A Walk on the Wild Side ~ Cozumel

A few months ago, just before Christmas,  we 

had a few weeks without any major commitments

so we decided to go visit our Southern neighbors

down in Mexico.  We were hanging out in Playa del

Carmen and everyone said we HAD to go visit

Cozumel, it was a must see.

We headed out early one morning to catch the ferry

to Cozumel.  I love to be out and about early in the 

day and see a place wake up, cafes setting up their

outdoor tables, streets being cleaned, shops setting 

out their wares to attract customers, the locals going

off to start their work day...

Mr. Wonderful spent a lot of time researching where we

should go in Cozumel.  In this area, you don't just put

your towel down on a beach and hang out for the day.

You go to a "Beach Club", the prices and amenities and

facilities vary but they all cost money.  Personally, I like

a quiet place with a cafe that I can walk to for lunch or

 snacks and access to a clean restroom.  In the end, we

ended up in one of the most expensive beach clubs 

since Wonderful was reading lots of reviews of places 

and the information was sketchy and we figured we how

 many times will we do this?

Do you see the beach chairs in the photo above?  That 

is where the beach club maitre d took us to first.  I guess

it is considered a front row seat to the water view but you

were just about touching your neighbor in the next chair.

I opted for a cabana, the last one on the property

hoping it would be peaceful and quiet.  This club is

all-inclusive meaning you get all the food and drinks

you want by paying one price for the day.  Many of

the resorts in this area use this concept and I have 

stayed at these hotels but I am not a fan.  So the food

at this beach club was hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos,

nachos, cheesy fries, buffalo wings ~ think typical 

American bar food ~ but we could have all that we

wanted!  And then there are the drinks, I was in a 

beach cabana looking out at a turquoise sea so I ordered

a pina colada.  When I was about 3/4 done with the 

drink, another arrived, I didn't ask for it, so I drank it.

Somewhere in the middle of this one I realized I was

on my second pina colada of the day and it wasn't 

10 am yet.  That was the point when I said, "Agua

por favor".  They would have just kept them coming

all day...

At about this time, the people from the cruise ships

arrived.  This was the crowd that didn't want the 

pina coladas or more likely the tequila shots to ever 

stop at any point during the day.  All of these tables

were filled with people and nachos and cheesy fries

and empty drink cups.  And they got loud, the 'I'm

drunk in paradise, look at me!' kind of loud.  I was 

trying to read a book and Wonderful was off finding

out about snorkeling adventures when a woman a

few tables away said,

 "Bulllllsh******tttttt JeremYYYYY"

about 20 times in the space of 5 minutes.

And that's when it happened ~ I ran away...

I ran away from my all you can eat, all you can drink

"exclusive" beach club with the cabanas and hammocks

and cheesy fries and found this, the wild side of Cozumel.

This is what the beaches in this part of Mexico looked

like before the resorts and cruise ships and craziness

took over and it was blissful.  I sat right in the sand, I

soaked in the warmth from the sun, I tried to count how

many shades of blue I could see in the azure waters, I

listened to the birds and walked the coastline in peace

looking for shells.  It was heaven.

Every once in a while, groups would go by on

horses, others finding their bliss.

Someone brought me a conch shell to look at,

when that creature came out of the shell it was

frightening but it only got worse when it went 

back in and those claws clattered against the 

shell.  I suggested it needed to get back in the

water...

Since we did pay for the food and drinks and there was 

nothing on my deserted wild beach, we would go back

to our cabana a few times during the day.  During lunch

we saw a woman actually go over the "Bullsh*t Jeremy"

table and ask them to be more respectful to other people

around them.  Late in the day, we were back in the shade

of our cabana and watched as all the cruise ship tables

left to head back to ships.  Table after table left without

tipping the waiters,  These were not kids, the waiters

were grown men with families who ran around all day

bringing endless drinks and junk food to these people.

It was a hot day and they were working so hard, carrying

trays of food through the sand, and these drunken people

gave them nothing.  It was terrible to see, just days before

Christmas and people had no thought of anyone but 

themselves.  So much for goodwill to your fellow man or

even just giving someone what they deserved for working

for you all day.  We gave our waiter a very big tip because 

we felt so bad, even though we were hardly there all day.

I don't regret this experience.  It taught me a lesson.  I

know what I like but I was swayed to go to a place that

wasn't at all me because that's what everyone does in

this area.  If I were to ever go again, I would find a quiet

beach, bring a lovely picnic and enjoy the wild beauty

of a natural setting.  Lessons learned...

