The "Key" to a Good Time in El Cuyo
When I make plans - God laughs. I have said this more than once in my life, but for my 69th birthday it was especially true. My plan was simple, this was not a monumental birthday so I was going to spend it playing Bingo with some girlfriends, a little dinner, a couple of drinks. What ended up happening? Mike and I spent 2.5 weeks in El Cuyo, first 3 nights with 2 other couples and the rest of the time just me, Mike and Manito.
Let’s back up. Our friends, Pam and Tod said they were going with their dog to spend 3 nights on the beach in El Cuyo. We had wanted to see the place and asked if we could tag along and bring Manito. Mark and Rosemary decided to join us and we all booked rooms at the same dog-friendly hotel on the beach. As the crow flies, El Cuyo is not that far from us. We are on the eastern, Caribbean side of the Yucatan Peninsula in Quintana Roo, and it is on the northern side of the peninsula in the state of Yucatan. The drive itself on many narrow roads is about 2.5 hours from Puerto Aventuras. Tod and Pam were in their car with their dog, Kola, and Mark and Rosemary rode with us. In a little town called Popolna we stopped to let both Kola and Manito out for a few minutes. Mike left the car running since it was a quick stop, then back in the car for the last hour and a half of our drive. We were stopped along the way at a police stop because we had our front license plate in the window of our car, which is acceptable in Quintana Roo, but apparently not in the state of Yucatan. We explained where we were from and handled the situation and off we went to our final destination.
At the zocolo in El Cuyo we parked the car to run into a small store to buy a few things. Mike turned off the car and then immediately tried to start it again because he felt something unusual. He pushed the ignition button and nothing happened. The car said that he was lacking the key. Then, of course, all 6 of us tore the car apart looking for key, not believing the computer that it wasn’t with us. The car was stuck, we could not put it in gear, we could not move it, we could not lock it.
Luckily we had Tod and Pam’s car and they were able to shuttle us and our luggage to the hotel, about a mile away, to get checked in. Only one of our 3 rooms were ready and this hotel did not allow us to check in early but agreed to let us store everyone’s luggage in the one room.
With the luggage stowed, we went up to the restaurant area which was a second-floor palapa located on the roadside of the property. We had a drink and discussed our options. I tried calling BMW in Cancun but they were closed for the weekend. I called BMW in Charleston, SC, knowing they would be open. I spoke to a man in parts and explained our situation. He said he couldn’t believe the car drove for 90 minutes without the key. He also explained the BMW policy regarding lost key fobs: the car, the owner and all ownership documents needed to be presented at the dealership, once the proof of ownership was accepted a new fob would be ordered, then installed after a two week waiting period. That didn’t sound promising, who knew how long it would take in Mexico. The only thing we could do over the weekend was to see if there was any chance we could find the key in Popolna, where it was most likely lost. Pam, Rosie and I stayed at the hotel with the 2 dogs and the luggage. Mark, Tod and Mike headed back to see if they could find the key.
While the guys were having to drive 3 more hours and search with no luck. We three were learning about the hotel we were in. (Notice I am not mentioning the name of the place, which should tell you something.) We first noticed that my room locked with a padlock on the outside of the sliding glass door. That wasn’t the only strange lock. I soon learned the hard way that the bathroom door also locked on the outside and the maid had pushed the lock in. I didn’t realize this so when I closed the door I locked myself in the bathroom. I actually tried to pick the lock with my toenail scissors with no luck, so I resorted to pounding on the door and yelling, which only upset Manito. Manito started scratching on the sliding glass door. Luckily Pam walked by and noticed him. She slid the door open just enough to ask if it was alright if she let Manito out because he seemed agitated. I told her yes, but to please let me out first. That was the message anyway, but I probably used slightly different words.
After that we decided to try out the plunge pools. Ours was too shallow and located under a stairway. Pam’s which was practically on the beach, was quite deep, which we realized, after getting in, and had no way to get out! No stairs, no ladder. We luckily had a small wooden table close enough that we could put it in the pool and if we took turns holding it down under the water, preventing it from floating, we were able to step up and get out of the pool. We later would learn that the hotel provided no drinking water, no maid service, no extra toilet paper, just the bare minimum, but for beachfront prices. The saving grace is the property itself was amazing, the beach incredible, lots of shade and beach loungers. And how much time do we spend in our rooms anyway?
