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Published: January 25th 2017
"Don't be easy to define. Let them wonder about you". ~ Hey there, you really cool great looking amigas/amigos! How the heck are you? Missed me at all? Thanks for humoring me.
For those of you back home facing snow, I'd like to make you feel better by telling you that we are having freezing cold rainy weather, but I'd be pulling your right leg (and your left one too. 😊
The beaches are full, music fills the air, and 5th avenue is bustling. It's heartwarming to be back and see how everyone is bouncing back from recent events. The weather has been some of the best weather I've experienced here in January. You'll always get sup-tropical weather here but if it's windy it can feel cool when you're not on the beach. Last few days hovering around 84 with a slight humidex and the softest of warm breezes.
We had a good journey here - seated near the front of the plane, and arrived 20 minutes early. There was only one guy that annoyed me. He sat in front of me and constantly punched his neck pillow to get comfortable. At times it was like he
was on a bucking bronco, moving around and contorting this way & that way. I am happy to say I was not detained or searched in any way (like going to Disney/Orlando that ) which is still a big mystery to me what that was all about (eye rolling.) My reputation precedes me.
We walked right up to immigration (all their kiosks were open), and our suitcase came quickly. Al & I thought we were being punked because things were going so smooth for us. Jaime our fantastic driver was there waiting for us with a cooler of drinks and we were off to the races. Even Walmart on a Sunday was a quick in and out. That's as rare as a hen's tooth. (Biggest complaint in Playa is how slow Walmart is and that they never have enough cashes open).
Our condo hotel sits right on the Caribbean azure sea. Not our usual spot but it's quite comfortable and spacious with 2 master bedrooms, and two master en-suite baths, all marble and glass showers. I suppose if Al ends up in the doghouse for any reason he'll have his own room. (Aww poor Al.)
We are
on the ground level with a large terrace and a few steps to the tropical pool. I was praying we didn't have any hooligan neighbors beside us because I had enough of that at Christmas. (Speaking of my own behavior). Yee haw! There are actually no neighbors on either side of us, and this place is quiet right now which I prefer.
We hit up a few of our favorite watering holes to say hi to our friends. Always such warm greetings from warm fun people . And those margaritas were very friendly too. I'm compiling a list of our favorite and cheap margs in Play and it's not easy given the 700 restaurants here. But I'm the right man for the job. Uno mas por favor (one more please). Hiccup.
Monday: (Lunes in Spanish) No Day of Rest So as I mentioned, we are here for work & pleasure so we were up 'dawn's crack' to get going. (Ain't no rest for the wicked they say!). Ideally the condo has to have a thorough cleaning before the photo shoot. The windows have to be spotless and all furniture dusted/cleaned etc. Counters have to be cleaned, beds
perfectly made, pillows fluffed etc. And the management ensured that was all done upon our arrival.
We assessed the previous photos to see what photos should be taken that hadn't been, and if there were poor quality photos that need to be retaken. We compared the condo to the current photos to see if it's been newly decorated or renovated and if so we'll retake those too. This condo needed different shots of the terrace from looking out to the pool, and then looking in from the pool. It shows a potential renter how close it is to the pool and also to the beach.
I quite often will bring staging items with me (tablecloths, candles, vases etc.) from home, and I usually arrange to buy fresh flowers, and fruit, etc. to set the mood. Then I will set the tables to look professional, using wine glasses and nice dishes, napkins etc. Each room has to have natural light, all curtains pulled open and lights turned on for maximum exposure. Then outside on the balcony or terraces I will set up with bowls of fruit, wine or margarita glasses etc. There's no fast rule on how to do
this. It is all about what would capture the eye of a potential guest. And if it's an oceanfront condo it's all about the ocean, beach, pool, balconies and terraces and then interior shots.
Working with supermodels is not easy either - you know how they can be. Ok ok...so there's no supermodels but Al keeps asking when they are showing up. (I gave him the hairy-eyeball on that one.)
There are quite a few spots to buy fruit and flowers but my favorite is DAC on 30th avenue and Constituyentes. It's a local family who sources fresh fruit and vegetables and freshly baked baguettes and desserts. For the photo shoot I bought fresh flowers, a pineapple, a bunch of apples, oranges, and bananas for a total of $4 CDN. Pretty inexpensive.
