TRAVEL
The infinity rooftop
pool at Tina and
Javier’s condominium
is the ideal spot
to contemplate
nothingness.
We have been traveling all around the
world for decades, so when Tina and
Javier Avila, the owners of Casa Tina
and Pan y Vino restaurants in Dunedin,
asked us to visit them in Mexico we asked, “When?”
Once the date was set, we arranged to fly through
Miami to the Cancun International Airport, where
they picked us up and drove us to Cancun’s bullring.
Fortunately, we were not going to see one of the
weekly bullfights, but rather to dine in La Guada, a
typical Mexican cantina operated by their friends
Ricardo and Sylvia, who joined us with their grown
son and daughter. Our meal there was very authentic
and delicious.
From there, we headed south for the 45-minute
drive to the city of Playa del Carmen, where Tina and
Javier have their beautiful three-bedroom, three-anda
half bath condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico,
which has a large hot tub on the balcony. Naturally,
Tina has decorated it beautifully in her usual good
taste. They also own a second neighboring unit in
the Terrazas Luxury Condos that has two bedrooms
and two baths. They rent both of the condos through
Airbnb when they are not using them. You can make
reservations through facebook.com/tinascondos/
by pressing the “Book Now” button on the top
right-hand side of the screen. The condos’ recently
completed premium building has a full-time
concierge in the lobby, a pool on the top floor and
secure below ground parking.
158 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
Wonderful Mexican food enticed us wherever we went.
That evening, we walked the half block to Quinta
Avenida (Fifth Avenue), a pedestrian-only, 40-blocklong
boulevard lined with restaurants, bars, hotels,
boutiques, shops and entertainment venues. After a few
blocks, we arrived at one of Tina and Javier’s haunts,
Tropical Playa del Carmen, in the state of Quintana Roo.
We chose some typical dishes from Yucatan such as
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