2024: Cozumel and Playa del Carmen-Our amazing Caribbean trip, December 4-15.
Jane’s younger sister and her husband Dennis were taking a Caribbean Sea cruise ship departing New Orleans aboard the 4,000 passenger ship Norwegian Getaway built in Papenburg, Germany. We went to meet them in Cozumel.
Ironically our friend Tilman Struemer had taken Jane and I to visit the ship building yard nearly the same time the Norwegian Getaway was under construction. Giant ships have been built there since the days of sailing ships. Papenburg is a long way from the open sea. This was a very impressive sight.
Back to our Caribbean Sea trip: Jane booked us on an ADO bus luxury class nonstop from Mérida to Playa del Carmen, a four hour ride to the Caribbean coast. Jane booked a studio apartment for a week at the Sofia Hotel; a great quiet location with a jungle view from our private balcony. This was a new neighborhood in Playa for us, and our favorite pizza place was next door. We loved it! The night sky was bright with the first slice of a waxing moon closely accompanied by the planet Venus. A week later at our apartment the moon was full.
Grisel and her husband Juan arrived, and we celebrated with our favorite pizza, Nino’s from next door.
Juan exhibited his culinary expertise a few days later when he prepared Mexican huevos rancheros. They were terrific, and we declared him an excellent chef!
The Sofia had roof top swimming pool and lounging area with a Caribbean Sea view and briny breeze. Perfect!
The day we left Playa del Carmen to take the ferry to Cozumel. torrential rain poured down with storm winds generating heavy seas.
The hotel clerk called a taxi and the driver instantly appeared. The driver was extremely helpful and got us as far as he could. It was a seven block walk in the rain to get to the point of purchasing our ticket, and then an equal distance to the ship. The ferry company was extremely helpful and got me into a wheel chair pushed by a sprinting fast moving young lady up to the distant boarding ramp. The ferry was bucking and surging like a bronco against the stressed mooring lines. The dock workers efficiently grabbed the wheelchair and in unison deftly hoisted me onto the boarding ramp and then onto the jumping and jiving vessel making the process a very memorable experience. Even without my impairment that crossing would have been a challenge.
The smiling and courteous crew of the Xcaret ferry boat were extremely helpful in every way to these old sailors.
We were early for the check in at our Airbnb apartment, and the host recommended a waiting place at a nearby restaurant. We asked the restaurant employees about our apartment, and none of them had ever heard of it. One helpful waitress did a search on her phone and Jane was connected to the host, Irwing. Irwing told her to step outside and look. There he was just 20 meters away at the back door entrance.
The restaurant had good food, but the noise level was too distracting to enjoy it.
We were happy to get to our quiet, bright, clean, and very convenient apartment. We were ready for our afternoon siesta.
It was still pouring down rain as we charged up our bodily batteries. After our nap we listened to audio books and checked our emails.
Our next order of business would to do fact finding in advance of the arrival of Jane’s sister and her husband the next day. Our time with them would be short, and we wanted it to be great.
It was a seven block walk to the municipal market that we had loved on a previous trip because of the excellent variety of Mexican food at great prices and away from the tourist traps. This would be a stretch of our endurance especially on the transit challenging sidewalks. The rain has let up ,and we were on our way.
The market was literally bustling, and I found a place to sit. Jane took off fact finding as I watched a very noisy construction crew assembling a stage for live music to enliven the holiday spirits. A waitress impatiently asked for my order as Jane returned. Jane said that the market had changed, and the noise level was totally unacceptable.
It would be plan B. She did some shopping, and we hailed a motor-taxi for our ride back to our apartment.
Oh! My god! The lady driver sped off on the opposite direction from our apartment, and refused to listen to our protestations. Surely we were being kidnapped! This happens in this Mexican state of Quintana Roo, so we had good reason for concern. Finally, we were both screaming at the driver to turn around as we planned our escape route. Our protestations were finally acknowledged, and the dense driver did finally turn around. We old timers don’t need this kind of excitement!
After a light lunch, and our siesta Jane went out fact finding. We were three blocks from the waterfront.
Jane is a great detective. She had found our rendezvous spot, several resting places, and a great French café, Sucré Salé. Great news!
Rendezvous at Monument to the Reef in Cozumel.
It had been fourteen year since our last get together, and we all felt this trip was not going to be enough. Dennis said that this was the best meal of their entire trip. Dennis picked up the tab that was not at tourist place prices. Thank you, Dennis.
A longtime friend of ours from Mérida was at a nearby table, and we hailed Andy Xenios over for introductions. Andy is a well known photographer/artist. His gallery in Cozumel was temporarily closed for remodeling, but he had several pieces of his work with him. Joan was amazed that we actually found an old friend this far from home.
Joan had been keeping an eye open for local art work to purchase on their vacation trip.
Andy was there with a collection of his art work and Joan purchased several. Dennis saw Joan’s enthusiasm and bought even more and made arrangements to connect with Andy for the stories behind them.
Next we walked to our studio apartment a block away for a libation, photos ,and confabulations. Joan was amazed at our apartment, its location and the price. It was less than $40 a day. We got in on the last of the off -season prices. Jane among her many attributes is a great shopper!
We stayed an extra day at off-season rates. We needed the rest.
Next, our trip home:
Another windy day, but we were on our way.
Jane went out for a taxi and a few minutes later returned with the man who gave us a tricycle ride to meet Joan and Dennis. His name was Santiago, he had been working on the ferry pier for twenty five years, and he lived around the corner from our apartment. Jane is a very lucky lady, and I am very lucky to have her.
Santiago delivered us to the ticket counter, the luggage check-in, and the ferry boarding ramp.
The sky was dark and threatening but the seas hadn't started to build up yet. Our trip was uneventful except we were placed in a handicapped section with polar ice cap air conditioning. Our neighbor must have been typhoid Mary and her overly active child was the same. We were wearing our KN95 face masks and thought our chances of infection were minimal. When you get sick in Mexico there are always a thousand suspects.
Disembarking the ferry in Playa del Carmen there was a tricycle driver looking for customers. We asked if he could take us to a taxi, and he asked where we were going, and I said; “To the ADO Alterna bus terminal.” He said. “I can do that,” and we were on our spirited at a rapid rate faster then a regular taxi.
What an adventure it was as we arrived at the bus terminal under the porte- cochére as the first rain drops came pounding down.
Jane got our bus tickets, and the line was all the way out to the street. Now the high tourist season was in affect as we paid.
Four hours later we arrived in Mérida. We took the first and only taxi and had to bargain the driver down so that we were only paying double! However, the driver Ruben got us home in record time. We entered our home sanctuary at 3:03pm.
It felt like we had been gone for three months.
It was another great adventure!
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1 comment:
Always up for and find the adventure! What a great way to experience new places and spaces a few hours from home!
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