Since we shoot the beach and pool, it can be a bit tricky since there are lots of people around, and lord knows the state of dress of the tourists when you are on a beach in Mexico, if you catch my drift. There are some sights to be seen and let's also say, there are some things you just can't un-see! (Yesterday there was
a very hefty lad wearing a bathing suit with no shirt with suspenders. Lord Al & I have our laughs people-watching. It's better than the 'People of Walmart' photos you might see!
Once the photos are taken, we pick the best of the lot, and then crop, resize and photo-shop the hell out of them. Once all that is done, the final step is to watermark/copyright the photos, and then they are sent off to the owner for approval, and then I'm usually responsible to loading them onto their respective websites.It's quite a bit of work and requires a lot of attention to detail. But hey when you are in a tropical spot working, it's not really hard work. If the cabana boy (Al 😉 brings me a refreshing drink, all things run very smoothly!
Recently, I was doing some research and happened to come across our pictures that we took of a particular condo last April, and I saw someone had stolen our photos, photo-shopped out our company name and replaced it with their watermark and put them on their website. I was fuming. The nerve! So I sent the link to my boss Tonya, and she
said she thought she knew who it was. Obviously it was someone trying to benefit off the condo rental without investing a frigging peso.
Turns out it was another management company she knew and boy did the owner get an earful. Tonya requested she remove the photos and/or pay for the rights to them. After all our work, someone just waltzes in and downloads them. I'm going to be moving to this condo hotel next week and I've got a description of the lady. She might want to wear a helmet around as I might be inclined to fire off some limes from my balcony 😊 Welcome to Sal's Karma Cafe. There's no menu, you get served what you deserve. (Karma can be helped along sometimes just so you know).
After all that work, Al & I were beat from the feet up. So what do you think we might've done on a sunny hot day? Yep you are all batting a 1000. We walked the ocean, and stopped for a margarita with our feet in the sand. We enjoyed some wonderful nacho chips and some razzle dazzle salsas and sauces. Each bar/restaurant has their own style. Our
two margs came to a whopping total of $4.50! We also enjoyed a Mexican stuffed chicken breast with rice and sauteed potatoes, and a grilled salmon with mashed potatoes with grilled vegetables. There is an interesting vegetable from this area called chayote squash, and it's light green in its coloring with small seeds on the inside. They grilled it and frankly I wasn't sure if I'd like it since it resembled zucchini and the only zucchini I like is fried. Anyhow it had a nice sweet light flavor. It appears chayote and I will become friends.
The food is very plentiful here, hundreds and hundreds of bars, restaurants, beach eats, bakeries, French bakeries (ooh lala) etc etc. We really could eat for $5 a day here if we were so inclined. There is something for everyone on a budget. Street tacos are amazing and so cheap and we've never gotten sick from eating street food. It's addictive, especially the shredded pork on a fresh bun with pickled onions and a variety of spicy sauces.
Last night we took a stroll and found ourselves sitting above 5th at an open bar which ended up having live music. The setting
was so romantic and chillaxed (hip word isn't it?) These two guys were amazing. One on guitar and one on bongos. We sipped some wine and felt like we were in our own lala-land. It was perfect and we felt so grateful to have this moment.
Tuesday (Martes) Al went diving and had the Captain (Dave from BC) all to himself. A rarity. They went north of Playa and the marine-life was amazing as usual. Lobsters, crabs, trumpet fish and an eel the size of your table but maybe bigger even. Al videos his dives with a Go-Pro and it's difficult underwater to switch to photo mode so I have no photos to share. Until he downloads his videos.
I felt the need to reward myself for working, so I went to a new spa/salon and had one of the best pedicures ever. Very upscale, right in the heart of Playa, so there was lots of people-watching. I felt so pampered and the ambiance was totally zen-like and very friendly. I'd highly recommend you visit Monica's which is on 5th avenue between 26 & 28th avenues.The full pedicure with foot massage is approx. $23CDN.
Afterward Al
and I met up for lunch and it was just one of those magical days. I had spotted a new restaurant that had not been here in July. So after walking by this very high-end restaurant, we talked to the server about their specialties. He indicated they just opened two weeks before and just establishing their social media to get their name out there. The restaurant is within the new hip hotel called Soul Beach Hotel. It is close to the famous Coco Beach and Mamitas & Kool Beach Clubs so I expect they will attract the younger demographic.
So we decided to try this place out. Holy cow. What an afternoon we had!
