Our day in Calica/Playa Del Carmen

[shecat]

Calica/Playa Del Carmen: We opted to rent a car and go on our own. Executive is right there at the dock. We rented a small 4 door manual with AC and full insurance for $50. We visited Xel Ha http://www.xel-ha.com.mx/default.asp?com_id=0&idioma=1 . I was a little disappointed. Hardly any live coral, very few small tropical fish. One highlight is the large Cubera Snapper around the floating bridge. This would be a good place if you have small children. The lagoon is protected and there are ample places to sit. It was just a little too crowded and touristy for us. The beach there is beautiful but you can’t get in the water. The surf and undertow are bad. There is a small lake with kayaks for your use. If you are interested in doing a dolphin swim they have that program. We left there and went to Hidden Worlds Cenotes & Caverns http://www.hiddenworlds.com .We took the $20 tour. We totally enjoyed this. We had our own guide Ricardo and he was excellent. If you are claustrophobic this tour is not for you. A couple of places you only have a few inches of air above you, but it is not far. They issue you a wet suit and a waterproof flashlight. You ride to the sites in this contraption that all the working parts are showing. There is really no way to describe the beauty of the stalactites and stalagmites. We saw a few fish. The caves are lighted so it is not too spooky. The rental car has to be back by 6:30. So we turned it, changed clothes and caught a cab into Playa for the rest of the evening. We liked the town of Playa Del Carmen. The main tourist area is cobblestone streets and is closed to traffic. We had a couple of drinks at Senor Frogs and located a geocache http://www.geocaching.com . There are plenty of restaurants to eat at. They are all reasonable because of so much competition. We ate a place can’t remember the name on the main street. It was fabulous. We both got the chicken fajita special. You get a beer of your choice, chicken fajitas, rice, refried beans and salad for $7. It was the biggest plate of fajitas I have ever seen. One dinner would be enough for two people. We made arrangements for our cab driver that took us to town to meet us back in front of Senor Frogs. Sure enough he showed up at the designated time and returned us to the dock. Back at the dock we had time for a few more beers. There is a Corona Bottle beer shack at the dock. We sat there and watched all the late comers zoom in.