Our second day at the Banyan Tree started off pretty fantastically. Breakfast made me so... happy.
We had booked our room with an all-you-can-eat breakfast included, and oh what a breakfast! Fresh, delicious Mexican delectables, freshly baked breads and pastries, tropical fruits galore, a whole menu of egg dishes made to order, and freshly squeezed juices... heaven!
Coffee came in this cute little jacket, and halfway through coffee, juice, Mexican hot chocolate and iced tea, the servers came through with trays of apple cider spiked with champagne! Don't mind if I do...
We had some fun with these heads as we waited for a cab to Playa del Carmen.
A view of the roof top lounge during the day...
Too bad our camera isn't waterproof. It was tucked safely away in a dry spot as we snorkeled out near Cozumel's coral reefs. Cozumel, a small island about a 30 minute ferry ride off the coast of Playa del Carmen, has the second largest reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, although much of Cozumel was damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. It was interesting though, to see the measures being taken by the government to re-develop the coral reefs. We snorkeled in three different areas, and in each, there were some giant concrete bell jars sitting on the ocean floor, with colorful fish and other forms of marine life already growing around them. At one point, our guide pointed out a long skinny fish beneath us, and upon surfacing, he said, "Barracuda!" All I could think about was the opening scene in "Finding Nemo."Speaking of fish, I'd forgotten that Jack is in fact, a marine mammal. He can hold his breath for several minutes, and can do the back stroke 15 feet below the water surface. At one point, he dived deep down among a school of hundreds of silver fish, parting them like the Red Sea as he swam a straight line through them, causing them to quiver silvery, diagonal streaks through the turquoise water... a beautiful sight, as I watched from above.
Jack sits on the helm of our little boat, chatting it up with three friends from Mexico City.
Back on Cozumel, we roamed through the town square...
...but we found the waterfront much more charming.
Back on Playa del Carmen, the beautiful beach was filled with weekend revelers.
5th Avenue, Playa's main street, stretched endlessly with shops, vendors, restaurants and bars. We found a cool looking place for dinner, and the server made us fresh guacamole table side. There is something really different about avocados in Mexico- so much richer and creamier, probably because they have a chance to ripen on the tree.
Back at the Banyan Tree, we found that a Cuban cigar maker had set up a work station in the rooftop lounge. He explained that he used wrappers and leaves procured from Cuba, and he himself was a third generation cigar roller.
We bought one and brought it back to our villa, enjoying the smooth, and refined flavor, puffing smoke rings while taking a dip in the pool. Definitely not something you get to enjoy everyday.
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