I departed the Cozumel ferry and walked just a few blocks inland to find my apartment. To start off my stint in Playa, I booked an airbnb for a month. It was kind of an odd unit, it was located in an apartment complex, but whereas everyone else went through the main entrance, this was off to the side facing the street. I still had access to the rooftop and pool like everyone else, but I had my own separate door, which was nice because it gets awkward saying hello to the security guard every time you come and go. Plus I had a little foyer area right at the entrance before entering my unit.
The place itself was quite a bit smaller than it looked in photos, and I didn’t even realize that there was no kitchen table! I guess I just kind of assumed there was a place to eat food, like an idiot! Although there was a combined desk and dresser thingy that ran along the window facing the street next to the bed, so I was able to pull a chair up to that, and that was now my dinner table! Dinner with a view! But eh, it would be much more annoying if it was. couple trying to eat together. Overall it was a decent place, newly redone, nice wooden closet, cabinets, and finishings, cheap cutesy decorations that let you know the owner put at least some thought into the place, dark marble (fake marble?) kitchen countertops, a big comfy bed, and two layers of blinds – very important for my sleep schedule! Seriously more places need these double blinds.
rooftop pool, where I get my tan on. It’s an infinity pool no less!
I was about a 10 minute walk to the beach and 5th Avenue, the main tourist strip that runs parallel to beach for a few miles. The location was not really the heart of the touristy part of Playa, which was fine, and there were plenty of local places around. Within a few blocks I had a nice little veg market and fruteria, a tamale and elote stand, a panaderia, a paleta shop (Mexican popsicles) a McDonalds ice cream kiosk (50c cones!) a seafood restaurant, and numerous taco stands. I liked my spot. Although basically everything in Playa can be walkable, it’s spread out enough where having a bicycle would be nice. So I picked one up facebook marketplace for $40, and probably paid too much. It was just a basic beach cruiser, one gear, and foot brakes. Perfect.
my bike
The very popular fruteria
So many different ones to choose from
I kind of like this one
called Mamey, soft and creamy, it has kind of a sweet, cinnamon, butternut squash taste to it. Good for pancakes
I just want to comment on the availability of the fresh juices is Playa, which is excellent. The fruteria pictured above makes fresh juice every morning in half liter or one liter portions. $1 or $2. You can choose between normal orange juice, mandarin orange juice, grapefruit juice, coconut water, green juice, orange juice and beets, orange juice and carrots, and sometimes mango or watermelon. This is fresh, on demand, every day! And then of course if you pay more you can get whatever combination of fruits that suits your fancy. And they’ve got some weirds ones too! I would say guanabana is an underrated one. Oh and the OJ+beets or the OJ+carrots sounds kinda weird, but they’re both delicious!
Ok, so basically settled in, now whatt? Well considering I knew nobody there, I guess it’s time to start making some friends. The thing that I really like about Playa and other expat hotspots, is it’s extremely easy to meet people on these facebook groups. For example: someone posted about wanting to get some people to go diving with the bull sharks – boom, I’m in. One couple was trying to get a pickleball group going, it sounded kinda fun, so sure why not? Someone posted about some covid friendly rooftop yoga classes, I could definitely use some flexibility, alrighty, I’ll try it out. Of course there’s also people looking to go out drinking, but in the pandemic, I was kinda staying away from that type of activity.
More of the beach. It was kind of cloudy and cold at first in January. Looking back, I miss that weather!
As for Covid rules in Playa, well every store you walk into requires mask, has sanitizer, and some will take your temperature, although a lot of it is covid kabuki theater. And then when you walk down 5th Avenue, well it’s quite a different story. Strolling past some of the bars around 9pm, you would definitely have no idea that Covid existed. Music pumping, people jammed close together, no masks whatsoever. It was pretty wild. I had no desire to part of that scene, but there were certainly a lot people who were escaping from lockdowns in the US and elsewhere and letting loose in Mexico. But considering how many of the locals depend on the tourism industry, most people were pretty okay with the completely open-for-business policy. The Spice must flow.
As for me, I was fine with any activities that were outdoors and could be spaced out a bit. Packed bars, and the type of people who inhabit them during a pandemic, nahhh. It didn’t need that, but really I was just thrilled to be able to get some sun and go to beach or the pool, explore a new city, go for runs or ride bike around aimlessly, stop for some fresh fruit juice or a cappucino, reading my book on a patio. I would not be surprised if I had some type of seasonal depression, that sunlight just rejuvenates me.
Apparently I only took photos of the cloudier days
Some simple healthy cooking, citrus pulled chicken and mango tacos. Just needs some hot sauce.