Last 2 days for Mexico 2015....

This is it.  The last blog for Mexico 2015.  The highlight for yesterday was definitely dinner at Barbara's, the owner of the English school.  Tomorrow, the last full day here, will be full of logistics and some fun.  But no blogging....

Thinking about my return home gives me mixed emotions. Now that I'm starting to get ready, I'm looking forward to many things.  Seeing you guys again.  My own bed.  French toast with blueberries! Even frozen ones.  And maybe even having some winter fun!  But of course, I'm sad to leave this warm sunny easy place. And the people here.  And I'm a little scared.  Some of you have kindly reminded me about the weather in Ottawa.  Can't you get rid of the snow and cold by Tuesday night?!

But let's focus on dinner at Barbara's.  It was sooo much fun!  It was a potluck.  I brought wine and key lime pie (KLP) from the "Key Lime Pie Factory" that's just down the road from my hotel.  Unfortunately, I learned that KLP doesn't travel well, in a bicycle basket, over bumpy roads, in the heat....The 4 very pretty meringue covered tarts jiggled themselves into a sticky meringue-less mess.  But still yummy!  And lovely enough, when served in the dark!  Other than the food, the highlights were meeting Tom, Barbara`s husband.  A very nice funny guy.  Seeing Lorraine and Linda catch up.  And just sharing laughs, stories, and nonsense on the rooftop patio.  And the wonderful bicycle ride home.  Along the ocean, with a breeze, and a peaceful quiet.

Until next year, I hope.....

Pictures
1 - Lorraine in front of the Key Lime Pie Factory.  Really.
2- The KLPs in my bicycle basket.  Before their difficult travels.
3 - The cousins.  Lorraine, Linda, and me.
4 - the gang!  From Left to right.  Tom, me, Linda, Barbara, and Martin

Activity Day

Yesterday was a lot of fun!  I participated in a bunch of activities here at the hotel.

The hotel has activity coordinators and several activities planned every day.  Until yesterday, I had only participated in one Spanish lesson, which was mostly review for me, and played bingo once.  But yesterday, it was kinda cool and cloudy and windy.  So I decided to check things out more.

After some exercises on a quiet part of the beach, I made a bracelet with 3 colours of string. Not a fancy bracelet.  But I like it.  Then, a band played music beside the pool area.  They played upbeat fun dance-able songs.  The activity coordinators danced for us in costume - one caveman, one pirate, one belly dancer, and one rabbit.  The poor rabbit!  He must have been sooooo hot! I danced off to the side, in a nice patch of grass, in my bathing suit!  After that, I played volleyball on the beach with an activity coordinator, Angel/the rabbit, and several other guests.  It was lots of fun!  I even had this "drama" moment.  The ball hit me in the neck/shoulder/face and made me fall to the sand.  It looked way worse than it felt.  But I think I looked pretty cool.

Today, I think more volleyball and I'll try the Spanish lesson.  There isn't usually anyone else.  So I can maybe ask my "more advanced" questions.


Pictures
1- Lorraine rocking it out with the caveman.
2- The activity coordinators giving us a fun show.
3-the ceasar salad I had at the fancy restaurant at the hotel.  notice how the lettuce is held together by the cucumber ring.  not practical, but very lovely!
5 - Angel the bunny.  He's my favourite activity coordinator.

A Trip to Playa Del Carmen

Yesterday we took the ferry to Playa del Carmen to visit friends and walk around.  Overall, it was a very good day.  But I'm very glad I won't be taking the ferry again this year!!!

Let's get the yucky details out of the way.  The sea was very rough all day. During both ferry crossings,  going to Playa from Cozumel and returning, Lorraine and I used many little plastic bags....Even though we took Dramamine (like Gravol).  Though, on our way to Playa, I was mostly OK.  Partly because I was distracted?  By a charming young singer named Pako who sat beside me and chatted with me.  I'd met him before.  He took a liking to a charming young girlfriend who was with me in Cozumel last year.  So it was nice to catch up a bit.

Our friends in Playa are from Winnipeg.  They rented a condo beside a golf course, surrounded by a wooded area.  On our way to and from the condo, we spotted a coati (in the raccoon family) and several agoutis (in the guinea pig family, but much bigger).  And some deer.  Very cool!   Later, we walked the pedestrian mall to soak up the atmosphere, shop, and have dinner. 

Photos
1-some cool support posts on the ferry dock.  before all the mayhem...
2- some of the beautiful colours in Playa.  this was a sculpture in a hotel lobby
3 - an agouti
4- a really big tree near the golf course in playa

Lots of dancing!

Yesterday was filled with dance.  I watched a Carnaval show in the afternoon, and danced my butt off on the beach in the evening!

