2015 Mexico

Kendra texted me in August that although Christmas 2015 was her dad’s year to have her, that he was going to have to work, and wouldn’t be able to travel with her until after New Year’s. Additionally, Kendra works at a hospital and has to show availability for 3/5 of the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holidays. Also, I wanted to a Christmas trip on a budget. I started with flights, and managed to get our flights to Cancun for our miles and $80. After talking to some people and checking out Trip Advisor, I found a very nice hotel in Playa del Carmen for less than $1200 for a week (Christmas Eve until New Year’s Eve). I arranged for diving in Playa, Cozumel, and the cenotes for around $1000 for both of us. I budgeted about $700 for taxis, groceries, and eating out. (And came home with a little cash!) Altogether, we did the entire trip for 2 people for less than $3000 the week of Christmas.

Day 1 – Thu Dec 24

Because of storms with potential tornadoes, I waited and got up around 3:45 to drive to Louisville. I went to Kendra’s apartment, arriving at 5:30. We quick packed the shared checked bag and she dropped me off at the airport. The security line was longer than usual, But I arrived at the gate long before boarding. We were stuck on the plane on the tarmac for a half hour past departure time because of paperwork.

In Charlotte, by the time I got my gate-checked bag, I had to rush to my gate for boarding my connection. I toyed with the idea of having Einstein Bros along the way, having used the American Airlines app to view a map of the airport, but the line was too long. When I arrived at the gate, they were calling for Priority boarding, so off I went.

The flight was uneventful, but the pilot was not as skilled as on my first flight. When I arrived in Cancun, I made it through customs quickly, then ran the gauntlet of salespeople trying to make money from tourists. Outside, it was a hot and humid Christmas Eve and although it was very crowded, I found my driver and we were off in air-conditioned bliss to Playa del Carmen.

The Hotel Casa Ticul is located at the north end of 5th Avenue, which is a street that is blocked off for only foot traffic. I had arranged airport transfers through the hotel before I arrived. The driver parked the van and helped me to carry my bags to the hotel. Check-in was fast and easy and a gentleman helped me with my bags. The hotel stands four stories tall, and inside the walls are two courtyards. The first courtyard has the main pool that you see in so many pictures. There is also a second-level deck above the pool with artificial grass and beach chairs for sitting or lounging. This area overlooks 5th Avenue below. The back courtyard has a second pool and is quieter.

After getting settled and changed, I went out to look around and find some dinner. After snacking at Haagen-Dazs, I walked to the grocery store, and then took at taxi back to the hotel.

About taxis – Some taxis knew where Hotel Casa Ticul were, but for others I had to specify 5th Avenue and 38th Street. If you get picked up or dropped off on 5th Avenue, the fares will be doubled. It’s half the price to walk to/from 10th Avenue and 38th Street and get picked up or dropped off by a taxi there.

There was some noise and fireworks late at night because of the holiday, but I use a white noise generating app on my phone to sleep.

Day 2 – Fri Dec 25

I woke early on Christmas Day and walked down to the beach to watch the sun rise. There were some local young people that had been partying all night that were hanging out to watch the sunrise as well. At 7:30, I returned to the hotel for breakfast. Breakfast is served from 7:30 – 10:00. At 7:30, nothing was out but water and juice. By 8:00, bread, jam, sandwich fixings, and the toaster were out. When I left at 8:30, they had put out sliced fruit and began warming the stove for cooking.

I relaxed in my room until Kendra arrived early, at 11:00. We unpacked and had lunch in the room. We needed to take a taxi to Royal Hideaway Playacar at 2:00.

Pro Dive Mexico – If you are diving with Pro Dive around Playa del Carmen, you must go to the parking lot of the Royal Hideaway Playacar and walk from the parking lot near the street across the length of the property to the dive shop at the beach. (Google estimates this as about 180 meters or 0.1 miles.) If you stay at the resort, and have one of the rooms near the front of the resort, you will still have to walk nearly as far. At the Pro Dive shop, there is a large changing room with lots of shelves where you can leave your dry clothes and bags when you dive. You will calibrate your Nitrox tanks at the shop and not on the boat. You must carry all of your gear (except tanks, but including weights) down the beach, into the water, and onto the boat. The boats are very low in the water and you will be drenched with sea water (you might want to wear your mask to keep salt water out of your eyes) during the 5-minute boat ride to your dive site. Do not bring anything on the boat that cannot get drenched. Dry bags are recommended.

