Monday 16th – 21st November, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

After a relaxing morning of lying by the pool for the guys and shopping for the girls we headed down to Playa del Carmen and, after a finding out the apartment we booked was undergoing repairs, eventually checked into a very spacious 2 bedroom, 2 storey apartment 200m back from the beach. The top floor was an outdoor BBQ / dining area with a Jacuzzi and ocean views ..... very nice!
Our 5 days here with Ron and Rosemary were very relaxing after all the adventures in Cuba. We spent lots of time reading, catching up on news from home, down at the beach, having massages, strolling down the main shopping / bar area and even making to the gym for some much needed sessions.
But by far the highlight of our stay was the food ..... no surprises there! We gorged ourselves on beef at an Argentinean steak house and sampled gourmet delicacies from one of the finest modern mexcian restaurants in town. But the two culinary highlights were still to come. First was the night we stayed in and had a team of cooks come and prepare us a sumptuous seafood meal at our apartment so we could dine under the stars overlooking the ocean. The night had started a little earlier when Sav and I headed down to a local bar to buy some margaritas to take back to the apartment. Of course we had to try a couple first to make sure they were ok, and then after we added wine and beer to the magnificent meal we were much in need of the additional support the water in the Jacuzzi gave to our overburdened bellies. Ron and Rosemary were left shaking their heads and headed into town to look for a salsa club but ended up finding desert at Ron’s favourite chocolate cafe .... we weren’t surprised as he was now in the habit of daily attendance at Cafe de Cacao.
The second gastronomic pinnacle of the week was the cooking demonstration of Yucatan dishes we were watched as the chef, with the help of his team and Ron’s elbow grease, took us through the preparation of the cocktails and dishes we were to enjoy. The food was superb and none more so than the freshly baked tortillas on the coal fire by the local Indian woman, who also ran a gift stall and cared for her 3 young children on the edge of the restaurant.
After Ron and Rosemary left us we decided to hang out for another couple of days. We hired a car, drove south and toured the jungle ruins of the Mayan city of Coba by bike. Saturday night we hit the bars and clubs of 10th Avenue in earnest and finished a night of coffee martinis, margaritas, cerveza and dancing on the beach at around 4am.