Jan 16th: Heading to Mexico!

 

The holidays with Rebecca, Matt and Wendy were great. For New Year's we had prime rib with other goodies. So now I was counting down the days to leaving for Playa Del Carmen Mexico on January 7th to spend 10 days with Cindy and Randy. My reservations were all set. Cindy hooked me up with transportation from Cancun to Playa Del Carmen and I had double checked all the Covid regulations. 

I decided to take a break from pickle ball and ride my bike to the lagoon where I like to hike. I was glad I did. There were some very fun ducks hanging out at the lagoon. 

In three days I saw Merganser, Mallard, Bufflehead, and Pintail Ducks. In addition, I saw snowy egrets, great white heron, several hawks and numerous shore birds. I was told that many of these birds come here during their migrations. Very fun to see them. 

My favorite were the Bufflehead Ducks. They're pretty small and dive down to get food constantly. Hard to get a good picture but I could see them with binoculars. Here are some pictures from the web. Bufflehead and Merganser Ducks I also liked the Pintails Pintail Ducks info

I was scheduled to take an Uber to the airport Friday morning at 8:30 am.  Wednesday morning I looked out my window to the house next door and saw demolition taking place. We knew they were going to tear it down and do a rebuild but weren't sure when they would start. It was interesting watching them remove everything in the yard first. (Unfortunately they needed to take out the beautiful bougainvillea bushes which attracted many birds.)

There have been several demolitions right near me. The new homes going up cost in the millions due to the proximity to the ocean. I decided I was leaving at the perfect time!

Thursday night, the day before I was to leave, I watched a beautiful sunset from my window. I still enjoy the beautiful sunsets. I was packed and ready to go. At 10:00 PM I thought I'd check my flight status because there were numerous flight delays and cancellations due to Covid and weather. No weather issues from San Diego to Cancun but who knows where the plane was coming from. 

When I checked my email, I had a message my flight was cancelled! No explanation, no options offered. Tried calling and was told it would be three hours to get through. Long story cut short I finally went to bed at 2 am hoping they would put me on another flight sometime soon. I woke up at 5:30 am and tried again with no luck. After talking with Cindy I started looking at other options. I was able to get a flight Saturday morning. I would need to leave for the airport at 4:30 am and Uber said no problem. I really wanted to get to Mexico so I booked  the flight. Everything went well Saturday!

Our balcony, 2nd floor, right

I arrived in Cancun and waited about an hour to get through customs. Took the Canada Transfers van to Playa Del Carmen. Cindy told me to order a sandwich and a beer for the ride. I don't usually drink beer but it was only $1.00. After waiting in San Diego and all the travel time I appreciated Cindy's suggestion. After struggling with some language barriers, and a couple calls to Cindy, my driver finally found Cindy and Randy's place. So happy to get together again.

Main thoroughfare

Cindy warned me that they were in a very busy and noisy location. They were on the main walking thoroughfare through the center of town, and a five minute walk from the beach. We stayed on the second floor of the building in the picture above. The balcony was just big enough for the three of us to hang out and watch the action. 

I saw Cindy's gift from Randy, a fun bell to request a drink or refill. It worked quite well while I was there! Randy is an excellent host.
 

After having "docktails" on the balcony, We joined hundreds of tourists walking down the street. The shops, restaurants and bars were continuous. Lots of music could be enjoyed as almost everything was open to the street. We picked a traditional Mexican restaurant where we could eat at a table right on the walkway, but far enough from the numerous bands that we could still talk. 

The food was delicious, the service was excellent and Cindy's drink arrived balanced on the waiter's head. The entire experience was a very festive introduction to Playa Del Carmen!

We returned to the balcony and had no choice but to listen to the music from the Senor Frog bar down the street. We saw everything from costumes like Spiderman, Shreck, etc. to people in fancy evening wear headed to the upscale places. It is a happy place with very friendly people.

By that time I was worn out. My room is around the other side of the building with it's own balcony and view of the street. It was a long day but a fun day. I put my earplugs in and had no problem sleeping.

I'm in Florida on Yesterday's Dream now. More to come on Mexico in the next blog but I thought I'd better get something up now! I've been very busy here in Florida. More to come on that also.