The divemasters are multi-lingual (We heard English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese) and very knowledgeable of the area. We had one divemaster that was highly skilled at spotting small things, such as shrimp, tiny starfish, and crabs. We had a different divemaster later that found very large sea life. If you have a window between dives, there’s really no place to sit and relax. Between an 8:00 dive and a 1:00 dive, I snuck over to the resort next door and waited on a lounge chair on the beach. The resort (Riu Playacar) provides red wristbands to its members. I had a red watch and turned it toward my wrist. Nobody bothered me as I sat there for hours reading a book, and later had a packed lunch.

During the week of Christmas 2015, the winds were high, the seas were a little rough, and the visibility was pretty terrible for all of the local dives in Playacar (just south of Playa del Carmen). Unfortunately, for all of the dives in Playacar, we were in a dive group with barely certified or not-yet-certified divers. While in Playacar, we always came up with more than 1000 PSI, and had to work to avoid the low visibility caused by the newbs finning up the sand.

Note: Hotel Casa Ticul will pack a bagged lunch for you if you have an early morning. We did not use this service because we had groceries in our room to make sandwiches and pack chips.

We returned to the hotel with our gear, rinsed our stuff and hung it up to dry, and took showers. Then we relaxed and went out to dinner.

We did a little shopping looking for items on Kendra’s list – headband, hairbrush, contact solution…

Mayan Bistro – After reading the Trip Advisor reviews, we decided to try Mayan Bistro for dinner. It was not the experience that we were expecting. For an appetizer, we had CALABACITA CON QUESO (zucchini with cheese). This was literally zucchini with cheese. There was no garlic or flavor whatsoever. Even a little salt would have made this better. We ordered queso, but as is the case in most restaurants in Mexico, it was just a side of cheese. No flavor. For dinner, we ordered CARNITAS TACOS, and POLLO PIBIL. The meat for the tacos was flavorless and dry, and saved only by the side of queso. The chicken was juicy, but got all of its flavor from the tomatoes and peppers. The mashed potatoes were flavorless and had a gummy, pasty consistency. The mango margarita tasted like a tequila shot. How can mango be flavorless? We didn’t bother trying dessert, and went to Haagen-Dazs afterward. The service was slow and it felt like we were inconveniencing the waitress. This was by far the worst experience that we had on our trip. This was also the least number of customers that we saw in a restaurant on our trip, and it was a high season during the week of Christmas. We would not go back to the Mayan Bistro and would not recommend it.

Day 3 – Sat Dec 26

We took a taxi to Hideaway Playacar to arrive at 8:00 for our day of local diving.

Don Chendo – Based on Trip Advisor reviews, we decided on a highly-rated pizza place, Don Chendo. The taxi driver had trouble finding it and Google Maps was a little weird about it, but it is located on 30th Avenue just north of the Mega. As several other reviewers mentioned, the blue VW van was parked out front of the 30th Avenue shop. The interior was not large, but the furniture was sturdy and nice. We were greeted promptly and soon had drinks, chips, and pumpkin seed salsa. As other reviewers have mentioned, we asked for a wine recommendation and were pleased. For dinner, we had the meat lovers pizza. If you love Chicago-style pizza, be aware that this is a slightly modified Chicago-style pizza. It is cooked in a pan about half as deep as you would expect, though by no means was it a thin crust pizza. If you love to eat crust, you will be slightly disappointed. The crust tastes a little bland. HOWEVER, the texture of the crust is perfect, and it holds up well under the sauce and toppings. Sometimes, deep-dish pizza crust gets soggy or isn’t baked completely. That is NOT the case with Don Chendo crust. It is soft, but firm with a little crispness on the bottom. The sauce is perfect. So perfect that they should bottle the stuff. It’s rich, has a robust tomato flavor, is slightly sweet, a little tart, and not too spicy. It’s perfectly balanced. I’m drooling just thinking about the sauce. The meat toppings included hand-sliced pepperoni that was good, but nothing special. The sausage is made in-house, and was good, but not as good as I hoped. The bacon was local, but very fatty. I prefer leaner meats. The cheese was rich, real, and delicious. Overall, the pizza was great, and I would go back, but I would try different toppings. For dessert, we had the brownie. It was mouth-wateringly rich without being too sweet or too bitter. It was an explosion of happy in my mouth. The ice cream was good. The only recommendation that I would have is to serve the brownie heated. So, Don Chendo was great and we would definitely go there again. If you’re craving pizza while you’re in Playa del Carmen, this is the place to go.

