Mexico

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This hotel (Plaza Cozumel) is so quiet at night! Great breakfast included. French toast, eggs, fruit, yogurt, granola, rolls, juice and coffee. Best one yet!

Walked south along the beach. The shoreline is very rocky, so we had to walk along the Malecon. We wanted to find the hotel where we stayed before, probably twenty years ago, much further south. We recognized some things, but new piers have gone in and the area has been built up. Many spots to rent scooters, several dive shops, more cruise ships in port. We found our old hotel, Villablanca. It had been renovated and expanded. Fun to see the old spot. We had good snorkeling across from the hotel.

Continued south past Villablanca, heading down to the park Chankanaab. We thought we could get down to the beach again by walking down through a gated spa. The guard told us the beach and park were another mile down the road. It would cost us $175 to go through the spa, which we assumed was for a day pass. Needless to say, we continued our walk. Found some very pretty purple petunia-like flowers along the road.

After another mile, we headed down to the beach, looking for a cool drink. After a six mile hike we were ready for a rest! Most of the beach restaurants here belonged to all-inclusive hotels, so we headed down to a beach club. They charged $4 a can for pop, which seemed high even for tourist prices. But we needed a rest and drinks, so we went for it! Found a cool spot under an umbrella. Took a cab back, didn't want to do another six miles in the heat. An adventurous day! Taxis from Chankanaab are 130p or $13. You save a couple of dollars by paying with pesos.

Bob googled book exchanges in the area. We found one at Buritos Gorditos. Needed to update our reading supply. When we got back our room had been cleaned, and the towels were formed into a very cute large turtle. Then a Scrabble game at the hotel. No comment on the winner!

Bob found another good spot for dinner, googling for good cheap eats! Chilangos on Avenue 30 is a little place that is popular with the locals. The specialty here is the huarache, a large, sandal shaped tortilla that is grilled and then topped with generous portions of meat, peppers, beans, cheese, etc. We each ordered two, but way too much to eat! Another 1.75 miles tonight, in addition to our 6 mile hike to the park.

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