The Best Dog-ter in the World

As we have been enjoying our anniversary and Valentine's vacation, we left our little one Layla behind. But not just anywhere. Since we visited Buffalo for my sister Kate's birthday the weekend before we left, Layla has had the privilege of being spoiled at my parents and having a sister of her own in my parent's dog Petunia. Well, before heading out to dinner tonight, we got an awesome little message from our perfect puppy. Here it is...

Besame Mucho

On Saturday afternoon, we left Puerto Morelos and headed up the coast to Cancun. While Nicole was somewhat familiar with the Zona Hotelera from prior visits for spring break some years ago, I had only been thru the airport and never the city. We drove up the coast and then headed thru the hotel zone. Massive hotel property after hotel property canvassed the coastline, presumably with beachfront on the opposite side of their impenetrable wall to non-guests. The storm we were driving thru was the worst weather yet on our trip, with half of the two lane street flooded. We charged on and then passed thru the club area, with DadyO's, Senior Frogs, Hooters, Katsuya and other big venues. As it was only 7pm, most were closed but after circling a few times we figured out how to approach and valet park at Senor Frogs... the only open place other than Hooters. It was a noisy hot mess, with a handful of tables of people eating. We went up to the empty bar and each had a margarita, which were (a) crappy and (b) a rip off. So we left there quickly and continued on to dinner.

We decided to go to a place called Labna, a traditional Yucatean restaurant in the center of Cancun, well away from the tourist trappings of the hotel zone. This was a place Nicole found and appealed to us because it would offer some more traditional food preparations from the area, rather than the typical Mexican dishes served with soft shell tacos and salsas. But what we found is that without a Garmin, navigating the poorly marked streets of central Cancun was more difficult than imagined. We were driving in a general vicinity of the restaurant, which I knew only because of the main avenues we circled around. But we couldn't find our side streets. Finally we got the blackberry GPS to get us to a nearby place, Roots, a jazz club that we would go to after dinner. We found parking right across from Labna, which I considered a great success after the growing sense we were getting terribly lost.

The storm was still very severe, which I consider a main reason Labna had only one other table when we entered. Our waiter Girardo was very nice, seating us in the middle of the restaurant, and also with a clear view of the stage and three musicians playing guitars and an upright bass. We started with beers, then decided on a couple appetizers and entrees. I started with the Longaniza de Valladolid, the Yucatecan smoked pork sausage, seasoned with mayan spices, and Nicole ordered the seafood stuffed avocado, seasoned with onions, tomato, coriander and radishes. Both were very good, the sausage with nice chorizo-like spice and texture, balancing well with the light shredded seafood salad stuffed in the avocado. For my entree, I had the pibil pork, seasoned with achiote and other local spices, wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a slow oven. The slow cooked pork melted in my mouth, seemed very lean and had great rich flavors. Nicole had the maculam, a tin foiled fish fillet seasoned and baked with hoja santa and spices, a delicacy. Steaming in the natural juices of the fish and vegetables in the tin foil, this opened up a hot, steamy and smooth white fish. The flavors were balanced and subtle, making this a savory but light dish.

Somehow the waiter and musicians caught wind that our anniversary was this weekend (the next day to be exact), and approached our table to serenade us. After playing a couple songs, they played a song that was written in 1940 by a man named Consuelo Velazquez. Called Besame Mucho, or Kiss Me Much, Consuelo herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin. For us, the song was a very romantic welcoming to our first anniversary, which we have definitely enjoyed.

Puerto Morelos - A Quick Stop

Saturday equals rain. No sun for us. No beach to lay out on. No diving because the harbor was closed with such severe wind and rain (usually I like diving on rainy days, because the light is still sufficient 70 feet underwater, and if it's going to be wet out, we might as well be underwater). Anyway, after a great morning workout at the gym, we decided to make the most of our day and drive up the peninsula; first having lunch in a small port town called Puerto Morelos, and then continuing up to Cancun for dinner at Labna and live jazz at a local hot venue called Roots.

We left the Fairmont Mayakoba and easily made our way up Highway 307 about 22 km to Puerto Morelos. Our destination was supposed to be a covered but open air Mexican bbq-pit, but upon arrival we discovered it was closed. Apparently, the weather gave many people an excuse for a vacation day. But across the street, there was another place ranked #1 on Trip Advisor, an ex-patriot stop called Cantina Habanero. Simple chicken fajitas and quesadillas, with a margarita for a midday light and fruity beverage. All in all an ok lunch, but nothing to call home about. We spoke to a guy named Kevin, who moved down from the US about 8 months ago, and he said things have changed since the owner died a few weeks ago. While his wife now continues to run the place alone, maybe it will be in the doldrums for a little while. But I here it's a great late night watering hole with live bands playing (whether latin jams or ex-pats wailing some classic rock). So maybe lunch, and heavy rains, tempered our experience.

