Lunch in Tulum

Gerry had a migraine all night and all day, so we didn't go to Tulum to see the ruins with Sara & Tommy today.    They did go themselves and were quite pleased.    They hired a guide and for the two of them plus the guide it cost $25.00.   The excursion from the resort was $40.00 per person, so having a car in the Mayan Riviera is cost justifiable.     

I was awake at 5:00 a.m. with Gerry this morning, which is unusual.   I almost always miss the sunrise and his early morning walk on the beach.   When he has a migraine he really can't tolerate the light once the sun comes up.  Today I joined him.    The clouds were low in the sky, making the sunrise high in the sky.   Very pretty.

 I blogged as soon as I came back from the walk, so there are two blogs today. 

I decided to join Helen & Paul and Rob & Shirley on a trip into Tulum (the town, not the ruins) for lunch.   We ran across this hostel, which got me to thinking that the kids might find it interesting to stay here one night so they could take in the ruins at Tulum & Coba and go to Hidden Worlds all in one trip.  It is about an hour drive from Playa del Carmen, not a bad drive, but an hour each way adds up when you make 2 or 3 trips.    So we stopped to talk to them and take some pictures.  

A small but clean pool.

Free breakfast and you are allowed to cook all the meals you want....as long as you don't cook any meat.   This hostel is vegan.

I didn't take a picture of the dorm because there were people in it, but this is on of the private rooms.    To stay in the dorm it is 200 pesos each, to rent this room is 500 pesos.

When I walked into this room, it had such a strong musty smell  I knew immediately that the kids would never be able to stay here.   Oh well, it was interesting to check it out.   I have never been in a hostel before. 

This is one of the most inviting resting spots in a shopping area that I have ever seen.   A huge shade tree, 

                




   and surrounded by art.

Another interesting overnight option in Tulum.   For 70 pesos each you can rent a hammock on the beach.

We had lunch at little restaurant called El Camello or in English, The Camel 

Believe it or not, this is 3 shrimp tacos.    They were huge and delicious.

  

The menu read camarón capeado, and in brackets beside it in English it said (weathered) .   I had no idea what  capeado (weathered) was, so of course I ordered it.   Even after eating it, I still had no idea what capeado was.    I would however recommend it, it was delicious.  It cost $65 pesos.   The same meal is $110 pesos at our own beach restaurant.

The most impressive thing is Paul not only remembered the word capeado hours later, but also remembered to look it up.   This evening I got an email from Helen :

Brenda, Paul looked up "capeado" and FYI it means:    In cooking, dredging foods in an egg bath and fried in oil. (no flour or bread crumbs, just egg)

I am a bit sorry I didn't order pescado.  (fish).   They bring in the fish fresh from the ocean just blocks away, clean it, fillet it and cook it right then and there.   Next time I am in Tulum, I will eat the fish.  

After eating lunch we headed to Akumal, where we saw this lovely creature.       

We went for a quick snorkel, but the visibility was only about 10 feet, probably due to yesterdays storm.   I still managed to see two spotted rays and 3 turtles. 

We were home by 3:00 p.m., and I have been flat on my back doing absolutely nothing since.   Gerry is a lot better tonight than he was yesterday and this morning, but he is suffering from the after-migraine hangover now.    Sara and Tommy are heading to Xcel Ha tomorrow, so will spend a good portion of Thursday with them before they catch a plane back to Ontario at midnight.   

Garbage washes up on the Beach

Today was the first day I was up and out on the beach at 6:00 a.m.   Gerry is often up in the wee hours, walking off a migraine hangover, or getting away from a claustrophobic attack.   He has told me that there is a lot of garbage on the beach, washed in from the tide, and that they are out cleaning it up by 6:00 a.m., every morning.    I heard him say it, but it didn't register the same way as it did when I finally saw it for myself.   

I took quite a few pictures, too many to upload into the blog, but you can see them on my facebook page here:  

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151390203187464.534035.587442463&type=3

We walked this section of the beach. At first glance it just looks like seaweed washed in with the tide...but with each step, there was garbage. Kudos for the guys who rake this by hand every single day.

I did a bit of googling looking for more information about Cruise Ships and their dumping of waste.   Here are several articles to check out if you are interested.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Caribbean-cruise-ships-dump-garbage-at-sea-3169729.php

http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/o/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/europe/reports/cruise_ships_eng.pdf

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4941

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship_pollution_in_the_United_States

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2012/08/articles/pollution-1/cruise-ship-dumping-of-trash-feces-conflicts-with-industrys-image-as-steward-of-the-seas/

http://www.invw.org/green_cruising

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g291959-i1455-k5927194-Cruise_Ships_Dumping_Garbage-Belize.html

Sara & Tommy

After an unsuccessful attempt to visit Sara & Tommy yesterday, we headed into Playa del Carmen to rent a car so they could come visit us instead.    

 It looked like we were going to have some nasty weather for a while, but we lucked out and it bypassed us altogether.    I think coming to our beach was a good call for Sara & Tommy because it sure looked like this weather was hanging right above their resort for most of the afternoon.    

Since there is no beach at their resort, and today is the first day the sun came out for them, they took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy ours. 

It's all fun and games until someone gets splashed in the face. 

Then the next thing you know, all hell breaks loose and war is declared.

  For a while there, it seemed like only one of them was going to come back out of the water.

Then suddenly they kissed and made up.    Aww....I can just hear Maddy, Ryleigh and Kennedy now......"eeeeewwwwwwww mom, dad....do you HAVE to do that!"   :)

Gerry ended the day with a migraine, and Sara & Tommy headed back to their resort before dark.   

