S/V Midnight Sun II and III: Puerto Aventuras

I think I have the dates right! To be honest, that's a great feeling when you loose track of the days and feel good that you may only be a day or so off!

Midnight Sun II docked on the sea wall at Peurto Aventuras. Not the nice floating dock that we had at Puerto Morales, but its hard to complain at the price of just $19 per night including power and electricity! We had heard stories of this marina being "expensive" and when we checked in the marina form said "$19/ft /night" and I was ready to leave until Gabby at the marina explained that it was just $19 per night...so 3 nights at less than $60!! For that I can stand a sea wall!

The entrance to the marina was a bit tricky with reefs on both sides of the narrow approach, but the dockmaster was great - guiding us in on VHF with instructions to follow the range poles. It was a bit turbulent under good conditions and I would not have enjoyed it in bad conditions. But we made it in with no less that 12.5 ft of depth (note the tide appears to be negligible).

Unfortunately, the 64 ft Oyster, Marlene that we had been dock mates with in Isla Mujeres broke a steering quadrant on the way in the day before - but made it in somewhat white-knuckled! They seem to be still undergoing repairs and apparently had a new part fabricated in Playa del Carmen.

Dolphin are in the marina at Puerto Aventuras

So, a little about Puerto Aventuras - it is a purpose-built development centered on a nice little marina - actually 2 marinas. There is the public marina and private section for residents that has a separate entrance to the south. We stayed in the public marina. The staff were first class with Gerry and Gabby taking great care of us.

Gerry (Giraldo I think) was the dockmaster and Gabby ran the office. Gabby arranged for a rental car for us and recommended a couple of good local restaurants.

The first night we ate at Latitude 20, and it turned out to be owned by an English ex-pat - Jim. The food was decent and cheap, but Jim did give us some suggestions on a Cenote to visit and an off-the-beaten track beach restaurant. Cenotes are everywhere in this area - basically sink-holes on underground rivers that you can enter and snorkel or dive in. Amazing - we visited two very different ones.

Tulum - Mayan Ruins

But our first stop in our rental car was to the Mayan ruins at Tulum, about a 30 minute drive to the south. These coastal Mayan ruins date back to pre-2000 BC. It was amazing to see the architecture and layout of the town and to read about the local history. The ruins were spectacular - especially when thinking back to the date of origin, My photos here really do not do them justice but I did take more video than still shots. I am looking forward to seeing how the video turned out.......but that will be several weeks until its produced, I am sure!

From Tulum, we visited Solimon Bay - recommended by Jim. This turned out to be a spectacular lunch spot that, named Chamicos - well really it took up the afternoon! This really was just one of those "postcard beaches" with small tables under the shelter of dwarf palm trees. The restaurant we found was nothing more than a shack or tent on the beach where the family running the place lived and cooked for their guests,

Whole fried Snapper - Solimon Bay

Food was a limited but excellent menu of appetizers, fish and .....well that was about it! But the fish was just perfectly fried in an open Wok-type dish on an open wood fire. I can't describe how moist and tasty is was, but believe me, this was probably the best fish I have had since arriving in Mexico. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was the primitive cooking - maybe it was both.........whatever it was, it made for a perfect afternoon of eating and hanging out on the beach! It just doesn't get much better than this!

Solimon Bay

The beach was amazing and the boys spent an hour or so snorkeling in the bay. I was happy just to hang out on the beach, drink a couple of beers and just chill out!

Artwork on an abandonned boat on the beach (Solimun Bay)

Solimum Bay - Chimicos

The next day we visited and snorkeled Cenotes. That was also a truly great experience. We visited and swam in Casa Cenote and then Grand Cenote - both very different and beautiful in their own way. Casa Cenote was on the coast near Tulum and was basically a fresh water lagoon where an underground river entered the ocean. We enjoyed snorkeling in this lagoon type setting, seeing the rock formations and the fish.

Grand Cenote was farther inland and was a more spectacular setting. This truly was a sink-hole with pristine water and much more prominent geological features, including stalactites and stalagmites and several chambers that could be entered easily. My photos and video are limited as my Go-pro gave up due to heat.....but seems to have recovered now. Anyway, it will be on the video, when I get around to making it!

We also found another amazing lunch spot on the beach. We stumbled on it after the place we were recommended was closed for a wedding. It was located on the beach near Tulum.

Zulum - near Tulum

I think the name was "Zulum" - but there were no end of small villas and restaurants like this! all in the beach zone near Tulum.

We had a great lunch and again took some time just chilling and enjoying the beach. A few topless sightings added to the enthusiasm of the crew!

Did I mention the night life? Well no, we have typically been in bed early. But this time we met up with some friends that were introduced to us on Facebook by mutual friends, Pete and Pepper were so gracious and took us out for dinner in Playa del Carmen. We ate at a restaurant that was built around a Cenote - great food and a wonderful atmosphere. Then we strolled the main street of Playa and just basically took in the sights, and did some people watching! Believe me, there were plenty! What a great people watching spot this was, but a little touristy for me.....but still, lots of fun to visit for the nightlife!

Tanner, new friend Pepper and Brian - wait, no beard!

I think Pepper and Pete have the best idea - they live in the relatively quiet, quaint town/development of Aventura, but enjoy the night life of Playa - just a short drive to the north.