InPuertoMorelos.com

On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, at about 3 am EST the outer bands of Hurricane Delta started to strike our little village. By 4 am we were feeling the full force of the Category 3 hurricane with estimated maximum winds of 110 mph (177 km/hour). The winds roared from the northwest with amazing strength until 5:15 am when everything stopped. We were in the eye of the storm. It was amazing. There was no wind, no rain. Everything was silent and dark. We, like so many others in Puerto Morelos, ran out of our homes to check for damage to our casa, some kids even ran out to play! The eye lasted until about 6:00 am and then the back half of the storm slammed into us. The wind had switched direction, now coming from the southeast, and was stronger than ever. This lasted until about 8:30 am. Then the rain stopped. The wind remained strong, but manageable for the rest of the day.

Puerto Morelos was very lucky. Although we did take a direct hit, the storm dropped from a Category 4 to a Category 3 just before striking us, causing much less damage than we feared.

At 9:00 am we headed outside to check over our house, Casa de los Viajeros, which many of you know from having stayed with us. We had a few downed roof tiles, but all was well.

Then we headed down to the beach. The wind was still so strong that we had trouble standing, but the beach itself looked beautiful. Mother Nature had done a wonderful job of tidying up. There were a few downed palm trees, but no serious damage to any of the homes or businesses on the beach.

We walked downtown. We were the only people on the street. Rojo Gomez was covered in leaves and tree branches and there were a few downed trees and broken telephone poles, but the homes and businesses looked dry and tight.

We headed to the main town square, which is currently under construction. The businesses around the square were all in good shape with the exception of a few lost awnings and signs.

Unfortunately, the main dock did not fare as well. The end of the dock had been damaged when we were hit by Tropical Storm Gamma on October 3, 2020, but it suffered much more damage from its dance with Delta.

The little shops in the Mayan Handicraft centre suffered a lot of damage to their roofs as you can see in the photo at the top of this post. Unfortunately, St. Joseph (the stained glass window at the church) took some damage as well.

The most damage was to our electric infrastructure. Over 376,396 people lost power during the storm. We were without power for over 30 hours. Several electrical poles on the main road into town toppled, and made it impassible. As we write this now, many people in Puerto Morelos still do not have electricity, but it is returning quickly. Ours came back earlier today. The 4g network was also being powered by a generator, so it was spotty at best.

However, in the usual Puerto Morelos style, everyone stepped up. When we didn’t have power or Internet, the good folks at Casa Toucan, shared their generator and Wi-Fi with everyone in town. They set up power bars on the street for people to recharge and unlocked their Wi-Fi. Neighbours hit the streets, helping to clear downed trees that blocked the roads and picking up signs that had blown off businesses.

Even our local Chedraui was open regular hours this morning, just 24 hours after the storm passed.

So as we all work together to finish the cleanup, we can assure you that all is well in Puerto Morelos and we look forward to seeing you soon!

If you would like to help with Hurricane Delta Relief you can contact mexiCAN Compassion Project, they are helping to rebuild homes that suffered damage. And if you would like to help with the animals that were injured during Delta you can contact Dr. Valeria Suarez.

So long Hurricane Delta, so long Tropical Storm Gamma. Let us get back to our hammocks!

UPDATE HERE!

Hola from Puerto Morelos!
As promised, here’s another update from the desk of InPuertoMorelos.com

This edition, we’ll focus on a few major projects that I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see. They are premiering this month. The Tulum Airport and the Mayan Train. (and there are a couple of more things too)

For at least 25 years, realtors and travel agents have talked about an international airport in Tulum “coming soon”. This month their dream finally comes true as our state, Quintana Roo gets its fourth international airport. (Cancun, Cozumel, & Chetumal are the others) The new airport, officially called “Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Carrillo Puerto” will be known as Tulum Airport. (IATA: TQO, ICAO: MMTL)  It is about 20 km south of Tulum, hence the Felipe Carrillo Puerto name. Google puts the drive to the Tulum hotel zone at about 50 minutes. The taxi fares look quite high, but ADO will service the airport, so you will have that option too. To give you an idea of how far it is, from Casa de los Viajeros to the Tulum airport would be about a 2-hour drive by car.