The restaurant & hotel has a very sleek modern design theme. They combine wood, stone and glass It's absolutely stunning. It is dripping with luxury as well. We settled in and started to chat with our server Matthew and he explained their food and drink menu. He also mentioned later he'd give us a tour of their rooftop which enjoys a pool, & bar terrace with daybeds offering amazing views. They also have live music at night. This hotel has this amazing five-story hand-painted
mural which depicts open hands with colorful hummingbirds being released. The other five story wall is covered in tropical vegetation which is very creative. The whole atmosphere is a tropical oasis setting.
The restaurant is called Steak & Tonic and their specialty is obviously steak, but they also offer Josper cooking. What is Josper cooking you ask? It's a charcoal oven / grill method of cooking that is known as the 'thrill of the grill'. In laymen's terms it's the hottest indoor BBQ available. (And an expensive option for a restaurant) When combined, the steak, chicken or whatever meat that is being cooked maintains their natural flavors and juices yet has that grilled look and taste to it. So Al and I opted to try the chicken and wow, it was dynamite. Mouth-watering, and so tender, served with smashed potatoes and a light salad and presented on a wooden cutting board. It was so delicious and not all that expensive ringing in around $20CDN.
There had been a group eating there, but once they left, we had the server Matthew (from Argentina) all to ourselves, and we sat in the bar area and got to know the bartender
Vincent as well. While sipping our drinks, we enjoyed chatting with the staff and I used my Spanish as much as I could and got some kudos from them. And a few Spanish lessons. We discussed the art of making a good classic margarita, and after some nice wine, Vincent treated us to his margarita. Excellente!
We were given a tour of the rooftop, which only had 3 people in the pool. Wow what a feast for the eyes! We were introduced to the staff on the rooftop bar, and one of the servers is a dead ringer for Johnny Depp. This guy, Rudolpho was a hoot - friendly, chatty, welcoming, knowledgeable about the area, and deeply reflective about life, family and friends. The guy just couldn't do enough for us.
His story is he married a Canadian gal and had two sons with her. I think they live in Vancouver. Then they split, and the kids stayed with her. He remarried and has two more children. The ex and the children are in Playa for the winter and the kids are being home-schooled. He says that his wife and his ex get along too well (I take
it he's the butt of the jokes sometimes). It's amazing they can all be in each other's company for the sake of the kids.
Then we met the
mixologist (bartender) Caesar (aptly named) and his apprentice Jared. They are working on perfecting their bar menu/drinks since they just opened. This is quite a detailed process. and he explained all the different drinks he makes and had a whole row of spices which he infuses into his drinks. There's a lot of choices on the menu. We were invited to stay the day, swim in the pool, use the daybeds and towels/showers all at no cost. (there usually is a consumption fee especially on rooftop bars with day beds, pool etc but not for us which was really nice). I enjoyed a nicely made gin and tonic, and Al had the happy hour beer special. The 3 people who had been there when we arrived left, so we had this whole magnificent place to ourselves! The views were amazing, and it was a gem of a find. They said they'd be waiting for us to come back the next day and come for a drink on the house. We'll be
there at noon with bells on. (HAHAHA) just kidding. Best to enjoy it now as it will most likely become a happening scene.
We ended the evening at a bar watching the Sens play Washington. Al was in heaven...well that's because he was with me, and it had nothing to do with him watching his favorite hockey team win against a tougher team in the league.
Esta Manana (This morning) Well it's a beautiful morning to be alive. Just so serene sitting on our terrace and sipping a cup of java watching the beach come alive. We are taking a day trip somewhere - yet to be decided where. We have more work to do so after I sign off, out comes the whip. Al seems to be hiding. Oh Al? Workie workie to be done...
Sorry these blogs have not been more adventurous like our last trip. Hopefully we'll get to that eventually.
Wishing you a sunny day wherever you are. (See the photos of the last few days below).
*Disclaimer: This blog may be hazardous to the health of those suffering from HID (humor impairment disorder). Cease from reading immediately and seek medical attention.
*Spelling and grammar irregularities are highly possible. Heck I'm on vacation drinking margaritas...Do you really think I'm paying attention to that sorta thing? Sal and Casanova
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Danielle
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Looks so inviting. I can't wait to get there (Monday). Do you think you can leave the great weather behind for us??? Please!!! love ya