Vivien & I went on vacation to the Riviera Maya for a week. We loved the area so much! Here's some of the activities we did at our first stop: Playa del Carmen.
Swimming in the Cenote Azul
This cenote was actually not on our to-do list, we had initially planned to relax at Mamitas Beach. But when we got to the beach and laid our towels... surprise! The beach was covered with seaweed, so we changed our plans and directed to Cenote Azul. Actually, I think we would have missed something great if we hadn't gone to the cenote so, thank you, seaweed!
The Cenote Azul is around 20 min away from Playa del Carmen. The entrance fee is 100 pesos and is totally worth them. Vivien & I visited 3 cenotes during our trip and this one was our favorite: it's not too crowded if you go early and it's quite well preserved and authentic (compared to other cenotes that looked more like public swimming pools than natural sinkholes).
The name Azul fits this cenote well: the water is so clear and blue! It is a bit colder than the Caribbean sea but you can still swim, snorkel and if you are not ticklish you can even get a free fish pedicure!
StandUp Paddleboarding on the Caribbean sea
I have always wanted to try SUP boarding so I convinced Vivien to do a Sunrise SUP boarding session at 6:30 am. Even if waking up so early during our vacation did not feel like a good idea at first, we quickly changed our mind once we were on water, watching a beautiful pink sunrise. It was mind-blowing!
We booked the session online on Aloha Paddle Club and I definitely recommend it! They also offer yoga sessions, which we tried a little bit. It's quite hard to be honest! The water was so warm that I didn't mind falling.
Since the paddleboard session is away from the shore, we weren't bothered by the seaweed. The session was so peaceful and relaxing, I will definitely remember it for a while!
Seaweed in Playa del Carmen
I've been doing some research online to figure out why my beach paradise was invaded. The seaweed is called Sargassum and is common this time of the year. Experts believe that its increasing amount on the Riviera Maya has a lot to do with the currents, pollution and global warming...
Much of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida have been affected by the seaweed phenomenon during the past 3 years, and seaweed invasion is hard to predict (apparently it started only a few days before we arrived!). If you face a seaweed invasion when you visit the Riviera Maya, no worries, there are still TONS of things to do ;)