Spring Break 2007

   We had such a great time at Shangri-La Caribe last Spring Break we decided to return here again over crazy Cancun.  Planning in advance this year we were able to reserve a large single dwelling beach front bungalow.  So again this year we moved down the coast 75 kilometers to Playa del Carmen.  The Shangri-La is a small beach resort consisting of one and two room bungalows with palapa roofs and private porches with wonderful hammocks.  It is not an all-inclusive, but they do provide great breakfasts and mediocre dinners.  The rooms were bright and very comfortable, the baths roomy and the showers powerful.  There was optional AC, but the strong ever-present breezes ventilated the louvered bungalows comfortably.  Each morning we were awakened by the singing of countless birds in the trees, and every night we fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves.  The staff was very friendly, the beer (Leon Negra) was cold, and the food was good.

   We were only a 5 minute walk from the pedestrian only "5th Avenue" of Playa del Carmen.  Here were countless cafe's, restaurants and shops to keep you busy.  5th Avenue was a great change from noisy crazy Cancun.  While people did have a lot of fun here, there was not the out of control and rude behavior of Spring Break Cancun.

  The Shangri-La had some of the best beach in Playa.  The hurricane added to the beach here and took away elsewhere.  As our usual, we just relaxed and read, enjoying the surf.  Check out Shangri-La's web cam, which shows the beach in front of the Dive Shop at Shangri-La.

   Most of these photos are around 175-300kb.  On a dial up modem they might take 2 to 3 minutes to download.  So try to be patient.  Most everyone has hi-speed net these days and that only takes a couple of seconds.  Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the photo, hit your "back button" to return to this page.

   We've separated our 70 photos onto 2 pages for quicker downloads on slower net connections.

Early morning walk on the beach, quiet isolation.	Old beach hut "soon" to be a large hotel.	Old fisherman's boat.	Open, isolated, peaceful--just locals on the way to work, and joggers.	A large neighboring hotel, mainly for locals.
Surfboards make good signs.	Our green bungalow, #34P, our home for a week-just 35 feet from the pounding ocean.	Good morning Kim.	Kim guarding our home.	Another view of #34P.
Our front porch, with chairs and hammocks, where we slept, read and people watched.	The back of our bungalow.		The Shangri La breakfast palapa, and bar (which closed at 7pm). Just a few steps away!!	Some of our neighbors.
One of the pools at Shangri La, in front of the Breakfast palapa.		Kim hard at work.	Lloyd hard at work.	Very roomy sleeping area of our bungalow.
The "sunken" living room of our bungalow, which faces the ocean.	Lots of storage, a safe, and high ceilings.	Very high ceilings and the fan kept the room cool.	View from our couch/living room.	View from our back window.
...from our side window.	...from our door.	Large open bath.	Like the tilework.	Kim working off breakfast, which were always very good.
Cruise ship arriving Cozumel for a few short hours.	Our Shangri La neighbors on the "other side" of the public beach access.	Kim resting up for our walk into town, Playa del Carmen.

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