The airport is constructed and operated by the Mexican army, which is part of the broader strategy of our President’s administration to engage the armed forces in significant infrastructure projects. This trend of militarization extends to other projects, including the takeover of multiple airports, the Tren Maya, and the revival of Mexicana Airlines.

Several airlines have already made plans to fly directly into Tulum Airport, including Air Canada, Aeroméxico, Mexicana, American Airlines, Delta, Spirit and JetBlue. Viva Aerobus is already landing there now. The airport also hosts an Executive Aviation Terminal, (read: private jets) equipped with presumably swanky lounges. There are also plans to build an Air Force base within the airport grounds. The airport is open right now, but only for domestic flights so far. Construction continues on the airport and a station for the train.

The Tren Maya is another giant project that is just getting started. To say this endeavour is “controversial” would be an enormous understatement. Serious concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of the project, its effect on archeological sites, its general safety, the rapid speed of the construction, its soaring cost, and its impact on the people of the peninsula. There were also numerous changes in the plan. Routes were moved around and added seemingly at a whim and even the type of train planned changed several times from hydrogen-powered to electric to diesel.

Our President, López Obrador was unphased and the train project rolled on. Only part of the line is completed so far, but it did have its inaugural run on December 15 from Cancun to Campeche. The train is supposed to be completed early next year and will include stops as far away as Palenque. 1,500 kilometres of track will connect the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. It will carry passengers but also will haul freight.

Puerto Morelos is part of the route. The station is still under construction about 5 kilometres from the Colonia on the Ruta de Cenotes road. The train will also have a station at the Cancun Airport (you will need to take a free shuttle from the terminals to the train station), so in theory, you will be able to take the train to town after landing in Cancun. Schedules are still being worked out, but chances are the train probably won’t be frequent enough for you, (it runs about every 2 hours) and you will still have to get transport from the Puerto Morelos station to your accommodation.

The train could be used to effortlessly extend your vacation though. Cities like Valladolid, Merida, Campeche and Chetumal are well worth exploring, and the Palenque ruin site is nothing short of spectacular. Fares are still being worked out, but look to be similar to first-class bus fares. You can ride the rails in “premier” class (you get a meal and a bigger seat) or tourist class. Locals with proof of residency in one of the states will pay less than tourists.

Another major project is underway in Cancun. It probably won’t change your life much, but it’s huge for folks who live and work in the hotel zone. It’s a bridge across the Nichupté lagoon which will save drivers lots of time. Right now, there is only one road that meanders through the entire hotel zone. The bridge will allow folks to shortcut and avoid the most congested areas.

The project will require a bridge almost 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) long. The bridge will be three lanes, with one lane reversing depending on which direction has the most traffic demand. They are working on the bridge 24/7 to try to get it done in 2024.

Apparently, there are traffic delays in the Cancun Hotel Zone due to the construction of this bridge. To be honest, we rarely venture into the Hotel Zone. It feels like a foreign country to us. We do go to Cancun at least every month, but that trip is all about Home Depot, Costco, paying some bills and maybe catching a movie.

The good news about construction in Cancun is that the highway construction that had made airport trips a nightmare last season is mostly done. We now have a pretty good, six-lane concrete highway in and out of Cancun. Trips to the airport are no longer a major chore, as long as there is not an accident on the highway. A new bridge is under construction at Kabah/Bonampak, but it is not causing any serious delays.

If you have visited our area in the last few years, you might know that a new major mall is opening close to the airport on the road to Puerto Morelos. It’s called “Grand Outlet” or GO for short. It’s sometimes listed as being in Puerto Morelos, and I guess it is in our “county”, but it is much closer to the airport than it is to us. The mall is located across from Moon Palace, about 20 kilometres north of PM.