We did what any girls in our situation would do, we ordered margaritas and sat on the edge of the plunge pool waiting for the guys. A little while later, Pam checked her phone to see if Tod had left a message and the look on her face was one of disbelief. The message said their car had broken down just at the edge of town and they had to push it out of the way and were walking to the hotel. The guys returned without our key fob, completely exhausted, hot and thirsty. We all headed to our rooms to get settled in.
Mark and Rosie had the rooftop palapa, beach view room with three flights of terrifying stairs to climb. One flight of stairs did not even connect to the building and instead of a banister it had a rope to hold on to. Mike and I were in the padlocked room with the bathroom you have to be careful not to lock yourself in and with the bathroom faucet which was a pipe coming out of the wall, and a shower curtain rod that wouldn’t stay up. Oh, and ceiling lamps so low, I hit my head! Pam and Tod’s room was closest to the beach with a door that didn’t lock and the very deep plunge pool.
By day two Manito refused to go in our room and we would have to pick him up to bring him in. That should say it all. The upside? We were not in our rooms for very long each day. We loved the walks on the beach. The beach area was shaded and had nice loungers. Breakfast, which was included was quite good. And, most importantly, we were with friends who were able to laugh and make the best of our situation. We even commented several times that this experience really brought us closer! The silver lining!
We had a lot of laughs that weekend. Tod and Pam’s car started the next day so that was a positive. El Cuyo is a fun little town with some incredible restaurants all within walking distance.
The beaches of El Cuyo are a throwback to Tulum 20+ years ago – 2.5 miles of beautiful, wide, sandy beaches. The homes are built back away from the beach, so you still have a natural buffer between homes and the beach. Dogs are allowed to run free and there are very few people. The beach is incredibly clean. We learned later that the community often has beach clean-up days, which helps, but in general, people there take pride in their home and their environment. Depending on the wind direction, the gulf here can be full of wind and lots of surf, perfect for wind surfing and kite-boarding. Or it can be flat, perfect for swimming, paddleboarding and kayaking. On one of those calm days we saw a manta ray feeding and rolling on the surface, not far from where we were standing on the sand bar. They say in the summer you can see lots of them, dolphins too.
The first night we had an amazing meal at Zapote (read our review on Sac-Be.com), an incredible restaurant that feels like it is a friend’s backyard. The next evening we went to Casa de Palmas and had a great meal with wood-fired pizzas. Located just off the beach, it was part food truck, part restaurant kitchen, with a separate wood-burning-oven all situated around an open area with tables, chairs and a fire pit. This is one of everyone’s favorite places. Unfortunately, they closed March 24, 2024 for good. The land has been sold. It will be sadly missed, and we wish the owners well. Their plans were to move to Cozumel, so we will keep an eye open to see if they start a restaurant there.
On Monday we were on the phone with the dealership in Cancun only to be told the same thing the dealership in Charleston told us, except instead of 2 weeks, it was going to take a month. We asked if there was any way to expediate the process and the answer was “call a locksmith.” That was when we made the decision to stay in El Cuyo with our unlocked car until we could manage to get a new key fob. BUT under no circumstance was I staying any longer than one last night at this hotel. That last night I was unable to sleep. I was up cleaning at 3AM, and to avoid my first ever panic attack, Mike, Manito and I were walking on the beach by 4.
It just so happened there was a brand-new hotel, Nikau (read our review on Sac-Be.com) across the street - not on the beach but it looked nice from the road. Mike and I walked over and the minute we entered the property we felt better. The young woman who owned the hotel, Tamara, was so welcoming. We asked if they had any rooms available. YES! They had just opened and they did have a room that accepted dogs. We filled her in on our story and explained we didn’t know how long we would need the room. No problem, the room was ours starting tomorrow morning and for as long as we needed. I was so relieved that tears flowed down my face. I knew I could make it one more night, because tomorrow I was checking into Nikau. Not only was Tamara helpful and lovely, but we learned she had gone to high school in Puerto Aventuras! We found out we knew some of the same people. A peace came over me that never left through the next two weeks that we spent there.
Pam, Tod, Mark and Rosie were leaving the next morning but that night we all had a great dinner at Off the Vine (read our El Cuyo restaurant reviews on Sac-Be.com) – wine, appetizers, great food and laughter. We didn’t know how long Mike and I were going to be in El Cuyo but we all agreed, given our adventure, we couldn’t think of better people to share it with and that we all felt much closer for having been through this together. Mark and Rosie had Memo come and take them home, they wanted another option just in case there were any more issues with Tod and Pam’s car. And, they thought it best to have a second vehicle to follow Pam and Tod back home, just in case. After breakfast Mike and I quickly moved into Nikau and everyone else came to check out our new accommodations. Everyone realized they were leaving us with a lot of unknowns, but we were staying in a much better place.
