Playacar, the first day or so

Nicholas running with volleyball

Nicholas and I spent a long weekend away in one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever been. Not that we have been to that many beaches, but we have seen quite a few and this was by far and away the most breathtaking.

The first time we caught site of the beach and its varying shades of turquoise, I thought for sure it was some sort of green screen! Holy wow! We had wandered into Playa del Carmen for a quick peek at the town and hurried straight to the beach to awe at the natural beauty and sheer crystal awesomeness of it all. We walked in the noon heat all the way back to our hotel just so we never had to leave the view of the water. Worth every wrinkle I earned, for sure!

Lets backtrack just a tad... we got in very late Friday night and the car that we had rented, had gone to another lucky family sometime before we arrived. We were one of 18 people who arrived with a reservation and no car. As you can imagine, people who were in from Argentina, Venezuela, and beyond, were not pleased nor amused that Thrifty left them high and dry. The two guys told us that the company had told them to turn off the lights and lock the doors so they would not have to deal with the two and a half dozen people who were going to arrive tired and angry. Nicholas and I had already made an agreement that nothing was going to ruin our time away so when the two poor guys left working the desk said they would drive us all to our respective hotels (ours close to an hour away), we decided we would take the offer and see about a car the next day. We had the sweetest Mexican man drive us from Cancun to Playacar. Before we left, he asked if it would be OK if he looked for the other couple that walked away angrily to find another car to rent. He told us that all the companies had overbooked and there were no cars at all left at the airport and the cost to Playa del Carmen would be very expensive. Of course we agreed and searched the airport parking lot and curbside for the couple, but could not find them. Again, just a genuinely nice older man. Soon we were off and on our way to the beach town. He was so kind, lighthearted and friendly. Obviously, he could have been annoyed at having to drive people late at night an hour one way and then come back and collect more people who showed up, but he was anything but. He was genuinely sorry about our troubles and said to talk to his colleague first thing in the morning and gave us contact info. First night, ended just right!

Saturday, we spent part of the day out of the resort and the rest at the beach. Nicholas played volleyball for a couple of hours while I swam in the stunning waters. The colors went from an almost transparent blue, to a soft turquoise to a deep deep blue. So gorgeous!