The mall is open, but still very much under construction. PM’ers were hoping it would have movie theatres, and they were in the original plans, but they didn’t get built. Instead, there are go-carts, laser tag and (gasp) a real Olympic-sized ice rink. (Apparently, an amateur Puerto Morelos hockey league is already being formed.) Stores will include designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Hugo Boss, Carolina Herrera, BCBGMaxazria, Lacoste, Adidas, and many others. During the second development phase, the complex will also feature​ a 7,500-seat auditorium,​ an aquarium, and even​ a small lake. When finally completed, it will be the biggest mall in Cancun and perhaps, Latin America.

One last piece of infrastructure to mention, and that is our tortured town dock. It was turned into a Salvador Dali art piece in 2020 after two hurricanes, Delta and Gamma gave it a twist. (Read our front-line report on Hurricane Delta here) A few months ago new funding was offered to repair the dock. Hooray! So far our dock remains unchanged and unfixed. Hopefully, the funding will be put to use in 2024.

We hope you enjoyed our look at the big projects in our Town Update Part Two. In the next part, we will focus more on changes within our town.

Happy 2024 to everyone and we hope that we will see you at Casa de los Viajeros next year!

PS If you missed Part 1 of the Town Update, you can find it here.

As 2022 comes to a close and we welcome the New Year, it’s traditional to have a wee look back at the year that was.

Your favourite beach town fared pretty well in 2022. We got new stamped concrete roads and then closed them to traffic every night. We had a very quiet storm season. Hurricane Ian came by, but he just rolled on by us. Lucky for us, less lucky for our friends in Cuba and Florida. We unplugged the Covid traffic light and the Cancun airport set new records for visitors. The lighthouse continued to lean.

So, let me load up the slide show carousel here, get comfy and let’s look at our favourite photos of 2022. (click any photo for a full-screen view)

Want to see more? Follow this link to see all of our updates from 2022.

Also, we’ve been producing a lot more short videos these days. Check out our new YouTube channel and visit Puerto Morelos anytime you wish!

Hola and Happy 2021 to all our friends!

2020 was a challenge for everyone on the planet, and it was not easy on your favourite little village in Mexico either! Almost everything in town closed in the spring and our visitors went home. We were left here with a beautiful beach we couldn’t use, and friends we couldn’t visit. Add to that we had a VERY active storm season. (See more about Delta and Zeta on our blog) Thankfully we suffered no major or lasting damage from the storms, but the prepping, cleaning and repairing was exhausting. (Click any photo for a full-screen view)

2021 offers the promise of something better and we’re embracing it. Our Christmas season was quieter than normal, but some families, mostly from the USA or Mexico found us. New Year’s Eve was the sleepiest I remember, aside from some cheap and loud fireworks. There were no public parties and restaurants were closed long before the midnight hour due to Covid restrictions.

There is always some news from our town, so let’s start 2021 with what’s new in Puerto Morelos!

Several restaurants in Puerto Morelos are on the move! The first to change locations was The Burger Underground, which moved from Ninos Heroes to a better space on Rojo Gomez (formerly occupied by the Cuatro Colibri art shop (which has moved online, visit them here.) The move puts them right in the thick of things on Rojo Gomez, between Cantina Habanero and the Panna e Cioccolato ice cream shop.

Speaking of Panna e Cioccolato, they have reopened their location on the square, which means they have two locations on the beach side of town and one in the Colonia.

The biggest move is coming up in the middle of the month. El Campanario will be moving their busy grill and famous bell to Rojo Gomez as well. The new space will be right beside Lauro’s, so just north of Hotel El Moro and just south of Cantina Habanero. El Campanario owner and grill-master Arturo promises that the restaurant will not close for even an extra day to move. They will close on a Sunday night mid-month as usual and reopen Tuesday afternoon in the new location.

We mentioned Lauro’s in our last issue. They opened and then closed for a little while, and are now open again. They often have live music, usually involving guitar virtuoso Héctor, who also owns the place.

Also opening soon on Rojo Gomez will be a new restaurant concept for Puerto Morelos. I can’t share too many details yet, but I can tell you that there is nothing quite like it in Puerto Morelos.

We also mentioned in our last update that El Pirata was just about to open. Well they did open, and Chef Karla is busier than ever! (We mentioned her new take out place Itacate in our last issue), and of course, she is also the creator of her farm-to-table experience, Koox Ich Kool.

