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Playa del Carmen is only around 40 miles south of Cancun (an easy hour from the airport) but what a difference the short drive makes... While the whole Riviera Maya coastline has been subjected to increased development over the past few years, this area is sufficiently removed from the rows of highrises that make Cancun seem more like Miami Beach than Mexico. You might be hard pressed to find the budget prices that were once common, but you can still luck into a place like the Blue Parrot... 

border2.gif (4619 bytes)The Blue Parrot

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After leaving Coba, headed for the beach. We hadn't made advance arrangements, so considering we were improvising the Blue Parrot was an excellent find. On the short list of places we were looking for based on the guide books we had, we pulled right up to this place after taking a random turn down a side street towards the beach. It wasn't the cheapest place in town but its a nice place, right on the beach, and perfect for a little winding down time...

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Foliage outside the room.

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Avenida 5, the closest street running parallel to the beach has been turned into a pedestrian mall. Shops, restaurants and bars line the strip so you don't quite lose the Cancun kind of experience but it's at a much more reasonable scale.

This is also the place where you take the ferry to Cozumel. So, you can sit at a table beachside and have a few drinks or a meal and watch the ferries head across the water, or if you are staying a while, it is an easy day trip.

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And I thought I was relaxed!

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Climbing pyramids all week can wear you out!... 

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