Sandos Playacar Mar 2008 Trip Report

[130taKen120]

Kiddie corner from McDonald’s was Playamart, a mid sized souvenir shop on the corner of 5th & Juarez. We’d stopped in here briefly on Tuesday at the tail end of our walk all the way down Juarez from where the bus dropped us off on Highway 307 (my bad). We ended up finding many colorful gifts here – bracelets and necklaces for the kids, shirts, pens, fanny-pack type purses, etc… Prices were extremely reasonable and you could really get quite a bit of this type of gift shopping done here. They also had some interesting candy and cookies, brightly painted ceramics, glassware, classic souvenirs of all types as well as numerous varieties of tequila. Which reminds me of the infamous words our airport transport driver told us all while riding in the van on the first day: “Remember in Mexico, the water isn’t so good so only drink tequila!”

Playamart:



And another view: Note the drugstore in the rear:



We were finally done gift shopping and anxious to get on the beach during this, our final day. Taxis pick up literally right outside the doors of Playamart so we quickly sped back to the Sandos for our beach time, which ended up being the best beach time of our stay for a variety of reasons!

More on that tomorrow! Feel free to leave a comment or question – we appreciate all and have had fun seeing you all read up on things. Thanks again & beach report next time! Good night all and thanks for reading!

[130taKen120]

I believe that a vacationer’s blood pressure, hyperactivity quotient and sense of remorse for not doing or seeing more things are inversely related to the dwindling amount of time you have left on your vacation. In other words, the less time you have left, the more these things avail themselves on your physical and mental state. And we’re not even talking about money.

Given the backdrop and atmosphere that this statement portrays, and the time (around 2:30 p.m.) we literally rushed to get back to our room, changed, stopped in the snack bar nearest the beach to grab some snacks. They were great as usual but this time I was too anxious to get out to the sand to think that this might be the last time we’d eat there, which it was.

As we walked the path along the front of the south building to the beach, we briefly struck up a conversation with another Midwesterner, and spoke of the laid back atmosphere of the Sandos, the beach and the longing to be on it.

Soon we passed the Sandos dive shop:



You could see over the rooftop air vents the beach stretching south:



Looking back north:



View back towards dive shop:



Panning south, you could see new palapas and volleyball nets that the Sandos had installed in the beach south of the “official” resort boundary;



Panning east:!




Anti-Erosion Fears Section

This most amazing part of our trip included 3 hours of excellent time spent on the beach south of the Sandos. If I had to point to the single most compelling reason we chose this resort, this was it. If you are phobic about the beach disappearing, then pack up your insulated beach bag, grab your sunscreen and head south. Other PDC resorts may have this, but not in a 4 star AI within a 20 minutes safe walking distance to Playa del Carmen.

Enjoy!

First view, numerous people heading south, many along the shore and a few up top, where the sand was more difficult to walk on but the slope was more even. If you walk too long on the slope next to the waves, you may cramp up. When I ran this on Friday 3-21-08, I had to stay on top because the sand was more level.

As we started walking south, this was our view. See the first set of rocks in the distance? Just past that was where we set up our first stop in the sand:



Not too far down past the first set of rocks, we found a spot to toss out our beach towels with a great view, where we could observe people in front of us and had about 40 yards of beach behind us before the jungle took over. The rocks in the background are the ones distant in the previous picture;



North from the towels;



Straight east out to sea:

[130taKen120]

Behind us was a craggy outcrop. We laid down here to enjoy the sun and sand, as well as the refreshments we’d brought with from our room fridge (see insulated beach bag comment above….add to your list). About every 2-3 minutes or so a few people wandered by going south or returning north. Most kept to themselves and it was hard to know who was from what country. Usually the Speedos indicated a gent was from Europe and boxer swimsuits meant the States, but not always. For the ladies, it was even harder as apparel styles are diverse everywhere, but the lack of particular pieces of apparel seemed to point toward European vacationers as well. No matter what, people seemed content and happy to be here, and if you weren’t, then you might be a bit hard to please.

Soon a local resident with a walking stick came walking behind us towards the craggy outcrop. He climbed atop it and began poking the walking stick in various holes and beneath rock ledges. We assumed he was looking for lizards, iguanas or crabs, and soon he was off, empty-handed.

The craggy outcrop:



Contrary to popular perception, palm trees do not dominate the jungles along the beach or for that matter, in any of the jungle areas we saw on our travels. Jungle south of the craggy outcrop:



I wandered up to the edge and just inside the jungle. To my surprise, there were trails in there, ones large enough to be used by humans and wildlife alike. Looking down at my bare feet in flip-flops, I recalled the ATV ride gent who mentioned that of the 14 known snakes in the Yucatan, 12 were poisonous and decided to keep ‘em planted on the sand.

