Momento mori
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| Laid back Huatulco... |
After the Barcelo, Huatulco remains our second favourite Mexican vacation. It's located very far south in Mexico and hasn't yet been tainted by the heavily commercialization seen in places like Puerto Vallarta or Cancun/ Playa del Carmen.
The resort itself faced a picturesque bay. I spent a lot of time out on the water SUP paddling. Separately, we had fun puttering around on scooters and surfing some local beaches.
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| View of the main harbour |
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| Poolside at the Marival... |
The Marival was our first stay on Mexico's west coast at Nuevo Vallarta. The beach was a ten-minute walk away, but the view of the sunsets from the rooftop bars was fantastic.
I enjoyed some surfing while I was there, but often the beaches were closed because of the plentiful stingrays in the water. I would see them swimming alongside me on the board which was a good incentive not to fall off.
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| Surfing with stingrays! |
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| Cute sculptures on display throughout the grounds... |
In 2015, we stayed at the Royal Playa del Carmen on the east coast. Google tells me that the resort has since re-branded as a Hilton resort. It was a beautiful resort, somewhat diminished by the beach which wasn't conducive to swimming or any sort of water sports.
You can read my tripsadvisor review of the resort here.
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| A busy day at Playa del Carmen's public beach... |
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| The Barcelo... all pools and colour... |
For the first time in nearly a decade, my wife and I were unable to take our annual pilgrimage to Mexico (thanks COVID!). So, I thought I would re-visit our various vacations with the occasional photo that didn't make the cut the first time.
The Barcelo was the first time we visited Mexico in 2012. It's located outside Playa del Carmen on a bay with fantastic white sand and turquoise water. We had fun just snorkeling off the jetty playing among the schools of colourful fish.
The resort offers access to all sorts of activities on the bay, including jet skiing. We also took in a tour of the ruins at nearby Tulum.
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| Getting into the tourist lifestyle... |
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| The Grand Canyon... words can't describe the impact of its view... |
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| Sleek and shiny... |
