This is the central plaza at the Riu Palace Hotel just south of Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We stayed here for a week in late December And while it isn't "the last resort," 1/2 mile south of here, there were no resorts and a mile-long stretch of beach and trees and jungle. That's where I went every morning to watch the sun come up over the Caribbean.

Then I would stroll back to pampered civilization, take a spot by the pool and think from time to time about the blizzard that was raging in my home state. Not a bad way to spend a week. :-) Get a bird's eye view of this place by clicking here.

And, if you have nothing better to do, check out my 17 second video called "Shadows and Palms." (click)