mini trip report - sort of ... (repost)

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<b>: Just returned from 2 weeks in the Yucatan & Riviera Maya. We spent the first 3 days in Merida at the Hotel Caribe. Merida is</b>
<b>: an amazing old city, spending Sunday in the zocalo (main square) was a great experience. We rented a car & drove to</b>
<b>: Uxmal - very interesting & very different than Chichen Itza which we saw 2 years ago.</b>
<b>: We rode the luxury ADO bus from Merida to Cancun, cabbed it to PJ, & caught the ferry for 3 days on Isla Mujeres. (our first</b>
<b>: time) We only booked 3 days there as some friends had told us that 1 day was plenty to see the island. We loved Isla & will</b>
<b>: definitely go back, and stay longer.</b>
<b>: Our high-lights of Isla:</b>
<b>: - Hotel Francis Arlene: a great hotel, lack of a pool was not a big deal, the beach is close, the room we had (#27) was huge,</b>
<b>: airy, bright, with a great view of the sea. We will stay there again next time.</b>
<b>: - Playa Norte: what a great beach! It was very crowded with Mexican families for Easter week, but that only added to the fun.</b>
<b>: We spent the first day in front of Zacil-Ha, but found the water too shallow for our tastes, although very warm. The fajitas at</b>
<b>: Zacil-Ha beach bar were awesome. We spent the next day at Sunset Grill, this became our favorite spot. In our opinion, the</b>
<b>: best beach, the nicest water for swimming, & a great beach bar with happy hour ALL DAY!</b>
<b>: - we rented a scooter the third day & toured the island - Garrafon Park (rip-off, poor service & attitude to people not buying</b>
<b>: the all inclusive), Punta Sur, the turtle farm (amazing!), and then we spent the afternoon by the pool at Villas Rolandi. No</b>
<b>: need to be a guest there as long as you drink & eat, which we did plenty of! The pizza & the calamari were very good & the</b>
<b>: pool is wonderful. Would love to stay there if the budget would allow it!</b>
<b>: - Other restaurants we ate at: Pizza Rolandis, Don Chepos & Mexico Lindo - all were good.</b>
<b>: - Breakfast at M & J's was as good as promised on this board, but no better than at Bistro Francais - awesome French toast</b>
<b>: there.</b>

<b>: After 3 days in Isla, we spent the last week in Playa del Carmen. This was our second visit - but what a change, it has</b>
<b>: exploded with growth & is no longer the tranquil place it once was. Although we had a good time, we would not return, would</b>
<b>: opt instead for longer in Isla! Our highlight in Playa was a day trip with a rented car to Xpu-Ha,</b>
<b>: <center><img src="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1653650&a=12661558&p=47706295&Sequence=0&res=high" border="3"></center></b>
<b>:  we lazed on the beach there</b>
<b>: all day - in my opinion, the best beach we have ever visited, and we have been to many throughout Mexico & the Caribbean</b>
<b>: islands. In future, we will split our trip between Isla Mujeres and the Riviera Maya - Xpu-ha, Tulum, Tankah, etc.... We found</b>
<b>: the magic of this beautiful coastline south of Playa.</b>



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