Many of our guests ask about things they can do in Playa for not a lot of money.  One of our favorite things about Playa is the diversity of experiences that can be had.  Playa boasts an abundance of fine dining establishments, as well as wonderful, moderately priced restaurants and some that are downright cheap!  And all of them providing excellent food.  In addition to diversity of meal choices, you can also choose whether to have a quiet, relaxing vacation or you can have an adventure-filled trip - all at the same destination.  One can also choose whether to walk a couple of blocks to experience the warm, Mexican culture or spend your time hanging with the tourists speaking nothing but English.  We love having so many options available on how to spend our time.

Here are a few general tips to keep your Playa vacation budget-friendly:

1. Use local transportation.  It's not difficult to learn, and we love helping our guests get the most of this option. Taking taxis everywhere or renting a car for a whole week can really eat into your cash.  If you want to go exploring, just rent a car in Playa for the day or two instead of for your whole trip.  For us, traveling like the locals do includes taking the bus from the airport to Playa instead of a shuttle (if the total number in our party is 4 or less).  The ADO bus station is a short walk from our condo and can take you to destinations up and down the coastline as well as inland to popular ruins and colonial cities, for little more than a song.  And the colectivo system is hard to beat for getting up and down the coastline inexpensively and on your own time schedule.  The bonus is you get to experience true local flavor. 
2. Visit the grocery store upon your arrival and stock up on adult beverages, snacks and items to make a few meals in the condo.  You'll be glad you did.  
3. When eating out, don't be afraid to venture away from 5th Avenue.  Just a few short blocks "inland" and you will find some of the best local restaurants at very inexpensive prices.  Ask us - we'll be happy to give you some specific suggestions.  There is a Mexican food glossary in our condo that will help you navigate the menus in Spanish.
4. Skip the ice cream spots on 5th Avenue and opt for Mexican ice cream on 10th or Juarez - there are lots of them.  Instead of paying $10US for a scoop of Haagan Daaz, you'll pay about $1-2US and experience some new flavors at the same time.  
5. Slow down.  Really.  This is Mexico, where life should be lived to the fullest!  Don't feel that you need to plan out every day.  Save time to explore the area at a slow pace and be aware of the beautiful scenery around you.  Spend a day at the pool (WalMart has lots of pool toys) instead of forking out cash every day for another eco-park.  They can be really fun, but pricey.  Our pool is pretty cool and with sandwich makings upstairs, it's a really inexpensive day.

How about some specific suggestions on inexpensive activities?

1. Ride bikes around the Playacar neighborhood - there are lots of beautiful homes to see.  (We supply 2 bikes in our condo).  Just be careful and watch for pedestrians and other bikers!
2. Visit a cenote - there are a couple that are close to Playa and easy to get to using the colectivos.  They have very inexpensive entrance prices ($5-10US) and are a great way to experience something unique to the area.  Pack a lunch and make it an even more affordable way to spend a day.
3. People watch.  For the price of a cervesa on 5th Avenue or at the beach - you will be surprised at how entertaining our species can be, and how varied!   We love hanging at the outdoor cafes.
4. Also on or around 5th Avenue - pop into some of the charming boutique hotels and wander around.  We've never seen such beautiful and totally unique properties anywhere else we have traveled.  The various pools and courtyards are really worth seeing, and the architecture, too.  We've never had anyone object to this, and many have offered to show us a room which is fun.  Some to try - Kinbe, Luna Blue, Deseo, Hacienda del Caribe, Moskito Blue, but the list is almost infinite.
5. Watch the calendar at Buy Playa for local activities going on - especially the art walks.  Often on Tuesday and Thursday evenings you can see local artisans showing their work on or close to 5th.  And at any time you can duck into the Casa Mediterranea (between Calle 6 & 8 on 5th Avenue)  and explore their galleries and boutique shops with local work.  There are a couple of other small galleries up and down 5th - check them out.
6. One of the local activities that is fun (and free) is to volunteer at a charity event or activity.  Coco's Cat Rescue is one of our favorites.  Every Friday afternoon you can play with rescued kittens, getting them used to people and ready to be adopted.  Be careful, though, you might fall in love with a couple of them yourself!
7. Lots of local clubs have live music and wonderful bands for you to enjoy, just watch what you spend on drinks or this can work against you.  Some of the most popular joints are WahWah's, Bad Boys, Luna Blue and Kixte.
8. Spend a day at Akumal swimming with the turtles.  Akumal is about 30 minutes south of Playa and is accessible by colectivo for a song.  Once there, if you have your own snorkel gear, it's just a matter of laying down your beach towel and getting in the water.  There are dive shops there that will rent you snorkel gear pretty inexpensively for the entire day, for the cost of one snorkel excursion that may only last a few hours.  Eat lunch at the Economica lunch counter near the convenience store just outside the arches.  See more info in our Things to Do tab.
9. You can even check out a few small ruins for free without leaving town.  Although certainly nothing like the magnificent pyramids outside of town, there are some interesting ones throughout Playa that are fun to see.  One is just around the first corner (headed west) from the condo.  Another is immediately out the back door of WahWah's beach club.  We like the ones that are at the end of the path through the wooded area in Playacar (take the path by the guard gate headed to the beach).