When I was still at Casa Deja Blue, Marlene was my housekeeper.  She was really excited because she was gonna dance in the Carnaval parades and in several pre-parade rehearsals.  I wanted to see her in all her fancy clothes, so she told me when and where she'd be rehearsing.  They happen in the streets because it's easier than trying to find a room big enough.  Yesterday, I went to one of them. 

She was sooo cute in her fancy dress and shoes!  The performance was fun. It had dance of course.  But also some comedy parts with fake police officers, babies, and even a dog.  It was Spanish slapstick.  So I didn`t get it all.  But it was still fun.

Last night, the hotel set up the buffet and tables for dinner on the beach.  They also had a band.  A woman who was about 6' tall won the limbo contest!  But I danced lots and had a great time!  Dancing on the sand is really neat, but a bit tough under the influence of a few drinks....

Photos
1 - Marlene`s dance friends were very happy to pose for me before the show
2 - the bus the dancers arrived on
3- a slapstick comedy moment.  The elephant car hit the merengue vendor.  Poor guy lay with his face on the cement for about 5 minutes.  When the ``doctor` came, they took his pulse (bracelet) and made sure nothing in his pockets was broken....
4 - me and Marlene

Crocodile Land?! Only at night....

On Monday, 2 days ago now, I rode my bicycle to the very north end of the Island to see what I could see.  It was a fun little adventure!

I had been to the North end of the island before.  On the first day of my first trip to Cozumel.  With Carl on his scooter.  I was curious.  I wanted to check it out again.  And given that my hotel is very close to the north, it was a reasonable ride on my little bike.

Because I had been there before, I was pretty sure it was safe.  But when I saw the "watch for crocodiles" sign, I was a little concerned.  Turns out, crocodiles only come out to feed at night.  I didn't have to worry about them.

It took me about 25 minutes to get to the end of the road. Partly because it was pretty challenging to ride around the holes and bumps. But once there, it was really nice!  My destination was a lagoon type area with a very small marina that`s sheltered from the open ocean and wind. There was a long wooden dock.  The highlight for me was lying down on the dock, feeling the breeze, and listening to the water gently hitting the dock.

Of course, seeing cute little raccoons was pretty cool too!  Tourists and locals feed them, so they come out when someone new comes along to check things out.


Photos
1- beware crocodiles!  Yikes!
2 - the cute little, much smaller than at home, raccoons
3 - the dock, the end part gets really iffy
4 - some of the planks on the dock are spaced pretty far apart.  a material saving technique!

Settling in with Lorraine

Yesterday, Lorraine and I spent the day settling into our new accommodation. Yes!  She made it here safely! In very good spirits considering her travel day. 

Lorraine's flight from Ottawa to Cancun was OK.  Her plan was to fly with Mayair from Cancun to Cozumel.  It should have been easy. But that's where the problems began.  The shuttle from the main airport terminal in Cancun to the Mayair terminal wasn't available.  So she took a taxi, who tried to charge her a fortune for the ride.  And partially succeeded.  The Mayair flights were all  full. So, she took a taxi to Playa Del Carmen, the ferry to Cozumel, and taxi from the ferry terminal to the hotel. All that went mostly well, except she almost lost her ferry ticket before boarding, there were no taxis in front of the ferry terminal in Cozumel because the street was blocked by a Carnaval parade, and she had to lug her suitcase two blocks to catch a taxi.

So yesterday, was a quiet day. We enjoyed the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets!  We went for a walk along the beach, participated in a Spanish lesson, napped, swam, watched a movie outside, and even had a pina colada!  We're very happy so far with our hotel and it's amenities.  Especially considering that the beach/water of the neighbouring hotel is really yucky!  It had tonnes of seaweed yesterday and the water is discoloured by a mangrove that's on/beside the property.  The pier in front of our hotel keeps all that yuck away.  Yay!!

Pictures
1-3 There are so many types of transportation in Cozumel!  The donkey was tied/parked in the bush right off the main street.  The grey motorcycle thing was made to transport up to about 4 people.  The driver was missing an arm I think.
4 - The packaging for a hot chocolate mix.  Look carefully at how the nun is holding the tray with the beverages.  What does it kinda look like?
5 - At the Carnaval site.  The calf was a real stuffed one.

A little worried about my sister

I'm now settled into my new hotel, El Cozumeleno.  It's really nice!
But it'll be much nicer when Lorraine gets here.

My new hotel is great! It has a pretty ocean view/beach , several swimming pools, sunny and shady areas, and pretty good food so far.  My room is really nice too.  It's on the 8th floor of the new / south part of the hotel.  It's clean, fairly spacious, has a big-ish balcony, and the view is marvelous!   The hotel has one particularly good, but not obvious feature.  A big pier.  It's protecting "our"  waterfront from sea weeds that would otherwise wash in with the "El Norte" winds.  Which are especially abundant this year it seems.

