Playa del Carmen is essentially a suburb of Cancun, and that means day trips to the city are something we can do often. The little bit of Cancun that we have  seen we like; For example the amazing Mayan Scorpion Temple ruins. Another Cancun sight we really love is the Nichupte Lagoon. The lagoon divides the Hotel Zone from the main part of the city and can be accessed via the La Isla Shopping Village.  Nichupté covers over 3,000 hectares*, is made up of 7 lagoons and connects to the Caribbean Sea via the Sigfrido and Nizuc canals. The lagoon is a natural reserve made up of lush mangroves and is home to crocodiles (you’ll find warning sings everywhere), leopard frogs, iguanas, white turtles and a huge variety of colourful birds and fish species.

The lagoon is a big tourist attraction and many tour operators offer “jungle” tours of the mangroves. Additional activities like boating, fishing, waterskiing, flyboarding and kayaking are also on offer right on the lagoon in La Isla shopping center. But if shopping has left you exhausted you can also rest your feet at any of the restaurants facing the lagoon. Even if you’re not looking for a water adventure or shopping isn’t your thing, you still must visit the lagoon. Many people gather here to watch the sunset.

We love to go sit on the Nichupté Lagoon pier before we head back home to Playa. These photos were snapped before sunset and as storm clouds were rolling in. In the end the rain missed us and we were thankful to have sat there enjoying these beautiful views. Enjoy the pictures!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! If you’d like to do a little more virtual sight seeing don’t miss the Travel Postcards archives. I’ll be back in a couple of days with a new recipe.

P.S.
I’d like offer you a photography tip for landscape photography; Get very acquainted with the light metering capabilities of your camera. I used spot metering for these images to achieve the dramatic lighting and with a little help from Photoshop to bring out more details. For additional tips please refer to the Metering section of Yummy Pics on page 39. Have fun shooting!