We chose Marina El Cid in Puerto Morelos for our entry into Mexico's Caribbean side for two main reasons: (1) we wanted a secure place for The Fox while we spent a couple weeks touring inland; and (2) we were familiar with the El Cid resorts and how they were managed, from having happily spent two hurricane seasons at Marina El Cid in Mazatlan.
El Cid at Puerto Morelos is a larger resort hotel complex with lots more beach than the one in Mazatlan, but its marina is smaller - 20 transient slips and 11 mooring balls. The approach to the marina from the sea is straightforward but visibility was poor for us due to heavy haze and generally flat land onshore. Simply refer to your Mexico cruiser's guidebook of choice like we did, and you'll find the entrance channel, no problemo. Approach depths were fine for our 6' keel, though I personally dislike depths below my keel that run in the single digits.
If you enjoy birding, you'll enjoy Marina El Cid Puerto Morelos. The area surrounding the El Cid complex is marshland, which appears very healthy considering the number of and variety of birds that pass through there. April is nesting season for numerous snowy egrets, little blue herons and tricolored herons to name but a few. The ospreys find the fishing good around the marina; you'll often see one dining on his catch while perched on a handy mast. Like the felow over here to the right:
Downsides: WiFi on the El Cid docks was poor to intermittent while we were there in April 2011, and although the marina advertises cable TV on the docks it was never actually installed - GB, a true TV junkie, looked for it not just at our slip but every other one on the dock. The marina charged a flat rate of US $7 per day for electricity - very expensive for a 40' sailboat like ours - because the electric meters at each slip did not function and because the marina assumed that every boat used electricity like a power boat. However, when we traveled inland and let them know we were gone, they didn't charge us for the days our boat was not hooked up to shore power. Their onshore showers are fine but their laundry is undersized, especially considering that it serves not just the marina but any of the hotel guests who wish to use it. Their onshore restaurant is outstanding (especially since we hadn't reveled in Mexican cuisine for more than a year) but is more expensive than Mazatlan's - much like with the rest of their pricing structure, I blame Puerto Morelos's proximity to the crazy-busy gringo resorts of Cancun and Cozumel.
It is possible to check in and out of Mexico at Marina El Cid Puerto Morelos, but we learned a bit too late that it is far cheaper to enter and exit the port by taking a short taxi or bus ride into town to directly handle the paperwork with the port captain and Immigration. The marina seemed to prefer working in US dollars as opposed to pesos - again, I belive this is a result of the heavy US tourist traffic at El Cid's hotel. It's easy enough to pull US dollars out of the ATMs in the Puerto Morelos town square, but whatever you do, don't use the ATM in the El Cid hotel like I did: the fees it charges are astonishing.
In all, despite the expense The Fox and we enjoyed the weeks we spent at Marina El Cid Puerto Morelos. The few drawbacks there are, are easily maneuvered around. From what we heard from other cruisers, it seems to be a natural stop along the way from Panama and Honduras, to points in Florida and beyond. Plus, the El Cid fuel dock is mighty handy. You may want to check out the whole dealio for yourself, next time you're in the neighborhood.
And I haven't even begun to discuss what's in Puerto Morelos town itself...
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