Our love affair the Riviera Maya area of Mexico continued to grow on our next vacation.

This time we went on our own.  The friends we normally traveled with decided to return to the Palladium in Akumal.  We weren’t ready to do a repeat visit and honestly if we were it wouldn’t have been to that resort or a resort of that size.  We just tend to have more of an adventurous spirit that some of our friends.  We booked the 3.5 star Catalonia Yucatan/Riviera Maya.  Our first less than ‘five’ star resort.

This resort was in the gated community of Puerto Adventuras.  The area is home to lots of ex-pats and locals.  One of the best parts was the ability to leave the resort and walk/bike around the community or to the Marina.  We checked out places for sale and condos being built, all the dreamer stuff.

The Marina was similar to any one we would find here at home, except that it had captive ocean life.  I don’t partake in activities or support companies who offer this sort of ‘attraction’.

Just makes sad to think about how they can’t be free in their ocean home.

I would return to this area in a heartbeat.  One of my favourite spots to date.  The resort was fantastic, actually we enjoyed it more than all of the so-called five star resorts we had been to.

And it is always nice when a resort make you feel special and so much to offer.

 

We did a day trip to Cozumel.  Loved it!  First lesson, wait until you get there to rent your car.  We didn’t and well it was interesting, to give you a feel for why you wait – our sunroof was made with a grinder!  Our radio was a piece of cardboard in the dash.  Oh well!  It’s all part of the experience.  We just went with it!

Resorts are only built on the sheltered side of Cozumel, this leaves lots of areas with wild beaches, which are just stunning, and forests of windswept palm tree forests.

There are lots of places to stop at a beach bar for lunch and a drink.  The food was incredible!  Feet in sand, nachos in hand!

 

Cozumel is a popular cruise ship stop, so there is loads of shopping.  We were lucky to have gone on a non-cruise ship day. It doesn’t take long to drive the island, a couple of hours, but you have to make sure you get back before the last ferry of the day leaves!  You will be doing an over-nighter otherwise!

Of course, no trip to this area is complete with a walk around Akumal, a visit with the turtles and the Super Chomak.

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We had a fantastic trip!  This trip showed us that we really didn’t need to travel with others. We would do what we do regardless of whether traveling companions did or not.  We also discovered that we wanted to see more and we wouldn’t be content to just sit around for days at an all inclusive.  We had to see where we were.  That is part of the experience.

We also realized that the number of stars a place has doesn’t always matter.  This 3.5 star was better than all the others we had been to.  No it didn’t have as many restaurants or a super long beach but it had so much more that the other places we had been didn’t.  The level of service was so far above what we experienced elsewhere.  It was outstanding.

Our first photo shoot!