But I will be much happier when Lorraine arrives! I'm a little worried about her.  She flew in to Cancun this afternoon.  West Jet confirmed the arrival time.  She was supposed to buy a flight from Cancun to Cozumel with Mayair.  Easy!  She's done it before.  But, she's still not here, and kinda should have been by now.  I'm mostly worried because it's the first real day of Carnaval in downtown Cozumel.  There's a big parade and lots of festivities.  It's conceivable that all the Mayair flights were booked and she's trying to take the ferry across.  OK.  But could the ferry be full because of Carnaval?  And the main street, where she'd get off the ferry, is blocked by the parade. 

I didn't think of any of this ahead!  Grrrr....Nor did she of course.  She was trying to get her work stuff all done before leaving. Crap!  I just hope she's OK.  Not too tired or scared.  Travel days can be a real first world problem!

Photos
1 - View of the ocean and hotel grounds from my balcony.  Can you see all the brown seaweed beyond the pier? 
2 - My room.  Pretty!
3 - The view from my "back door / balcony"  You can see the golf course and jungle.
4 - One of the decorations for Carnaval on the main street.  Fun!

Moving to the North

No.  Not north, as in home.  Ottawa. To the north of the island!

On the whole, I'm very happy staying where I am now.  It's close to everything. Reasonably-ish priced.  And the kitchen in my unit let me cook for myself until the room switch. But this place does have a few less desirable things.  It's located on a street with enough car/truck/scooter traffic to be noisy sometimes.  There's a pool, but it's kinda cold.  There's no green space.  The ocean is a few blocks away.  And right now, all the rooms are full, which makes it feel a little crowded sometimes. 

My sister, Lorraine, will arrive in Cozumel today. Lorraine and I decided that it would be nice to spend her 10 day vacation, and my last 10 days at a different place.  So today, I'm moving to an all inclusive hotel on the north end of the island, and right on the ocean!!!

I am sooooo looking forward to the quiet!  The sense of space.  To have as many waking moments as I want gazing at the ocean!  And the buffet!  But yikes!  The danger of eating like an oinker!!  I'm ready to take the risk....

The only hiccup / 1sy world problem is that there's only wifi in the common areas of the hotel.  So I'm not sure how often I'll be able to blog.  So now news doesn't mean anything awful.  It might mean too much all inclusive alcohol though....  :)

Photos:
1- Third time was the charm!  Chilaquiles a la Magdalena!!
2- Guadalupe and Samantha.  The two kitchen staff at Sylvia's Cocina.  Samantha is sooo outgoing!  Guadalupe, much more reserved.  But very nice anyway.
3 - Marlene's Carnaval nails!  She's the housekeeper.  Her nails are usually short and plain.  She was working with gloves on yesterday.  When I asked why, she showed me her fancy nails.  She'll be dancing in Carmaval!
4 - Some of the other guests at Casa Deja Blue in "my" old study space.  They're very nice people.  Unfortunately, 4 of them are heavy smokers.  It makes it less nice to hang out there.

Last Day of Class and Room Switch

Yesterday was a bit of a big day.  I had to switch rooms, and it was the last day for me in the beginner class at the Spanish English Academy (SEA). 

The rooms at my Villa have all been full for about one week now. That`s OK.  Except that someone else booked my room for the last 3 days of my stay.  It seems to be some sort of misunderstanding.  But it meant I had to move from my one-bedroom with a kitchen to the single room without kitchen.  That`s OK enough too.  It `justifies`trying new fun places to eat.  But I miss the extra space which I used to paint and do computer stuff, and I especially miss the privacy.  It`s hard to explain, but suffice it to say that I never had to close my door or curtains in my old room.  But now people can see right into my room when they come up and down the stairs.  I have to close the door when I pee and get changed.  The hardships!.....

Last night was the last time for me to volunteer in the beginner English class.  It was bittersweet.  It`ll be kinda nice to not have to watch the time on school days.  But I`ll miss being part of something and seeing the people at the school.  At the end of the class, they gave me a rose.  And all the students hugged me as they left.  It was very touching.

Pictures
1-my new room.  compact but fine for 3 nights
2 - the rose the students gave me last night after my last class
3 - there are actually critter bodies in the sea food soup Chris ordered!!
4 - candies for sale at the Carnaval, such pretty colours!
5 - the biggest stack of taco meat I have ever seen!!!

Punta Morena

Once again, we got to visit the windy side of the Island. This time, we stayed at Punta Morena. It was really nice!

