Calle Corazon
Calle Corazon translates into Heart Street, and you might say there’s a lot of heart packed into this short block of Playa del Carmen. It is located just off 5th Avenue, the pedestrian only street, between Calle 12 and 14. See the curved street in red on the map.
Corazon is undoubtedly one of the prettiest streets in Playa del Carmen, full of green foliage, sophisticated decor and artsy shops.
At 5th Avenue & Calle Corazon, Sur is a popular Argentinian steakhouse.
I believe the name of this store is La O. They always have cute clothing that will have you looking like a hip Playa local. For ladies only.
Another cute clothing store. “Studio 9 – Art + Fashion” They’ve got stuff for the guys here.
Pachamama carries some beatiful artisan products, such as Frida Kahlo paintings, Day of the Dead skulls, ceramic crosses and handmade handbags.
Above these three stores is Jaime Fierro’s gallery where he sells his own work as well as those by local artists such as Celeste Acevedo. The paintings look wonderful from down below, but for the life of me, I can’t seem to figure out how to get up there! Someone, please do tell!
These chairs, found scattered throughout Calle Corazon, double as works of art and are available for sale.
Mmmm … gelato
A lifesize puzzle piece of a skeleton dressed in a Mayan huipil. You don’t see that every day! Unless you happen to work at the Caribbean Puzzles store where this is displayed.
Former Ritz-Carlton chef John Gray runs this gourmet restaurant, John Gray’s Place. Upscale food, upscale decor, upscale price. I’ve only had the pleasure of eating here once, but it was so good!
The entrance to Spa Itza, a very popular day spa.
The Mexican franchise, Botanicus, sells natural beauty products.
And here we are at the other end of Calle Corazon, at 14th Street. In the background is Hot Baking Company, crowded with breakfast patrons.
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Happy Anniversary Playa del Carmen
Today, the municipality of Solidaridad turns 15 years old. Solidaridad governs the towns of Playa del Carmen, Paamul, Xpu-Ha, Puerto Aventuras and northern Akumal. Until just a few months ago, it also included Tulum. But Tulum recently won a fight to secede from Solidaridad and form their own municipality, taking most of Akumal and Chemuyil with it.
Solidaridad won its own fight fifteen years ago. For many years, Playa del Carmen and the rest of the tiny fishing villages along the Riviera Maya were governed by the municipality of Cozumel. As Cancun grew more popular, travelers started headed south and discovered beautiful, unspoiled beaches. With increased tourism, Playa del Carmen grew larger and yearned to govern itself. In 1993, Playa won that right and seceded from the Cozumel municipality. Solidaridad was born.
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Public Service Announcement
Hand painted signs, or rotulos in Spanish, are traditionally used in Mexico to advertise businesses, announce upcoming events, and declare property for sale. In the tourist zones of Playa del Carmen, these rotulos have largely been replaced by modern digitally produced signage. But in the surrounding areas where most of us live, rotulos are still very prevalent.
Even public service announcements are painted on walls. In a previous entry, I shared pictures of three of these announcements. Today on my walk, I noticed an entire wall of psas on 20th Avenue between Constituyentes and Calle 20. Here they are with English translations.
“We work to confront obstacles and to put an end to violence against women and children. You are not alone. Integral Union for the Attention of Women” (Sorry, tough to translate the name of the organization.)
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Vibrant Beach Clubs
The summers in Playa del Carmen are sizzling hot, but the tourists just keep on coming. Playa is hopping right now! As usual, visitors have come from all over the world, but we are especially seeing a lot of Mexicans right now.
Yesterday, after lunch at La Fragata with the lovely Marissab, I took a little walk to check out the action on the beach. Kool and Mamitas beach clubs were particularly vibrant, packed with people and energy! See for yourself.
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North End Beach & Condos
Tropical Storm Dolly has brought us some rain and gloom the last couple of days. I haven’t gone out for a walk, but as luck would have it, I have some photos from Saturday just before the clouds came in.
In my last entry, I walked 5th Avenue from Calle 38 north to Ave CTM. In this walk, I took Calle 38 towards the beach to explore the area just east of there. This area is full of condos, some a few years old and many currently under construction.
The first place I encountered was La Cueva del Chango. This is a great breakfast spot in a pretty and unique setting.
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Fifth Avenue Stroll – Part Cuatro
After a much too long hiatus (or was it a writer’s strike?), Walking About Playa is back baby! When I last left off, I was walking 5th Avenue north and had reached Calle 34. Today, I go further north to an area that many of you have probably not seen yet. This part of 5th Avenue has the same cobblestone paving but is still open to car traffic. With all the new restaurants, condos, hotels & stores opening up, it won’t be long before it too becomes pedestrian only.
A new sushi place, Tsuba, just opened up in the last few weeks.
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Fifth Avenue Stroll – Part Tres
On my last 5th Avenue walk, I had made it up to Constituyentes Avenue. Today, I pick up where I left off and head further north.
I lived here for months and walked by this area a million times before I ever noticed the Caribbean Paradise hotel above.
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Andale Gran Bazar
Andale held their annual Gran Bazar along 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen today. Anyone in the community can rent a table for $50 pesos and sell their wares. As you’ll see, there was quite a variety of products available.
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Fifth Avenue Stroll – Part Dos
Has it been a week already? Let’s see if I can make it up to you. Last time I gave you just a little taste of 5th Avenue from Calle 4 north to Calle 8. Today, we’ll pick up at Calle 8 and head north to Constituyentes Avenue.
La Parilla is offering 44 different kebab and fajita dishes during their Brochettes (kebabs) & Fajitas Festival May 10-25.
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5th Avenue Stroll
I’m back! Still a bit sick, but I was itching to get out! So, I met up with Biz this morning to hang the new In The Roo banner up at Bad Boys. Biz hung it, I watched.
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