Playa del Carmen 2009, Day 1

Just 15 days before the following pictures were taken, I convinced 3 friends to go to Mexico for Memorial Day weekend. It was during the swine (H1N1) flu scare and the prices were very low. At the time, Jetblue had direct flights to Cancun from Tampa. We used the Jetblue website to book a vacation package. We each payed, on a holiday weekend, less than $370 for our flight, 3 nights at an all-inclusive 4-star hotel in Playa del Carmen and an additional $100 for the 4 days of rental car. We stayed at the Viva Wyndham Azteca. Playa del Carmen was about one hour from Cancun and a very easy drive from the Airport. I had seen pictures of Playa del Carmen before, but the beach that I was about to see was above any of my expectations. The first day we just relaxed at the beach, had dinner at the hotel, and went to bed early. Two of my friends went to Coco Bongo that night until 6:00AM. I wanted to use this trip to relax instead of coming back to work even more tired than when I left. 

Tampa to Cancun

The welcome sign at the airport

We didn't have a radio in the car but we used the ipod speakers and enjoyed the drive.

Tequila Corralejo

at the beach outside our hotel

Playa del Carmen

Looking at the Ocean

I'm curious to know how true are the news about the safety issues in Mexico. They compared it with the drug cartels in Colombia during the 1990s. Living in Colombia at that time was not easy, but we knew where to go and how to take care of yourself. There are always safe zones and places that nobody needs to see. I also believe that the media makes the news worse than they actually are. Mexicans were extremely nice and friendly during our stay. I hope that their tourism industry does not suffer from inadequate media coverage. Actually, Mexico was our first choice when we looking for places to do our wedding. One of my coworkers got married in Playa del Carmen and I loved the laid back theme and how her pictures came out. I decided not to do it in Mexico because I was afraid that our guests decided that it was dangerous to go. I would not put them in risk and since I don't live there I can't tell them where to go and how to be safe.

Jetblue doesn't fly direct from Tampa to Cancun since 2009, but I am sure that I will be back. There are many things to do and many places to visit in this area that I didn't get a chance to see during this trip.