At the Beach

Today the Gulf was the prettiest colour we've ever seen it. We've been told that it's almost Caribbean coloured in the summer but during the winter it's pretty murky and that's the Gulf we're familiar with.

Here's a shot from the third floor of the complex. Unfortunately, my little point-and-shoot camera didn't really capture the intense colours that my eyes saw.

It was high tide so a lot of the beach was underwater. There was an extraordinary amount of seaweed both on the beach and in the water. There's always some on the beach but as a rule, there's usually very little in the water.

We found this little guy near where we were standing, watching us warily.

We think he's a sand crab because about 4 feet away was this hole. We didn't see him come out of it but we assume it's his home.

And just for fun, Sr B put his hat on the crab.

Great Day at the Beach

Senor B and I spent the day with G, a lady I met online. G lives here for several months of the year. She lives outside of Progreso and came to pick us up since we're without wheels this trip. She said she'd heard the name of the complex and has driven past it many times but only just realized, about a week ago, where it was.

She no sooner got here and Roberto, who sells fish from the trunk of his car, came. He usually comes on the weekends but we hadn't seen him since we arrived here. We thought perhaps he wasn't coming anymore. We love his sea bass so we were very happy to see him.

G got the 10 cent tour of our condo and the grounds. She was quite impressed with the quality of everything.

Then it was off to her beach house that she and her husband had had built. What a lovely place.

There was a red flowered bouganvillia by the old wooden front door, creating a small alcove. The kitchen, dining and living room are all open to each other. Two walls look like rocks but not rough rocks. They're smoother but still textured. There are little beachy touches throughout...the wavy backplash in the kitchen, a shell pattern stamped into the patio and columns, real shells tastefully displayed on the tops of the planters, in bowls and on shelves.

Upstairs, they have a shower that's somewhat open to the outside that we found absolutely delightful and intriguing. The leaf stamped into the hallway floor looked like it was stamped from a real leaf.

The 10 cent tour of her place gave me some decorating ideas for ours, especially for the very long wall that we have.

She has no back yard, to speak of. It consists of the patio, a pool and a small area of sand. Sitting on the patio, looking out towards the Gulf, you see the vegetation at the edge of her property and the blue/green water beyond that. The sandy beach is beyond the scrub trees but you can't see it. It's a unique look from the usual beach view.

G served us lunch of garlic bread and the salsa that's typical of the area. Simple fare but filling and delicious. She also added garlic to the salsa. Senor B and I love garlic so G is a gal after our own hearts.

Good company, good food and good conversation mixed with the gorgeous view made for a wonderful afternoon.

Beach and Nightlife

The weather was fantastic today. I don't know what the temperature was but they were forecasting around 29C. I'm sure it was that warm but the breeze off the Gulf always tempers the heat. Merida doesn't get the breeze that we do so it gets a lot hotter there. I don't know how the folks there survive.

We decided to go for a walk on the beach. It's so much nicer this time of year than it's been on any previous visits. The water has more green and turquoise and there isn't nearly as much seaweed on the beach. The breeze was stiff and the sun warm, the perfect combination for a nasty sunburn if a person isn't careful. I was careful. I got up close and personal with every redhead's best friend...SPF60.

We met up with another couple staying at the complex and chatted with them while we all strolled back to the laneway to the condo. Along the way, we briefly met Jessica who runs a Kite Surfing business. We haven't used her services so I can't offer a personal endorsement, but I did want to give her a mention in case anyone might be interested. Senor B and I both have bum shoulders so I doubt we'll ever be doing any kite surfing. It sure looks like a lot of fun, though.

Oh, that wind. Wanna know what it does to curly hair? Eek! Remember Scary Spice from the Spice Girls? My hair isn't as curly as hers but it was just as wild and unkempt looking. And once curly hair has gone wild, there's just no taming it. Good grief.