Jan and Bruce are a couple who are staying one floor up from me.  They have a rented car. Once again, Jan dropped Bruce off this morning to dive, and offered to take us ladies to the windy side of the island.  It's win / win.  I think she likes our company.  We enjoy going there!

This time we chose to stop at the Punta Morena (brown point) beach club.  It was really nice!  The water was super calm.  There were 3 swimming pools, beautiful sand access to the ocean, hamacs, tables, lounge chairs, sunny areas and shady areas.  Pretty much anything you could possible want!

The only hiccup was that I was super sleepy most of the time! Jan likes to drive around town a bit on her way to the beach.  I got car sick last time (and yesterday from swimming....).  So I took a Dramamine (anti-sea sick) pill before going.  It totally knocked me out!  Mind you, there are worse things than sleeping on a lounge chair in the shade....


 Pictures
1 -the beach at Punta Morena  (PM)
2 - the showers at PM
3 - one of the pools, with built in lounge chairs with about 3 inches of water.  very cool!
4 - even the bathrooms at PM are lovely
5 - me and my new hat at PM

Jeannie's

This afternoon I went to Jeannie's to nap, soak up some sun, and swim.  It was nice for sure, but I was a bit disappointed.

About one week ago, I went to Jeannie's for dinner and to enjoy the waterfront in the early evening.  It was such a nice time!  You know, when it's just what you were looking for?  So I wanted to go back, to recreate that feeling.  I also wanted to swim there because some ladies said they saw many cool fish while snorkeling there. 

The afternoon was nice, for sure. Cause there was sun and water and I got to swim and nap in the dappled sun/shade of a palm tree.  Rough aye?

But I was kinda disappointed too.  The water was calm at the beginning of my swim.  But got rough at the end.  So when I came out, I was a bit sea sick.  Yes, for a swimmer, I'm wimpy that way.  There was one spot with a good number of pretty fish.  But there was also lots of construction debris. Not especially pretty.

But, I did learn about Sea Treking and Snuba.  Both enable you to "scuba" without being a diver.  With snuba, the tank is on the shore.  There's a hose attached to it, and to a regulator which you breathe with.  You use normal scuba goggles. Sea Trek is similar but you put your head in a big white metal helmet with a visor.  I'm assuming there's also an air tank on shore and you're connected with a hose.  I was considering trying one of them, until I saw that there wasn't that much to see underwater in that area...

Pictures
1 - me trying on the Sea Trek helmet.  It was heavy-ish.  But the real ones way about 45 lbs!! Or maybe kg!!  I can't remember....But it was really heavy when the really nice staff let me try pick it up
2-A little army of Sea Trek helmets ready to go.  They put them on your head when you're already in the water.  So you don't feel the weight I think.
3 - A mural showing you all the stuff you could see during your Snuba or Sea Trek adventure.  Or maybe not....
4 - The outside shower at Jeannie's.  Fun!

Hits and misses - Chilaquiles, Sunset Bar, and Pat

Today was filled with hits and misses. But overall it was a very good day.

 

My first hit/miss was at Sylvia's Cocina where I had breakfast. I've discovered I like chilaquiles - eggs with cheese and sour cream on corn chips with a mild green or red sauce.  The first time I had it, it was yum!  But I didn't like the way the sauce made the corn chips mushy.  So my ideal would be to have the corn chips in one pile and the rest of the stuff in another pile. 

 

I'm getting closer!  But breaking a Mexican breakfast tradition takes work. The first time I tried to get my "ideal" chilaquiles, I got the eggs alone and all the rest together.  Today was sooooo close!  I got the eggs, cheese, and sour cream in one pile.  But darn!  The green sauce was on the corn chips. So the corn chips were still mushy.  The third time will hopefully be the charm!!

 

The second hit / miss was my afternoon at Sunset Bar.  Many people said its a great spot to snorkel and swim.  So I went to check it out.  At first, I was pretty disappointed.  There were lots of boats around and sea weed floating on the surface of the water. Which make swimming less pleasant and a little dangerous.  But when I finally went out, the weeds had drifted away, the boats mostly left, the water was super calm, and at one point I was swimming with many fishes and felt like I was part of the "gang".  Very cool!

 

The last hit/miss was my meeting with a friend named Pat.  She's a really nice Canadian who lives here, in my hood and who will store my bicycle again this year when I go.  I thought we were supposed to meet at the Sunset Bar.  She was waiting for me at another place.  We bumped into each other, each coming home from waiting for the other..... 

 

Photos

1 - chilaquiles - About as nutritionally compete as poutine!!

2 - the view from Sunset Bar

3-totally cute "crocs" !!!

4 - look very carefully, the crab says peekaboo!!!

5 - sunset at Sunset Bar