No, this sculpture isn’t in the sleepy beach town that I’ll you about if the left hemisphere of my brain doesn’t talk me out of it. The sleepy beach town that I loved so much on my recent trip does not have that gigantic, beautiful sculpture. That’s in Playa del Carmen where I arrived after taking the ferry from San Miguel, Cozumel.
My goal on this trip was to evaluate two towns in Mexico in my quest to choose my next home. My one set in stone demand is that my future home is close enough to a beach where I can grab a cuppa in the morning and walk to waves and have my toes in the sand. See below. I was teaching myself to order coffee in Spanish at 7:21 a.m. across the street from the beach. If you’re a traveler, keep the Google translate app handy on the front screen of your phone.
(Just a couple days after that trip, my desire to move somewhere warm and sunny was reinforced when at home the outdoor temp was 8 degrees (-13 degrees celsius) and we had about 10 inches of snow) The first four nights of my trip were in the very colorful town of San Miguel on the island of Cozumel.
There are many wonderful things about Cozumel; the jungles, the Aztec ruins, fantasic restaurants and that it’s surrounded by sandy beaches and warm Caribbean water. But…during the day when the cruise ships deposit another couple thousands of tourists into San Miguel, it feels like Spring Break all day most days. My friend Bel, who writes for International Living and lives on the island several blocks north of the madness, says that her neighborhood is nothing like the port area. The best time to visit San Miguel, Cozumel is likely to be during the summer months if you want to avoid the crowds. When I retire, I don’t want to have to battle crowds just to get to Starbucks or the beach at 7:00 in the morning.
So after I took the ferry to the mainland, I rented a car and drove north to the beach town that might change my life.
I had arrived at my AirBNB earlier and it was literally a 50 yard walk to the beach. I hated it though, so I moved to a very affordable mom and pop hotel that had this view. It was completely stunning how affordable this hotel was. I took the above picture from my balcony. It wasn’t super luxurious, but I just used it to sleep eight hours each night. I’ll give you the name at the end of this article.
Keep in mind that I was visiting this small beach town during the high season. It was the first week of January, the time when so many northerners from Canada and the States flood Mexico to get away from the snow. And I walked into a hotel and got the best room in the building immediately. I’m not saying that it was a bad hotel. It wasn’t. I’m saying that just about every other beach town like Tulum or any of the Playa named towns on the east side of Mexico were likely Spring Break for the over 60 set.
Am I advertising for Corona? Not necessarily, but if they want to sponsor my travels if I keep taking pictures like this, I won’t complain.
Everyone’s question when they are looking to move to other countries is “Is the cost of living really less than at home. The answer is yes, with a caveat. I was stayling down by the beach and I was only there three days. I’d estimate that restaurant meal prices were about 25% less than in the States. Walking down the street I was chatted up by a Canadian woman who said she lived in the middle of town and her impression was that the further you are from the beach, the costs get lower. I didn’t need to go away from the beach area though because there was a supermarket in this town that rivals any supermarket in the States.
One thing that I loved about this community was the music. One evening I was just walking around the neighborhood and I heard music. I followed the music until I found a very nice three floor restaurant called La Sirena. Each floor had something different going on, and I followed the beautiful Spanish music to the third floor open air bar where people were dancing with reckless abandon. Loud, happy, and spinning everywhere. I stepped into the middle of the celebration and soaked in the joyous atmosphere.
I was so immersed in the moment that I didn’t take a picture. This is from La Sirena’s website. Apparently it always looks like this.
But the intoxicating Spanish music wasn’t just at this bar, it was everywhere. There were traditional troubadours who would just walk up to the outdoor seating of restaurants. During the day there were traditional mariachi bands that would just set up on a sidewalk. On the beaches there were traditional Aztec singers and dancers. Also, near my hotel there was a Music Hall that had live classic rock for the the over 60 folks visiting town.
At 4:00 pm they block off the main street so the restaurants can have outside seating. Look at that picture! During the busy season for heading south and the street is so chill.
This (below) was my favorite coffee shop that I wnt to daily. It’s named The Local Cafe. Absolutely great!
Open at 7:00
So where is this incredible sleepy beach town? It’s Puerto Morelos which is about halfway between Cancun and Tulum. The next time you’re in Mexico, don’t drive by the Puerto Morales exit to spend more in Cancun or Tulum. I’d rather stay here.
Thanks for reading! ~Phil
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