Mexico 2013: Playa del Carmen

After our friends left, Day 9, we made our way into Playa del Carmen, a beachfront shopping tourist town about 35 miles and an easy taxi cab ride away.

Featuring side-by-side Tequila Factory Store and Ostrich and Alligator cowboy boots stores? Seems right up our alley.

And here's the mild dismay exhibited by my husband seconds after being offered "Hey buddy....Need weed? Need blow?" about 1 hour after being in Playa. Ever since Navy days he has traveled the world and is quickly offered drugs wherever he goes. If you need drugs while traveling outside of your home town, take my husband, something about his look over the past 20 years says "sell me street drugs." I know I would totally do cocaine purchased in an alley in a Mexican tourist town.

Big yella dog on a deck. Doesn't seem safe, but seems about right.

We had a lovely lunch at "100%  Natural Restaurante," a chain of all natural, mostly veggie restaurants that feature yummy fresh fruit smoothies and guacamole and all things yummy. There are 45 restaurants across Mexico and Florida. I dig what they got goin' on.

But never forget you are still in Mexico. What looks like tropical vines is actually an exposed electrical wire. I'm sure its fine.

"Portal Maya!" Translating to "Mayan Gateway", Portal Maya is set right on the city's main beach, with the Caribbean Sea and the Cozumel ferry dock just behind it. This immense archway depicts a man being pushed by a spiral of wind and a woman being pushed by a spiral of water, joining hands at the top of the arch. The main columns include a mixture of elements from the region's Mayan past, honoring ancestors as well as people of today interacting in this exciting city.

There are many more folks on the public beach than at the resort.

Hahahah! I love this pic. I'm not sure how she got so much air, nor how I managed to capture it at just the right moment.

After our fun day in Playa, we rented ourselves a Jeep and pointed it back to our lodging for the evening to get some sleep, as we were going to be Jeepin' it up for a few days!