Let’s Go to Valladolid, Again! Gallery Part 1 – Church & Town Square

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I love the colonial, Mayan town of Valladolid.  I’ve written about it before (Mexico Retirement Places to See – A Quaint, Colonial Mayan Town.)  It’s definitely a place I can see myself visiting more often when I retire, since it’s just such a relaxing and beautiful place to be.  Valladolid is small but it as nice restaurants, cafes and hotels.  It’s very inexpensive, even by Mexican standards, and it’s completely safe.

 

Part of the reason for this is that it’s off the radar for tourism.  In fact, it’s rare to find international tourists or even larger-scale national tourism, although a handful of tour buses now make stops as tour providers realize how charming and appealing the quiet, unaltered life of this authentic Mayan town is.

 

I went back again a few weeks ago, and got more pictures, which I’ll share over the next three days.  Today, I’ll share pictures of the main church and the town square.  First, the church:

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Now, some scenes of the lovely town square at night (some of which include the church):

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico
(A little blurry, but, hey, night shots are hard!)

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

And finally, a couple of shots during the day:

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Retirement Travel in Mexico

 

Tomorrow, I’ll share some pictures of random items from around town, as well as the hotel we stayed in.  Enjoy!

 

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Hear What Other People Say about Fifth Avenue, Playa del Carmen

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I’ve written about Fifth Avenue and how much I love it before. (See the Fifth Avenue tag on this blog.)  I’m not alone.  A friend recently shared this with me:

I love 5th avenue, known as Quinta to the locals. It’s a great place to soak up the atmosphere that is Playa del Carmen.

I went today for coffee with a friend of mine. We try to have a coffee catch up every week. We always try to visit different places around Playa, but generally we always end up around Quinta. That’s where all the action happens, or doesn’t happen should I say.

Yes, it’s a popular tourist attraction, but that’s not all. It’s the center of the city, where everyone comes together. And its super friendly, there is always someone you know who walks by.

So, today we went to one of our favorite hidden spots La Cueva del Chango. Its just off 5th, in Shangri-La. It’s on calle 38 between 5th Avenue and the beach. It’s a restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They specialize in natural juices, salads, and fresh foods. There food is always delicious and is reasonably priced. They have a great selection of soups, salads, and Mexican dishes also.

So, not only did we have a great meal and a refreshing juice, we got to enjoy the surrounding of lush trees and small ponds.

As you enter the restaurant a calm feeling takes over. There are small ponds all over and little water falls flowing all around you. You cant help but feel at peace. Today, there was a little turtle that kept escaping from the pond and wandering around. Even the animals feel at home.

I really recommend La Cueva del Chango. It’s one of the oldest restaurants in Playa. The food is great, the atmosphere is great and the service is top quality, too! What more could you want?

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

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See a Whole New World; Diving in The Coral Reef

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Living in MexicoThere are many places to go diving all over the world. But I don’t have to go very far. Living in Mexico gives me a great chance to keep my diving skills sharp, and my mind clear.

 

Off the coast of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel is the second largest reef in the world. It’s full of all kinds of colorful animals. Fish, squid, octopus, eels, stingrays and all the extras like coral formations and structures. Its like an underwater museum that never closes, it just changes and becomes more amazing.

 

Take night diving for example. I few weeks ago we went for a night dive. I must admit I was pretty scared to jump into the ocean at 7pm at night, but I was also so excited to see a different kind of coral reef. The animals that you see during the day are amazing; don’t get me wrong, but at night the atmosphere changes completely.

 

You can see different fish and some animals that I have never seen before. The water seems so much calmer and quiet with the hustle and bustle of the day gone. The animals seem to relax back into their natural routine, like they are not on display anymore. Its almost like they are off the clock.

 

And don’t freak out about not being able to see, you are armed with a flashlight that helps you eyes focus on what is in front of you. During a day dive, you eyes tend to wander around, but on a night dive you are focus and everything is a new surprise.

 

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Try a New Way of Seeing the Beach – Parasailing in Playa del Carmen

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Is there anything better than wandering down the white sandy beaches, along the crystal blue green water? Well, yes! Flying over it, soring above looking down over the entire Playa del Carmen. No, I’m not talking about skydiving. I’m talking about parasailing.

Parasailing is a popular activity all along the coast of the Riviera Maya. You can book your trip right on the beach. The jet skis take you out to the boat and they help you out with everything you need. It’s an amazing feeling, gliding through the air, looking down.

A lot of people think that its scary, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You are 100% supported in a harness and its like you are sitting on a chair watching the world pass by.

I remember thinking the last time we went, how everything seemed so small from up so high. It really helped me get away from it all and get a little prospective on life. Best therapy ever!
We went off Mamitas beach in Playa del Carmen. There are several boats that do parasailing. You can always find someone selling tickets. If you have trouble, look for the guys hanging around the jet skis, windsurfers and kayaks. They will happily point you in the right direction.

After they took us up to fly like a bird, we decided to take the jet skis out for a run. That was heaps of fun! Riding the waves, feeling the power. There are so many water activities available in places like Playa, that’s its hard to choose one. Well, my advice… don’t choose, try them all and have fun doing so.

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Video – Living the Life in Puerto del Mar, Cancun

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Puerta del Mar is one of the most exciting communities in Cancun – not to mention one of the best located.  It is both on the oceanfront and next to the shops and vibrant life of downtown, with the upscale dining and shopping of Porto Cancun marina community right next door.