After Don Chendo, we walked to the Mega, where we picked up supplies, and then took a taxi back to the hotel.

Day 4 – Sun Dec 27

Pro Dive Mexico – Our first scheduled pickup with Pro Dive didn’t go so well. It was planned for 8:00 AM, and I had given them directions ahead of time that the hotel was located closest to 5th Avenue and 38th Street. We called the dive company main reservation line at 8:20 AM from the hotel lobby – the driver had gotten lost and was running late. At 8:30, he walked in, saw us, and stepped outside to wait while we gathered up all of our gear. He seemed annoyed with us on sight. As soon as we stepped out, he started walking quickly up the street the LONG way. (North – our hotel is closer to 38th street than 40th) Around 40th street he came back and took our big bag. He had parked on 42nd Street. We drove toward the cenotes on the highway when he got a call, so we circled back to pick up more people. Eventually, we made it to the Dreams resort in Puerto Adventura, where everyone that needed gear was renting.

We drove to the cenote around 20 minutes away, and our first dive was around 11:00 AM. Our divemaster, Gustavo, was amazing. During the briefing, he talked about the geology and history of the region. During the dive, he showed us lots of formations and fossils. He answered all of our questions and was friendly and engaging. During our second dive, my daughter (21 years old) had some issues with her mask and buoyancy. Gustavo took us to the surface to give her time to calm down. While there, he talked about the opening that we were in, and about other cenotes. During lunch, he recommended some great restaurants in Playa del Carmen that we later tried and loved. If you’ve never dived a cenote before, it is a worthwhile experience. We live in Kentucky and my daughter HATES caves. We went to Mammoth Caves once, and she was very anxious. Although cenotes are caves, technically you are diving caverns. You descend and dive through mostly large passages that open to large caverns with openings. These openings have the most amazing light streaming through the water. If you’re diving in Cozumel or Cancun, take a cenote trip.

Pro Dive provided lunch during our surface interval, which was delicious homemade cheese empanadas, salsa, fruit, and some packaged brownies.

After the dives, we returned to the Dreams resort where we were transferred to the shuttle that took us back to our hotel. We had the same shuttle driver for the return trip. We asked the driver to drop us off at “Avenida 5 y Calle de 38”, and he did not respond when we made this request (en Espanol). When we approached 38th Street, we said “derecha aqui, por favor” and he kept going. Down 42nd, and up 40, where he parked, put our bag on the ground and left. Obviously, we did not tip him. This was the only person on our entire trip that we did not tip.

La Cueva del Chango – We tried La Cueva del Chango (Monkey Cave) on the recommendation of a local (our divemaster). Trip Advisor and the sign out front indicated that the restaurant was closed on Sunday evenings, but because of high season, they were open. Our server only spoke Spanish. (A good sign that this restaurant is mainly visited by locals.) Our waitress brought homemade tortilla chips, two different salsas, salt & pepper, and habanero sauce to start the meal. The salsas were delicious! One of them was spicy with only a slight tongue burn. There was also habanero sauce for those that like it hot! For dinner, we both ordered chicken dishes (there was no fish available). I had chicken with Coloradito sauce, and my daughter had chicken stuffed with poblano chili strips. Both were delicious, though hers was spicy. The pineapple margarita really hit the spot. The service was great. Our waitress was nice and several employees and/or managers stopped to check on us near the end of our meal. The atmosphere is fun. There’s a pond in the middle of the dining room with a few large koi and over a dozen turtles. We were seated by the pool and enjoyed watching the turtles interact. The food at La Cueva del Chango was delicious, the service was great, and the atmosphere was fun. We were there on a Sunday night between Christmas and New Year’s and it was packed. There was a line waiting to be seated. We would definitely go there again.

Conte Flavio Gelatrie Italiane – For dessert one evening, we stopped by the Conte Flavio Gelatrie Italiane gelato stand. We tested a few flavors and both settled on the triple berry. It was cool and delicious and really hit the spot. If you’re at that end of 5th Avenue, it’s worth a stop.

