out of the haze and disappeared shortly after. We drifted in the current for a while and but did not see another bull shark.
The second dive was a shallow dive but it was good. After I returned to the dive shop I rinsed my gear and went back to my room.
I still didn’t feel very good so I took a nap and slept for three hours. My appetite had returned, at least a little, so walked to Club de la Cerveza and had a beer and bruschetta. I went back to my room for the rest of the evening.
November 6th
I was done diving for this trip. I had finally starting to feel better but I was not completely back to normal.
For Breakfast I walked around the corner to Muy Salsa and had eggs. This is the first time I have had breakfast here. I’ve only had dinner here previously.
I came back and changed and went to the beach. I walked to the ferry pier and back to 38th. Because of erosion I had to detour from the beach to 1st Avenue and back on the beach several times.
It was time for lunch when I turned around at the ferry dock. I stopped at Zenzi for chips and beer. Later that evening I went to my favorite pizza by the slice place, Pizza Italia.
November 7th
Unfortunately, I had to go home today. I packed when I got up and then went to Chez Celine for breakfast. Chez Celine is an extremely popular restaurant. Fortunately I was early enough that I didn’t have to wait too long. I had a great ham and cheese omelet for breakfast.
I had arranged a cab to bring me to the airport yesterday. He was ten minutes late but eventually showed up.
It was a weird cab ride. He took me to a gas station on the edge of town when I had to switch cabs and that cab brought me to the airport. If I was a woman, I would have been worried. As it was, I thinking of what I would do if things went south.
I don’t understand why I switched cabs but I tipped the new cabbie 200 pesos when we got to the airport and he was very happy.
I had chicken enchiladas at Margaritaville before my flight.
Vacation Recap
Playa del Carmen had become my favorite place for my solo vacations. The diving is good and there is plenty to do when I am not diving. I have stayed al over Playa and I have my favorite areas to stay.
I wouldn’t stay south of Calle 26 any longer, it is just too busy. One of my favorite hotels is Senses Quinta between Calle 26 and 28. That would be the furthest south I would go at this point.
I realized on this trip that Calle 38 would be the perfect area to stay but Sunrise 42 was only two blocks north so it is still close enough.
It was a good vacation. I met many nice people. The diving was good. The only new restaurant I discovered was Pizza Italia, the pizza by the slice place but I was able to eat at most of my favorites.
Playa is changing, some not for the better. Unfortunately, the beach is eroding. It is so eroded in spots the beach is completely gone and some buildings are falling into the ocean.
Playa has a sargassum problem from March to August. The stinky dead seaweed is in piles that are four feet high on the beach and it is hauled away daily but the workers can’t keep up. Fortunately when I come down in November the seaweed is gone.
Sunrise 42 Hotel
This was a very nice hotel for the amount of money I paid for it- about $35 a day. All of the people that worked the front desk were helpful and friendly.
The room and the bathroom were large. There was nothing fancy about the room but it worked for me. There were two small roof top pools. There were plenty of chairs and loungers on the roof but there was no shade. If you were going to spend the day at the pool you were going to be in the sun the entire time.
My only complaint was breakfast. I read negative reviews on Trip Advisor about the breakfast but I am not a breakfast person so it wasn’t a concern. I did eat breakfast at the hotel two days. The breakfast was in the restaurant next to the hotel so I had to get a coupon from the front desk, then walk next door to the restaurant, give the coupon to the waiter (who could be hard to find) and then I would help myself to the “buffet”. I used quotes because the buffet consisted of cold cereal, coffee, juice, shite bread and lunch meat.
Beyond Diving
This is the first year I dove with them. They insisted on doing everything for me. They rinsed my equipment and helped with everything else. I would dive with them it I stayed this far north again.
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