The much needed vacation to Playa del Carmen, Mexico is over—and boy do we have lots of photos to show for it. Seriously lots. And lots. It started with an early morning trip to the airport and a long day of travel. We finally made it to our resort last Saturday evening and were able to settle in and check out what was to be our amazing home for the next week.
The resort was right on the beach and had acres and acres of jungle and beach and pool for us to explore. Grass huts were everywhere and an icy piña colada was never more than a wave of the hand away. Many hours were spent laying on lounge chairs reading, listening to music, sleeping...etc. Our only real concern was when to get back in the water to cool down. Or whether to eat a bag of trail mix or a granola bar. It was a tough lifestyle.
There were 6 restaurants in the resort and we were able to try most of them. One of our favorites was a Cuban-style restaurant called Havana Moon. It was right on the beach and was beautiful. I coveted the big blue shutters, I want them on my house someday. There was dancing every night with live music. It was a blast.
The grounds around the resort were amazing. There were varieties of flowers and plants that I've never seen in my life. We also loved all the animals we were able to see. Iguanas ran everywhere, frogs and lemurs followed us on the paths, and pink flamings and crocodiles were our neighbors.
The city of Playa del Carmen was about a 10 minute cab ride from our resort. We took advantage of that one day and went to the beach and wandered around the town all afternoon.
We found an ice cream man and I decided that I HAD to have some coconut ice cream. It was fantastic. A necessity really. Next time you're in Mexico make sure you find some coconut ice cream.
When our ice cream treat was gone in less than 30 seconds we realized we were both starving. Since Adam served his mission in Mexico, he had a list of food items he had to get while we were there. Tacos al pastor was at the top of that list. And we searched every where for said dish. To Adam's dismay we were having a tough time tracking it down. Just as I was about to settle for a "tourist trap" restaurant Adam insisted we keep walking to down the street to a "more residential" area. My rumbling stomach didn't want to agree but I went along with him. At the next block we found a restaurant. They sold tacos al pastor. We were in luck. The pastor meat is actually pork that is put on a spit and is fire roasted as it spins. The chef cuts meat off the pork and places it on a corn tortilla, usually with chunks of pineapple. All I can say about it is that I totally get the hype. It was so good.
After lunch we found a popsicle stand where all the popsicles are homemade. I got a strawberry popsicle with chunks of strawberry throughout. It was awesome. Ice cream, popsicles and tacos...a pretty successful day if you ask me.
We wandered around the city for a while and saw lots of pretty things. I loved watching (and listening) to my husband interact with the people there. His Spanish skills are pretty awesome and I'm not going to lie, listening to him speak in another language is kind of super attractive.
The next day we were off to Tulum and were pretty excited to be there. The ruins were stunning. And we really enjoyed our tour given by a real live Mayan.
The city of Tulum is surrounded by 3 walls and the cliffs and the ocean. The clear blue water and white sand seemed even more gorgeous next to the crumbling ruins. We spent lots of time wandering around the site and taking photos.
After Tulum we went to the largest natural aquarium in the world. It was kind of like a water park but was completely eco-friendly. The main attraction is a river that visitors float down on tubes and/or snorkel that last about an hour. At the end of the river there is a big lagoon that we just floated around looking at all kinds of fish and crabs and sea creatures. Adam said that this was his favorite part of the trip. He even saw a barracuda!
We spent another day wandering around the resort taking in the beauty of this area.
(And falling more in love with my new white swim suit :))
Again the resort was basically just surrounded by a thick, thick jungle inhabited by so many creatures and plants, all of which were fun to look at.
On our last night before dinner we spent some time walking along the beach. I decided I love the ocean. It's so relaxing.
We ate dinner our last night at Frida's—an awesome Mexican restaurant in the resort. We loved their pico de gallo and empanadas. Adam got three different kinds of tacos and I am still dreaming about them.
We had such a fun trip and are so glad we were able to go and experience this new place together. Now that we're home reality is sinking in and new jobs are on the horizon for both of us. Real life, schedules, and actually paying attention to what day it is. Structure is going to be a welcomed feeling for us—kind of.