Neat to Eat (or drink): Mexican Hot Chocolate

Recently, Mr. Wonderful and I headed south for a visit

with our southern neighbors in Mexico.  For the past few

years this has become an annual visit for us.  We love

the beauty of the country, the kind and friendly people 

and the food.  We were hanging out in the seaside town

of Playa del Carmen which has become a tourist hot spot

of late but still retains the charms of the fishing village it

once was.  When in Mexico, I go local ~ I go by the name

Elena Maria, my skin turns brown and I work on my

Spanish, though to be honest, most times it is more

Spanglish where I come out sounding like a mix of Salma

Hayek and Sophia Vergara when they speak English.  (I

find that Wonderful quite likes that...)

I love learning about the Mayan culture that once 

thrived in this area and who can't love a culture that

loved chocolate.  The Maya created hot chocolate over

2,000 years ago.  Chocolate was a New World discovery,

Cortes brought it back to Europe where it became a 

luxury item for royalty.  I had never had Mexican Hot

Chocolate in Mexico and I was determined to find some.

It was a wonderful surprise to find out that a one minute

walk from our apartment brought us to Ah Cacao ~ a

Chocolate Cafe.  I wish I had found this on day one of my

trip.  

Dinners are quite late when we are in Mexico so 

we had a pre-dinner dessert as the sun began to

fade.  We sat out on the sidewalk to watch the 

world go by, Wonderful had the Chocolate Maya 

made with honey and hot spices and I had the

Chocolate Traditional made with cinnamon and 

vanilla.  The cute, Mexican guy at the next table

was reading Kerouac's On the Road en espanol.

It was the oldest looking copy that I had ever seen,

I asked him what he thought of the book and he 

said he was enjoying it and planned to read Henry

Miller's The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy next.

In the cafe I bought a molinillo, a tool for frothing the

foam of Mexican Hot Chocolate.  In days of old, and 

perhaps not so old, a girl was judged to be acceptable

as a mate by the amount of foam she could produce in

her hot chocolate.  The future Mother-in-Law was the

one doing the judging...  I also picked up a bar of chocolate

soap because who doesn't want to smell good enough to eat?

Up the street, the pilgrims were gathering for 

their walk to a local shrine to honor Our Lady 

of Guadalupe.  A man named Eduardo told us

about the tradition of the pilgrimage to honor

the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of 

Mexico.  He asked us about our plans during our

visit and it turns out he works at the place we 

will be staying next week ~ small world.

At this point, Wonderful headed off to the mercado

to pick up some ingredients for his dinner creations

and I went to the beach to catch the sunset.

And the following week when we were in another

city hanging out with Eduardo we found another

chocolate cafe.  My drink was the cute bear, I think

the barista made it special for me because I ordered

en espanol even though I messed it up.  I ordered a

medium but said medio which he corrected me and

said it was mediano.  Medio was half whereas mediano

was medium.  When I looked it up half was also mitad.

So, the Spanish lessons continue...

And on a snowy day like today, I can still enjoy

some Mexican Hot Chocolate at home at Avalon.

In our grocery store in the Mexican section of the

International aisle, we can get powdered mix or a

cake of chocolate and spices.  I (surprisingly) enjoy

the powdered to the cake.  I found the cake to be a

bit gritty even after I frothed away with my molinilla.

Tortugas Bebés Mexicanos

Mexican Baby Turtles

On Christmas morning I opened this card and

was amazed that a card existed for something

that was so important to us.  On closer inspection,

I realized it was my photo!  Mr. Wonderful had

made up this card to go along with the little turtle

to give to me as a keepsake from our time with the

tortugas.

Last Fall we were in Mexico and went out for 

a walk along the beach before breakfast.

As we were passing a resort a man approached 

us and invited us in to view the conservation area.

Some of the turtles were hatching.

We could help to dig up the baby turtles, they 

were so adorable.  They would be protected

for the day and released in the evening.

 

It was the highlight of our trip!

Treasure Hunting

 

I can't help myself... I love shells.

I always have, from my days growing up with

our summers at the Jersey shore, to discovering

the shell rich shores of Florida's Gulf coast, to

searching for treasure in Europe and Asia. I am

a beachcomber ~ shells, driftwood, sea glass and

even some pieces of antique transferware china

that have been tossed about in the sea for decades.

Today I continued that tradition in Cancun, I am

thrilled to find a new variety, I get to talk to lots

of people who are interested in what I have found

and I get shells!

 

 

Those who know me, know I think you should

always have dinner by candlelight.  I brought

a glass jar and some votive candles to use in

our condo in Mexico, I thought I would fill it

with sand and push the votive into it.  But when

I started finding beautiful tiny shells in the water,

I thought, they would look better than sand.

