29 th March Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen was a huge shock after our quiet ruins and small traditional towns. It was like Surfers Paradise meets Venice Beach LA with a small beach. The shops were more upmarket and the American influence was apparent. there were heaps of cool bars and live music. People were dancing and hanging with large groups of friends. It is PARTY town! We soon heard the live music from a bar down the road. So loud we could hear distinctly what songs were being sung and how off key they were.

It was sad to say good bye to the group because we had really melded and everyone without fail was generous and friendly and on time! We all loved our exceptional guide Suzana who just worked so hard to make it a great trip. Her recommendations were always solid and her tour guides for special sites were superb.

Even with the door closed the music could be heard. A few of us groaned because we were supposed to leave at 2am for the airport and it seemed impossible to sleep . We did mostly.

Our flight to Costa Rica went via Mexico City! Flying into Latin America seems like the European Union. We left from a domestic terminal and no special treatment. The check in at the airport was a bit fraught until we realised we needed to press the buy baggage button to activate our luggage tags. Our luggage was included but.., boarding pass and luggage tags are generated separately. Live and learn.

Once that was achieved and bags dropped we didn’t have to wait too long before we were boarding. I love the zone treatment. Window seats are zoned 2, centre seats are 3 and aisle seats are 4 etc. it works so well and eliminates the need for people to stand up and into the aisle to let someone sit in the window seat or wherever. On arrival in Mexico City we only had time for a pee and we had to walk to another terminal for about 15 mins and they were boarding!

It was so busy we lost Peter at the Men’s toilets! I was anxious he would miss the plane but soon after we arrived he could be seen emerging from the crowd coming towards us. He said there was a queue in the Men’s toilets. Amazing!

Once again a smooth transition and we left on time. We are impressed with Aeromexico.

Our bags arrived in Costa Rica as hoped and on our flight. As we came through immigration we were all separated ( 6 of the Mexico group have continued). Any got to the officer first but had no idea where she was staying so they sent her back! She found us and I knew so we all four presented as one group and no problem. Shona and Susan who have been very switched on had deviated to the loos and become separated from us. They had the same problem and had to go through a whole trip itinerary before they were cleared. In the meantime we had found the baggage carousel and our bags had been taken off ( under supervision of an airport official). We decided to claim all the bags to speed up the process. It seemed like 10 planes had arrived at once but the exit was slow because our bags were scanned as we left!

Our driver was waiting for which we were very relieved. We have been on the go for 12 hours and barely a couple of hours sleep. What an immediate contrast. It is green!Tidy, clean and modern. A small, fairly affluent country with a stable government.Lots of American fast food outlets are everywhere which seems jarring.