InPuertoMorelos.com

Today (June 8, 2020) we are officially moving from red light to orange light on the four stoplight system that has been put in place in our area for Covid-19. The new light means we can open up ever so slightly. The beautiful beach remains closed but restaurants and cafes are now allowed to open and seat up to 30% of their capacity. You can read a detailed description of what is allowed to open here.

Essential services like grocery stores can now be open up to 9:00 PM under the new rules, instead of the current 6:00 PM. This applies to food deliveries as well. A restaurant source tells us that they will be allowed to be open until 9:00 at night, but not serve alcohol after 5:00.

We still need to wear masks and only one person from each family can go to the grocery store.

After 12 weeks in self-quarantine, we are very excited that things are starting to loosen up. The first cafe to announce that they will be reopening is Lola y Moya. They have been open for delivery and takeout during the shutdown and will continue to do that, but will also now add 30% of their tables into the mix.

We chatted with Eduardo, owner of Al Chimichurri and they will be open beginning Tuesday at 30% capacity. Sunday they were cleaning, painting and freshening things up. We look forward to a nice big steak!

I just took a little bike ride around the port side. A few places like one of the [email protected] locations has put their tables out on the street again. A couple of cafes like Le Cafe de Amancia and Local Coffee + Shop were open, but I saw no tables out. Mem Al Mare had its decorative bike out hanging again and was definitely prepping to reopen. Construction at The Fives is underway again and there is more traffic out on the streets.

I extended my bike ride to the Colonia. A lot of places had chairs and tables out and others were preparing. Micheladas del Semáforo had chairs and tables occupied in the early afternoon, they are running special hours, 11am-5pm to conform to the new rules. A few small stores were open too.

But not every owner is opening right away. We talked to a few, like Arturo at El Campanario (open for delivery and takeout – dining room to open June 16) and Karla at El Pirata and they are going to take a “wait and see” approach. Anthony over at La Sirena will be opening the airy rooftop area later in the week (Friday if all goes well). El Nicho is also open for delivery and take-out only right now.

Marco at I Wanna Pizza says they will continue to be open on a reduced schedule, Thursday to Sunday, for delivery and takeout only.

Under the stoplight system, bars and nightclubs are not allowed to open until there is a green light. So we are not sure what this means for most of our beach bars as many of them are restaurants as well. And with the beach remaining closed, it looks like we will have to wait a while longer before we see these establishments open.

Alma Libre Bookstore will be opening this week. They have taken advantage of the Covid-lull to renovate, and they now have air conditioning! If you have read (and reread) all of your books while in quarantine, you have a great local place to restock.

The other big news in Puerto Morelos is that the remodelling of our town square has begun. This controversial project, which was set to begin last February, at the height of the tourist season, was delayed due to push-back from the community. Many residents like the square and feel that the funds would be better spent elsewhere in the town. As a protest and to show their love for the square, a local group occupied the park and staged entertainment every night to the delight of visitors and residents alike. This worked well until the Covid-19 lockdown forced them to leave.

Late last Thursday night, during a tropical storm, city officials moved in with heavy equipment and began to tear down the square in Puerto Morelos and replace it with a new, modernized one. State police were called in to keep protesters away from the site.

So we say a sad farewell to our town square and we will have to wait to see what the new one will be like.

Last Friday we were visited by Tropical Storm Cristobal. We were on the outer edges of the storm so we had some high winds and a lot of rain. No damage was done and our beach was left looking beautiful.

That’s all for now. We will try to keep you up to date with what’s happening in your favourite little beach town. Until then, subscribe to our newsletter and when you want to visit Puerto Morelos, make sure you stay with us at Casa de los Viajeros.

Since many of you are not here right now (and we can tell by the lack of people on the streets), we thought we would do a quick post to show you what Puerto Morelos is like during Covid-19 times.

Our beach is closed! (and has been for two months!)

We are currently in Phase 3 of the lockdown. This means that only essential services are open. This includes grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores etc. Everything closes at 6:00PM.

Unfortunately for us and all of Mexico, it was determined that brewing beer was not an essential service, so after some panic buying, the stores quickly ran out of suds. We never had a shortage of wine or liquor…or toilet paper for that matter.

Our neighbouring state of Yucatan went completely dry for a couple of months, only recently selling any kind of hooch again in most cities. (Valladolid and Progresso remain dry). Thankfully, June saw the breweries in Mexico crank up again and we are slowly getting our beer back here in PM.

There are also a handful of restaurants open for take-out and delivery. They are not allowed to be open past 6 pm, which makes for very quiet evenings. The days are pretty quiet too.