Day 5 – Mon Dec 28

Pro Dive Mexico – On Monday morning, our 8:10 pick up arrived at 7:55, but thankfully, we were ready. He carried our bag to 38th and 5th, and we climbed in the van to see several others ready to go to Cozumel. The shuttle took us to downtown at 10th Ave and 3rd St South – the closest drop-off spot to the ferry. There, we met up with the DivePro guys. When everyone had arrived, we took the 9:00 ferry over to Cozumel, arriving just before 10:00. We caught the dive boat on the ferry pier, and had a breakfast of raisin bread and juice boxes on the boat. We took the boat to Allegra Cozumel and arrived around 11:00.

The visibility in Cozumel was considerably better than that at Playacar. The divers were also more experienced, though still not great. The divemasters tend to put the most experienced divers at the back of the line while diving, which means that newer divers are kicking up the viz during swim-throughs. My daughter was still having problems with her new mask, and after the first dive, the divemaster burned it for her. It helped a lot. The last dive was great. After the second dive, we walked around Allegra to shower, change, and have lunch at their buffet. The Allegra is the little (cheaper) sister of the Occidental Grand. I had stayed at the Occidental Grand in 2014 and refused to go back because the food was so bad. The Allegra’s food was actually worse than Occidental Grand. At least for lunch at Occidental Grand, you could get some kind of chicken, a good salad, and some good fruit. The Allegra had nachos, hot dogs, hamburgers and fries. There was rice. The ice cream machine was coconut/mango, but the coconut side was empty. And there were no employees around that cared about the beeping machine. I would not stay at the Allegra. (But the pools and beach were nice!)

After our second dive, we made the return trip by boat, and then ferry, and then van, and were dropped off at the resort around 5:15 PM. The divemasters carried around our gear bag all day, but we were on our own after the shuttle dropped us off. We tipped the divemasters well.

Don Sirloin – For dinner, we tried to go to La Pirate. Three different people had recommended La Pirate, but the line outside was around 10 people. Instead we walked to Don Sirloin. Don Sirloin was recommended by the divemaster that had recommended our dinner the night before. I had chicken tacos, and my daughter had sirloin tacos, and we ordered some extra queso. The food was amazing. It turns out that there are several locations of Don Sirloin. We ate at the one on 30th Avenue, and later walked past a location on Av. Constituyentes. When we arrived for dinner on Monday night, the place was completely empty. By the time we left, there were several tables of customers. Don Sirloin has their sirloin on a trompo (large revolving spit like you see for Greek gyros). The server brought us several salsas and some guacamole for our tacos, and we ordered some extra queso, which was not necessary, it turned out. The tacos were AMAZING. I mean, they were juicy, perfectly spiced, fresh and delicious. I wanted to go back to Don Sirloin on a different night, it was so good. My daughter liked El Fogon chicken better because it was spicier. We both agreed that the sirloin was better at Don Sirloin.

After dinner, we went to Ah Cacao and grabbed some chocolate brownie ice cream for me and hazelnut for my daughter. They were both great.

Day 6 – Tue Dec 29

Tuesday was Kendra’s last day before her flight, so she couldn’t dive.

Hotel Casa Ticul – In the lobby, we asked about going to a beach club. The concierge gave us two options – passes to Mamitas or the Blue Parrot beach clubs. Mamitas was closer and had a nicer beach, but the Blue Parrot had a pool. We decided to go to the Blue Parrot. The concierge gave us towels to take with us. We took a taxi from 10th Ave & 38th St to 1st Ave & 12th St for 50 pesos. The Blue Parrot was easy to find and at 10:00 AM, we found beach chairs with no trouble. The beach chairs were sturdy wooden chairs with thick, light-colored pads. Like 4-inch thick pads. They were great. There were little tables interspersed between every few chairs. There were more chairs around the pool.

Part of the deal that allows Hotel Casa Ticul customers to access the beach club is that you must spend at least 200 pesos on drinks or food. There are waiters that come to your chair to take and deliver your order. The drinks were good but not great. Not too strong, not too weak, and only a little watery. A strong rain shower hit the area at noon, so we had lunch at the restaurant. I had the Marlin Samosas and my daughter had a hamburger with potatoes. Her burger was juicy and good, as were her potatoes. The samosas were good. Although dry alone, they were good with the accompanying sauce.

We enjoyed the sun for a while then came back to the hotel. The return taxi to 10th Avenue was 40 pesos.

