SUMMER 2019, PART 1-F: PLAYA DEL CARMEN & XPLOR

Playa del Carmen is three hours from Merida, Yucatan and in the state of Quintana Roo. Cancun is located in Quintana Roo, and so are some of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico, such as Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.

We did not drive to Playa del Carmen to go to Playa del Carmen. We actually stayed in Playa del Carmen because we were going to XPLOR, a water/zip line/underground rivers amusement park and the closest city to stay was Playa del Carmen. So, when in Rome...

Since we were in town, we visited the Playa del Carmen' beaches just to find out they were closed or semi-open because of an algae issue which has turned the clear green, turquoise waters into brown non-clear waters. NO ONE WAS SWIMMING!

You can see the algae pile up at shore but most disappointed, you can see the see, which is not clear, nor green, nor turquoise. But as I said, we were there because our adventure to XPLOR. Since we couldn't swim and the heat was sort of unbearable, we decided to play tourist, walk through "Quinta Avenida" the biggest outside tourist mall I have ever seen, and then, dip our bodies in the rooftop pool of our small rental apartment.

 This photo was taking at an intersection while we walk Quinta Avenida. NO FILTERS.. the sky is just gorgeous.

This photo was taken after we got to our apartment and decided to take advantage of the rooftop pool. That is the moon, shining so beautiful in the background!

After our swim, we went to bed and the next day we went to XPLOR, which was an entire day of fun, fun, and more fun. Here are some pictures of that adventure:

Here's Miguel getting ready to get soaking wet as he arrives at the end of the zip line... he is heading to a waterfall as he lands into the pool of water.

Here is me, heading to that tower that you can see towards the right. And yes, the excitement of going down and over the trees is exhilarating. 

Here's the two of us swimming in an underground river.

Here's the two of us driving an amphibian vehicle through the jungle, which was so scary because we have to drive through hanging bridges, caves, and water lakes... it was exciting though.

Here we are walking through a hanging bridge (those things move so much), heading to the tallest towers in the zip line circuit. 

Here is one more of us in the underground river.... because it was Miguel's favorite activity

And last but not least, one more image of us... the last picture of the day after we took shower and were on our way out.

XPLOR was, indeed, an incredible park. One we want to do again in the future (I needs to lose weight, 'cause it was hard) and one we want to combine with the other park, XCARET.

NEXT: DZIBILCHALTUN (Say it three times with me, ready?)