This Saturday, the first part of the day we spent in the crystal clear cenote Azul and the rest of the day walking the Playa del Carmen streets and lying on the beach near the pier to Cozumel, but in the evening we went to the unique and absolutely beautiful cave restaurant Alux.
In the morning we took a walk to the local food market through the less touristy streets of Playa del Carmen.
Behind the food market, there was a small garden with an interesting statue in it.
Then, we went for a ride to find the Monkey sanctuary, which we were planning to visit next week. On our way back home, we saw numerous cenote signs. We chose to stop at cenote Azul (Blue Cenote), which is located just south of Puerto Aventuras in the Riviera Maya, about a 20 minute drive from Playa del Carmen. The admission area was right off the road.
These little cars are too cute not to take a picture. 🙂
We obtained the tickets, parked the car and took a walkway to the cenote.
Cenotes are one of the top attractions in the Riviera Maya and Playa del Carmen area. This underground river system runs for hundreds of miles in this area. Some parts of these caves are completely underground, some are partially covered and some even sit on the surface like a lake, where cenote Azul is a perfect example. Some have really impressive stalactites and stalagmites, some are just fun to swim in and almost all are absolutely beautiful.
While walking down, we noticed, that some parts of the cenote were pretty crowded already.
We stopped at the less crowded area.
The water in the cenote is rainwater that has been filtered through limestone found in this area, resulting in crystal clear fresh water. The water was quite chilly, but you get used to it quickly. The floor of the cenote is very slippery because of the rock formations under the water.
We spent a good part of the day swimming, checking out the fish and relaxing around the cenote. One of my favorite experiences was the fish therapy. We walked by many fish spas in Playa Del Carmen, where you put your feet in the water and the tiny fish nip and suck on your feet. This is just nature cleaning your skin. This cenote has the same fish and if you sit still the fish will come to you. It felt a little ticklish. The fish did pretty god job with the pedicure. 🙂
The fish spa is going on.
Cenote Azul is quite large. There are several different areas with various depths, so if you are not a strong swimmer you can bring a lifejacket or rent one on site for a minimal fee.
The main cenote area has a cliff that you can jump from. Just as entertaining is the people-watching as they try to convince themselves to do it. While we were there, people of all ages were having fun jumping from the cliff.
Here are some jumps we caught in the video.
After spending some time in the water, we decided to take a walk around the cenote.
We saw a few smaller cenotes with large rocks on the bottom.
Another small cenote partially covered by cave.
Of course, we stumbled upon a few iguanas. This one was a pretty good size.
Exploring surroundings. Interesting art piece, I guess.
One more view of the cenote on our way back to the parking lot. We had a really nice relaxing time here.
Here is a short video composed from our cenote live pictures.
In the evening, we had a reservation at Alux Restaurant, a most unique restaurant located entirely inside a cave, which is just outside of the center of Playa Del Carmen. It took us around 12 minutes to get there by cab. Here is the entrance, literally heading to a hole in the ground. It was raining a little, but was nice and warm.
The name of the restaurant “Alux” comes from the local mythological elf-like creature that inhabits the woods. Like many cultures these creatures are blamed for their mischievous behavior and when items go missing people say “it must have been the alux”. The alux are said to live in caves.
The stair lead down to the lobby of the restaurant.
From the lobby, we entered this charming dining room below. We were really impressed with the design and the atmosphere in the restaurant. It was absolutely stunning.
A door at the very end is the entrance to the wine cellar. Customers are offered to visit it and chose their desired wine.
Some tables are set up right next to the cenote, where guests can hear the sound of dripping water.
A short video clip.
Lighting there really makes a difference.
We came early before the restaurant got crowded, so that we had a chance to take some better pictures.
This cave restaurant serves up a fusion cuisine of local taste and highlights the natural landscape of the area. The food was very tasty. We didn’t order anything authentic or exotic like fried insects , instead, we had wild pork and salmon complemented by various ingredients as the entrees.
It was pretty dark, so the server had to use a flashlight while explaining what ingredients our meals consisted of.
Our server kindly took a picture of us at dining the table.
A cute photo op with the Mayan performers. 🙂
Please don’t kill my Dave… 🙂
After our dinner we took a walk inside the cave. Most people like to come for drinks in the lounge and walk the loop through the cave. There are lights that come on as you walk around. It is open to all guests as long as there is not a private event going on.
This is a large cave containing a cenote and numerous passages. Here is the map of the restaurant.
A nice person offered to take a picture of both of us at the cave passage.
We enjoyed the beautiful stalagmites and stalactites and saw many private rooms for a special occasion inside the cave.
The lounge area is incredibly beautiful there.
There is a little charming canopy outside the restaurant, where we were waiting for a cab on our way home. I like this restaurant very much and would, definitely, visit it again if in the area.
Upon our arrival home, we naturally went down to the beach and took some pictures with the Playa del Carmen sign.
This area of Playa del Carmen is very popular and festive especially on weekends. I am so glad, that Dave found this place. It was beautiful, comfortable and very convenient living in the midst of 5th Avenue. It didn’t matter what time of the day we would enter this street, there was always something going on there. Whether it was an offer to sample tequila starting at 10 in the morning (?), or visit local shops where everything was “almost free”, or countless tour salesmen, or people enjoying themselves in Fat Tuesday across the street – it was a lot of fun!!!
