Lost in Mexico - January Shenanigans.

 January has now come and gone and for me that's been 3 whole months here and 2 for Dana.  This could be a bit longer but the first 2 weeks were rather uneventful, so I'm doing it all as one instead of splitting it up.

So the first half of the month consisted of a lot of swimming, tanning and drinking with a few adventures thrown in to break up the monotony.   We went to town for lunch one day to meet Dana's friends that live in Chelem at Barloventos.  Her favorite waiters have now adopted me also giving big hugs and free tequila.  I have to order a margarita as I can't bring myself to shoot tequila.  Before we went on this trip (and as always) I taught Dana a new word, that she kept practicing.  She can't get the type of tequila she likes right but she nailed this word no problem and was ready to use it when we went to lunch.  It is the word for "handsome" and I even told her how to use it in a sentence - "Eres guapo", translates to You are handsome.  So armed with her new word off we went to lunch and as soon as she saw and received her hug from her favorite waiter she drops the compliment and he just laughs at her stating "new word?"  Well the word stuck with her and as we walk around she offers all the men a "guapo" now.  We had a great lunch with her friends, then did a little shopping and headed home.

My friends finally made it to their winter house in Chelem.  I met them a few years ago when we all went to Belize before getting our residency in Mexico.  Finding out that not only are we neighbours here but also in BC.  They live in Nanaimo also.  They were delayed on their flight down due to winter weather but I went over for the afternoon to visit with them and see if the dogs got along well, which they did.  Have been trying to head over again but the end of the month has been none stop for us.

Dana and I both went for appointments at Gingers Jungle and Spa.  Dana had never had a facial before and decided that she wanted one.  I thought that I would try something different to help with my ailments and see if it caused any improvement.  It was booked with the chiropractor on staff and he did do a slight adjustment but also gave me stem cell therapy to my back and hip.  I did notice some improvement but then over did it one day and between that and the weather, I have had more aches and pains again.  When the warmth comes back, we will see if it changes.  Dana talked almost all the way through her service, asking questions, wondering what all the different devices were.  I wanted to get a picture of her with the red light mask on as we were both laughing about her looking like Jason Voorhees.

Those were the highlights for the first half of the month, as for the second half, we have been busy.  To start with, we decided to do a road trip to Playa del Carmen to meet up with Toni and Beth.  We managed to find a cute little condo that was pet friendly so I could bring my canine partner in crime, otherwise I would have been sending Dana on her own via train or bus to find the girls.  So Dana was a bit concerned about the drive due to the one bad checkpoint I went through on my way down, but I kept telling her not to worry.  She had a small panic attack when we had to go through Merida to get on the toll highway to Cancun but we did not have to go through any roundabouts so she was better besides dealing with the Mexican drivers.  Once we got on the toll highway, we came across our first checkpoint just outside of Merida and we breezed through it as we didn't speak Spanish.  Now about an hour or so down the road about the halfway mark we came across the next checkpoint.  This officer decided we needed to pull over to get checked out.  So pull over I did, Dana having a mild panic as she dug out her passport.  For some reason the federal officer went to her window and asked where we were from, so we told him and then he checked Danas passport and asked her if she was single and she said yes.  Then he looked at my resident card and asked me if I was single and I said yes, then he decides to tell me that I'm his wife, and he's going to marry me!  Then he continued flirting while he decided to look in Danas purse (as it was open in front of him) and questioned about her portable ashtray and if it was cigarettes or marijuana while giving it a little sniff.  I asked him if he wanted a soda and went to the trunk to get him one.  He kept flirting and asked for my number.  So figured, what the hell we can talk, doesn't mean it will go anywhere.  He let us go and away we went to the last stop at the state line laughing about this crazy federally and how long it would take before he messaged.  The last checkpoint it was a female officer and she got us to pull in also.  she asked me to step out and open the trunk for her and she looked in the cooler.  Then looked in the back seat but only in the bag with snacks and let us go.  Off to Playa we went to find our condo and the girls.  The navigation system took us on a zig zag route through town and we found the condo and unpacked our stuff, took the dog for a little wander and then proceeded to sit on the balcony and have a few drinks.  While we were sitting on the balcony, people watching, Dana was shouting out "Hola" to everyone walking by(as we were a block from 5th Avenue) as there was lots of foot traffic.  First bunch never responded, then she started getting folks answering her.  We finally made plans for dinner with the girls and set out to meet them.  On our way, my phone went off and sure enough the time I predicted I got a message from the federally saying hi and checking in.  Well the place they picked was great and ended up having a live band with great music.  The other 3 proceeded to get a little tipsy and Toni and Dana were up dancing most of the night.  We ended up meeting a couple from PEI there Pat and Sam and they had a great time dancing togeather while Beth and I sat and talked.  We ended up closing the place down and then walked along 5th Ave to our condos.  

