Impromptu escape to Mexico — first blog entry of 2020

That’s right — it’s November 2020, and I am just now writing my first blog post of the year. We are in the middle of a year-long global pandemic, been dealing with a never-ending polarizing and exhausting election, and ongoing racial justice battles in the U.S. Personally, I’ve also experienced challenges such as the sudden tragic losses of two close friends and roadblocks as it relates to my career.

Not to mention…I WASN’T TRAVELING, so I felt there was nothing for me to write about.

But…here I am. CatchGifucan is back!

How it happened

At the end of October, one of my long time friends messaged me asking what I was doing in the middle of November and if I would be able to take off a couple days. She and her friends were headed to Tulum for a wedding. I immediately thought two things: 1) We are in a pandemic. I do not want to deal with airports, big flights and all that when I knew I’d be going home to be in Virginia with my family at the end of November, and 2) I definitely don’t want to go to Tulum. To me, we Americans had somehow transformed Tulum into the “Miami” of Mexico, and I was good on that, LOL.

Then she mentioned that her friend had booked a private jet, and that they were offering seats to me and my best friend, Chris. Reactions below.

“Private jet? Girl, you should have led with that!”

I seemingly kept a grip on this bottle the whole flight.

My high school friend and college friend, united.

So while the rest of the group was going to Tulum, Chris and I decided that we would chill in Playa del Carmen. PDC was a much more chill place, and the prices were much more affordable. Since this wasn’t a planned trip, I was not about to blow a bag and plan some lavish trip where I’m spending without thought. We booked a condo at Xaman-Ha right on the beach, with a nicely-sized pool.

Playa del Carmen

This was my first time out of the country all year, and because of what I shared with you all at the beginning of this blog entry, I really just wanted to relax and catch some sun. I had no interest in going out and partying…again, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Chris is kind of a go-with-the-flow traveler, so he didn’t care what we did, LOL.

On day one, we checked-in, dropped our bags off in the apartment, and decided to walk down 5th Avenue, which is the most touristy area in PDC. That was our first and last time doing that! Overwhelming! It wasn’t the tourists that were bothersome. It was the aggressive vendors! Trust me, I am accustomed to vendors working hard to try to get business. I live in NYC…I’m use to either politely saying no while continuing to walk by, and/or not making eye contact and pressing on without saying anything. But, walking down 5th Avenue, we were accosted one right after the other, every ten seconds, and it was honestly so hard to ignore. A couple times Chris would respond to a vendor and they’d latch on to the engagement. I gave him the death stare, like “CHRIS! YOU KNOW BETTER!” Anyway, we found a place to sit and have a couple margaritas and tacos. The food wasn’t great at that particular restaurant, but I guess eating on 5th Avenue in PDC is much like trying to find a good meal in Times Square.

However, after that, we didn’t make anymore mistakes with food. After a quick Google search, I discovered that El Fogon had some of the best food in the city. After we had dinner there to confirm for ourselves, we decided THAT NIGHT that we’d be returning each night for the remainder of our trip, LOL. #ProTip: You can’t go wrong with anything you order there. But, I highly recommend the Al Pastor tacos and chorizo.

Another place we stumbled across for a couple lunches was Restaurant Chilito Rojo. I highly recommend this as well! Get the shrimp tacos!

We chose one day to take the ferry over to Cozumel. The ferry ride is only about 30-minutes and it was $12 USD each way. I believe there are cheaper options, but the day we decided to go, there was only one of the ferries operating. Upon arrival in Cozumel, we hopped in a taxi and went to Mr. Sancho’s Resort to lounge for a few hours. The drinks were delicious and the private beach was so peaceful!

Quick 30-minute ferry ride to Cozumel Island

What’s a CatchGifUcan trip without a little adventure?

When visiting Playa del Carmen or Tulum, everyone always says you have to do a Cenotes tour. So, that’s what we did. We went with one of the smaller ones - Cenote Chaak Tun. It was pretty fun, but I must admit, it took me a while to relax. I’m not a fan of being in water in the dark (we were swimming in caves and caverns), but it was totally safe and our tour guide was great. Yes, there were bats, but they were asleep, and they only eat fruits…not people. Allegedly.

On our last day in Playa del Carmen, before having to take a ride to Tulum to meet our friends (so that we could ride back to the airport together on Sunday), we chose to kick it at the Alessia Rooftop, all day. We paid for a day pass (about $40 USD) which included a cabana lounger and fresh coconut water. It was the perfect way to end such a relaxing vacation.

Tulum

After we left the pool, we packed up our things and hopped in a taxi to Tulum (paid about $50 USD and it was about an hour ride with no traffic). I will say this…I am so happy we opted to stay in Playa del Carmen instead of Tulum. Our friends were staying in an amazing villa (Ana y Jose), and the beaches there were so beautiful. HOWEVER…I was overwhelmed by how no one in Tulum looked like they were aware that there was a global pandemic happening. There were no masks, no social distancing, and people waiting in lines to get into packed clubs. My anxiety went up as soon as our taxi arrived on the road where our destination was. I mean…I was only in Tulum for one night, but it gave me Miami vibes. It looked just like South Beach, only without real sidewalks LOL. I had two meals there, and they were okay. Not bad at all, but very “resort-y.” Nothing close to the food we were having in Playa del Carmen. Again, I was only there for one night (and a good portion of the next morning for breakfast), and was turned off by what I saw, but I’m pretty sure I got enough of Tulum. Nice beach, and beautiful Instagram pics, though…

This trip was much needed. A great way for me to begin the END of such a tumultuous year.

INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHTS HERE

Thinking about visiting Playa del Carmen? Ask whatever you like in the comments.