Playa del Carmen- Mexico Yucatan

Playa del Carmen is a superb touristy beach town with easy access to beaches and a long pedestrian corridor lined up with all the shops and Western style hotels and restaurants.
At Playa del Carmen, I stayed at a cool hotel called " Hotel Casa Tucan" where there is a tropical garden, a large swim pool and a lot of mosquitoes. (throughout the trip, I developed all sorts of skin problems- mosquitoes bites, flea bites, heat/sweat rashes, bruise on the butt from snorkeling).
I took a nice one day trip to Isla Cosumel for a short snorkeling tour. I attempted to take a long tour run by good quality yet pricy dive shops. Unluckily it was Christmas day and good quality dive shops were close for the holiday. Out of options, I joined the tour run by the street tour touts. The snorkeling was short, the crowds were like a mob, the tour guide was annoying. But the Caribbean sea is amazing. The water is so gorgeous and perfect. The reef is so beautiful. I didn't get enough from the tour and tempted to go back on the second day for a longer tour. I strolled along the seaside on Isla Cosumel in the afternoon and snapped a lot of beauty, local life and arts on the island.
Playa del Carmen's beaches might not be as nice as north (Cancun). The water is still perfect. On the last day at Playa del Carmen, I walked 36 streets north to have a delicious breakfast at the beautiful restaurant called " La Cueva de Chango" and walked and swam all the way back to hotel. From there, I packed and headed to Tulum.
I was struggling to find authentic Yucatan cuisine at Playa del Carmen. Instead I discovered a popular local restaurant " El Fogon", four blocks away from the seafront touristy zone.