Playa Del Carmen and Xcarat

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 The whole Cancun area was jungle, fishing villages, and coconut plantations until the 1970s when the Mexican government decided to get some tourism going. They financed the first nine hotels and then it took off. Now it's all-inclusive resorts, a gazillion stalls and stores selling souvenirs, and lots of tourists with questionable judgement in swimwear. (Joseph picked up the phrase "that's a lot of skin.")

We visited Virginia friends who have lived in Playa Del Carmen (about an hour south of Cancun) for six months of every year since 1990. Cars are a huge hassle to register in Mexico, so this is their workaround. Behold, "the limousine." 

The coolest thing to do in Playa Del Carmen is Xcaret (esh-ka-ret). 


Think "Maya Polynesian Cultural Center." (Literally. In interviews, the founder said that was his inspiration.) It's a huge park with:

* natural water attractions (swimming through underground tunnels)

* genuine Maya ruins

* fake Maya ruins

* animals

     flamingoes 

     agouti, called sereque in Yucatan (this one wasn't sticking around for a photo)

     macaws

     tapirs

     coatis (they wander around loose and we saw one fall from a bad branch onto a concrete deck at least 20 feet below. It lay still and we were sure it was dead, then it got up, kind of looked around surprised for a minute, and slowly wandered off. The boys will be talking about this for years.)

     pumas, leopards, bats, butterflies, and lots of turtles

* Maya cultural exhibits

* buffets

* a white sand beach with lots of hammocks

* swimming with dolphins (extra, we didn't do it)

* and a big extravaganza show at night with horses and flaming floor hockey

But first, you gotta get through these guys:

I don't know ... how bad do you really want to see this show? Joseph had some concerns.





It was great.

Comments

Unknown said…
Thank you for sharing! I would love to go :) Love you. Mom/Gramma
11:17 AM
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