Puerto Morelos may not be on Mexico’s Pueblo Mágicos list, but it is on mine. The town is an oasis in the tourist saturated Mayan Riviera. There are still plenty of tourists, but they are a mix of independent travellers and escapees from the all-inclusives that line the coast north to Cancun and south to Playa de Carmen.

Viveka and I started 2018 and our six week trip here, and I liked it so much I returned for another nine days. As has happened before, on the second visit I don’t seem to take many pictures, so check out ‘Where the White Stuff Is Sand’, if you are interested.

Dad seems to be doing all the work, while the kid is on the phone

But it looked pretty good, even the next day

My days were centred on the ocean – walking on the beach, sitting on my patio or floating in the pool, listening to the waves.

The owner has adopted three stray cats, who now own the place!! I enjoyed them, but they were still skittish and would not be hard to scare away if you didn’t like!

And the sunrises! They were different every day, depending on the clouds. Another reason to love my apartment!

The whole Caribbean coast is having a problem with sargassum washing up on the beach. It last happened in the summer of 2015, and they aren’t sure of the exact cause – changing ocean currents? But they are better prepared this time and working hard to remove it with crews raking, a tractor pulling a sand rack, and front end loaders loading trucks. The worst seems to be over now, and the beaches are looking much better.

Of course I needed to eat, and Puerto Morelos has an amazing selection of places to do that! There are beach side, ‘holes in the wall’, street side casual, and even a renovated shipping container

A fishing village has great ceviche, tuna tostado, coconut shrimp tostado, aguachile shrimp tostado

Five beautiful coconut shrimp for 55 pesos ($3.85)

Very good and reasonable steaks at an Argentine restaurant. 240 pesos ($16.60) for a wonderful pepper tenderloin you could cut with your fork. They also serve the best bread I’ve had in months.

Yesterday I took a trip to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum, about 1.5 hours south of here. There are endless companies willing to take me (and my money), but the first class ADO buses are easy and cheap. The trick to these places is to get there very early, before the crowds and the heat!

Tourist destinations are also popular for selling souvenirs and photo opportunities

Today I left Puerto Morelos and headed to Isla Mujeres, an island off of Cancun. Stay tuned for a post next week, but I can tell you already it seems very pretty. Sunday is always a popular day for locals to enjoy the beaches too, so hopefully it is less busy during the week.