The birds are chirping and the morning breeze rustles through the foliage outside our window. Soon, the sing-song Spanish of the staff floats up to our room. A bell peals in the distance, a sign the vegetable vendor is pushing his cart along the neighborhood streets. The temperature is in that sweet spot – from a low of 70 to a high of 82, meaning I won’t have to wear more than a pair of swim shorts from the time I get up until I get back in bed at night. Happy doesn’t begin to describe the feeling of being back in Puerto Morelos.

PM, as it’s known by many, is one of those infectious beach towns that hits all the right notes. Located just thirty minutes by car from Cancun, it’s easily accessible yet far enough away from the raucous crowds that descend on that popular tourist town to the north to be termed ‘quiet’. It still retains it’s small town charm – and it’s small-boat fishing fleet, indicating it hasn’t given over completely to the tourist trade (folks visit here on day trips from Cancun to see ‘a real Mexican town’). No jet skis or parasailing operators ply the calm waters of the Caribbean, which lie at the edge of a long stretch of white-sand beach, which, incidentally, runs all the way up to Cancun. We visited PM back in March of this year, intending to stay for four days as part of a two-month road trip around the Yucatan Peninsula. Those four nights stretched to two weeks, then we returned for a second two-week visit at the end of the trip. Suffice it to say that Puerto Morelos has captured our attention.

Now we’re back for a month to start our winter travels. PM is the kind of town that will entertain the active traveler – there are snorkeling trips out to the reef, deep-sea fishing charters, dive operators and an entire twenty-mile route lined with cenotes (freshwater-filled limestone sinkholes) to explore. If you’re looking to take it easy and just relax, PM has got you covered – the wide white sands of the beach host several massage tents, roving vendors walk the beach offering fresh-baked treats and snacks, beach clubs offer lounge chairs and umbrellas and a multitude of restaurants are just steps away at the back of the beach. You’ll never have to give up that incredible view of the calm blue water while you rest, rejuvenate, nibble or feast.

While Mother Nature hasn’t read the memo that hurricane season is supposed to end November 1, and with it the near daily rain showers we’ve been getting, there’s still plenty of sunshine for beach walks, swimming and spending afternoons in our beach chairs enjoying the scenery. If the rain does start to get us down, we just have to hold out to December, when we’ll head over to the Pacific coast of Mexico – where there’s no rain this time of year – to explore the shores of Oaxaca, Nayarit and Jalisco states. I hate to say it, but someones got to do it.