What are your favorite ways to enjoy Playa del Carmen inexpensively?

Going to the grocery store can be an entertaining adventure in Mexico!  We enjoy exploring the culture through their food – and visiting a grocery store is an excellent start on that journey.

The most obvious “adventure” lies in the different proteins consumed in Mexico – in Playa del Carmen you will see an abundance of seafood that is unusual to find even in a seafood shop back home.  Octopus, squid, giant squid and exotic fish are just some of the unusual sights on ice in the seafood section.  In the beef and pork section, it gets even more odd – Mexicans, like many other cultures, eat most organs and other parts of the animals that Americans would never consider eating.  So this is your chance to gaze upon beef tongue, brains, eyeballs, and anything else that you can think of.  Twelve year old boys will especially enjoy this activity!

Refrigeration (or the lack thereof) makes for another significant difference.  In Mexico, eggs are stored in the aisles and not refrigerated.  Obviously, this is OK as it is the only way you will see eggs here.  But it makes me wonder what it is about OUR eggs at home that require cold storage?  Anyone know?  Milk is one of the other things sold off of the shelf – it is sold in boxes off the shelf instead of plastic bottles in refrigerated cases.   I have been told that this milk is processed with extremely high heat which somehow results in no refrigeration needed.  You can buy boxed milk in the U.S., I have some at home saved for when I run out – great option!  Once it is opened, however, even boxed milk needs to be refrigerated.

A delightful place in a Mexican supermarket is the fresh bakery!  All kinds of pastries and goodies are placed out in the aisles.  Grab a pizza tin and a pair of tongs and go through the aisles choosing what you want.  When you’re done loading up your tin, take it to the counter where a lady will put it in bags for you and place the price on the bag.  Very inexpensive and good.  I prefer the ones with sugar or chocolate on them, as Mexican breads and pastries are not as sweet as what we eat in Texas.

In the larger stores such as Mega and Wal-Mart, you can find most anything your heart desires and is used to from home, but it may not be available in the brand you are accustomed to.  Of course, Mexican brands will cost you much less, but American brands are there too for many items.  If you have a child who must have peanut butter, however, bring a jar from home.  For some odd reason, we have trouble finding this in stock when we are there.  Nutella is more widely available as an alternative.

And don’t forget to spend some time in the produce section.  You won’t believe the number of limes displayed!! Along with many other tropical, tasty fruits and vegetables.  Pick up something you aren’t familiar with to sample back at the condo.  But remember to soak ALL fruits and veggies and greens in the sink with a few disinfectant drops first.  And note that produce doesn’t stay fresh long in Mexico, so only buy what you will eat today and tomorrow, then make another trip. 

Open your mind to the experience and enjoy something new!

We were able to move into our condo in Playa during October of 2008.  We truly loved it, and one of the reasons was because it was move-in ready.  But I recently ran across the pictures from that first year and I hardly recognize it as the home we enjoy now!  Although we have only been able to spend one week in Playa at a time for now, I am pretty amazed at what we have accomplished during those short vacations.  I thought it would be fun to share the highlights of the changes we have made and some of the funny stories that go along with them, complete with “before” pictures – and some "after" pictures at the end.   

I am especially impressed with what we accomplished as I think back to that first week that we were able to move in and call it ours.  Although we purchased the condo furnished, there was nothing other than furniture there plus a small set of pots and pans.  So we immediately set out to purchase everyday necessities such as towels and sheets, dinnerware, small kitchen appliances and utensils, things for the walls and décor items.   We had brought a few things from home with us, but you can’t pack much in two suitcases.  We quickly found WalMart and Sam’s Club to be invaluable, and joined City Club across the highway as well.  Lots and lots of shopping!