As time wore on, the beach became less traveled:



But the view out front was no less inviting:





My view north:



And her view south:



I knew I recognized these tracks in the sand but we couldn’t see anything scurrying about making them. Thought at first iguana but too many footprints. Gecko? What could they be?



A variety of things end up washing ashore, including garbage:



And a weathered palm tree trunk (that's our shadows foolishly left in the picture angle! Argh!):

[130taKen120]

A pretty good view from towel spot # 1 back towards the Sandos, with the first rock outcrop in the picture:



We picked up & kept walking after about 45 minutes. At the Sandos, you can see this pole from most of the front palapas. It’s maybe 1?2 mile down beach from the resort. Not sure what it was for – maybe a beacon or maybe just a property reference marker, it’s useful days long since passed:



Some of the best light contrasts of the day were happening this afternoon. Because the sun sets in the west, you do not have the issues with lighting that you would in the morning. Thus on sunny days, the colors can be spectacular. A rocky jut into the sea:



The surf:



Sand shot, complete with blue garbage bottle washed ashore:



Found towel spot # 2 way, WAY down beach from the Sandos. We were maybe 50 yards form the absolute end of where we could walk, as going any farther south by land would really mean going south by sea.

View east from towels;



View into the jungle – note the fence:



More jungle and beach:



Our spot was almost to the end of the sand, and we had about an hour of absolutely no one walking by. There were 4 or 5 fishing or snorkeling style boats traveling south offshore but that was it. It was so very relaxing…..

By the rocks:



Looking south out to sea:

[130taKen120]

After a while we decided to pack up and start heading back. First, we wanted to go to the absolute end. The “End of the Line” for Sandos walkers:



and the final rocks south of Sandos:



Mamasita checking out the shore:



Me at the end:



And a trip-favorite picture of mine, both of us looking back, which we’ll be doing for a long time:



So much to share on this last day that I will do the walk back to the Sandos and the evening in the next report or two. Thanks again for reading, keep it straight & narrow and feel free to post a reply! Until tomorrow, then, good night!

[maestranba]

I've been sitting here for the past hour reading your WHOLE report so far and it's fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your trip and bringing back some great memories for me. We stayed at Sandos when it was Gala two years in a row. I'm amazed at how much it has stayed the same (except for the new buildings). They have even kept all the bar and restaurant names the same! I remember having the BEST French baguette for breakfast there. It was the closest I've ever tasted to the real thing from France. Our room, which was the same both years, was in your pic of the dive building, facing the south end of the beach.



We got to know the bar tenders at La Bambola well. They tried to corrupt our son!!




We also spent lots of time walking south for some great photo ops. We took our Xmas card pic on the rocks two years in a row!





Is this sign still there?


Thanks again for sharing and looking forward to the rest!

[redhairgirl1]

This is seriously one of the best trip reports i have ever read!!

I am sad to see this come to an end!

[130taKen120]

Originally Posted by maestranba

I've been sitting here for the past hour reading your WHOLE report so far and it's fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your trip and bringing back some great memories for me. We stayed at Sandos when it was Gala two years in a row. I'm amazed at how much it has stayed the same (except for the new buildings). They have even kept all the bar and restaurant names the same! I remember having the BEST French baguette for breakfast there. It was the closest I've ever tasted to the real thing from France.

Hi Maestranba: Wow, what a way to kill of an hour of your life ! Seriously, thank you for the copmliments and I am truly glad you enjoyed our report. Why go if you can't share what you've learned to help other people understand where you've been? Make sense?

Our room, which was the same both years, was in your pic of the dive building, facing the south end of the beach.

Very cool - from the looks of it, you had a great view!

We got to know the bar tenders at La Bambola well. They tried to corrupt our son!!

They corrupt everyone! Some "spring breakers" (not many rest assured) came on Sunday and "invaded" the bar. Their enthusiasm was only matched by their early exit from the bar due to unrestrained, and uncontoled, access to the bar.

We also spent lots of time walking south for some great photo ops. We took our Xmas card pic on the rocks two years in a row!

These were great! I'm sure those who received them were impresesed! Great looking family you all are!

Is this sign still there?

never say it, nor the one TeeZet posted on another thread earlier reagarding warnings about snakes, spiders and animals along the trails in the jungle

Thanks again for sharing and looking forward to the rest!

My pleasure and glad you are enjoying it!!!!! Can't wait to do it again next year!!!!

