We ate breakfast in our room and on the balcony taking in the glorious view of beach and water. Breakfast consisted of the cereal and bananas we had bought at the grocery store. We played on the beach behind the hotel one last time (playing reef for the angel fish and seeing the occasional crab). A parasailing two-person boat flew by. We considered doing it but chose not to.

After showering off the sand (a multiple times a day ritual while we stayed in a coast town) we ate at 100% Natural then checked out of the hotel. On our way out of town, we stopped at the Ruins del Rey, one of three ruin sites in or around Cancún. There were few tourists there but the place was really nice. Most of the buildings were largely rubble, but their number and ease of access made traipsing among them enjoyable. Also, the place was heavily populated with iguanas, some over three feet long. There were also a few peacocks.

From Cancún we made the 68 km (42 mile) drive to Playa del Carmen (known to the locals as simply "Playa") and got a large room in a small hotel for $34 a night (all prices locals cite for their rooms include any taxes they may have to pay; though we suspect locally owned hotels are not subject to taxes). The room included air-conditioning, fan, TV, and refrigerator. Small hotels usually request payment at check-in time and we didn't have the cash (they don't take credit cards). As we were staying three nights, the non-English speaking clerk let our bill-paying slide for a day.

From our hotel, we walked three short blocks to the beach. At Playa, without the protection of nearby Isla Mujeres, the waves were larger than at our hotel in Cancún. Here, the breakers were a couple of feet high. We couldn't snorkel in the cloudy water along the beach but that was fine. Eric enjoys being slammed by waves so he had a chance to get knocked around a bit. The sand, though not as nice as Playa Caracol, was still great. Cool to walk or sit on and fun to build into castles and sandballs (we used the latter to demolish the former). Missy was working on the sandcastle while Curt and Eric romped in the water. With her back turned to collect sand, a dog came over and peed on the castle. That was incentive to start another castle. Dogs were common along the beach and in the towns. In the poorer towns the dogs are malnourished. Ribs sticking out of their sides and fur thinning, they walk slowly and sadly or just lie still. We saw very few cats throughout our vacation. Just up the beach from where we pitched towel, a helicopter was apparently practicing takeoffs and landings on the fairly crowded beach. Good idea! Sand was blowing everywhere.

We saw a couple of topless women and noted that the nudie beaches of Playa were just a little farther north. We thought about going there but didn't. On the horizon, we could see a storm over Cozumel Island. Fifteen minutes later, as it neared us, we (and most beachgoers) headed off the sand. The scene was dynamically gorgeous. The contrasts between the turquoise, aqua, blue, and deep blue water under rolling black and purple clouds was mesmerizing. The rains got us just as we left the beach but it didn't pour until we were in our hotel. By the time we had showered off the sand and seawater the sun was back out.

We dropped off our laundry at a nearby laundromat on the way to the downtown pedestrian strip (two blocks from our hotel). One restaurant boldly advertised its vegetarian fare so we ate and drank liquados there (for a third to a half of the prices we were paying for dinner in Cancún). We prowled around the pedestrian walk, then the rains came again–brief but heavy. Before heading home, we hit an ATM machine to get cash for our hotel room. We asked for $200 and were surprised when we got $200 in Mexican pesos ($20 USD). We put in a second withdrawal request for $1,500. This would be our last use of ATM machines as we relied on our $1000 in American Express travelers checks for the remainder of our cash needs.

Though brief, the rain had caused flooding in the pedestrian plaza and in the surrounding streets. The area is susceptible to flooding. Playa is only a couple of feet above sea level so where can the water go? This problem is widespread as the whole of the Yucatan Peninsula is flat with no significant waterways. Unless it's piped many miles from other parts of Mexico, fresh water has to be obtained from groundwater–which is also where the rain runoff must be sent.

Curt had been short on sleep due to the excitement of the vacation and by the end of the day he was suffering from a mild cold which would last two days.
 

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