Following our nap, I returned the snorkel gear to the other dive shop and fetched our valuables from the plastic door locker, happy that everything was there.
We walked up past the Akumal Beach Resort just to see what that was like. It looked decent and this is on the list as a potential stop for a couple nights (not much night life in Akumal, I hear). One last view back north along the beach:
Mamasita and I wandered into a small gift stand near the bathrooms behind the Lol Ha and they advertised hair braiding – cost $20.00 for a half braid. This was $10-$15.00 cheaper than in Playa so she got it done with beads to match all swimsuits. Took about a half hour and then we were back up the path towards the highway. About ½ way up the path, we saw the ADO bus waiting for people whop were in front of us and running to catch it. We raised our hands and the driver waited until we caught up. We paid him directly and claimed a seat. As mentioned earlier, this bus run stops at any bus stop where people flag it down. It was about 5 p.m., going home time from work and thus there were lots of people flagging down the busses and collectivos. By about half way back to Playa, our bus was full with people standing in the aisles.
We could’ve been dropped off at the ADO station but for whatever reason, got let off along the highway near the McDonald’s. We walked a block north to Juarez and walked it down to 5th. Here we briefly peeked in some of the shops and vowed to come finish shopping at a time when it was not getting dark. Once at 5th, we investigated a shop called Playa Mart directly across the street from the ADO station. Here we got a few gifts and finally grabbed a taxi to the Sandos.
It was suppertime so we headed to our room to clean up to eat. As we walked back, the Sandos had marketplace night, where select gift and souvenir vendors set up tables along the plaza and fountain area. Their prices were steep and so we just looked at a few things and headed to Festival buffet. Sorry, no food pics tonight…
After supper we decided to head to the theater for a show as we hadn’t seen one yet. The show schedule is posted outside the lobby near the jewelry store. Tonight it was Mexicanos – featuring traditional Mexican dances by brightly costumed dancers. It was good, and as we were tired from the day, we turned in about 10:45 after the show. Another day, and another major trip goal accomplished. Tomorrow we vowed to rest on the beach!