All this will make Rojo Gomez a restaurant powerhouse, ranging from Unico in the north to Restaurante Spaghettino in the south. I roughly count at least 20 places!

We did lose a few places because of the long Covid season. We mentioned Los Gauchos closed in our last update, now we can tell you that DK restaurant will also not reopen. The iconic container will remain, but it will be a new restaurant. We’ll miss the honey ginger chicken, the coconut rice and the affable owner, Luis. The other familiar DK pillar, Tony, can now be spotted working at the Diving Lodge Downtown.

We do have some new places to tell you about. Muelle Once opened on New Year’s Eve in the Hacienda Morelos hotel. From the photos on their Facebook page it looks like they’ve renovated the space and brightened it up. They are serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a wide menu, everything from breakfast favourites in the morning to crab cakes, steak, pasta and more at night. It will be very easy to catch them open, their hours are 7:30 am to 10:15 pm. The name Muelle Once translates as “pier 11”. It is sure to be one of our most mispronounced restaurants. Try saying it “moo-YAY ON-say” and you will be close.

We have a new ice cream temptation in town too! Aldo’s is a small ice cream and gelato chain out of Cancun. They have locations there, in Playa del Carmen and now in Puerto Morelos, right beside the church on the square.

Vegans and vegetarians have reason to cheer too! Veggie Veggie Streetfood has opened right beside Tuch Tlan restaurant, which is just south of Chedraui, across from the Mayan Handicraft Centre. They call their menu “vegan street food fusion”. Hours are 12:00 – 7:00, Friday through Monday.

Cafe Layla has expanded its hours and menu to make room for vegan pizza. They serve their regular Asian-fusion, Mexican and plant-based cafe food from 8-4 and then it’s a vegan pizza menu from 5-9:30. Open every day except Tuesday.

The family behind the successful La Cabaña del Puerto restaurant are growing again. They opened the new Lobster House restaurant on the square in September. Now they are seriously expanding in the Colonia. It’s easiest to explain their plans using the photo above. On the far right side, there will be a new cafe. Working our way left, you have the existing La Cabaña, next to it will be a new seafood place, and the little kiosk on the far left will be the bar for the whole operation. Lofty plans for sure, but everything this family does seems to be successful (and delicious).

Also coming soon in the Colonia, a new place for burgers, wings and beer. It’s located in the same plaza as the highway Chedraui. They are to open sometime in 2021.

Remember to check out our voluminous, constantly-updated Restaurant Guide on our website to keep up with the places and the players in the ever-changing Puerto Morelos cuisine scene.

You know that King’s Day is coming soon when you see the bakery overloaded with “Rosca de Reyes”. Also, see the bonus gag pic…

The town square is still under construction. They are working on it every day and have made some progress, but it will not be done any time soon. The artisans are now displaying their wares on the Malecon area beside the square Friday and Saturday nights, and the marquesita stand is open at the entrance to town, near My Little Italy restaurant.

The Canadian government is suddenly requiring everyone entering Canada to show proof of a negative PCR Covid test administered within 72 hours of arrival. This means Canadians returning to the ice and snow will need to get the test done in Mexico. Luckily there are at least two places in town where you can get the test, Costamed Hospital and Laboratorio de Análisis Clínicos América. Cost is about $2500 pesos, about $160 Canadian. This all starts on January 7. Please note that this does not replace the regular Canadian quarantine rules. Here is some more information.

Here in Puerto Morelos, we remain under a “yellow” traffic light. Your vacation should not be too affected. The beach is open, restaurants are open with slightly limited capacity but nothing stays open really late. At any restaurant, you must purchase food in order to drink alcohol. This is strictly enforced by the local government. Businesses can be fined heavily or shut down if they violate this rule. To enter any business or transport you need to wear a mask. You are asked to wear a mask all the time you are outside your house, especially if you are near other people. You can find more details in our previous blog post.

And our usually full vacation rentals at Casa de los Viajeros have loads of space this year! We are normally booked more than a year in advance (we are taking bookings for 2022 now), but not this year. So if you would like to visit Puerto Morelos and support us, be sure to book a stay in one of our apartments. We have a fantastic location! We hope to see you all in Puerto Morelos soon. Hasta pronto!

