Playa del Carmen 3/06

After the destructive hurricanes last year during the Fall of 2005 Kim and I decided to wait on a return to Cancun until there has been a full recovery. For Spring Break this year we decided to move down the coast 75 kilometers to Playa del Carmen and the Shangri-La Caribe. 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. 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. 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 webcam.