[130taKen120]

By late afternoon (around 5) the colors of the ocean began to reflect the evening hues. We began our trek back from the End of the Line rocks about a mile south of the Sandos. The wanderlust part of me wanted to go past the point and see what was on the other side – I suppose that’s natural for some folks – but the angle o the sun and the knowledge that we had still some obligations to fulfill before our pickup at 5:45 a.m. (No misprint!) turned us back. That, along with the whole idea that traversing broken seaside rock containing a myriad of potential creature hiding places on a deserted point a mile from any vestige of civilization in flip-flops deterred us from pressing forward. Can’t imagine why… ? Here’s your challenge should you go that far – bring your trekking shoes and be sure to understand what you are getting into if you go this far or beyond. Be considerate and cautious: There may be private property past here and who knows how owners of paradise quality oceanfront property would react to trespassers:



Some of the best pictures of the trip were taken on this 1-hour walk back, starting with this colorful rocky pitch:



There are sooooo many seashells along this beach, and you really have to look to get the good ones. As we were doing so, Mamasita found one that was moving! As I picked it up, I recognized a hermit crab inside. VERY cool!



We set the h-crab down:



It soon righted itself and scampered towards the nearest rock edge:



Finally it occurred to us that those tracks we saw earlier were hermit crab tracks. They look like this:



Don’t know what this man-made landmark was but it must have marked a specific km point along the beach. Anyone recognize it and/or have an explanation?



We walked along back north, shell hunting and enjoying the surroundings. This isn’t a muffler, but a piece of very cool driftwood:



A rocky pitch, note the cruise ship and Sandos in the background:



A cool tide pool, with an unfortunate shadow!

[130taKen120]

Waves crash against this rock outcrop:



And again here – Sandos in background. We walked into the sandy area behind the rocks and let the surf wash over our feet. This was so much fun, as all the way back we hunted for shells and found quite a few for our kids to make necklaces with. This is one of my top 10 trip pics and I hope you enjoy it too:



A bit farther north you can see this stretch of beach has been carved out some by the waves, and the original first outcrop of rock is getting closer (see the previous TR installment for what it looked like when we were heading south earlier in the day)



Flotsam

Beaches collect flotsam, which can include man-made things tossed or washed into the ocean. It is a fact of our existence on this planet, unfortunately. Think about this next time you and your family visit the beach – pack your trash out. Here’s what happens when people don’t:



In some cases, mother nature or fatigue on ship ropes take their toll. Top 10 pic for me:



Many fishing boats and some snorkeling boats were heading for their respective harbors or anchorages:



That didn’t deter us from shell and opportunistic picture hunting. In some ways, our delays today let us view the ocean in these most gorgeous colors!



Soon we ran across the explanation for the OTHER type of tracks in the sand – a sand crab:



If you see these, these are where they live:



Mama had a lot of curiosity and fun observing (but keeping safe distance from) the crab:

[130taKen120]

Not long after we were back at the Sandos, and stopped to take a pic of the Mayan Ruins placard near the snack bar restaurant:



It was describing the on-site ruins, located just inside the north building between the pool and the beach:



We headed for the deserted adult pool and took one last look out east towards the ocean and Sandos beach:



And another inside the adult pool:



We headed to our room and got ready for supper. First, though we decided that since we hadn’t completed our gift shopping (tip: get it done early!) we walked to the Playacar Plaza outside the Riu Playacar to shop before supper. It took 15 minutes to walk there but saved the cab fare. We found some gifts, including 1 T-Shirt shop that had shirts for $4.99, one of which I am wearing as I write this TR ?

On the way back we saw a couple of the Riu resorts:



And…



Iberostar Quetzal:



Iberostar Tucan:



Finally, our Sandos waterfall:



We had the Italian buffet and ate out in the Festival along the plaza wall, as usual. Sorry, foodies, I forgot to take this pic BEFORE hand:

[130taKen120]

It was casino night at the Sandos. They pass out chips for free to any guest over the age of 18 that wants to play Blackjack, roulette, craps and poker. We chose the dice game as I’d never played it and the table was empty. The dealer explained the rules ad away we went! For a while we lost, but being that it was “play” chips, we were adapting to the rules and eventually won enough to cash in the chips for a pair of Sandos visors! Yippee!

We turned in early-ish as we had to be at the front door at 5:45 a.m. for AmEx pickup! Both tired, this wasn’t a problem, but a restless night ensued, thinking about the things we could’ve done and the logistics of trying to get back to PDC next year! Last day TR tomorrow, and maybe vids to follow. Thanks to all who have read and hope you are sensing the blessings we received for our time here and anticipating your trip the way we did!

Buenos noches!

[stonecold]

Wonderful report......thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us..

[raquelle261]

I have to echo what redhairgirl said earlier.... this has been the most enjoyable TR I have read in a long time. Thanks again Ken!!! You two make a lovely couple, your pictures are superb, and your narrative insightful and witty. Its really getting my mood set!