For dinner, we tried again to go to La Pirata, but Tuesday at 5:00, the line was more than a dozen people long. We moved on.

El Fogon – When we arrived at 5:00 during high season, there were a few empty tables and we were the only non-hispanic people in the  restaurant. Our waiter did speak some English and we spoke some Spanish and were able to order. I ordered the pollo con queso. My daughter had Alambre Con Pollo y Queso. Good, but I liked Don Sirloin better. My daughter liked El Fogon better because it was spicier.

After dinner, we went shopping. Shoes. We bought shoes. Kendra packed for her early-morning flight.

Day 7 – Wed Dec 30

Kendra’s alarm went off at 3:30, and went off to the lobby at 4:00 AM. I slept in. Around 9:30, I had breakfast at the hotel. The special of the day was Molle Te. It was on a base of crispy bread, such as that used for bruschetta. On the bread was beans, sausage, pico de gallo, cheese, and a drizzled cream sauce. It was delicious. I wish we had been able to eat breakfast there more often. After breakfast, I changed and went to the pool to relax and get some sun. The sun deck was just beginning to get the sun around 10:00 AM. The pool was still in the shade and was pretty cool. I believe that the temperature of the pool was in the mid- to upper-70’s. I relaxed until I got hungry enough to eat lunch.

El Pirata – We had recommendations from several locals (a shuttle driver, hotel employee, and divemaster) that we should eat at El Pirata. The first time we tried was Saturday night around 5:30 PM. There was a line of about 10 people. We tried again on Monday night at 5:00 PM, and the line was twice as long. Finally, at 1:00 PM on a Wednesday, there was no line at El Pirata, though there was only one available table. My waiter spoke only a little English, and I speak only a little Spanish. I ordered the mixed seafood ceviche and ordered a small fish, fried. The waiter brought me a fish to look at, and I asked for a “mas pequino” fish (smaller). The ceviche was delicious. It was tart and citrusy, and included fish, shrimp, and octopus. There could be others, I’m not sure. The fish looked and tasted as if they had made a butter-flavored batter and dipped and then deep fried the entire fish. The fish was moist and delicious. I highly recommend squeezing a little lime on the fish. They do only accept cash, so take money with you. (U.S. Dollars or Pesos)

I spent the afternoon packing, and then ordered pizza delivery for dinner.

Don Chendo – At 6:00 on a Wednesday night, delivery from Don Chendo took 40 minutes. Fortunately, the delivery guy was able to bring his motorcycle down 5th Avenue on the pedestrian-only section. The pizza box was really hot, due to the heated box on the delivery motorcycle. I ordered the Margherita pizza. I was surprised to see that the pizza had not been cut. They did, however, include a plastic knife, and it was just serrated enough to cut the pizza. The pizza was delicious. The crust was soft, but firm with a little crispness on the bottom. The sauce was perfectly balanced, though the additional roma tomatoes didn’t add to the pizza, and I only ate about half of the tomatoes. The basil was chopped perfectly and spread evenly on the pizza. It was delicious. I would definitely order it again.

After dinner, I finished packing and went to bed.

Day 8 – Thu Dec 31

Hotel Casa Ticul – On the day of my departure, I set my alarm for 3:30 AM. I woke and checked my flight information. My 7:00 flight had been delayed until 8:00. I called the front desk. Several times. I had to walk downstairs. The front desk guy was outside. I told him who I was and that I wanted him to change my transportation from 4:15 to 5:15. I went back upstairs and back to bed. Just before 4:00, the front desk called me to tell me that my shuttle had arrived. I reminded him that I was just down there requesting the change to a 5:15 pick up. Just before 5:00, I called the front to get help with my bags, and the bellhop came up quickly to help me. It’s worth mentioning that when we arrived back at the hotel with our heavy dive gear, the bellhop always helped us to our upstairs room. Often, he took off before I could get out a tip. I tipped him well at the end of the week.

Overall, I would classify Hotel Casa Ticul as a very nice boutique hotel. It is small with beautiful decor. The layout is a little quirky. It’s quiet and clean. It’s located on the north end of 5th Avenue, but still in town with great restaurants and beaches nearby. The room was a little small, but well-appointed. The staff was friendly and helpful overall. We would definitely stay here again and recommend it.

Photos

Travel, Food, and Sights

Diving in Playa, Cenotes, and Cozumel

Steph and Kendra in Mexico