Playa del Carmen: Día 2 (Cozumel aka “Cozuhel”)
Day 2, first things first, let’s get a run in!
Yay! First run in a foreign country, for both of us!
The person who rented our condo to us is a runner, so when Gina inquired about the condo and told him we are runners, he gave us some great recommendations for where to go! The first place we checked out was Playacar – a gated resort community that was just south of our condo, and easily accessible from the bike path that runs along 10th Avenue. The community was one big loop, and there and back was just about 5 miles (oops, should I be putting that in kilometers?! ha ha!).
We had plans for the day but weren’t in too much of a hurry when we got back from our run (ahhh, I love vacation pace). The night before, we decided to go to Cozumel. I had said “Let’s get Cozumel over with.” Ha ha. I felt obligated to go there. Not by anyone in our group, but by many people I told we were going to Playa del Carmen – “It’s so close to Cozumel! You have to go!” Okay, then!
The walk along 5th Avenue to the ferry included a lot of people calling out at us to buy things, Steven and Steve deciding to get hats at one of the shops (after some hardcore bargaining, ha ha),
And note, Luca’s new hat from Walmarto
me and Steve stopping to buy ferry tickets (they seemed to be leaving every hour, on the hour), Steven and Gina doing some Jeep rental bargaining, and a stop for lunch, then we made our way to the ferry.
Ahh, the ferry. El barco.
El barco del barfo.
The day we chose to take the ferry from Playa del Carmen to San Miguel de Cozumel was probably the windiest day we were in Mexico. Something about the wind shifting direction? The waves were a bit… intense.
As was the ride over.
Just watch the horizon line in that video – see how much it moved? The whole trip was like that. Did I mention we went right after lunch? Gah. Pair that with being a bit enclosed with not much air and a live band… wow. Most of my senses felt assaulted. That ride (about 40 minutes, eek!) could NOT get over fast enough.
Luckily, none of us left any lunch behind on the ride over… but I did feel a desperate need to get something like Gatorade to drink when I got off (it didn’t help I woke up with a bit of a headache that day!).
So yeah. The boat ride was rough.
We didn’t have plans on Cozumel. It’s known the for diving and snorkeling, and as a cruise stop, with a touristy shopping area. There are a ton of excursions you can do – ATVs, swimming with dolphins, and so on. But it was our first full day there. We didn’t really feel like that. We wanted to explore.
Steven and Gina had spoken with someone in Playa del Carmen who swore he’d get us the best price for a Jeep in Cozumel. Better than any price we could get on Cozumel. We suspected he might be full of it, so one of the first things we did when we got off the boat was talk to someone about renting a Jeep. Yep, as we suspected, the price was the same on Cozumel (and better after using the bargaining tactic of walking away). Ha ha.
But, no Jeep. We decided to just walk a bit, on foot. We visited a few shops, found a bakery,
It was Gina, Steve and Luca’s first time at a Mexican Bakery! I can’t believe we’ve never taken them to the one by our house! It’s so fun – you grab a tray, and some tongs, and load up your plate. Stuff never tastes like you think it will. As a general rule, things that look sweet, aren’t, and things that look bready, might be sweet. It’s so fun to try it all and see what turns out to be your favorite! This would not be our only bakery trip in Mexico!
and wandered to a few more shops. I think we were all a bit “this is it?!”
We probably should have done a bit more research before going. Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have been so eager to “get it over with.” But! Things started to look up!
The boys found a cigar shop to check out, and while we waited, we noticed we were right next to a bar/restaurant, so why not order some drinks?
We didn’t even look at the menu. Just asked for two piña coladas. Um. We were pleasantly shocked when they came out. Wow. And the price? I think less than $4 USD each!
Luca had a snack too (we helped).
Um. Oops. Maybe that wasn’t a good idea for the Barco del Barfo ride back…
Wait! One last pic to prove we were there!
I was feeling all optimistic about the boat ride back. We were in a lower part of the boat, and it was enclosed and air conditioned. “Hmm, maybe this will be better? Less waves since we’re not so high up? And not as stuffy! No band, either!”
Errr… um. Nope. Two in our group fell victim to the Barco del Barfo. Why’d we eat all those fries again?!
Ha ha. This post makes it seem like Cozumel, which Gina aptly renamed Cozuhel (jajajaja), was a bust. But it wasn’t! The boys got the cigars they wanted, and Gina and I found drinks the size of our heads. And, on the way back in Playa del Carmen, we noticed how beautiful the beach looked to the south of the pier, so we ventured to check it out.
Someone had told me that the beach there gets better as you go south of the main area (probably closer and closer to Playacar, and even in Playacar), and they were right!
We decided then to go back the next day and be beach bums!
There was a bit of goofing around on the way home.
Our friend from the day before! We decided to name “him” Pedro.
And I had to stop to get this!
Since we had Mexican food for lunch, we decided to get something different for dinner – pizza! Which we ate on the rooftop patio!
Apparently we missed all the excitement up there – after dinner, Steven and Steve went back up to smoke a cigar and a bachelor party was up there! Don’t worry, Gina and I were being equally as exciting – we were chatting and I was knitting. Ha ha.
