Wednesday, Jan. 18th - Sunset on the Beach

This is what we get to wake up to around 6am on the few days we get up that early. How beautiful is that? We call it our million dollar view.

You know how I mentioned manana? Well, it happened again. Didn’t connect with the internet guy, so I can’t get my internet here in the palapa yet. That means I have to get dressed and head down to the restaurant to check email, face book, and post to this blog.

Pete’s already painting, but I haven’t even gotten out of my pjs. Time to motivate.

Tuesday, January 17th - Unpacking

We spent the day unpacking. It was so much easier this time. Even though we had lots, we’re beginning to know where things should go. Pete worked on projects like patching the holes created by boarding up the windows for the hurricane in October and supervising fixing the sliding doors (Rich and Mikie did the heavy lifting). They slide with one finger now. Thanks, friends, for all of your work. I unpacked the “rolling Rvs” and washed curtains. We were like gophers. We would sit down to rest for a few minutes, then want to finish a project and pop up to do it.

We went out to Mom’s, my favorite restaurant, for dinner. A special shout out to Patti & Ann - Pete and I both had the garlic parmesan crusted pork chop. And we finished off with dessert to share with the table…chocolate pecan rum cake with whipped cream. And they didn’t skimp on the rum either. Jorgen (the owner and chef) stopped by our tables to make sure our food was wonderful and we were all happy. He brought us each a complementary shot of tequila to end the evening. We ended the evening with a drink in front of Phil and Jaime’s palapa. I know I should’ve taken pictures, but I forgot my camera at home. Dang.

Monday, January 16th - Travel Day

Up way early in the morning for our flight to Cancun. At least we didn’t have any last minute packing to do. We have 4 large suitcases. We call them the rolling Rvs. They’re looking pretty beat up now and we might have to do some replacing, but they hold a lot (as you might have guessed by the name). We packed and weighed, then repacked and weighed again and ended up with

3 suitcases weighing 48 pounds

1 suitcase weighing 49 pounds

1 carryon

1 19” TV as a carryon

On international flights we are allowed 1 suitcase free (for each person) and $30 per bag extra. There is no charge for carryons. We were comparing packed items with other Paamulians and we’re in a neck in neck race with several of them. We managed to bring a toaster oven, small shop vacuum, stacking tables, a mini boom box & 3 pillows. We did lose the poundage race with Annie across the street since she got away with a 56 pound suitcase. LOL.

Rich & Debbie picked us up right on time at the airport. It was great to see them. Now, here’s one thing that’s so special about Paamul. Some of the things that were arranged for us before our arrival:

Palapa cleaned

Old, damaged cabinet removed and hauled away

Water tank cleaned out

Beach in front of palapa raked

Hot water heater checked - not started because we’re out of gas (*surprise*)

Gas company called to fill gas tank

Sliding glass door rollers removed so we could get replacements in Cancun

Costco, please listen to this. You need a store in Playa del Carmen. It takes an hour and 20 minutes to get to the Costco in Cancun. But it’s worth it for the meat alone (USDA choice). And you can rely on the Kirkland brand for taste and quality. Therefore we try to coordinate trips to Costco with trips to Cancun.

After Costco, we headed a few blocks away to Home Depot. Okay, now I’m in love. Pete knows that when I go into Home Depot, it’s going to involve either him doing something or us hiring someone to do something. We needed to get the door rollers. They didn’t have them at Home Depot, but they directed us to a store “close to here”. Well, 3 stops for directions and a few wrong turns and we ended up there. Cost - $30 pesos for all 4 of them - that’s less than $3.00US.

Then a final stop at H. C. de Monterrey for arracherra (sp). - seasoned beef. Mmmmmm.

For those of you who have been down here before, you know the road from the highway is a nightmare. Much to our surprise, the worst part of the road - the beginning - had a fresh load of gravel. It’s a great start. When will the rest of the road be fixed? I’m sure it will be manana. I always thought manana meant “tomorrow“, but it actually means “another day”. So you don’t really want someone to tell you they’ll be back “manana”. LOL

It was so nice to come into the park and see all of our friends here. Remember the old days when people were outside on their porches. It’s kind of like that here. It’s nice to be at our Mexican home.

Sorry - a long posting for a long day.

Sunday, January 15th - Getting Ready

We were able to fit in a little last minute pre-trip partying with some of our BFFs aka The Friday Fish Fry Bunch. Don’t you love it when you go to a party and everyone brings something? The food was so yummy. I’m waiting for a new recipe and then I’ll post it for you. (you know who you are…. Ann without an e….). But the very best thing was the chance to chat with friends. Oh yes. The games turned out pretty darned good, too.

A short sleep, then we headed out for the airport at 4:30am. Ugh. I am just not a morning person. We’re flying USA3000 and they will be ending their service at the end of January. That’s too bad because we’ve been able to get their $99 airfare several times. And we’ve never had a complaint about their service. Frontier is taking over for them and I hope they will be offering great fares, too.