We ended up staying at Nikau for 2 more weeks and a day. This was a very unplanned vacation. I might add also quite expensive, because on top of needing a new key fob, El Cuyo’s ONLY ATM was out of money the entire time. There are many wonderful inexpensive restaurants in El Cuyo but they do not take credit cards. Matter of fact, even those that do take cards can only do so when 1. there is electricity and 2. when they have WIFI. Neither of which you can guarantee of happening at any given moment in El Cuyo. Fortunately for us, Nikau has solar, so even when the electricity goes out they still have lights, fans and water. Several of the restaurants also have generators as back up for when they lose power.
Except for the fact we never knew day to day how long we would be in El Cuyo, we can’t think of a better place to be stranded. And no one loved it more than Manito. Each morning, he woke up curled up in our bed and slowly emerged from under the covers, had his breakfast and waited patiently for his morning walk on the beach. There are no leash laws in El Cuyo. Dogs own the streets, and in the mornings many owners enjoy walking their dogs on the beach. It was so fun to see Manito running up and down the sandy beaches and greeting new friends each day. He was also royally spoiled at Nikau by the owners, staff and even the other guests. He would lounge by the pool, getting up only to move from sun to shade and back again. Each restaurant we went to was pet-friendly, so he never had to spend time alone. If Mike and I wanted to go to the beach alone to swim, we would time it so he was in the room when the maid was cleaning. We took our lead from Manito and decided to make the best of our situation and try to stay in the moment, not get ahead of ourselves worrying about the car, when we would be able to leave or how we were going to afford this.
As lovely as our time was it was still stressful, and we were so appreciative of the friends who kept calling and checking on us, and Pablo, who was our confidant and translator. Each day we would walk at least once into town to make sure our unlocked car was safe. Mike gave a little money to the store owner to keep an eye on our car, and he notified the police on the very first day. But it was our friends, some as far away as the US, and other new friends we met, who were so supportive and encouraging. All were willing to help anyway they could and that meant so much to us. Those moments I wanted to break down there always seemed to be someone who made me laugh!
The process to get a new key fob required the locksmith to drive 2.5 hours to retrieve the computer from our car. To do that they had to remove several pieces, including the battery from under the hood of the car and store them in our unlocked car. They had to order a new key fob and wait for that to be delivered. The car’s computer, we found out later, had to be sent to Vera Cruz to be read. And, overlooked by us and the locksmith, it was the Friday of the Benito Juarez holiday weekend when the computer was shipped to Vera Crus, where it was promptly misplaced. There was a 90% chance that the computer could be read, and the code retrieved. Once that finally happened the computer was sent back to the locksmith to program the new fobs. The final step, he had to drive another 2.5 hours to put everything back together. It was not until the last piece was put together that we knew we had a functioning key fob and were free to go home. I should add, we now have TWO key fobs.
Mike and I agree that had we spent only the 3 nights in that miserable hotel we never would have fallen in love with E Cuyo. The extra 15 days gave us plenty of time to get to know the place, get acquainted with some of the people, enjoy the beach and embrace the laid-back atmosphere of the town. And, of course, savor the incredible food.
In many ways it reminded us of when we first started coming to the Riviera Maya. We now feel El Cuyo is our new home-away-from-home. We can’t wait to get back to see friends we made, eat at some of our favorite restaurants, walk the beaches, and ride Sirena’s tuk-tuk. Next time we plan to have a working car so we can explore more of the surrounding area, and we will bring more cash to try the small places to eat. And, for my next birthday, the big 70, I plan to be in El Cuyo sharing it with our friends who are able to join us!!!
Lessons I learned: One was don’t listen to those people who say pack light and only bring what you need. I prided myself on doing that for this trip and I got quite tired of hand washing clothes and wearing the same thing over and over! Another was always travel with a little extra cash, especially when you are traveling a little off -the-grid.
We usually travel with our phones, tablets and computer. This trip we only had our phones. That made communicating with others difficult at times. BUT even that worked out because those who really cared and wanted to know we were OK found the time to do the time-tested thing and call! One of the first things I did was buy a notebook so I could make notes the old fashion way – with paper and pen. There was something liberating and refreshing about living with less technology and reconnecting to how simple life can be without it.
Aerial photos courtesy of Mark Eifler