We were hoping to hook up the next day but for some reason nobody contacted the other.  So Dana, Kahlua and I decided to stroll along 5th Ave and check things out.  Kahlua got a Mexican collar and Dana picked up some shirts as she had not found anything in Progresso and she wanted a keepsake and I got a couple of tanks and a special gift for someone that I can't mention as they may read this.  We went back to the condo to rest a bit before dinner.  We sat on the balcony and Dana was back to her Hola shouts and one couple laughed stating "your still there" thinking we had never left.

We got ready and off we went for dinner at Alux.  An Alux is a small mythical creature like a sprite, that protect the crops, forests and caves.  They often play practical jokes or cause mischief, so it is advised to leave offerings for them so that they protect travelers.  The restaurant is in a cave and I have been before but Dana wanted to experience it.  She was in awe of the place.  She never saw them but there were also bats flying around.  We had an amazing dinner.  I had a grilled octopus appy and pork belly for my main.  While Dana had roasted shrimp and a prime steak that was so tender it melted in your mouth.  Neither of us had room for dessert.  After we paid, we went for a tour of the rest of the cave and found the alter room and left an offering.  I left a cigarette and Dana left a $5 Canadian bill as there was no Canadian money there.

We did not end up meeting withe the girls after dinner as they both weren't feeling well.  Not sure if it was from the night before or if they caught a bug.  So we just headed back to the condo and decided for an early night.  We had a couple of drinks on the balcony and I took puppy for a walk and we went back to the pet store and bought collars for Krystal's pets so she could see them on video chat.  We had a good sleep and then got up and packed for the trip home.  The federally was looking forward to seeing us again on the way back and was messaging me when we were leaving but somehow that checkpoint was not set up when we went through.  So I did not run into him again on the way back but he has continued to message me to this day.

 

We have had a run of bad weather.  Several Nortes have blown in and also the artic front that has come down from up north.  The Yucatecans have not had cold weather like this in 20 years and were all bundled up against the cold.  Dana had a blanket over her when we were sitting outside at night to try and keep warm.  She ended up getting sick and was in bed for a few days.  I took Dana to the doctor so that she could see about getting something for the edema in her legs and ankles.  She called me in after the doctor weighed her to try and calculate her weigh into pounds and she was over the moon happy as she had lost 21 pounds in the 6 weeks she has been here.  I also got on the scale to check my weight and I finally broke 200 and was down to 190lbs.  So we both left the doctors doing the happy dance!

Ismael finally surfaced since Christmas dinner.  He apologized for not being around but he had broken up with his girlfriend.  He also told us that his mom was here from Tabasco.  So we went and picked her up so she could have dinner with us also.  She was so petite and tiny compared to Ismael and very pleasant.  She showed us pictures of her other children as we shared pics of our girls.

This week, we were out several times. On Monday we went to the market in Chelem and bought a bit of stuff.  Then we went to Barloventos to meet up with Danas friends again for lunch.  As we were leaving and saying goodbye to folks we know,  a woman runs up to hug Dana exclaiming "I know that voice anywhere".  It was Pat and Sam from the restaurant in Playa del Carmen.  So the next day we met up with them for lunch and a few drinks.

We had a down day on Wednesday, preparing for my parents to arrive the next day.  And sure enough, I was heading to the airport to pick them up as well as their friends Greg and Michelle.  I brought a couple beers for the boys and mini bottles of wine for the girls and they were super happy about that.  We came back to the house and I had a charcuterie tray ready for them and some wine.  They enjoyed the snack as they were all starving and we sat around and bullshitted for a bit before I took Greg and Michelle to find their condo.

So now the busyness of entertaining starts with my parents and then my brother and family arrive next week.  So that is the excitement for January.  The weather is improving now and we will be cooking again this weekend.

Until next time,

Bromas y deseos 

from Kahlua and I