The Yucatan Peninsula and its pristine, post-card-ready Caribbean beaches are the reason we extended our stay in Mexico. Shortly after we arrive our enthusiasm fades. The camping options are expensive, which we expected, but no one seems to want us. We, along with our friends, are turned away from several spots for various reasons, so the last three weeks are spent away from our camper in an apartment; time we thoroughly enjoyed, but not what we wanted our stop here to solely consist of.
When we visit an ocean front restaurant suggested by our current hosts, we are quickly enamored with the place. Chamico's modest grounds with its plastic furniture and simple menu sits between rows of multi-million dollar homes.
It's astonishing that the owners have held on to this property and not sold it for the billions of dollars they would most certainly make. There's sea grass in the water, but they've cut out a path revealing the sandy bottom that leads to translucent azure water the temperature of a heated pool.
Beyond the restaurant is a palm tree laden area that begs for a hammock to be hung. When Pete says he's going to ask if they allow camping I literally scoff and shake my head....there's no way they'll let us camp here. It's too perfect. When he asks, the owner seems genuinely excited. He asks if we want to stay that night. We do, but we've rented our apartment through the end of the week.
Excitedly, we return a few days later. They direct us to the back of the property, away from the restaurant, just where we were hoping to camp. It takes us a night or two to get back in the swing of things, but soon our camper feels like home again.
There's a few people around during the day, but we mostly share our camp with all the animals that live in the wilderness behind us...brightly colored birds, enormous, steroid taking hermit crabs, and coatis that are just as curious about us as we are about them.
The owner checks on us daily to make sure we're content. The nights we usually have to ourselves.
We've restocked for five days so we won't have to leave and we don't, taking full advantage of this Shangri-la we've luckily found in one of the busiest and most developed parts of Mexico.