But the bigger to-do’s were to arrange for satellite installation, and purchase outdoor furniture and a washer/dryer.  We quickly determined that a gas dryer was much more preferable to an electric one, but gas wasn’t available on that side of the condo.  So, through a neighbor we met the day before, we hired someone to run a new gas line from the roof (where our propane tank is stored) down the other side of the building and through the wall into the storage room. 

By far the biggest hassle was shopping for furniture and the washer/dryer.  We discovered after only one night that our plan to make do with the full size bed in the master bedroom was a bad idea (Mark is 6’4” and I am 5’ 8”).  It seemed romantic at the time, but that went out the window quickly.  We spent several days walking up and down the highway, where many of the town's furniture stores are located.  I wish I had worn a pedometer those days - we logged quite a few miles!  We finally bought a new king sized mattress and frame at Telebodega, and then went about trying to arrange for delivery, all in our VERY limited Spanish.  In Mexico, it is very difficult to find some places with simply an address, and we didn't even know what ours was!  So a hand drawn map was our best option to help the delivery men.  Yikes!

Same was true for our beautiful teak balcony furniture (which we also found on our treks up and down the highway).  Amazingly enough, both deliveries made it to the condo, eventually.  We had to hang out on our front balconies almost the entire day just watching for the delivery trucks, and then had to rush down the stairs, yelling and screaming with arms in the air, to flag them down when they passed us by.  Quite dramatic, I can assure you, since we would be leaving for home in Texas the following day – not much room for error.

On our second trip we would purchase the bikes, the BBQ pit, recover the dining room chairs and also bought and hung a new ceiling fan in the den.  But by far the funniest thing we did this trip was purchase the large, tall vase that now stands in the corner of the dining room.  We found this vase at a store on the highway and loved it immediately.  But when we stood on the street with it, we couldn’t get a taxi driver to stop!  I guess they didn’t want to try to figure out how to fit it into their cab, it was almost as tall as I am.  So, Mark took the vase and hid out of sight around a little corner while I flagged down a taxi.  When I got in, Mark came out of his hiding place and loaded the vase across my lap with the other end sticking out the window of the other side. It was pretty hilarious.  We tipped the taxi driver well.

In October of 2009 we had decided to make some major décor changes.  Although I liked the white walls, Mark didn’t.  So I took pictures of the condo and met with an interior decorator back home to select a new wall color.  We chose a color from Sherman Williams because we had seen one on the highway just outside Playa and hoped that we could get the same color.  Once in Playa, we took a taxi to the paint store and asked him to wait while the paint was being mixed for what we needed - one, 5-gallon container of paint.  Mark and I were very proud of ourselves, having completed this transaction 100% in Spanish.  But that pride was very short lived when I saw them loading FIVE, 5-gallon containers into our taxi!  Instead of about $100usd in paint, they had mixed about $500 worth of paint!  It was a tense moment to say the least.  Let’s just say that we are not welcome back in the Sherman Williams store in Playa.  Back at the condo, Mark even stepped into the paint bucket back at the condo, another fun event.  But in the end, we love the color and have a great story to tell.  New curtains from home finished the new look.  What do you think – do you like the color?

In 2010 we decided to replace the sectional sofa (which never wanted to stay together) and the matching chair with all new furniture.  We kept the same look – cream colored leather – but we bought much higher quality furniture that is so much more comfortable than what we had before.  And no more sectionals - two large club chairs plus a sofa give us plenty of space to relax and spread out.  I only wish we had done this earlier!  Now you can actually nap on the couch without rolling off!   And we continue to do other smaller projects.  On our last trip Mark installed a peephole so you can look out the front door before opening it, and we bought new comfy cushions for the lounge chairs down at the pool.  Now you have options - you can nap indoors or out!

Take a look at a few of the "after" pictures below.  Visit our Condo Pics Photo Gallery to see all of the pictures of our home in Playa.

For now, I think we may be finished with major projects, and now we can just relax and enjoy our little piece of paradise.  What do you think about our changes?

Let's buy a home in Mexico!

In my last entry, I talked about how we came to realize that there was more to life than working for corporate America until we were 65, hoping to squeeze in a few fun years somewhere before heading off into the far blue yonder.  Here is the beginning of the tale of how we purchased our little slice of paradise.  

