It Felt Like an Ordinary New Year's Eve in Playa del Carmen!

We struck out last night at about 10:45 PM. It's only a leisurely fifteen-minute walk to 5th Avenue from our studio apartment. It was strange being out at that hour and stranger seeing most businesses in our part of town closed. We knew, however, that things would probably be jumping on the pedestrian road which runs parallel to the Playa del Carmen beach.

 

We walked from the ADO bus terminal to the other side of Av. Constituyentes.  As we continued, the crowds kept swelling.  As Mexico and parts of the Caribbean are the only places wide open to US and Canadian tourists, the city was packed.  Planes are still flying in daily from Europe as well.

Of course, younger Millennials and Gen Z were out in large numbers.  It's not possible to drink or eat wearing a mask, but 75% weren't wearing any even on the streets.  I'm sure the planeloads of folks from COVID-rampant areas included those carrying the virus.  I'm also sure that it'll spread due to last night's activities.

We dutifully wore our meagre protection and stayed away from the tightly-packed bars and restaurants.  No one seemed to be following social distancing regulations, so it wouldn't surprise me to see this part of the coast move up to the orange restrictions soon.

It was interesting to be in a place where the celebrations went on unabated.  I'm hoping that a year from today most of the world will again be posting photos like these, because of eradication, not stupidity.

 

HAPPY 2021!