Deep into another world Trip Report

[Beth&Scott]

As you all know…just like you, we love Mexico, especially, Playa. We’ve backpacked up and down the Yucatan coast and the number of places we’ve been keeps growing and we cannot get enough of the Mayan culture, Spanish language, tropical atmosphere, great Mexican food and wonderful beaches. I recently counted my Mexico trips, and since 1994, I’ve been to Mexico on 8 occasions- 7 since 2005, of which 6 of them have been Playa! You know what that means…. there will be a lucky #7 trip soon!

Our first backpacking trip to Playa-2005.


We love travel, I make it a must since my career is too demanding without a tropical get-away. I conduct Mental Heath Assessments and am also a Therapist and need to escape the negativity of others people’s stressors.

We wanted badly to go to Merida on this trip, to do some major shopping. As a side business we sell on ebay and are in the process of expanding the online sales outside ebay and would love to sell Mayan merchandise! Perhaps that will be our reason for our next trip, for we decided the 6 days just wasn’t enough time! For this trip we wanted to be near the ocean considering the June heat.

Just like every trip, Scott could not leave home without his fly-rod and fly fished from shore where-ever we went!



Besides Scott’s participating in his fishing obsession, this vacation, we… beached it, ate out, shopped, helped at the Peanut Shelter dog wash, was in attendance at the Coco’s Fundraiser at the Luna Blue, attended a peep meet at Zenzi’s, visited Paamul, Xpu- Ha and got a tad touristy on this trip by visiting Kantun Chen and Xel Ha. Oh...and Yes, Scott did get a haircut that has become his tradition when visiting Playa!

Were sooo cheap…so we opted to stay within our budget traveling style and found an incredible deal with Hotel Fiesta Banana for around $30 USD a night!!! Hard to pass up!



I always start the reports with a reminder of our passion for Mexico. (Our wedding in Cozumel Island a few years back)





Anyway….more about saving money!….We took up a mule offer here -intheroo- and muled some judo uniforms in exchange for free transportation from the airport! We would have muled the uniforms anyway, but didn’t pass up the opportunity, given we were arriving at 9:00am and the ADO bus doesn’t run at that time of the morning. A big Thanks Jamnkats! While in route, we phoned the hotel who told us check in was not until 3pm, so we discussed with Jamnkats the possibility riding with her to Paamul (one of our favorite spots on this earth) spending the day there, then cabbing it back to Playa later—great plan! It allowed us to meet Jamnkats beautiful family who given the unexpected guests, were very accommodating!

We love Paamul and know exactly why Corona has filmed advertisments there and I also agree with numerous publications that ranks Paamul as being one of the most beautiful beaches.

Our day in Paamul

...Before exploring, were off enjoying the pool!



















...just love my Olympus Stylus 1050 SW camera! I call it my James Bond 007 camera, this photo was taken from in the pool looking up at the trees/sky...



Okay...stay tuned for more of our day in Paamul!!!!

[susango]

I'm loving it so far. I wanted to rent a car last week and go to Paamul, but we didn't. We just used the bus, taxis, and collectivo, and never made it to Paamul. Looking forward to more.

[Michele]

Looking good!! I'm glad you got to meet Kathy and her family. Nice folks!!

More please!

[Beth&Scott]

Susan & Michele
Great finally meeting you both, yes Jamnkats & family is so friendly- Susan Paamul is awaiting you!

More to come--lots more, got lotzzz of great photos of this trip and plan to post 'em!

[lovbuds]

Yippee...another of Beth and Scott's trip reports... Paamul pictures are very beautiful Beth. We finally made it to Paamul ourselves in February. It was very lovely. We'll be anxiously awaiting more!! Thanks guys!

[Beth&Scott]

We spend more time in that wonderful Paamul pool, before venturing out…..





This is a typical house in Pammul…its a glorified RV park where they have turned RV’s into ocean havens complete with balconies, 2 bathrooms, gardens, upstairs lofts…its indescribable unless you see one for yourself…






We went for a walk and a kind, perhaps “buzzed” Canadian asked us if we needed a ride down the beach in his borrowed Cadillac Escalade golf cart that he estimated to be $18,000USD as he is blaring Kid Rock’s “Only God Know’s Why” and I find it ironic that we come from the same neck of the woods as Kid Rock and amazingly so... these lyrics seem more appropriate here in the tropics driving down a Paamul dirt ocean view road! It was this moment that I relaxed and realized I’m finally HERE!





The kind man said he would be back later to pick us up, but we never saw him again….

Scott trying his hand at shore fishing....



Along the walk back we spotted an Eagle!!





Spotted some beautiful flowering trees!!



We decided to get a bite to eat at the local restaurant before cabbing it back to our Playa hotel. This restaurant has great food, a bit pricey, and takes a bit a patience waiting for the food, but overall we highly recommend the fish tacos!



We stopped by Kathleen’s home thanked her and her family for their generosity and headed off. Here is Kathleen’s dog, doing great and recovering well from a recent surgery that would have cost thousands in the states.



Next...we cab to our destination of Hotel Fiesta Banana, stay tuned for more photos!!

[Beth&Scott]

Hotel Fiesta Banana had a deal on cancun.com for around $30USD which we snatched up! We had a room with all the basic necessities plus air conditioning, a fridge, tv and a pool! What a deal! It was our first stay at the hotel, yet will not be our last! The place had tons of character, nice, accomodating staff in a quiet area on 5th w/ discounts to Mamitas! The bar downstairs (Al's) has 2X1 deals for drinks and has excellent food! We ate there on a couple occasions and stopped by for a few drinks! I highly recommend Hotel Fiesta Banana for a quiet stay in Playa!





























breakfast, veranda area

[Beth&Scott]

First stop of the night!