After we got back, we had to go for a beer and coke run. There's a cold beer store a couple blocks away and we got the coke at the little tienda across the street. It's just so darned cool to have these things nearby. I've read about street vendors who walk the streets calling out whatever it is they have for sale...fruit, veggies, bread or what have you. Sadly, we live on the back side of the complex with no sidewalk, so it looks like a back alley and the street vendors don't come our way. Imagine being able to buy much of what you need right at your doorstep!

After supper we headed uptown to see what was going on. I've read, on other blogs, about the nightlife at the parks near the bloggers' homes, so I was anticipating some music and dancing. Nope. There was nothing going on. We heard 60's music but it sounded like it was coming from a nearby building that we assumed was a bar so we didn't go over.

There were a few food vendors selling churros, fries and marquesitas. There's a place with tables where you can buy a coke and sit there, if you'd like. You can get your shoes shined. The taxi stand is there. Kids were zipping around on their skateboards and bicycles. We bought a bag of churros (my favourite treat down here) to share and sat on one of those cool two seater benches where we could face each other.

Things are so much calmer downtown in the evening. It's not frenetic like it is during the day. Because it's so much cooler in the evening, we thought this would be a better time of day to do our uptown stuff. The grocery store we've been going to was open, but the big market was not. Nor was our favourite hardware store. So I guess we'll still have to brave the heat of the day to do most of our running around.

We wandered around for a while and then headed back to the condo.

A couple of bars have opened up across the street. Luckily, being on the back side, we can't really hear much noise. Just the beat of the bass. We've gotten used to the neighbour's dogs barking at 6am so we can sleep through that, now. The bass is a new sound so I suppose it'll be a bit bothersome tonight. Thank goodness they're not open during the week.

Girls' Last Day

Good news about the bug bites. The redness and blue colour were gone when I got up this morning. The swelling in my leg has gone down a lot. But now my foot is a bit puffy. Nothing alarming, just enough to be noticeable. Keeping an eye on that.

The girls wanted to spend their last day here at the tourist beach this morning. The sun was warm and the breeze off the gulf was refreshing. Listening to the waves on the shore is so soothing. I love it here. I wish I didn't have to go home next week.

The tourist beach is along the malecón, a brick walkway that runs for many blocks along the shoreline. On one side of the malecón is a street lined with restaurants. On the other is the beach. Several of the restaurants have palapas with tables and chairs beneath them. They'll serve you drinks right on the beach. I'm not sure about food, but I expect they do.

We chose to sit near some palapas so we could hide in the shade if we got too hot. A bunch of local birds (some scavenger type similar to our seagulls) swooped down to join us. They were looking for handouts. YD decided to play a trick on them. She tossed a small shell up in the air and one of the birds caught it. And promptly spit it out. She did this several times and each time a bird would dive in for the catch. Stupid birds. We had fun imagining what they were saying. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" "Hey. I saw that first." "Yuck. What's this crap she's trying to feed us." We're easily amused...lol.

We decided to have some lunch at Los Arcos. We all had chicken fajitas which we enjoyed. Too many green peppers and onions for my preference but tasty enough. I picked out the peppers and onions and gave them to Señor B.

Off to the store for a few things and then back to the condo. We did some housecleaning and then headed down to the pool for the afternoon.

I had planned on ham steaks for supper but the girls didn't want that so they and Señor B went to Domino's and picked up a couple of pizzas. They were very tasty. I don't know what they use for a sauce but it wasn't tomato based like what we're used to. I quite enjoyed it as did YD. They also picked up some potato wedges that were really good and something that smelled like apple pie. It was a surprise to open the box and see a loaf of sugared bread instead.

As we were eating, our neighbour, L, stopped by with some strawberry cheesecake that she'd made, as a farewell offering to the girls. It was delicious. Even Picky Chicky liked it.

Tomorrow we're driving the girls to Cancún in the morning and then coming back after. It'll be a long day. They both said they enjoyed their time here but YD said it would have been more fun if they'd met some younger people. But she did acknowledge that we had warned them they were coming to a place with mostly "old" people.

It's been around 30C the whole time we've been here but it's supposed to be something like -27C when the girls land at home. I hope YD's car will start.