Good morning from Puerto Morelos! We are waking up to a post-Zeta morning in your favourite town in the Caribbean.

It was a long night. Our electricity quit at about 7:00, in the middle of dinner I might add, and just came back this morning at 8:00. Most of Puerto Morelos and all of Cancun that I heard from kept their electricity and internet all night.

It looks like we weathered the storm in typical Puerto Morelos fashion. There are some tree branches down and some green debris, but overall your town is fine.

I made a quick trip down to the beach and was amazed that everything looked intact. Ironically, after a storm the beach is always at its most beautiful. The sand has certainly been rearranged!

The town pier appears to be intact but definitely suffered some more damage. It was hurt by Delta too.

Now it’s time for coffee and then we grab a broom. We’re relieved to be on the other side of this thing and we have definitely had enough of hurricane season 2020.

Hope to see you in Puerto Morelos soon! Please remember to check out our vacation rentals at our brand new site, www.VacationRentalsPM.com
Find all the town info you could want at our constantly-updated www.InPuertoMorelos.com site. Saludos!

Arriving at the Airport (updated for 2023)

Arriving at the Cancun airport is quite an experience. While it is nothing difficult or scary, it is something you should be prepared for. With a little knowledge and preparation, the whole experience will go faster and you will be on the beach quicker.

Cancun’s airport is quite large. There are now four terminals. They are numbered 1, 2, 3 & 4.  You will likely land at Terminal 3 or 4 depending on what airline you fly. If you come on a charter or a domestic flight, you may land at terminal 2. Terminal 1 is rarely used by the flying public.

Terminal 4 airlines include: Aero Mexico, Air Europa, Air France, Air Transat, Alaska Airlines, Condor, Frontier, Interjet, Lufthansa, Novair, Premiair, Southwest, Sun Country, Thomas Cook, Transaero, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, & WestJet.

Terminal 3 airlines include: Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Evelop, Eurowings, JetBlue, Spirit, United Airlines & Wamos.

Terminal 2 airlines include: Aeromar, Copa, Cubana, Latam, Magnicharters, Sunwing, Thomson,Viva Aerobus & Volaris

The above information is subject to change, so be sure to check your air info carefully. 

*Cancun Airport is now going through a pilot program (no pun intended) that eliminates the familiar FMM two-part forms that we used to fill in on the plane. Now, the immigration agent will just want to stamp your passport and will likely give you 180 days in Mexico. Cancun airport is one of a handful of Mexican airports that are using this new system. If you fly to a different city, you may have to fill in the form. I am sure that in the big picture, this will be the new system and the old forms will disappear from our lives.

You will likely have a “jetway bridge” connect to the plane and you will be dumped into the same part of the terminal where they handle departures. Tourists will be everywhere. The people flying back home can be easily identified by their fried skin, bloated livers and “Hard Rock” T-shirts. Ignore them and look for Immigration. At Terminal 3, it is down one floor, there are signs for it all over.

Immigration is the “wild card” in the whole airport experience. You can be here for 30 seconds or stuck for hours. Often tourists make the situation more difficult by lining up in only one line, leaving dozens of inspectors with nothing to do. Have a good look at the situation and try to pick a good line, working your way to the right often works well.

*Yet another “pilot program” is underway in some of the Cancun terminals. Instead of meeting up with a friendly immigration agent, you may meet up with an “e-Gate machine”. You scan your passport and collect a receipt and you are in the country in about 30 seconds. These machines are meant to speed up the immigration process for all visitors and ease the chronic shortage of agents at the airport. If you don’t want to use a machine, there are still human agents ready to help you.

If you are a permanent or temporary Mexican resident visa holder, you are advised to NOT use these machines under any circumstances. Using them could make you enter as a tourist and your hard-earned residency will disappear. 

