Playa del Carman 2022

Jan 21 to Feb 4 2022

Getting There

This airfare to Playa (CUN) was probably the cheapest I have paid in more than fifteen years. I originally paid $280 but I had to change my flight so the price went up to $300.

Immigration was busy because it is high season but the line moved fast. Like last time, no stoplight for the customs luggage check so I walked directly out of the airport. I usually come to Mexico in low season so the chaos outside the airport was more intense than usual.

I booked a taxi through Booking.com when I booked my room. The directions said that the driver would be outside the airport holding a sign with my name on it…along with the hundred other people holding signs.

I couldn’t find him and I couldn’t get my phone to work even though I had used my Mint Mobile international plan last June. I went back near the airport exit so I could connect to wifi and call them. Almost immediately after I connected I got a call from the shuttle service. I was able to find him. It was a short ride to Playa.

My Crappy Hotels

I booked two weeks at Anah La Quinta. It looked nice on paper. I met the rental agent in the lobby which was odd because the hotel (condo?) had a front desk. Even though it appeared that I was renting from Anah La Quinta I was renting for a third party.

The agent brought me to the room. It had a large kitchen, a balcony with no chairs but no bedroom. When I booked the room on Booking.com I thought I was booking the entire condo. I booked the living room and kitchen. My bed was a sleeper sofa. This wasn’t going to work for two weeks. Booking.com agreed to cancel my room.

Unfortunately I got screwed by VRBO. I am not sure what is going on with VRBO, when I went to Aruba I booked a condo on VRBO and three days later the owner told me that he had booked the condo through another app. It was worse in Playa. I booked a nice room at Aldea Thai. My reservation was accepted and my credit card was charged. I got an email the next day telling me that the owner had cancelled my reservation even though I had paid.

I was due to check out the next day and I had nowhere to go during high season in Playa. I tried to book a condo at The Shore on AirBandB but the owner wouldn’t reply. I had it with VRBO and AirBandB I decided I would book a room through Booking.com the following day before I checked out.

I was going to move to Casa Ticule. It is literally half a block away. I had stayed there in 2013. I booked a room using my Booking.com app. I walked into the ho five minutes later. They asked me if I wanted to see the room before I booked. I think they knew I wasn’t going to like it.

The room was tucked at the very back of the hotel. It was dirty and dark. I would guess they usually don’t have people stay in it. I cancelled my room on the app and booked a room at Senses Quinta. I stayed there five years ago and liked it.

I rolled my bags down 5^th Ave to Senses Quinta and checked in. My room was on the third floor. The elevator was broken when I checked in and stayed out of commission during my entire stay. I didn’t mind, I got a little exercise every day.

The hotel showed five years of wear since I was last there. Everything was worn but not worn out.I still enjoyed my stay there.

There is a bar in the main level of the hotel that blasted music in the evening until 10 pm but midnight on the weekends. The music was louder in the hotel then when I walked by the bar on the street. I would guess that was because there was a circular atrium that extended to the ceiling and act3ed as an echo chamber.

There were always crowds spilling out onto the street, as you can see below. It took at least half a hour for the crowd to disperse after closing. Not sure what country they were from but they sang a song that everyone knew the works to.

Diving

My dives in Playa

Reef Dive Shop at Cocoa Beach

Since I was staying in between calle 26^th and 28^th I decided to go with a nearby dive shop. I did a search and found Reef Dive shop a couple blocks away. I walked down and booked diving for the next day. I didn’t know the shop where I booked diving was only sold equipment. The dive shop was on the other side of CTM. The next day I hauled all my equipment to the Reef dive shop on the other side of CTM.

It is a very nice dive shop. My dive master was Perrine. Small world, she used to be a dive master at Club Med in Turks and Caicos. Not when we were diving there but still- small world.

Blue Life

I really like this dive shop. I dove with them in 2019. I had good dives with them again this year.

Restaurants

Everything was slightly more expensive but that was to be expected.

I was happy to see that Club de la Cerveza, CMC, Hijos de la Tostada, Chela de Playa and Mariaskinky were still around.

I was also happy to see that Cerveceria Chapultepec was initially still there. I walked by at the beginning of my trip and it was open. I walked by two days later and it was now called Mr Sushi. I saw they relocated to calle 8 and 5th Avenue.

Both of my pizza by the slice restaurants were still open, Pizza Italia and Renzos. I think Renzos is a little better.

My favorite beach bars were still around. I went to Zenzi and Hijos do la Tostada and I found a new one, Inti.

My Most Expensive Day in Playa Ever

I walk on the beach when I am in Playa. I am staying on calle 26^th and I will walk to the southern end of Playacar. It is about an hour each direction. I used to be able to walk on the beach the entire way but it has eroded so much that I have to alternate between the beach and 1^st ave.

It was almost of the end of my vacation so I decided to stop and have a beer at Senor Frogs. I got a nice table on the railing with a view of the ocean. I don’t usually stop at Senor Frogs and I didn’t look at the menu. The server asked me if I want a small, medium or large beer. I thought medium sounded like a good compromise. The server brought me out a 32 oz beer that cost $10 US.

After I finished my beer I walked to the south end of Playacar. It was 2:30 pm by the time I got back to Senor Frogs. It was past lunch time and I was hungry. My initial thought was to stop at Zenzi for lunch but I as I walked past Inti I thought it looked like a good place to have lunch. I had seen it previously but never paid much attention to it.

It was expensive, two beers and shrimp tacos were $32 US. This was easily twice as expensive as any other beach bar. It was almost worth it thought. The food was excellent, the view was beautiful and the restaurant had a really nice vibe.

5^th Avenue

5^th Avenue is much busier than any other time, even Halloween. The good thing is there are a lot more bands playing. There were easily four of five bars with bands playing on 5th avenue

I watched the band at Bloody Mary and Batton Rouge more than several nights.

The Pandemic

Everyone was masked in the airports and on the flight down. The people working in the shops during the day were masked. It was rare to see anyone masked on 5^th Avenue. That didn’t bother me because the virus is not easily spread out doors . I did see the barista at Au Cacao tell the person in front of me to wear a mask but he ignored her.

At night, just like in last May, restaurants and bars were packed and masks were scarce, as you can see above. I actually stood on the street and watched the bands. I wasn’t worried about getting covid when I was outside but that many unmasked people could create a huge bioload so I tried to minimize exposure.

It was subzero in Minnesota so I wouldn’t have minded an extra week or two in Playa but if I got covid I would/should have quarantined and I would not have wanted to spend one week much less two in my room at Senses.

On my flight home I had a couple sit next to me in the exit row. The woman had her mask below her nose. She must have partied too hard because she immediately leaned on her husbands arm and closed her eyes when they sat down. The flight attendant came by and as required asked us if we were willing to perform the exit row tasks. I said yes and her husband said yes but the woman said nothing. The flight attendant asked her two more times and she finally said no. I have seen flight attendants threaten to move people unless they said yes.

I would guess flight attendants are too beaten down. She probably realized that the two guys in the row said yes and it wasn’t worth the battle to get the woman who wasn’t her mask properly to say yes.

The Beach

Unfortunately the beach continues to erode. The house below is in Playacar. In May there was still beach in front of it.

Some parts of the beach are still beautiful.

The pelicans don’t mind people, This one preened while I took pictures.

Strange Things I Saw This Trip

I have seem some alarming things concerning safety in Mexico. For example the power lines are really low. I hope these are phone lines but maybe they aren’t. Whenever it rains I see electrical cords that have been repaired with duct tape running through puddles. I have yet to get electrocuted.