We are looking forward to spending more time with the kids before they have to head back to the winter wonderland Thursday night.     We were hoping to all go to Tulum tomorrow morning, but as the night wears on Gerry's migraine is worsening, so I don't believe he will be up to it in the morning.        

On the Mend

   I still have a sore throat and cough, but the laryngitis cleared up and I'm feeling quite a bit better today.

Sara and Tommy are staying at the Bahia Principe Tulum.   Today is already their third day here, so we set a date to go visit them this morning.  It turns out it costs $90 USD per person to get past the gates!   Well, that wasn't going to happen, so after much to do, Gerry was allowed to go in to talk to Sara while I was held hostage at the Hacienda near the front gates.   

While I waited for Gerry to return from the lobby I ran across this little cutie.   It was about twice the size of my big toe.

Either it had no fear, was frozen in fear, or thought if he didn't move I wouldn't see him.  lol.    It let me come right up to him.   I even stomped about two inches away from him to see if he would move.  Nope.

We decided to rent Sara and Tommy a car tomorrow instead of trying to visit at their resort, it is significantly cheaper.    We reserved a car from Thrifty Car Rental in Play del Carmen, and they will drop it off at the airport in Cancun when they go home.

The plan is for us to grab the car, then go pick them up and bring them to Xpu Ha to hang out on our beach for the day.    Sara told Gerry that their beach is rocky, so it will be a nice change for them.   Xpu Ha beach is very popular with the resort excursions......I wonder how much they charge to let them in?  

At the entrance to our road, the owners ex-wife has a rope blockade and they collect money for parking.    People visiting campers don't have to pay regardless.

That was about enough activity for me for the day.   Gerry took a walk on the beach, but the only pictures he took were of 3 different topless women.    haha, since I'm blogging and not him...those pictures will not make the world wide web.     Geepers, you'd think he was the paparazzi!

Another sick day, a couple more birds

I spent the day inside Myrtle, still sick.   I woke up with a case of laryngitis.   I'm sure Gerry appreciates the peace and quiet.   He must be used to it after me being gone for 18 days.

  Helen (one of our neighbours) brought me some dinner.   Right after I scarfed it down, I thought...dang, I should have taken a picture so I could post it on the blog.   It was the highlight of my day.   Helen is a such a kind person, and an awesome cook too!   I'm not sure what it is called, but it is stew like, but a little like cabbage soup with the yummiest meat in it.    Gerry tells me that Helen took care of him while I was gone too.   I am very grateful.  

Thank you Helen!      

Gerry went out with the camera and came back with a few more pictures of birds.

I am beginning to get interested in bird watching.   Our friend Bob said he saw about 30 different birds at Coba yesterday morning.    The problem is they are out early in the morning, or near sundown.   I am usually sleeping or running from bugs at those times of day.       

I started a round of antibiotics today, took cough medicine, gave myself a B12 shot, and started using inhalers.   I haven't resorted to the tequila treatment yet...  :)  We have a date with Sara and Tommy tomorrow morning.... I hope I don't have to send Gerry alone.  

Sick Day..a couple of birds and kite surfers

Well, I picked something up somewhere.   Sore throat, stuffed head,  coughing, dizzy.   I came down with it last night and it seems I gave it to Gerry, because he started to get sick this afternoon.  

Most of the folks around here think I probably picked it up on the airplane...apparently those buggers carry a lot of germs.   However, I have also read that Canada is being hit hard this year with the flu.    I'd be interested in knowing if it is because people getting the flu shot dropped drastically this year.  ha, all this musing, I don't have symptoms of the flu.   No fever, no stomach upset.      

We had a couple of birds visit the trees just outside Myrtle again today.   It seems it is becoming a popular spot for woodpeckers and parrots.   Such a treat.   

Isn't he adorable?

Hello!   Can you see it?

Peek-a-boo

We managed to drag our butts out onto the beach and forced ourselves to go for a walk.   The kite surfers were very talented today.    (Well, honestly I know nothing about kite surfing...they seemed talented to me, but what do I know?)   They were amazing to watch.

Sorry, not much to say today.   We didn't even attend Happy Hour or the traditional Friday night trip into town for pizza.

Gerry's daughter Sara and her partner Tommy arrived in the wee hours of the morning and are staying at the Bahia Principe Tulum.   I'm looking forward to spending a bit of time poolside at their all inclusive resort and perhaps doing a bit of touristy stuff.   Ruins? Snorkeling? Shopping? Drinking?  Eating?    

 We have to hurry up and get well enought to spend some time with them!!!!  I am sure they will take a day or two to acclimate before wanting to meet up, but a week goes by fast.   :(

I'm told Tequila will kill anything...perhaps it is time to do a few shots......????

   

Christmas vacation is over...back to the grind of Xpu Ha

I'm back in Xpu Ha after a very busy but wonderful trip home for Christmas.   It feels like I was gone about 5 minutes, but I was home for 18 days.    

After a long day of travelling, all I did was chill last night.    I got used to the lovely cold weather in Canada, so this heat is going to take some getting used to.   :)

Today was pretty relaxing, we walked on the beach, got some groceries, attended happy hour and took a few pictures of birds.    

Happy Hour

We were sitting around eating, laughing, drinking when all of a sudden I heard a loud thud and the ground shook.    

I looked over my shoulder, and there was this big cluster of coconuts still settling into the sand.   

I got to wondering just how many people die each year from falling coconuts, so as usual, I googled it.   

I found this interesting and amusing article.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2405/are-150-people-killed-each-year-by-falling-coconuts

I have heard that 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.   It's true, just ask my daughter-in-law Morgan. There is even a facebook page and 255 people have liked it.   

https://www.facebook.com/pages/87-of-statistics-are-made-up-on-the-spot/10150139478640315