Riding and chilling in Playa del Carmen

What would I do without the trusty Ritchey? I'd get even fatter on trips like these! All joking aside, it sure is nice to have my bike with me when I go to a place where I don't have a particular task or job to do--and in an all-inclusive like the H10 Ocean Riviera Paradise just outside of Playa del Carmen one doesn't have any other job to do than just chill!

The beach at Playa del Carmen

Less than a week after returning from Europe I cashed in a few miles and flew down to Cancun for a week of R&R. This is a good time of the year to do so: The hurricane season is generally done by now, the days are agreeably warm but not stiflingly hot, and the tourists are just about to arrive for the Thanksgiving holiday (but haven't arrived in droves just yet). So, it was time to travel to H10's newest property in Mexico, the Ocean Riviera Paradise.

I had to suffer here for seven days!

I have to say that this is a damn nice resort where pretty much everything still works (not always the case, especially in older resorts). The grounds are immaculately kept, the architecture is inviting and modern, and the various specialized restaurants serve really good food (although the large buffet-style restaurant remains an option for all meals). Even the wine is a bit better than usual, drinkable, but still a ways from matching the quality (and presentation) of the food.

My room was in the building on the left, with a nice pool view

There's quite a cultural difference between the workforce here in Mexico and what I encountered last year at another H10 property in the Dominican Republic: more smiles, more little friendly touches, more happiness. The food is on a higher level, but what is at least just as important is that the presentation of the fares is so much more appealing. This resort has four major pool areas, each with an attractive swim-up bar, and there is a really cool kids area (away from the adult pools) with all kinds of adventurous contraptions such as slides and whatever kids like to do. Add to that an attractive beach area and this place is a winner. The only thing that is a bit of a bummer is that practically no rooms have ocean view, and even as a "Privilege" member I didn't score one of the few top-floor rooms close to the water that may afford a view of the ocean.

If I were a kid, I'd go apeshit!

Well, that's OK. For breakfast I'd go to the fourth-floor Privilege Lounge and look out on the island of Cozumel in the far distance. I could have my lunches at the ocean-side Vela Pez restaurant (where I  dined three evenings as well). The entire resort is built on a kilometer-long piece of property that has only maybe 200 meters of ocean access, so the architects had to come up with a layout that fits into this type of space. Quite frankly, I think they did a remarkable job.

View from the Privilege lounge, where I had breakfast every morning and G&T time before dinner

During my five days of morning rides I covered 167 miles total. Riding north, toward Puerto Morelos, seemed to be a better choice than heading south to Playa del Carmen and beyond. There are two reasons: The prevailing wind comes from the north, so going north first gave me a nice tailwind coming back. Maybe more importantly, Playa del Carmen has developed so quickly over the past few days that the traffic going south is pretty insane. Add to that lots of uncoordinated stoplights, and riding becomes tedious. Still, on my second day I found a well-maintained bike path that leads from Playa all the way to Xcaret, one of the many big amusement parks and major attractions around here.

An interesting way to plant trees (entrance of Xcaret)!

On my first ride (toward Puerto Morelos, where my "home resort," the Ocean Coral & Turquesa is located) I noticed on the way back a promising sign, Craft Beer 400 meters. That was followed up by a 200 m and 100 m warning, and then there was Cerveza Pescadores on my right. Since I hadn't brought any money I had to wait until another ride to sample their brew, and I have to say that their IPA was very nice, especially at a price of about $2.30 for a pint. Obviously, I had to repeat that ride to have another pint on another day.

Cerveza Pescadores is a small craft brewery, the only one (currently) in the entire region

Riding here is always interesting, even if the Carretera Federal is the only north-south highway and thus extremely busy. But there's a wide shoulder, and it feels safe to ride. I continue to be amazed by the sheer size of the entrances of so many resorts--they look huge, with waterfalls and oversized  proportions. The grounds are always immaculately kept, with workers wielding machetes pruning and keeping the vegetation under control. Manpower is exactly that: men working. Walls are being built stone by stone, workers with hard hats sit in a ditch using hammer and chisel to laboriously do the work that a front-end loader could do in minutes, and wheelbarrows allow for sand, or rocks, or whatever to be transferred from here to there. Workers will sit by the side of the road in the shade, with a small plastic canister of water for the day. Mexico may have changed over those 40 years that I have been traveling down here, but some things just stay the same.

Size does matter

The road signs are still the same as 40 years ago: Watch your speed! and Safety belts save lives--use yours! are common admonitions. Stay to the right! and After an accident nothing will be the same! are apt to teach the passerby a useful set of Spanish words. Yep, that's where some of my Spanish comes from, learned during all those trips by car, bus, and bike through the great Republica Mexicana. Billboards and signs (and there are hundreds of them on each ride) are another source of higher learning for the aspiring gringo, and I have to say that some of them are truly entertaining, like the one that in huge lettering warned that one was passing private property, that it is not for sale, and that one should not be fooled. There must be some stories behind that one!

As I said, Playa del Carmen has become an important and populous place, about 35 miles south of sprawling Cancun. When I came down here for the first time, about 40 years ago, this was nothing but a tiny, sleepy fishing village. Seriously, this was not even a hole in the wall. And now? All the big hotel corporations are represented, and the traffic is horrendous. Still, it's fun to sightsee. Puerto Morelos has changed a lot in the past two years, too, and I think it's about ready to become a new major player on the Riviera Maya. The formerly dead center around the market square now has dozens of restaurants and even more shops, and there is lots of building activity up and down the coast.

"My" beach at the H10

Having the bike as always allowed me to escape the compound and see a bit of the area. Still, I spent a lot of quality time by the pools and on the beach, careful not to get sunburned. Over the course of the week I did well in that regard. If only they hadn't come by all the time to ask me whether I'd like another cervecita or pina colada, now, that would have been considerate!

Overall, this was a fun and relaxing trip, and now it's time to start fasting for two days before Thanksgiving!

Jürgen