Everyone in town remains friendly, we are slowly getting better at recognizing old friends and neighbours behind their masks. The population remains in good spirits, though looking forward to an end to all this. Hugs and handshakes are off the table for now, which is very strange for us.

Officially, if you don’t have reason to be on the streets you must be home. When you are out of your house, even driving alone in your car, you are required to wear a mask. A mask and a shot of hand sanitizer is required before entering any grocery store.

The state and town do not have a firm opening date. We have been told that we will be able to do a slow reopening, including the beach in the second week of June, but there are few details.

There are many people waiting and wanting to go back to work. Tourism is the top employer in our state of Quintana Roo and with more than 100,000 hotel rooms in our state currently closed, this means a lot of people do not have jobs.

A lot of local folks are inventing their own jobs. Suddenly we have several delivery companies in town that will do your grocery shopping for you, even making runs to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Many amateur chefs and bakers are selling food out of their homes, everything from tamales to doughnuts can be purchased and delivered. Many are sewing masks, some featuring Mexican designs and fabrics.

In the meantime, we here at Casa de los Viajeros are implementing new policies to make your next stay safer, more relaxing and worry-free. Visit our website to see more about this.

We look forward to seeing everyone soon. In the meantime subscribe to our website for updates. Stay safe and be well from all of us at InPuertoMorelos.com and Casa de los Viajeros.

Hasta pronto!!

Here are the cash exchange rates for May 29, 2020 at CI Banco on the highway in Puerto Morelos.

I post these rates on occasion so that you can compare them with what your bank or the ATM may offer. To see where the rates have been in the last couple of years, search “exchange rates” on our page at InPuertoMorelos.com

For comparison today, G Capital (by Aki) was offering a slightly better rate for the US dollar, 21.00, but much worse on the Canadian dollar (14.00), Euro (22.00) and GBP (23.80)

Many thanks to those who took part in our annual “Best In Puerto Morelos” survey. We started this survey as part of our Beach Reads newsletter back in 2005 when we owned Alma Libre Bookstore, so that visitors could share their favourite things about Puerto Morelos with other visitors (and to make sure we weren’t missing out on anything ourselves!)

So without further ado… here are the results of the 2020 InPuertoMorelos.com Beach Reads Survey. We will start with the last question we asked, and move up to the first.

Where are you from?

1. USA 48%
2. Canada 40%
3. Mexico 8%
4. Other 4%

What is your best tip or hint to give to a new visitor to Puerto Morelos?
The most popular answer to this question was “Get to know the people of Puerto Morelos”. The charm of our town really does lie in our people, from the friendly staff at your favourite restaurant to the people who smile at you on the street, it’s PM’s people that keep bringing you back. We had some other valuable tips too:

Next we asked, Do you use InPuertoMorelos.com for:
The Restaurant Guide? Yes, most people do.
Happy Hour Information? Yes!
Day Trip Information? No, never thought of that.
Vacation Rentals? No (Please have a look, this is how you can support this webpage 😃 )

Complete this sentence: Whatever you do, do not miss (BLANK) in Puerto Morelos!

1. The beach
2. Snorkelling
3. The square at night

Do you subscribe to InPuertoMorelos.com and use it to have your questions about Puerto Morelos answered? 86% of you said YES

What is your best “hidden gem” in Puerto Morelos?

• People’s #1 answer for this was Punta Bravo also known as South Beach.
• The Murals. Many houses in town and even the sewage plant have started painting murals on their walls. It is well worth your time to take a walk around town and see these.
• The Nobodies! These guys are a great local band that plays at several places around town.
• Mina’s morning yoga on the beach. More info here
• Fonda Americana Grill tucked away in La Colonia. We love it!

Which is your favourite Cenote?

1. Siete Bocas
2. Cenote Zapote & Lucero Verde (tie)
3. Cenote Kin Ha

Best place to listen to music?

A leader by a long way is the popular & pulsing Salsa Night at La Sirena followed by Monday and Friday nights at Tanino’s.

Where is your favourite Happy Hour?

The winner again by a landslide, My Paradise. This was followed by La Sirena’s rooftop bar.

Best place for dessert?

1. Panna E Cioccolato
2. Marquesitas (the stand in the square)
3. The bakery car that drives around town at dusk (People love that car!)

Best place for breakfast?
Congratulations again to the long-time winner in this category, El Nicho. Honourable mentions go to Mangata and Lola y Moya.

Who has the best Mexican food?

There was a surprise winner in this category! And a first ever showing for this family-run restaurant that has been around for many years.

1. Tuch Tlan
2. Tacos.com (the original)

Honourable mentions go to Blue Morelos and El Socio Taqueria Naiz.

What is your favourite place to have a drink? (Does not have to be alcoholic) No one even came close to these two places.

