My husband, his daughter, and I just spent a week in the sleepy little fishing town of Puerto Morelos with the intent to experience the Mayan pyramids, rest, and swim in the sea. We didn’t want our restful vacation to be interrupted by offers of hair braiding, silver, or my name on a woven bracelet. My stepdaughter and I were not as interested in a "girls gone wild" scene as was my hubby. Puerto Morelos, while a little raw, gave us what we were looking for, including a decent condo on the beach.

We stayed in a condo complex called Casita Blanca on the north end of one of the main roads. Our unit was on the second floor with a tiny kitchen (good enough), 2 bedrooms, two baths with showers, and a lovely view of the Caribbean (and the pool area). It's a nice complex managed by an extremely hospitable couple named Roberto and Selene. The only reason I am sharing this place is that between the owners of the unit we stayed in and the management I'd like to throw more business their way. The town itself is pleasant, people were friendly and gracious and patient with our poor command of Spanish. On our last night there we saw a group of teens/young men dragging tents and coolers on the beach about 50 yards down from us--we marveled at the fact they can enjoy themselves with out being hassled and enjoy themselves while being well-behaved.

My main complaint, which I blame Mother Nature for, is the relentless parade of ants, mosquitoes, and worse--no-see-ums. I've experienced ants and mosquitoes, and heaven forbid small cockroaches in Hawaii but the no-see-ums were obnoxious. Next time I visit the Yucatan Peninsula I will make sure the bug repellent I take works against no-see-ums and I will NEVER rely on Burt's Bees again. Also - I buy Magic Insect Chalk in China town and it truly works. I'll bring that next time as well. I have a couple of other complaints, like someone before us leaving the coffee filter in the brewer long enough to get moldy and the cleaning person not catching it, but that's not vacation-ruining.

Now onto activities. The sea was out our door and down a few steps and we loved not having to haul a lot of stuff around for a simple swim. The beach was not crowded at all; sand amazingly fine and white, and the water warm like a tub. Playa Del Carmen is close for a dose of quaint calles and nightlife as is Cancun. Chichen Itza was a 2 hour ride one-way and well worth the drive; The Tulum ruins were about an hour away and will be remembered as one of my swimming highlights in life. One of my favorite activities was to take walks along the shore at night. Our *weirdest* adventure was off "La Ruta des Cenotes" were we braved going to the overtly difficult to get-to "Sietes Bocas" only to find, after traversing 15 minutes of unpaved road more bumpy than the Indiana Jones Ride, those particular cenotes brought out the claustrophobic in all three of us. Between the three of us we lasted a combined time of *maybe* thirty seconds in the largest of them all. Next time... we'll go to a larger cenote... a MUCH larger cenote.

Food was decent but not as I expected based on 7 days of transcendent meals in Puerto Vallarta many moons ago. Our best coffee was at Java Joe's in Playa (and um, the second best at *bucks), our most entertaining meal at Ajua in Playa ("Fresh Mayans"), our most spendy meal was at John Grey's Kitchen (very tasty!) in Pto. Morelos. We ate our most cost-efficient meal at Triny's ("Internet and Tacos"). The juice bar at Akumal was the perfect remedy for a post-Tulum thirst and Tuna Restaurant next door to Casita Blanca impressed me when they played "Dub Side of the Moon" and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan--plus their green ceviche was yummy. Unfortunately we will have to wait another time for the "pollo ladies" of Pto. Morelos.

All in all it was a very nice experience and we would have loved another week to truly settle in. Hopefully next time...