Sunday, March 6th

Rainy day in Paradise. Time for a little TV and reading.

Saturday, March 5th

Did lots of sewing today with Teresa’s borrowed sewing machine. It is an older model. Works quite well. However, it has no reverse. Gosh, how I miss reverse. I made covers for the fan, coffee pot, and water dispenser. (I already made a cover for the TV.)

Everyone in Paamul is invited to a party today. It’s given by two long-time residents - a couple as a celebration of their birthdays and anniversary (3 days in a row). Everyone brings a dish and there is a giant buffet table set up. Beer, pop, and margaritas are provided. Donations are requested at $10 pesos per drink (about $.80). There are a variety of musicians who perform. Each year has a theme. This year’s theme is white so everyone is supposed to dress in white.

Update: What a wonderful party. There were about 120 people there. Talk about a huge buffet! And desserts galore. It was really hard not to overeat.

Friday, March 4th

I heard an “Oh Shit” from Pete as he walked out the back door this morning. Sure enough, there was our snake. Small, but snaky nonetheless. Pete hates snakes.

Internet is still going on and off quite a bit. It’s a pain.

Yup, we definitely have new neighbors. They are a nice couple who work in Playa with an adorable 3 year old girl named Emma Sophia. They decided not to purchase the 2nd palapa, so no guest house.

Now here’s a thought. You can partner on the palapas.
4 partners
$10,000 initial investment each (includes $10,000 for improvements and decorating)
For an additional $5,000 - $8,000 you could have the trailer removed and a 2 bdrm house built there.
13 weeks per year availability
$1500 per year “rent” + maybe $500 per year to maintain the place
Phone, internet, and cable are extra. - maybe $150/month split 4 ways
Less than 50 steps to the beach
Great neighbors across the street (us) and a nice “community” feel
A sliver of ocean view
You don’t pay for electricity, water, sewer, garbage. You only pay for gas.
Here are a couple of pictures.

Thursday, March 3rd

It was a perfect morning for water aerobics in the ocean. The water was calm and warm. It was so nice that no one got out after aerobics. Everyone stayed in the water and just chatted. I’m sure gonna miss this when I’m back in Chicago. Do they have water aerobics in the ocean anywhere else?

A Canadian guy from Playa stopped by to chat. He’s looking at buying an ocean-front palapa and we pointed out which ones (3 of them) are for sale. The one next door to us hasn’t advertised yet, though they are getting it ready to sell. Mr. Playa looked at it and he’s bringing his wife back on Friday morning to look. He’s planning to put in an offer. He’s also thinking about buying the one across the street for $$30,000 as a “guest home” for relatives who come to visit. He said we could use it as a guest home as well. He and Pete got along great right from the start. There’s a reason they call Pete “Sweetie Petey”. He’s a great guy. Perhaps we will have new neighbors.

We caught up on a few weeks of the TV Show Survivor. Love the challenges. Hate the drama. Love Boston Rob. Hate Russell. Brilliant move to vote him off. Hope he permanently goes home. What a sleaze bag he is.

Wednesday, March 2nd

We took Patti and Gary to the airport for their trip home. We’ll miss them, but have great memories of their time here. Go Alice!

A relaxing day with no internet or phone (dang).

Tuesday, March 1st

March, already? Time sure does fly. It is our last day with Patti & Gary. Hung around the house a bit. Then out to dinner at H&C Monterreys for arracherra. It was amazingly good. Patti said it was her favorite food and favorite restaurant. You get your choice of 2 - baked potato, baked onion, or ½ of an avocado. They also served complimentary shots of tequila. (None for me, the designated driver) I’ll post a few pictures of our fun evening.



We stopped at Manne’s for a drink, but they were closed. Then we headed to an underground cave restaurant (Alux) for drinks. It was closed for renovations. We stopped for a chocolate pizza at Italiannis. Pete and I had seen it before, but never tried it. It was so good. Very unique and delicious. Wish I knew how they made it.

Then back home for a rousing game of “99”.

Saturday, February 26th - Monday, February 28th

We got a really nice deal at the all-inclusive Sandos Caracol Playa del Carmen resort just about 20 minutes down the road from us. It was so nice to be pampered and to not have to cook for a few days.

It was billed as a eco-resort. They had donkeys, peacocks, deer, coati, & a bee colony (non-stinging, honey producing). They also had (this is my favorite part) a cat colony. All of the cats are from Coco’s Cat Rescue in Playa. They are all spayed or neutered, receive vet care, and so their numbers are controlled. It was wonderful for me to scratch a few ears and pet them. It made me really really miss my kitties at home.

Our room had a mini fridge that never really worked (that was the only bad part of our trip). We had plush robes, a tray of fresh fruit, bottles of champagne, rum, vodka, and tequila. There were 3 buffets - Mexican, Italian, and International. All were very very good. We also ate at a Brazilian steakhouse. It was yummy, too. But not nearly as good as Sal e Carvaro’s in Downers Grove. It’s one of our favorites. Butterfield School had our end of the year luncheon there. The food was great and they treated us so very well. There were a few cats and raccoons who hung out just outside of the restaurant waiting to be hand-fed. Cool.

We really did miss the wireless internet in the rooms. We had to go to the beach area to get on a computer with internet connection. Welcome to Mexico. We are so used to having Internet access everywhere.

I never ever liked guacamole or avocados. Now I love it. Which will probably turn out to be a bad thing for me. LOL. I have heard that daughter Tanya makes a great guacamole, so I’ll have to tap her skills.