By Anthony Wright.

The ramshackle jetty at Playa del Carmen was fit to bust, straining under the weight of a hundred vacationers and their luggage, as the moored motor launch did its best to pound the wooden beams of the jetty into splinters. High surf was causing the launch to roll menacingly, preventing boarding, but the harried tourists were anxious to get on. After all, just across the brilliant blue of the Caribbean Sea - a mere 40 minutes away - lay their destination: Cozumel. On the other hand, one may ask, why leave Playa in the first place?

Playa del Carmen occupies a comfortable berth in Paradise. It is an unassuming little beach town on the coast of Quintana Roo, where the air is clean and the surf inviting. It lies midway between Cancun (65 kilometers to the north) and Tulum (63 kilometers south), and provides the departure point for tourists trolling for action in Cozumel’s Hard Rock Cafe world. Yet a number of bronzed foreigners relaxing in the sun and surveyed the activity on the jetty. They weren’t going anywhere. Playa’s just a fine place to chill, thanks.

Playa possesses as fine a strip of fine white sand and clean sparkling water as any of the more highly touted beaches in the region, perhaps even more so - since there’s no evidence of refuse littering the sea as travelers visiting the waters around Tulum have recently reported, nor are there the colossal structures of multi-million-dollar resort hotels casting long shadows over half the day. What there is at Playa is a tourism infrastructure finely suited to the needs of the easygoing visitor: plenty of accommodation, seafood restaurants and bars by the sea - and none of the hype. There’s something else a touch different from most Mexican beaches: you don’t have to wear any clothes here. Those looking for that all-over tan may disrobe at will, marking Playa as one of the (very) few nude beaches in the Republic.

Lodgings come reasonably, or at least averagely, priced. There are also romantic, thatched-roofed cabañas available. For a splurge, the Blue Parrot Inn offers its own take on paradise, and its restaurant serves up great seafood dishes. Eateries such as Restaurant Mascaras provide good food and excellent vantage points from which to soak in the cerulean azure of Mar Caribe, where one may hypnotically contemplate the variety of sails which skirted the horizon line hundreds of years ago - the Spanish Crown, a Jolly Roger - as strong sea breezes provide coolness and refreshment.

Playa obviously lends itself to a more authentic Caribbean ambience, since it hasn’t been developed anywhere to the extent of its neighbors, with the added feature that it functions as a town rather than as a resort - certainly something to savor in these neck of the woods. Quite a few local and foreign entrepreneurs have already starting hanging up their shingles here, however, and when a beach spot gets earmarked for tourism development the atmosphere can change quickly. It would be wise to pay a visit to Playa soon.

Reprinted with permission from Anthony Wright.
As presented in Mexico Connect - http://www.mexconnect.com