Back in November of 2020, I wrote about inexpensive travel to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico; in particular, Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. If you read that blog you may have noticed that I had some unsettled business. I bargained hard with a young man selling bowls on the beach and I wanted to set that right. Also, get some beach time and visit Cozumel to see how it was doing with no cruise ships.

So off we go again, this time we opted to stay in the same Playa Del Carmen resort for three days, spend two days in Cozumel and two more days in a resort on the beach but near the Cancun Airport.

I won’t duplicate my previous blog but attempt to add to it and share some new insights. Air travel hasn’t changed much in the last two months other than Southwest is now utilizing the middle seats and the planes are fuller. Also, most of the travel clubs have reopened but with reduced hours and services.

Mexico is still checking temperatures and requiring medical statements from all travelers entering and leaving the airport. Temperatures are also checked at the resorts, on the ferries and in many of the shopping areas. This doesn’t seem to have slowed the virus down much but does make you feel at least that Mexico is trying.

Last time we traveled down, I rented a car so we could explore some of the ruins. This time however, we opted for private transportation from the airport and utilized the Cancun Shuttle service. The cost was about $60 with tip for the van which could hold up to 8 passengers. It only took about 10 minutes for the van and driver to arrive and drive us directly to the resort. Clean and efficient and a good value for the money…definitely recommend.

This was our second stay at the Viva Wyndham Maya All-Inclusive resort and this time we opted for a garden view for our three nights. ($343 total stay for two – Priceline). We were surprised that we were given a few small gifts in an attempt to convince us to take the 2 hour vacation club sales pitch (that was new), but we opted to just enjoy the beach and the margaritas. They didn’t disappoint.

The beach was as beautiful as before and not crowded. While we were lounging the afternoon away and brushing off the pesky vendors selling trinkets and cigars, a young man wandered over loaded down looking like a Mexican trinket shop with legs. Reva leaned over to me, “That’s him, I remember his mask”. Now to remind you of the story, on our last visit I had bargained hard with the young man and had gotten a medium sized hand pained wooden bowl for $20 plus a hamburger from the resort. He had told us he hadn’t made any sales that day because there wasn’t many tourists and he was hungry. Afterwards, I felt bad and after looking at the prices of the bowls in the stores. I realized that he didn’t make any profit from me, probably just got his money back.

“How much for a bowl?” I asked. The young man quickly set down his large pack and produced a plethora of bowls, including one that looked very similar to the one I bought for Reva in November. “I like the medium sized ones.” He had two with him and either one was $45. “I will give you $15 for one”, I said knowing the Mexican haggling tradition. “No, no, no amigo” said the young man smiling as he taps the bowls together. “Very good quality, $40.” I smiled back and soon we agreed that $30 and a coke would be a fair price for a bowl with painted blue turtles. I handed the young man $35 and watched him count the money. His eyes opened wide after he counted it. “Really? he asked in surprise. I told him that we had bought a bowl from him in November and I felt that I hadn’t paid enough and wanted to correct that. He smiled broadly. I had shocked him. The young man stayed and chatted with us. “Do you still want a coke”, I asked. “No amigo, that is fine”, he replied. His name was Candy, he said his mom and given him a girl’s name and he laughed. The next day when he came by, he smiled at as as he passed. “Ms. Reva, want another bowl?” “No Candy, but on our next trip in March maybe we will buy two.” We chuckled, I felt better and the young man probably had a story for his mom about a strange gringo that overpaid for bowls.

After a few days of lounging in the sun and enjoying the beach we took a cab to the ferry pier in downtown Playa Del Carmen ($6) to catch the ferry to Cozumel. We were interested in seeing Cozumel now that cruise ships hadn’t been there for over 9 months. Typically, 4-12 ships would dock there daily dropping off 10,000 tourists or more. They have three cruise terminals and it always was a pleasant island to visit.

There are two passenger ferries that make the 30-40 minute crossing to the island; Winjet and Ultramar (newest and fastest). Usually each ferry goes every hour all day long but because of the pandemic, only one company goes each day and only every two hours. So on Saturday, Winjet was the only option ($24/2 passengers).

There was no outside seating and the ride was not pleasant. The rough seas tossed the ferry around as it made it across the 13 mile channel. Music videos played and a young lady walked around with “barf bags”….fortunately none was needed….but Reva did not enjoy the passage. “Not looking forward to doing that again.”

Cozumel was surprisingly busy on Saturday especially in the downtown area around the ferry terminal. As we ventured away from the ferry dock toward the cruise terminal, the number of people dropped dramatically and the majority of shops were closed.

We opted to stay at the Cozumel Plaza hotel ($64 Priceline – including a great breakfast) which was only a block from the cruise terminal and just off of the square. The hotel itself was quite plain but had a beautiful rooftop pool area where you could look over both the city and the sea and watch planes taking off from the airport. The amount of airport traffic was surprising given the pandemic, the hotel was almost empty and we only saw a few other guests.

That night we went down to Woody’s, a favorite bar of ours with life music next to the square. There wasn’t many patrons and you could tell that the shop and restaurant owners were struggling. We made arrangements to rent a jeep for $50 to tour around the Island the next day. There is a large ex-pat community in Cozumel and we saw many Americans out and about but very few people were shopping on the square. We walked down to get a Pepsi-Light at the MEGA store (kind of like a Mexican Walmart) and even there most of the store was empty.

I didn’t sleep well that night and my throat was a little scratchy. Maybe it was the sadness of the area, maybe it was the scratchy throat, or maybe it was the ferry ride. But I made a decision that it was time to cut the vacation short and get back home. Usually, I never get feelings like that but I didn’t want to get stuck in Mexico, especially with a new Administration taking over in the US in a few days. I quickly checked the Southwest flight schedule and found an afternoon flight that was only 7,000 more frequent flier points than my original one….so I booked it. I knew that I could cancel it if I changed my mind later…Southwest allows you to cancel or change your reservation up to 10 minutes before your flight with no additional fee….an awesome benefit. Reva woke up and asked me what was going on. “I think we should go home, do you mind?”, I asked. “Are you OK?, was her nervous response. “Yeah”, I just have a feeling we should go home. “Sure, whatever you think.” she replied. Yeah, I am lucky man, I have a good wife…..I thought. I went for a run while she showered and packed. Breakfast at the hotel was great. It was traditional Mexican food cooked to order and I regretted checking out a day early.

The Ultramar Ferry had outside seating areas and we were entertained by a band singing during the 35 minute ferry ride. This was much more pleasant than the ride over, even though the sea was as rough due to the strong winds.

Back in Playa Del Carmen we grabbed a cab along 5^th Avenue and for $40 we were driven quickly to the airport. Along the way we chatted with the Taxi driver. It was about a 45 minute drive and he wasn’t allowed to pick up anyone from the Airport. “The Federal Government controls the Taxis at the Airport and the police watch us closely.” At $6/gallon for gas I thought, this guy may be losing money driving us to the airport, but he was happy for the work. “Not many fares now, too many resorts closed”, he said. I gave him a nice tip after he dropped us off.

We were at the airport about 4 hours before our flight and settled into the Airport Lounge (Priority Pass – free with Chase Sapphire Credit Card) for a glass of wine or two before our flight to reminisce about our shortened vacation.

It always surprises me how far and fast we can travel. In the morning, I was running along the sea in Mexico and that evening I was eating Taco Bell tacos in my dining room. Amazing world…..did I mention I have a great wife? Waddle on friends and pay attention to that little voice in your head sometimes.