We parked by the town square and walked down to the pier, passing by a Mexican national guard station with a soldier holding an ancient looking machine gun. At the pier, the stone structures clearly stood the test of time, definitely worse for the wear. Fisherman's boats were buoyed up and down the cost, but because of the weather none were out at sea. While the waves were rough and the rain continued to fall significantly, I managed to get the timer set on my smaller camera to capture a fun photo of me and Nicole. We then dashed to the car and made our way up to Cancun.

Local fare at Carboncitos

After a nice morning at the beach and an incredible cooking class, we motivated to get off property for dinner. While it was running later and we wouldn't get into Playa del Carmen until around 9pm, we wanted to make the drive to enjoy a walk in town rather than spend a ton of money in the hotels again. And while we would need to get up around 6:20am the next day to get ready for diving, we thought a local style dinner at Carboncitos would be a quick dining hit we would enjoy. So we headed into Playa and found a 24 hour parking lot, parked the car and walked into town. The city has developed incredibly since we were last here about 6 or 7 years ago. "5th Avenue" has taken over as a major tourist stretch of stores, restaurants and bars, extending from the main pier up to around 20th Street. But there is well rounded quality to it compared to the behemoth clubs in Cancun for example. Many bars have live bands playing latin music or rock covers from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Carboncitos is located on 4th Street between 5th and 10th Aves. It is a small and unassuming place that makes dressed down, fantastic flavored Mexican entrees, focused around pastor, or marinated pork. We ended up getting una mesa para dos right in the front, just on the street, which was great for watching people passing by. We started with a salsa wheel (orden de totopos y salsas), an assortment of 6 different freshly made salsas, of varying degrees of heat. I also couldn't resist ordering the cheese crisp (chicharron de queso), which was more than I expected upon arrival! It was a fried piece of cheese, but is wasn't really greasy/ oily at all. It was a nice mild cheese, which I used to alternate scooping up salsa instead of the taco chips.

At this point, I could tell we were settling into being away on vacation. We laughed about silly things Layla has been doing around the house, entertaining my parents coming into town the weekend after we return, enjoying our time with friends watching the Superbowl and discussing the various things we wanted to do for the rest of our trip and afterward.

For dinner, I had chilanguito tacos, which were made of the pastor pork, poblano peppers and melted cheese and sauteed onions throughout. With the soft tortillas, this made for a great taco dinner that hit the spot with me. Nicole had the special alambre de camaron, fresh grilled shrimp with crispy bacon, onion, pepper and cheese with Mexican style rice. These were relatively heavy dishes we were dealing with here, but the flavors were off the charts. Finishing up a couple margaritas, we were ready to head back to the car and get some shut-eye before our big day of diving in Cozumel.

A Great Day

While any travel day can be a long day, and sometimes a very long day, if the purpose is beginning a vacation, then it is a great day. Nicole and I were up around 4am, to motivate and take a car service to LaGuardia Airport. We were heading off to the Riviera Maya, Mexico, specifically the Fairmont Mayakoba just north of Playa del Carmen. The occasion? Celebrating our first anniversary, escaping one of the snowiest winters in New York City history, recharging our batteries and having a fun filled week together.

When we arrived, we dealt with the typical international travel items... waiting in long lines for immigration, luggage, hitting the green/red button to pass easily through customs or get searched, finding our rental car company, and then navigating our way to the hotel. We finally checked in around 2pm Playa time (1 hr behind NYT), and went for a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant - La Laguna Grill & Bar (grilled fish tacos and ceviche) - which overlooks the mangroves and fresh water canals that stretch throughout the property. Finally we stole an hour or two by the pool, as the sun gave way to clouds and then dusk. While tired from a day that began very early, we motivated to go to the gym. On our walk back from the gym, we realized that the forecasted rain would come true, and that it was possible our next couple days could be marred with overcast and dreary skies.

For dinner, we stayed close to home and went to the Rosewood Mayakoba, one of the three hotels in this Mayakoba region, a unique coastal stretch of a carefully maintained ecosystem of dunes, mangroves and freshwater lagoons. While staying at the Fairmont for four nights, we would be transferring to the Banyan Tree Mayakoba resort for our final three nights. So we went to Rosewood to see this third spectacular hotel in this Mayakoba complex. And as we arrived in the Agave Azul Raw Bar & Tequila Library, the winds picked up and rain came in sideways flowing sheets. We took cover just inside an open air balcony stretching lengthwise in the bar/ restaurant, enjoying a margarita and a little tequila for sipping. We tried the Milagro Select Blanco and Resposado Select Barrel Reserves, each served with a spiced tomato juice back, to balance the strong tequila flavors between sips. It actually was some of the best "bloody mary" mix we've ever had. The waiter told us it included tomato juice, worchester sauce, lime, salt, pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce (really?) and cilantro. It had great kick. Anyway, after enjoying tuna tartar, some sushi rolls (including an interesting thai spiced roll), we trekked thru the rain by golf cart then car to return to our signature casita at the Fairmont to end a great first day of vacation with a good night's rest.