Diving in Playa del Carmen

With our Venezuelan Dive Master, Jon

Encantado (enchanted) serenaded at dinner

We've been wanting to scuba dive in warm waters to keep up our diving skills and of course, see some sea life. In the areas we've been on the Baja, the sea is just too cold at depth for my liking, especially for a 40 - 55 minute dive. I know, I know, it's way warmer than Washington's Hood Canal but I also enjoy the great variation of sea life in the Caribbean. And before you knew it, we were off to dive at Playa del Carmen!

3D view  from our hotel room features a very
cool mural at street level,
a bustling 24/7 veg/fruit processing operation &
Mega grocery store a block away 

In the sea during the summer, we understand the water is quite toasty but in the winter and spring, it’s about 68 – 70 degrees (at the surface) which is chillier than you might think after multiple dives. We chose Playa because of the great Caribbean diving destinations along Carmen and out to Cozumel. Plus we’d dove there with good friends in 2009 and have fond memories. Photo to the right is wonderful Henry and his boss Jose - they made us some great martinis at the fancy steak place where one of our dive buddies, Jonathan, worked. We couldn't afford the dinner but a martini with bacon appetizer was a pretty special treat.

Playa del Carmen, like many destinations in Mexico, has changed a lot; it's grown up and out and is now a truly burgeoning tourist mecca.

On the ferry to Cozumel, we sat in front of the
police for additional safety (for those who heard
about the explosion last week)

I had airline miles that were going to expire so we scored free tickets on Aeromexico from La Paz to Cancun! Gotta love that. We dove again with Tank-Ha Dive Center, a very professional and well run dive shop in the center of the action in Playa. 

Scooter rental--perimeter road around Isla Cozumel

We explored the two museums offered in Playa - the informative, emotional and well-presented Frida Kahlo museum which was just excellent. She was quite the woman in so many regards. Then off to the 3D Museum which places you in the action in of amazing 3D paintings. Our cute little tour guide helped position us for the best angles and the three of us shared plenty of laughs.

We took the ferry to Cozumel for the day - after diving there, this was a great way to see the land side of island life. The scooter was a little small for tall Mike but we got by just fine.

Amazing array of blue hues!

Enjoying a molcajete!

Cheesy tourist photo #1001

We think they meant 'Goal' for the name
of this Sports Bar, not Gool

The well done 3D museum was great fun!

Who knew? A ballerina. Delicious cake.

Luckily we aren't posting
all of our 3D pics!

Making Ice Cream

 On our southerly trek along the Baja, we tried our new portable, boat-ready ice cream maker (compliments of Mike’s sister Veva). Yep, we made ice cream underway. You need to be moving about 6 knots for the proper shakeup.

End result? Creamy and tasty. What a treat!

Main catch? You need plenty of ice.

Shaken, not stirred

The canister makes for great portion control

We are always on the search for a quiet anchorage, which generally leads to memorable sunsets, great bird watching, hikes on shore, kayaking and even a bit of relaxation. One of the favorite anchorages for us and many types of boaters is Isla San Francisco, a very large, welcoming bay that holds many boats and protects nicely from northerly winds. In fact, it graces the cover of our Sea of Cortez ‘bible’, the infamous Shawn and Heather book we rely on for safe passages and well-researched destinations.

We arrived to meet up with friends and pass a few days before heading further south to La Paz. All in all, a great place. On the weekends, all bets are off as there are frequently large power boats that come in with a ready-made party and a set of speakers that instantly drown out any quiet you envisioned in your silly little head. We all enjoy music, but some of us don’t feel the need to blast out everyone for miles around. Alas, a group of guys kept things rocking and bumping until about 3am. I can’t say if I fell asleep at that time from sheer exhaustion or if they finally shut down. In the morning, I wanted to go over early to their yacht and blow our airhorn, just to wake them up. Then of course, I got over it, realizing that would ruin the morning quiet for everyone, not just the late-sleeping boys on board. I’m really not meaning to complain, it is just part of reality and an observation that there are many ways to enjoy an anchorage.

Repeat trip to a great spot in Loreto - fresh made margaritas

Hiking at Isla San Francisco

Sunrise as we're leaving Bahia San Marte

What's not to love about a fuzzy baby burro?

Gray Whales on the Pacific side

 Our desire to see migratory gray whales took us to the west coast of the Baja peninsula. A couple friends highly recommended the trip for a chance to see the calves and their moms up close, plus high wind conditions around Puerto Escondido made the decision for us. 

We left our boat on the hook at one of the well-tended mooring balls and rented a car for the enjoyable two hour journey across beautiful scenery and tremendous terrain differences. Mountainous stretches with hairpin turns and sky high cactus followed dips into valleys filled with lush greenery and arroyos ready for the next rains. Lots of ranches and cattle crossing signs so we kept an eye peeled for wandering bovine and a few goats along the way.

Diver checking our mooring ball in
Puerto Escondido after a big blow

Our friend Doug helped with
our mooring ball upon our
arrival in Puerto Escondido

Being birdwatchers, the big highlight for us was the Caracara, or Mexican eagles, of which we saw at least 100. Many of the birds were hanging out along the power line route, where additional posts were erected for their aeries (nests). Great idea for saving the power lines and made for easy bird watching.

Our day was overcast like the Oregon coast and we were blessed with some rains throughout the day. We drove through a modest little town called Insurgentes and arrived in the small port village of Lopez Mateos on the Pacific coast.

We ran into some people in the parking lot at the port who we’d met in Puerto Escondido – they were kind enough to lend us their rain jackets as we had not prepared for the cooler weather. Three vendors offered trips into the bay on their large pangas for the whale watching experience, and we connected with a Mexican family for our 2-hour outing.

It was a day well spent with plenty of oohing, aahing and photo snapping of the moms and their playful calves. As an added treat or distraction, we had an adorable little girl named Sofie with her mom and dad in the seats in front of us. They bounced that little champ back and forth across the boat (wrapped up in an XXL rain poncho) every time a whale popped up (oh Sofie, there’s a whale!). We think she must have been exhausted after the trip.

A couple of happy customers