Themocracy
Ahh your pics and recap are making me so jelly!! I wish I could have been there with you! 🙂
Me too!!!! Maybe we should forget our cabin in the woods and go tropical?!
It looks like y’all had a great day 2- with the exception of the ferry! 😉 Luca and Pedro- so cute!!
=^..^=
Ha ha, yeah. I never wanted to think about a ferry again! But Gina and Steve and Luca actually got on one the last day!!!! WHAT?!??! Ha ha, they said it was a lot better 🙂
Oh no! The lower deck is absolutely not where you should sit if you’re feeling motion-sick at all. I remember wanting to do that on the catamaran trip in Hawaii and the crew made me sit up on the top instead.
I love all of the sombreros in this post! Son muy lindo!
I wish they would have given that tip! They were very helpful in handing out barf bags. I didn’t need one, luckily. But many did. Eek!
So sorry to hear about the Barco del Barfo. I’m good on boats but I know people who aren’t. I can’t believe those drinks are that big. Make mine a margarita please!
I was surprised it bothered my stomach – I have been on boats all my life! But not that big or on those kinds of waves. LOL!
Bummer about the bouncy boat ride! 🙁 Nothing worse than being stuck somewhere like that when you’re miserable. It looks like the rest of it made it worth it though! 🙂
Yeah! And I couldn’t really close my eyes to get through it cause that made it worse! Oh well! It was worth it. Now the question is… would I rather be on that boat or outside on Thursday when the high is 3? Hmm… LOL! (here, in the cold)
What a bummer! When I went to Cancun forever ago, I found that a lot of the must-do stuff was underwhelming. Isla de Mujeres, for example. I’m jealous of the mug, though! For me, that alone would make the trip worthwhile.
And the pina colada. Oh, I can’t wait to have one of those!
What is on the must-do list, there? We did get a rec for Isla de Mujeres, but when we saw it was back by Cancun, we didn’t want to go (Gina and Steve and Luca did though, and really liked the beach!).
I have to say, I am very happy I got that mug! 😀
It sounds like you had quite an adventure! Sorry about the yucky boat ride, that’s no fun.
I’m glad you had such a warm and fun vacation. Bet you’re missing it now in these awful temps. So cool that you got to run in a foreign country! 🙂
Ha ha! What I miss is being on vacation and care-free. Back to work today… ugh! Hee hee 😀
I’m so jealous of your Starbucks mug!!!
(Also, I’m sorry that’s the most important thing I took from this post, lol.)
Ha! That is okay! It’s worth being jealous of! 😛 Do you have some of them? I only have this one and KC, from the collection!
Oh noes! As a former marine biologist, I can attest to how terrible sea sickness can be. At least you guys were able to have some fun on the island. Looking forward to reading your next recap!
What did you do to get past it? I was surprised my stomach flopped so much! (And happy it didn’t make me throw up!)
Eh, unfortunately there wasn’t a lot *to* do. I’d take Bonine or Dramamine before heading out and if I got particularly queasy, I’d try to focus on the horizon, but unfortunately to some extent I don’t think that there’s too much more to do unless you get a prescription from a doctor for some stronger motion sickness medicine.
Oh no! I’m so sorry you guys had an awful boat ride! I hope there wasn’t pina colada all over the boat by the time you got back! Hah! (Those look delish, by the way!)
When we were in Hawaii we had a very wavy catamaran tour and Kevin didn’t do so well. The crew was giving him ginger candies. I’m lucky – I don’t get motion sickness!
That is so great that the condo owner had running tips! And you all look so cute in your island gear!
Ha ha! There wasn’t! 😉
Oh yeah! I forgot about ginger! I will have to keep that in mind if I am ever so lucky to be on a boat in the sea again!
Thanks! 😀
Sorry to hear about the seasickness!!! But the beach pics and drinks look amazing!
How hard/easy was it to stick to a vegan diet in Mexico? That’s one thing I worry about on vacation, and I usually end up knowing I’ll be eating 90% vegan that week and making the best choices I can without worrying too much about dairy/eggs.
It was easy, I just asked in Spanish if the dishes had eggs, milk, mantenca (lard) for beans, etc. Most of the time they could make something without it! It did get a bit limited a few times, but nothing horrible. And I was lazy once or twice and didn’t ask about eggs in pasta. 😉
OhGodohGodohGod, that boat ride! That must have been SO miserable, feeling terrible and puke-y but not being able to get off.
That’s the nice thing about being on vacation, right? Even if the day might seem like a bust, you’re not really on an agenda and you can enjoy the little things! The Mexican bakery observation (Nothing tastes like what you think.) is really interesting — I don’t think I’ve ever been to one, even though there are tons here. Are there a lot of vegan things that you can eat at Mexican bakeries?
Gah, it was! And the worst part was knowing we had to do it again to get back!
You should check out one of them! Do you think you will? There are not many vegan things – I usually go for a bready thing covered in sugar and listen to everyone else’s reactions to the cookies, donuts, etc. 🙂
What a bummer about that boat experience on the way back. Those drink do look delicious and so cheap. Mexican panaderias are the best.
That place looks amazing! I love the rooftop patio.