Diving
We recommend Brett at
Dive In Puerto Morelos. He is located
on the west side
of Av. Rojo Gomez, half a block from the
square. They are a full service
dive shop and offer instruction as well. He
offers local dives in the 40' to 60' range.
There is also a great wreck dive at 100'
with lots of eagle rays.
If
you want to just try scuba for the first
time, he offers a PADI resort
course called ”Discover Scuba" that gives you a short orientation
in a swimming pool and then takes you out on
a fairly shallow scuba dive. We loved it.
(if you do this make sure to ask how to
"clear" your ears properly)
www.diveinpuertomorelos.com
For more
experienced and adventurous divers there are
Cavern and Cenote dives. Brett can hook you
up with someone to take you. You can do
limited
Cavern diving which is within the training of
"open water" divers. This link explains
more:
http://www.cancunsouth.com/act_dive_cenote.html
We've
also enjoyed some great diving on Cozumel
with Studio Blue. See the "Day trips" page
for more on that.
Snorkeling
There is lots to see
snorkeling from the beach or you can take a
guided trip out to the reef. Snorkeling on
the reef with a guide is great. The reef in
Puerto Morelos is a national park.
Required equipment are a day pass, and a
lifejacket (so you don't touch the coral). I
have been hassled by the guides when I swam
too far out without this
equipment. The best way to get a guided trip
on the reef is to go next door to Ojo de
Aqua Hotel. Typically the price is $25 US.
They will negotiate, though depending on the
number of people and the season. We have
paid as little as 200 pesos per person for
two hours.
On several occasions we have done
a night snorkel. It was fantastic to see the
lobster and octopus active. There is
bioluminescence in the water too. Ask around
who does them. It changes. Carlos (the
fishing guide mentioned below) arranged one
for us once. Brett at the dive shop might
know as well. The night
snorkel price is a
little higher. You get used to the darkness
quickly.
You don’t need a guide or a
permit to see lots of colorful coral heads
and fish. See the tips page for specific
description of the best snorkeling areas
right off Villas Playasol.
We
bought an underwater case for our digital
camera and my son spends hours taking fish
pictures. You need the flash on all the time
and as much flash power as you can
get. Otherwise the photos are dominated by
blue, even in just a few feet of water. It
is nice to have a laptop computer to look a
the photos and work on them when you get
back.
Have a look at this video we recently shot
of a spotted eagle ray. This was taken just
off the beach.
Fishing
There
are lots of people offering fishing trips.
The best place to look for a guide is at the
town dock, direct from the fishermen. We have
fished with Carlos “the lobster” several
times and he is very good, but costs a
little more. He takes four people and the
cost is about $60 each or $240 for the boat,
plus a tip depending your luck. The best way
to contact him is to ask for him at the dock
or call him at 998-577-3344. Below is a
photo of our nephew with a 120lb sailfish we
caught with him a while back.
Here is a chart of what is biting and when
http://www.cancunsouth.com/act_fishing_sea.html
Bone fishing tours are available to Cozumel,
Akumal, Sian Ka'an or the flats in the southern part of the
Yucatan.
A
link for more on Bone Fishing. It is called
flats, due to the shallow water where bone
fish are located:
http://www.cancunsouth.com/act_fishing_flats.html
Cooking School
The
Little Mexican cooking school opened in
Puerto Morelos in 2009. We attended
recently. It was nearly a full
day of hands-on instruction with a
professional Mexican chef including history
of the ingredients and traditional Mexican
drinks. It's just a 3 block walk from the
condo. It often fills up so you might want
to reserve early.
www.littlemexicancookingschool.com
Yoga
We have
a wonderful yoga teacher, Mina, who offers drop in
classes on the beach right in front of the
condos. She is good with all experience
levels and charges 50 pesos per class.
Check with our manager on the details of the
class days and times.
Massages
A
relaxation massage on the beach is also
available just a half block to the north.
The prices are very reasonable but vary
depending on the time of year. During low
season they charge as little as $20 US for
an hour.
Golf
Usually
we play the Mayan Palace's El Manglar
course. It is close by and a very challenging little 18 hole par three.
And it doesn't take very long.
http://vidantagolf.com/pages_eng/riviera_maya.htm
We also
have the only regular PGA tour stop in
Mexico at the Mayacoba resort near Playa. The
tournament date is late
February. You can either attend or if you
like you can volunteer to drive carts or
maybe even be a walking scorer. I have done
this and it was a blast. Here is the site.
http://www.mayakobagolfclassic.com/
Click here for
additional information on local golf courses.
Crococun Crocodile Park and Regional Zoo
A rambling exhibit of local
and exotic animals, very well maintained,
with multi-lingual guides who really seem
to know their stuff. This is a great place
to take children. they actually allow the
kids to hold baby crocs and snakes. They
have deer to feed and spider monkeys (who
will steal your sunglasses if you are not
careful) Open 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, daily
Jungle Spa and Market
There is a significant local
community on the West side of the freeway,
commonly called "The Colonia". In the jungle
near there, a local non profit organization
has helped the local Mayans develop a spa to
share their centuries old knowledge of
massage and provide opportunities for
economic benefit. They also offer
fresh aloe vera body wraps, hot rock
massage, manicures and pedicures. For more
info or an appt. call Sandra 208-9148.