 

It’s one of my favorite places to visit in Cancun, whether it’s just to walk around, enjoy good food, or go shopping.  Take a look at the video:

 


(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

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Bike Parking … Like You’ve Never Seen it Before (In Coba)

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Well, maybe you’ve seen something like this, but probably not as the “official parking.” This is the official bike parking at Coba:

Mayan sites in Mexico

 

Bike culture in the Riviera Maya (and nearby areas, like Coba) is certainly an exciting feature of life here, not to mention a very viable mode of transportation. (Although, I doubt to many expats will be riding bike from Tulum to Coba!)

 

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Discover the Mystery of Coba’s Pyramids in Pictures – Gallery #2

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Yesterday, I posted the the first set of pictures from my recent trip to Coba, focusing on the main pyramid. Today, I’m going to share some more pictures of this beautiful and mysterious pyramid site.

 

It’s incredible to imagine that the excavated part that we can see is only a tiny portion of the 80 km2 (about 20,000 acres) that the ancient site occupied!  Enjoy the pictures.

 

You’ll remember in my posts about Chichen Itza that I mentioned the ball court, where the very well-known and very wide-spread ball game of ancient Meso-America was played. Coba likewise has one:

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Two more pictures of various structures and scenes:

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

This is one of several large lagoons on the site, adjacent to the pyramids:

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Whenever you get the chance, be sure to visit Coba! I’m excited to see what archeologists discover in this enormous site and to visit again in the future!

 

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Discover the Mystery of Coba’s Pyramids in Pictures – Gallery #1

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While Chichen Itza and Tulum are beautiful for the excellent preservation of the ruins, Coba, a pyramid site near Tulum, further back into the jungle, is beautiful because it is only half preserved and less than half discovered.

 

The tumbled ruins still surrounded by jungle – and many parts still entirely covered in jungle – offer a more distant and deeper mystery, leaving your imagination to reach deep into the past, and deep under the jungle for ancient treasures still to be found.

 

Today and tomorrow, I will be sharing some pictures from a recent trip to Coba!

 

Starting in the middle, this is the main pyramid:

 

From the front
Pyramids in Mexico

 

From the side
Pyramids in Mexico

 

Looking down from the top
Pyramids in Mexico

 

Those who survived the climb
Pyramids in Mexico

 

Now, two neat little figures on one of the other buildings:
Pyramids in Mexico

 

Pyramids in Mexico

 

Tomorrow, we will see the ball court and some other scenes from around Coba.

 

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The Mysterious Underground World – Dos Ojos Cenote, Playa del Carmen

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Living in Mexico can be hot sometimes! But is there anything better to do on a hot day than relax in a fresh, crystal clear naturally made pool of water? Well, around here we call them cenotes. There are so many of them, but my favorite is Dos Ojos (2 eyes), named for its 2 large swimming holes. These cenotes are linked to caverns that run up and down the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

 

Dos Ojos is about 10-15 minutes north of Tulum, almost opposite Xel-ha, another great place to relax on asunny day.

 
It’s entrance is located right on the highway. From there you need to travel inland about 2km. If you are driving yourself, you just pay the entrance fee and continue on to the cenote. If you don’t have transport, there are tours available. After arriving at the entrance you can talk with the happy staff and they can offer you guides, snorkeling tours or diving tours. You can also rent equipment from them if you don’t have any of your own.

 

On the drive inland towards the Cenote, you can catch a glimpse of nature at its best. There are some animals about, and you can always see birds flying around.

 
The Cenote itself is quite large even though it might not look that way. It’s a very popular site for diving and snorkeling. There are some hammocks around that you can relax in. I would suggest taking a picnic lunch, but just remember not to lave any garbage lying around. There are some stores to buy cold drinks and snacks or a special souvenir. All in all it’s a great day to be had buy the whole family.

 

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Would You Swim with Whale Sharks? I Did and I Loved It! Part 2

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On Friday I shared a story about seeing whale sharks in Holbox last summer. (See Would You Swim with Whale Sharks? I Did and I Loved It! Part 1.)

 

Another trip we took snorkeling with whale sharks was out of Cancun. We drove ourselves to Punta Sam, but there are trips that pick you up from Playa del Carmen, Akumal, Tulum, etc. From there we were put into our boat groups, again, about 8-10 per boat, introduced to our English speaking guide and set off in search of the whale sharks.

 

After about 45mins, they had been spotted and we were all rushing to get our life jackets, fins, snorkels and masks on and dive right in. Being experienced we jumped in first, giving the others a chance to observe from the boat and show them that to do. I mean, you cant just float around in the water, you need to try to swim along side these amazing animals, and they are fast. But if you can’t swim well, don’t worry there are plenty around to look at and even just watching from the boat is a fantastic experience.

 

Food in MexicoOn our way back to mainland, the boats stopped just off the coast of Isla Mujeres. While the captains made lunch, ceviche (a Mexican dish of fish, shrimp, octopus and other seafood, marinated in lime, served with tortilla chips) we jumped in the water again to have another snorkel around.

 

After lunch and a few beers – included in the trip – we headed back to Playa. Each tour group is given a photographer, so we got to check out all the photos they took of the day in and out of the water.

 
Swimming with any animal is an amazing experience, but with the whale sharks, it’s a time I will never forget. It’s one of my favorite memories. Memories I’m holding onto until July when I get to go again!

 

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