Hair cut for Scott!!! It has become a tradition for the last few trips, since were so cheap and you cannot beat the prices for a hair cut- around $4USD, plus many are open past 9pm!

This one we found open after 9pm called "Stetica Unisex Suki" on 15th between 2nd and 4th.





...yes, you may also recognize Scott's favorite shirt from other photos/trip reports! He cant leave a vacation without bringing it.

[lovbuds]

Another great haircut Scott!! Your hotel looks great...where exactly is Hotel Fiesta Banana...I do recall seeing it. More awesome pictures Beth...thanks! Keep it coming!

[Beth&Scott]

Hola Luvbuds!

Nancy, Glad you like the report!

We loved Hotel Fiesta Banana and I would stay there again in a heartbeat!
The hotel is right on 5th at Calle 32, on the north end. Its the quiet end- they call it the "Little Italy" district. Our balcony faced 5th and noise was never an issue- I didnt use my ear plugs once! The place seemed fairly occupied, probably given the good deals offered.

[jamnkats]

What a great start! I'm totally blushing here. Also, the spot Scott was fishing from on your 1st day now boasts 2 new nests (new as of this morning). The turtles are really laying fast and furious all along that particular beach.

[DavidB]

Originally Posted by Beth&Scott

First stop of the night!




...yes, you may also recognize Scott's favorite shirt from other photos/trip reports! He cant leave a vacation without bringing it.

When we use to go to Cancun every year I had a real cool striped shirt I always took. Tammy was looking at pictures and said "You've got to stop taking that shirt. I can't tell what year it is because you wore the same shirt for 4 years."

[DavidB]

Great trip report again. Does Scott ever catch much shore fishing? I wish they would let people fish off the pier by GPR.

[Ginger]

I love your dog, Jamncats!! Way cute!

[Dan-0]

I like the background info at the beginning, it's really helpful for newbies to the forum. Helps people understand your love for Mexico. You new camera sure takes some great photos, the Fiesta Banana looks great and what a great deal. I may check it out next week. Keep it coming!

[Beth&Scott]

Originally Posted by DavidB

Great trip report again. Does Scott ever catch much shore fishing? I wish they would let people fish off the pier by GPR.

Yes- he has luck from shore on a fly rod- he has found a few good spots to fish from shore... more of his fishing photos later in this report- stay tuned. If interested refer back to my March trip report where he caught many fish from shore.

[Beth&Scott]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

I like the background info at the beginning, it's really helpful for newbies to the forum. Helps people understand your love for Mexico. You new camera sure takes some great photos, the Fiesta Banana looks great and what a great deal. I may check it out next week. Keep it coming!

Yes, check it out...Im so jealous you are still down there!!

[Beth&Scott]

The rest of the evening was pretty much uneventful, we were very tired from no sleep the night before, my stomach wasn’t feeling good and we had a scheduled fishing trip planned with Edy Pena the following morning.

We called it an early night, and decided to try out Al’s Bar Dello Sport, right by the Hotel Fiesta Banana. My stomach wasn’t feeling right, so I opted out of eating.



Scott had shrimp tacos, which he loved.







DAY 2

Fishing day…..I was still feeling a bit sick to my stomach. I always feel queasy when boating on the sea, so I took Dramamine as always and patiently waited for it to kick in.

Scott arranged the fly fishing trip prior to our arrival and did some major bartering. Edy requested for a Blue Jansport Backpack, a camouflage baseball cap and some white & Blue Nike Shoes for his assistant. We found everything on sale in the US and it cost us around $75 total for his requested merchandise- a very good deal for a fishing trip!

Photo of meeting Edy and exchanging gifts.



Edy was very happy with his goods and especially loved some photos that we brought for him of the prior fishing trip in March.

Here we go…



Shoreline... an area north of Playa del Carmen



I lasted about an hour before I felt I was getting really sick… I felt like I could throw up and I knew it was more than sea-sickness, since the Dramamine usually helps that….so sadly enough they had to drop me off shore, near the Blue Bay resort… whose staff and guests looked at me as if I was an alien —(gosh, do they have a dress code?), I had to be escorted off and felt like an unwanted prisoner….boy was I happy to get off that resort and cab it back to the hotel which I slept for hours….


While I was sleeping, apparently they had luck fishing.



Later that afternoon I felt better and strolled to Mamaitas, I have never been there and wasn’t surprised that I was sat in the back, given my late arrival. Overall, it seemed to be a pleasant ambiance.





Scott met up with me later and we ordered some food…. I stuck with chicken, rice soup, which was delicious, and I was feeling much better!



After lunch we strolled the beach (& of course Scottt brought his fly rod). We walked north of the hotel...

cute boys playing in the sand...



and Scott got really lucky with fishing…







...following the line in



A NICE BIG JACK







Stay Tuned.......

[Yucatanner]

Beth,
As usual, great trip report! I looked at that hotel a couple of years ago but decided against it after reading some reviews. We don't have grand expectations on accomdations, so most places suite us well. I think will try them next time. How about the location? Did you like that??

Great pics along with good times. Can it get any better than this???

[lovbuds]

Hi guys...loving your trip report...looks like Scott had more success fishing from the shore than he did with Edy and those shrimp tacos look delicious! What does Scott do with the fish he catches? Just wondering...when we were on Isla there was a restaurant that would cook what you caught for you.