The photo above shows my findings from today,

hopefully by the end of the week I will fill the jar!

Turtle Hatchings in Mexico

 

It is funny how some of the best moments in

life can be the simple things you just stumble upon.

 

 

We were taking a pre-breakfast stroll along

the beach this morning and noticed a large

sea turtle nest conservation corral.  A worker

from the resort invited us to come in to

witness the dig of one of the nests.

 

 

People were digging in holes and bringing up

 the baby turtles and some eggs that haven't

yet hatched.

 

 

The eggs are soft and rather rubbery, not at

all like a chicken's egg.  The hatchlings are

so adorable that generally everyone present

was oohing and ahhing ~ it was a special moment.

 

 

Look at them all!  Tonight at 8pm they will be

released to the sea.  It is best when they go to

the sea at night since there is less chance of

predators in the dark.

 

 

The hatchling's flippers are constantly in motion, I

suppose it is instinctual to move to the sea.  The help

from conservation groups hopefully will allow many

of these babies to reach maturity.  For the females that

survive, they may return to this same area in a few decades

to make their nests.  There is a little claw on their flippers

so they could move very quickly, even on our skin.

 

 

 

Best of luck Babies!

 

I think this may be the highlight of our trip!

 

 

 

 



 

 

Vamanos!

 

I did it!

I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish

before our vacation.  I have everything ready

to go to Quilt Market in late October.  The

projects are made, the patterns are written

and printed, the brochures are designed and

on their way here, the booth is designed and

everything is made and fireproofed and packed.

 

I now can go on vacation and relax...

 

So by lunchtime, this is what I

will be seeing.

 

 

I plan to enjoy a few of these.

 

I hope to be up to watch the sunrise each morning.

 

And I plan to thoroughly enjoy the food, the

flora and fauna, the lovely people and the

beauty of Quintana Roo.

Hot Stuff

How Hot Is Too Hot?

 

 

It all started with some guacamole.

I went out for a late dinner last night and

had a taste for guacamole.  After the food

arrived I tasted the guac and it was hot -

spicy hot.  Mr. Wonderful tasted it and

agreed, the hottest guac he's ever had. 

When the waiter stopped by to check on us,

I asked him if they made the guac there, yes,

all made fresh in the restaurant.  I told him

it was very hot and he said they had started

making it differently, so I asked him to taste

it.  He agreed. It was hot!  I LOVE hot food

but this had no other taste ~no cilantro, no

lime, just hot.  I asked if he could bring me

some lime and cilantro and I would fix it to

my taste.  A while later, he came with a freshly

made bowl of guac, the cook had made a

bowl up just for me ~ lovely.

 

So, that made me ask ~ how hot is too hot?

 

 

I love hot food, I ate my way through Thailand

and loved it all.

 

 

I eat Indian food whenever I can...

 

 

The hottest thing I ever ate was in Mexico.

I was at a Breakfast Buffet at a resort and I

sampled a little of this and a little of that...

I tried a few of the salsas that were near the

omelette station and when I ate the salsa

verde ~ I was ready to spontaneously combust!

My eyes were watering, it was a bit hard to

breathe and I couldn't talk.  Wonderful looked

at me and said are you ok?  I pointed to a

container of a watery milk and did a hand

motion of drinking.  A little while later an

older kindly waiter came by and asked if I

was ok.  I told him I had the hottest thing I

had ever tasted.  He said, " Oh ~ the salsa

verde..."  He told me to be sure to have dairy

to nuetralize the heat, I pointed to the milk.

"That should do it."  Of course, I didn't stop

eating it, I just made sure I had plenty of the

milky stuff to drink.

 

What was the hottest thing you ever ate?

 

 

 



Chichen Itza

 

Temple of Kukulkan

 

Since the "2012 Phenomenon" suggests the

Maya Calendar is saying December 21 is going

to be the end of the world as we know it, I figured

I better high-tail it over there before it was too late.

 

 

Great Ball Court

 

You must drive for a few hours from Cancun

through miles upon miles of vegetation, not

farming, just wilderness, to reach Chichen Itza.

 

 

The glyphs in the Ball Court are very

well preserved and interesting.

 

 

The Skull Platform

 

This is where the heads of the sacrificial

victims were placed.  So after your team won

over at the Ball Court, you would end up here.

Yup, only the best were sacrificed.  That would

alter my competitive spirit...

 

 

Temple of the Warrior

 

Chicken Itza has 1.2 million visitors per year.

 

 

Group of a Thousand Columns

 

In 2007, El Castillo (Temple of Kukulkan)

was named as one of the New 7 Wonders

of the World.

 

 

And...

 

 

...then there is shopping.