Pamper Yourself
The ultra luxurious Ceiba del
Mar sometimes offers a day pass. It includes
a massage, use of their work out facilities
and $30 worth of meal/drink credit. Ceiba is
just a short walk down the beach from Casita
Caleta. The pass was $100 in November 2010.
Kite surfing,
wind surfing rental
and lessons available. We just haven’t done
it.
Jardín Botánico del Dr. Alfredo Barrera
-Botanical Gardens
Just south of Puerto Morelos
there is a beautiful botanical garden where
different exotic species of plants and
flowers are displayed in the natural
surroundings of the tropical rainforest.
Open 8am, daily.
Spider Monkeys in the wild
Go to the Botanical gardens about 4-5PM
and the monkeys gather in the trees in the
parking lot of all places. It is right by
the highway and a quick and interesting
outing. Just take lots of bug spray.
Selvatica
Zip Line
This was a wonderful
afternoon outing, well run and safe. The
Selvatica van came
to Playasol and picked up
our group of eight people and took us to the
zip-line about a half an hour away. We went
on a bunch of rides through the
treetops in the jungle. Then they provided
bicycles for us to ride to a
nearby cenote. There was a zip-line at the
cenote that we could ride into
the water too. After all of that. we went
back to the Selvatica Lodge for lunch. I
think it was, about $50 per person,
but worth the money.
Local Cenotes:
There are
quite a few
local cenotes that are worth visiting. To get
there go about a half mile south on the highway.
The road is clearly marked with an arch for the Selvatica Zip
line tour. The cenote associated with the zip lines is
Cenote Verde and about 17 KM from the
highway . You can
enter for 60 pesos and use the zip line into the cenote.
Some of the other cenotes are
Tres Bocas, Boca De Puma and Siete bocas. Haven't been there, but we have heard
they are fun.
Link on a
great Cenote site for some local cenotes. Their
description is a little harsh, and from a pure
diver point of view:
http://www.cenotesoftherivieramaya.com/5-5-caveguide.htm
Other links
on Cenotes:
http://www.cancunsouth.com/act_cenotes.html
http://www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrss.htm
http://www.grancenote.com/
Puerto Morelos Visitor Center
On
Av. Rojo Gomez, kitty corner from Playasol back toward town,
open daily from 3-7 tells about the reef park, some of the history of
Puerto Morelos. At one time Puerto Morelos
was the only port on this coast. Locals
harvested Chicle from the chicle trees
in the late 1800's for chewing gum and other
products. It was done just like maple syrup.
Birding and
other natural
history information:
Here is
an terrific easy reading link about the plants animals
wetlands and ecology of the Yucatan:
http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/index.htm
Here is
another specific to Puerto Morelos but is
quite scholarly:
http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/papers/ruiz.htm
Baseball:
You can
go up to Cancun and see the Quintana Roo
Tigres play. They start in March and go
through July. They play in the top level
Mexican league which is considered triple A
level. Here is a link:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t569
There is
a local baseball field with bleachers on the
main road to highway 307. I think games are
typically on Sundays. I know the taxistas
have a team. I don't know who who else they
play or if there are higher level teams that
play there.
Bullfight:
Yes
there is a regular bullring and bullfights
in Cancun every Wednesday at 3:30 PM during
the winter. The bullring is at Kulklcan and
Bonampak. Here is something I found on
the bullfight.
http://www.cancun-discounts.com/cancun-bullfighting.htm
Tour sales
people in front of Martin's grocery store
The
people that hang out in front of the Martins
grocery store sell tours on commission. They
are really all right people if you get past
the salesmanship. They will negotiate the
price on some things. For example we
negotiated a Whale shark tour in July from
$150 to $110, just because they needed a
sale. The “deposit” you pay is their
commission. However,
they also offer free stuff to attend a
timeshare presentation, so be careful. We
have heard from lots of people that the
sales pitch at the hotels/condos can be
brutal and most people think the freebee is
ultimately not worth the time and
aggravation.
Hunt for “does
eyes” or “ojo de venado”.
While
you are walking on the beautiful white sand
beaches, keep your eyes peeled for these
nuts that wash up on the beach. You will find
them on the wet sand around the fresh sea
grass. They make a nice little necklace.
They range in size from a dime to a quarter
or bigger and look like an out of round
hockey puck, mostly brown on the two flat
sides with stripes around the edge. You can
take them to Gaspar who has a jewelry shop in the
middle of the Mayan market. For 20 pesos he
will polish it up and put an adjustable
little string on it for you.
There
are a variety of other nuts you can find.
These "sea beans", as they are called, are
collectible. Here is a site where you can
learn all about how to find, identify,
polish or even grow them back home.
http://www.seabean.com/guide/
