A pal of mine from Minneapolis named Mauricio came down to Cancun to visit his relatives and help out after the storm. He came to PDC to see me with his cousin, Alejandra Milan, a Cancun singing talent and restaurentour, and her audio engineer. While they sunned we got a chance to stroll the beach and chat about the current beach scene.
On the way to the playa (beach) we passed this European touring outfit. To the uninitiated I'll point out that this is an all wheel drive VW Diesel Westfalia camping van.
Some of you may appreciate what an exotic outfit that was, so for your benefit I'll show you another VW Eurovan I spotted earlier this week that had a Cancun dealers sticker on it.
During our tour of the Playa we stopped where the Sport Fishing boats are moored and watched this fishing guide cleaning a Barracuda. Real fighters I understand. Big as you leg and a mouth like a dog.
We stopped by the Alhambra hotel to take in the view from the roof (I've shown earlier) and got to marvel at this sculpture by the pool.
Mauricio's Cousin had a rehearsal in Cancun so they were off after a great lunch along the the North end of 5th Ave.
While chatting with Maurecio and his cousin I mentioned finding Juan Carlos' restaurant and that it is located across from the criminal court which they said was Juzgado (Hooz-gado) in Spanish.
That must me where the midwestern slang term Hoozgow came from, meaning jail. (Carlos' bean soup with chip strips was Excellent, and of course the yellow salsa)
Around the corner from Juan Carlos' restaurant is this little plot for sale. Last week I asked him how much he thought they might want and he guessed maybe 70 G's usd. When I stopped by this morning he said he asked about the price and it's actually 150! Things are hopping in PDC.
This rabbit looked like it was a little jacked up in the rear so I slipped underneath it for a quick look. . . . . What a simple solution, a Mexican 'lift kit', they just welded an additional end on the original shock and it looks like it's been that way for quite a while.
There is a little tourist publication called 'Playa Del Carmen Magazine' that has interesting color pictures on the cover. One edition last year showed the insides of what looked like a dome with different colored bottles cemented though it. After some exploring I found it on 34th, just east of 1st and named 'La Cueva del Chango'. I think it's kind of a Frita fanciers place. Here's one of the bottle installations.
There was a surprising amount of eMail interest in our Thanksgiving dinner invitation. Too bad I couldn't think to take some pictures until towards the end. The Lasagna was excellent and I don't know how I managed to save room for this one slice of the full pan Apple Pie. . . . ala-mode of course.
Many thanks to newlyweds Adam and Emanuela for your many kindness' and best wishes on your Cenote diving adventure.
Well, all good things. . . .
Time to pack up and head for Cozumel. I caught the noon 'Happy, Joyous and Free' AA meeting and headed down to the ferry dock expecting to catch the 2 pm ferry.
Sorry Senior, next boat is 3pm.
While whiling away the hour I met and chat with a local merchant who is very interested in buying my triciclo when I come home this year, and is willing to come pick it up on CZ. (Locals ride the ferry for about half price)
3 PM.
Sorry Senior, too much baggage (Ultra-Mar), try the 5 pm boat (Mexico).
=(
That gave me a chance to go check eMail (thanks for writing folks), pick up an excellent 3 Peso bar of bread pudding for the road and watch the spectacle of the Jet Ski's returning in rough seas, after a day of beach work. (note this one towing another home)
5 PM:
"Welcome Senior, the baggage and Triciclo are an extra 50 pesos for the boat (~$5) and an extra 50 pesos for the stevedores (PDC) to load it all, maybe an extra 50 pesos over on CZ for the stevedores there to unload it. Actually, the extra baggage charges have been pretty standard over the years. The dock workers on CZ really earned their money since there is no ramp to load and unload the cargo from. They literally pitch the parcels (some over 100 lbs) to a group of 3-4 catchers on the dock. (Tell THESE brutes 'the price too much')
I pedaled straight over to the CZ AA meeting, a little late but was very warmly received and had a great 'meeting after the meeting' too.
Nice to be back.
See you next week.
-Home-