Diving
We highly recommend Brett at
Dive in Puerto Morelos. They are 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. If
you want to just try scuba they offer 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 will do a
Cavern dive which within the training of
"open water" divers. This link explains
more:
http://www.cancunsouth.com/act_dive_cenote.html
Snorkeling
There is lots to see by
snorkeling from the beach or you can take a
guided trip out to the reef. Snorkeling on the reef with a
guide is great, but you don't need one to
have a good time. The reef in this area 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. If you want a nicely guided tour
ask one of the dive shops or go to the pier
and find a guide. Carlos mentioned
below does nice trips. The price will be around
$25 per person for two hours. We have been
offered discounted tours from guides along
the beach. These are probably ok. Carlos also does a night snorkel
with flashlights. We really enjoyed this.
You will see the parrot fish sleeping,
active lobster and octopus. The 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 if you like.
Here is a link to the translated website for
the reef national park:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.conanp.gob.mx/anp/pagina.php%3Fid_anp%3D58&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DParque%2BArrecife%2Bde%2Bpuerto%2Bmorelos%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DSUNA,SUNA:2006-47,SUNA:en
Fishing
Trips are usually half-day and can be
arranged on the dock, at one of the dive
shops, or at the book store. Best months
for deep sea fishing are May-June. A fishing
tournament is held then. We recommend
Carlos. He can take 4-6 in his boat and
the cost is $220 for the boat.
You can send him an email or inquire at the
pier by his nickname "the lobster".
This last April we caught a 120 lb sailfish
with Carlos.
Carlos_fishing70@hotmail.com
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 or the 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
Golf
Click here for a list
of local golf courses and other golf
information.
Crococun Crocodile Park and Regional Zoo
A rambling exhibit of local
and exotic animals, very well maintained,
with multi-lingual guides who really seemed
to know their stuff. This is a great place
to take children. Open 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, daily
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.
Selvatica
Zip Line (Selvatura)
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 several
local cenotes that are worth visiting. To get
there go about a half mile south on the highway.
The road is clearly marked for the Selvatica Zip
line tour. The only cenote that we have been to
is the one associated with the zip lines. It is
cenote verde lucero and about 17 KM from the
highway . You can
enter for 60 pesos and use the zip line into the cenote. The other cenotes are
Tres Bocas and
Siete bocas. Haven't been there, but we have heard
the 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
Read more
about reef conservation:
Check
out project aware:
http://www.projectaware.org/americas/english/hi.asp
Conservation site for the whole of the Meso-American
reef.
http://www.mbrs.org.bz/english/en_index.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 stadium up near the
highway. Higher level amateur teams play
there, Sundays. I believe they are
typically from Cancun. Not sure that there
is a local team.
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