Once we decided that the area surrounding Playa del Carmen was our choice, we then did what everyone does – explore the internet looking at properties for sale!  After chatting with a few realtors online, Mark headed to Playa alone to do some looking around.  (He always has more vacation time than me).  He met with a young realtor and, armed with our checklist of things we knew we wanted, found a lovely condo in the nearby community of Puerto Aventuras.   He brought home plenty of pictures and before we knew it we were wiring $5,000 earnest money to a foreign country!  But that property was not to be. 

After searching around online, I found an attorney located in the Austin area who was well versed in real estate transactions in Mexico.  After a few emails and a phone conversation, we hired him to represent us in this transaction and forwarded him the sales contract that we had signed.  I immediately got a tense email from him stating that he would like to talk to Mark and I on the phone together.  This can’t be good.

He explained to us that we were purchasing a condo in a complex that had 3 phases, and our unit was in phase 2.  No big surprise here, we knew that.  However, the contract stated that the seller would not even START the process of transferring ownership/title to the purchasers until the completion of phase 3.  So we could be waiting years for ownership of our unit – not to mention the risk that the builder may or may not even complete the project!  Really?  I don’t think so!  He recommended that we terminate the contract and request a refund of our earnest money.  Uh huh, I am sure you see where this is going, right?    

As you might imagine, this was a drama in and of itself – lots of phone calls and emails trying to talk us out of it, then full of promises that the refund had been wired, check was in the mail, today is a bank holiday – yada, yada, yada.  But – big surprise coming – NO money!  We were pretty sure at this point that we would never see that 5 grand, but we never gave up while we moved on to find another property.  Our passion for this project was not diminished.  If anything, we were more determined than ever.

Fast forward a few months.  On a normal Thursday night at the end of May, 2008, Mark received an email from another realtor, one that would eventually become our good friend, announcing that he was representing a seller who wished to move to a larger home in Playa.  This condo he was selling had everything we were looking for and much more – we got really excited while viewing the pictures and especially when we realized how awesome the location was.  I think you could say it was love at first sight!  Long story short, I pulled my mother into the adventure, and she and I were on a plane to Mexico two days later.  This time, it was Mark who couldn’t take off work on such short notice.

Before I tell you about seeing the condo for the first time, I have to tell you about getting our other earnest money back from our first fiasco.  After several months of almost daily calls and/or emails, I am now in Playa so I decided that I will just “pop in” and pay an unexpected visit to Veronica (our contact for the builder).  My mom and I are walking down 5th Avenue and we see the office of the builder, and a young woman is sitting on a chair out front talking on a cell phone.  She sees us as potential customers and sees an opportunity for a sale, and we get her most charming “Hello, how are you?” complete with a huge smile and sparkly eyes.  I say to her “I am looking for Veronica” and she tells me that she IS Veronica, still all sparkly.  Then I tell her my name and all I can tell you is NO MORE SPARKLY!  After about an hour and a half of “I can sit here all day – I’m not going anywhere until I get my money”, the funds were wired and received back home.  (Moral of the story – don’t ever give up, just get on a plane).

Stay tuned to my next post with more of the “adventure” that is buying property in Mexico!

Well, here it is – my first blog post!  I have had so much fun creating this website for  our home in Mexico and our second home town, Playa del Carmen, that I decided to take advantage of the website’s capabilities and write a blog!  I get asked questions all the time about our crazy adventure, and I am looking forward to being able to share our opinions and experiences in Mexico as well.  Will anyone be interested in reading my posts?  Who knows?  But I know that I will enjoy being able to record my thoughts and create a small history of our journey to living (well, not yet, but soon) in our beloved Playa. 

For those who don’t know us, Mark and I had a goal for over 10 years of owning a home in a foreign country, and retiring at a “young” age (exact age yet to be determined).  Where did this desire come from?  Well, I’ll tell you.

We have always loved to travel, especially to tropical locales.  About 11 years ago we took a trip that would forever change the way we looked at the world.  We went to the Bahamas Island of Exuma and rented a houseboat for the week – this was by far the coolest thing we had ever done!  The houseboat could travel the 5 mile by 10 mile calm waters off of Exuma between the main island and many smaller islands that created a barrier to the waves of the Atlantic.  We didn’t know at the time that this was a major gathering spot for liveaboard sailboaters whose lifestyles we would find so appealing, and that they would become the catalyst for a major life change for us.