Expectations

I have travelled a lot and no matter where I go, I always struggle with the same question: Should I book in advance or wait until I get there?

So here’s the thing…If you want a REALLY good location, usually you have to book WAY IN ADVANCE – it is almost impossible to get a really great place for a really great price at the last minute in high season. For example, Los Arroyos Verdes, in Bucerias, where we spent December through February this winter, is booked 2-3 years in advance. We have already booked there through April 2020.

So, understanding that, I booked our month in Playa del Carmen, where we are now, almost a year ago. Well this blog post is about all the reasons why booking in advance is a bad idea…(unless of course you have already been to that place)

Playa del Carmen is known for its amazing beaches: White sand, crystal clear turquoise water.

Who does not want that?

Well here is what it looks like this year. I pity the poor souls who booked their one week winter get away a year ago, because this what they will see all along the Mayan Riviera this winter: A plague of seaweed. Saragassum to be specific.

Saragassum is a seaweed that is not uncommon in the Caribbean sea in the spring, but for some reason it has been particularity bad the past few years. Previously gorgeous white sand beaches have been turned into pretty gross piles of brown black decaying ick that smells like – well – brown black decaying gick. And the normally clear water is, well, a nice shade of, um, brown black…with a hint of reddy brown. Here is an old picture of the lovely beach near the Tulum ruins.

And here is the picture we took today.


Anyway, we booked our month here in Playa a year ago, and not only have we arrived to see mounds - and I mean MOUNDS of seaweed

We also arrived to find out our cute little condo is – well – in a part of town that is - um – interesting – to say the least. Here is the view from our very nice roof top deck:

The listing read: Beautiful ocean view from rooftop terrace. Yes, that VERY thin line of blue is the ocean.
The listing said we had a "full kitchen." Actually we have a total of 3 steak knives, four spoons, and a pot. That’s it.


We have 3 towels, one with a large hole in it, and our bedroom has a ceiling height of 4 feet. Seriously…check it out:

The ladder going into the “loft” is so steep I have to decide whether or not risking my life to pee in the night is worth it. I am considering a plastic cup...it is THAT steep…

So, here we are for a month…Steph is not too pleased, and I am trying to laugh about it, and remind myself that most of the world lives in far less...

Unfortunately, there is no real way to know in advance what you are getting. Pictures can be deceiving…

So, we have no choice but to embrace our reality and make the best of it. Tonight, as we sat on our beautiful roof top deck (the only redeeming feature of the place) we got to enjoy a lovely sunset and the music - very LOUD music - of the neighborhoods birthday party, only instead of the usual tubas and karaoke, tonight the party was, I am pretty sure, a rented electronic keyboard where the preset demo songs were being used as “live” music.

Looking forward to going to Utila on April 19th.