1. La Sirena (The rooftop scored big points)
2. My Paradise (Toes in the sand, eyes on the water…hard to argue)

What is your favourite restaurant in Puerto Morelos?

The restaurant question is always the most popular category. The votes were split this year between over 50 different restaurants and there were lots of changes! Here are this year’s winners!

1. El Campanario
2. Taninos
3. La Sirena
4. La Pizza Nostros
5. El Nicho
6. Cantina Habanero
7. Blue Morelos
8. Los Gauchos
9. John Gray’s Kitchen
10. El Pesquero
11. Punto Corcho
12. Al Chimichurri/Spaghettino

CONGRATULATIONS to El Campanario for their first win! This family-run restaurant works really hard to deliver great food at reasonable prices. The service is always friendly. Arturo, Mary and the rest of the gang always make you feel very welcome. They are so popular at night, they recently opened a second location on the square, Habacuc’s Bistro, for breakfast, lunch and desserts.  

If you would like to compare these to our 2019 Survey Results you can click here. And if you would like more information on these restaurants please check our voluminous restaurant guide here.

A BIG GRACIAS to everyone who completed the 2020 InPuertoMorelos.com Beach Reads survey. We hope you enjoyed the results and we look forward to doing it again next year. Make sure you subscribe to our blog so that you don’t miss out on everything going on InPuertoMorelos.

We have had several emails and notes from people (thank you very much) asking about how Puerto Morelos is during the COVID-19 pandemic. For us, it is very quiet. Like you can hear a pin drop quiet. There are very few people on the streets and the few you see, you likely know. Of course, you may not recognize them right away, as we are wearing masks. We all wave and greet each other warmly from a distance.

Currently, the town is practising self-isolation just like many of you are. This began happening around mid-March with the closure of businesses like La Sirena, My Paradise and Don Mexkal. This was followed by all non-essential businesses closing including all hotels and all-inclusive resorts.

As far as cases of COVID-19 in our town, (as we write this on April 20, 2020) officially there has only been one confirmed case from Puerto Morelos. It is a woman who resides here but is not in town. She tested positive in Mexico City after returning from Europe. She is being treated in Mexico City. For the latest numbers in the state of Quintana Roo click here.

In late March, the Mexican government issued an order closing all of the beaches in the country, including ours here in Puerto Morelos. They made the move just before Semana Santa (Easter), which is typically a time when families pack the beach, to discourage people from vacationing in la playa.

Last week the Governor of the state issued a stronger stay at home order. All non-essential businesses must close and even essential businesses (i.e. grocery stores) must be closed by 6:00 pm. This means that after 6 pm, no businesses can be open, including restaurants for take-out or delivery.

In Puerto Morelos, we have been told we must wear masks when we go outside our homes. Chedraui Selecto will not allow you in the store without a mask. The only businesses open during the day on the port side (we cannot speak to La Colonia as we are discouraged from travelling there) are the Chedraui Selecto (from 7 am to 6 pm, with the first 2 hours reserved for high-risk people and seniors), the two OXXOs, the pharmacies and the paint store.

A few restaurants still remain open for take-out in the afternoons, but they must be closed by 6 pm. The grocery stores can only sell liquor from 10 am to 5 pm, so you have to plan your home happy hour ahead of time.

Most people in our area work in the tourist industry. With the onset of the virus, the majority of people in our town have lost their jobs. With no social safety net in Mexico, this has made for very hard times for many. The state did issue some food hampers for local people. They included rice, beans, cooking oil etc, but this is really just a drop in the bucket. The local community has been quick to step up and supply food aid to people in need. There have been at least two food drives, thanks to the support of Puerto Morelos fans locally and around the world. With everything closed, and a lot of local businesses unlikely to open again, the need for food aid will be ongoing and growing. If you would like to help those in need, check out the mexiCAN Compassion Project or the Puerto Morelos Community Food Bank. Both have options to donate from wherever you are in the world.

Crococun is also looking for help to feed the animals while they remain closed. They ask that you help by buying tickets in advance or donating directly.

The self-isolation measures for our town are currently in effect until at least May 17, but more likely until the end of May. Nobody knows for sure when we’ll be able to do simple things again like walk the beach or dine with friends.

The irony of all this is that the beach has never been better. We are able to see the shore through the security tape. There is little to no Sargasso and the weather has been amazing! April is a great time of year to be here.

Keep an eye on our blog (subscribe here) as we will continue to update you on what is happening from inside your favourite little beach community. And watch for fresh content daily on Instagram and Facebook.

Don’t forget to complete our short survey on your favourite things in Puerto Morelos, especially the restaurants and bars. They need to hear from you now more than ever.

Stay safe and be well from us at InPuertoMorelos.com and Casa de los Viajeros.