Congratulations. You are through immigration. Now grab a luggage cart if necessary and walk to the baggage carousels. There are several, marked by numbers and hopefully marked with your flight number. They have been known to switch carousels around, so watch the other ones too. Usually the luggage comes out quite quickly. This is where you will tell yourself you’ll never buy another @#$%& black suitcase because they all look alike. Next time you’ll tie a piece of ribbon to the handle or something. Next time…

Also, look around the carousels for your bag. The carousels are not big enough and bags often fall off or are put aside if they have made the trip around a few too many times.

Gather your bags and go through customs. Normally, a customs agent will approach you as you are trying to exit and ask you some simple questions. Usually, they will ask about their two favourite duty topics: tobacco and alcohol. If you have neither of these, and don’t have a really bulging luggage cart, you will likely get to exit quickly. At worst, they may want to do a cursory search of your bags or x-ray them. The old “stoplight” system appears to be history.

Transportation

Okay, you made it into the country with yourselves and luggage intact. Now, how are you getting to Puerto Morelos? Most of the tourists you flew with will be herded onto large buses and hauled off to their all-inclusives. You are probably handling your own transport. You have several choices. They range greatly in price. Driving time to Puerto Morelos is just 15-20 minutes.

Rent a Car: If you are getting a car for a week or more, book it at least a week out and get it at the airport. All the big companies are represented at the airport. We usually book our cars on Travelocity or Expedia (use the Canadian versions (.ca) if you are from Canada) and go with the cheapest option. Remember that the price will almost double when you add insurance. Some credit card rental car insurance does not cover Mexico, and in any case, you want to make sure you have a 1-800 number that works in Mexico that you can call if you get in trouble or an accident. Renting a car for a day or two can be done in Puerto Morelos.

Book a Private Transport: There are a bunch of companies that do this. We like Jin from Abbey del Sol. You can book him here: http://www.abbeydelsol.com/transportation/ A driver will be waiting outside the doors with a sign with your name on it. It’s seamless. Jin will also stop at a grocery store if you wish for a small extra fee.

For the ride back to the airport, the rates drop. You can grab a taxi in town back to the airport for $600 pesos. Book at the kiosk, wave one down or contact us for the info of a driver.

Taxi: Book a taxi at one of the booths on the way out of the airport. Cost is about $70-$90 US per taxi, up to 4 persons. It will cost about $25 when you go back to the airport from Puerto Morelos. The driver will be from Cancun and will likely not know anything about Puerto Morelos, so make sure you have directions to where you are staying. Uber has now been approved in our state, but they are not really established yet for airport pickups. 

Public Transport: Book it at the booth on the way out of the airport. Cost is about $20-$30 US per person to Puerto Morelos. Two companies, Grey Line or Greenline. Booths near the exit. They will wait until they have at least four persons before they will make the trip. The driver will be from Cancun and will likely not know anything about Puerto Morelos, so make sure you have directions to where you are staying.

Bus: *Update: The ADO bus is not stopping at Puerto Morelos right now. We want them back! Why not contact them and ask them to come back to Puerto Morelos. 

Walk: Not an option. The airport is way out on its own.

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Note: Try to arrange your transport before you leave home or at least before you leave the airport. As soon as you step outside, you will be deluged with offers of transport and help with your bags. Official bag helpers wear blue shirts with logos on them. Unofficial guys will carry your bag anywhere for a tip, though likely they will try to take you to their friend’s transport company. Outside the airport is like running the gauntlet. Keep a firm grip on your bags (unless you want help) and get clear of the chaos. There are bars located to the left and right as you exit if you would like to get an early start on the fiesta.

If someone is meeting you at the airport, in Terminal 3, take a left AFTER you exit the airport. There is an official “meeting place” sign and a bar right there. They are most likely waiting for you right there. At Terminal 4, there is a special “Friends and Family” door to exit. Make sure you know where you are going before you exit the terminal, they won’t let you back in.

Other tips: The temperature change for you, especially if you are coming from a northern climate, is going to be shocking. This is where zip-off pants are priceless.

Timeshare guys are omnipresent at the airport. They will offer a ride to a resort for a 90-minute presentation and a whole pile of gifts. Know what you are getting yourself into. You may not be up to such an adventure after flying all day.