Last Day In Paradise!

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"A little nonsense now and then, is treasured by the wisest men" ~

Hello those of you following our adventures. It's hard to believe, but 7 nights & 8 days went by at a nice easy pace, giving both Danielle & I a rich experience with lots of time to reflect, relax and enjoy every minute of what this place has to offer. I have to say, if you could bottle serenity and peace and sell it here, sheesh, the bottles would be flying off the shelf.

Regardless of our geography, what has been SO nice to spend uninterrupted time with my long-time friend in a place that makes your senses come alive.

As friends we've shared so much together over the course of a few decades; the ups and downs of life in general, family, marriage, children, illness and the sudden deaths of our siblings way before their time, which proved to be a life-changing event for both of us. Someone who can fully understand that journey of grief you make & that shared bond is like two hands clasped together; virtually inseparable. We also reminisced about all the great times we've had over the course of our friendship & some of the crazy fun hijinks we got up to...(some not mentionable ahem, in a blog!)

Knowing it was our last day in Playa, I was up at at 5:45 a.m. eagerly awaiting another beautiful sunrise. Watching it rise up over the powerful vast ocean is magical. No matter your religious beliefs, it sure looks like God is in the details here and I'm thinking God would probably appreciate everyone witnessing some of his / her best work; the beautiful sunrises & sunsets in this paradise. Some things don't get old for me; the roar of the ocean, blooming tropical flowers, swaying palm trees and exotic birds coming alive every day. I once read, "be a gentle friend to the trees and they will give you back beauty, cool fragrant shade and many birds singing". So true here.

By 7 AM I hiked it up to Wal-Mart to buy a few last minute items for our flight home and a few extra goodies for my little gals anxiously awaiting this mom to nest again. This Wal Mart is huge, and Christmas was alive in the aisles with singing Santa'ss )I could easily punch one of those; so annoying.) And various decorations (kinda odd when it's 100 degrees out). I walked 20 blocks to a favorite sea-shell store, then off I went to Wicky's Beach Club for breakfast. I've been to this beachfront restaurant a few times over the past two years and it is SPECTACULAR (see pics)! I had a perfect view of the ocean, the huge pools, and the condo hotel attached to it which Tonya had offered for me to stay at but we chose Luna. If there's a "6" star restaurant/bar out there Wicky's would win on the design and layout of this hotel

I met Omar (or Ewok as he's affectionately called), a very friendly bartender at Wicky's & he offered me a mimosa (champagne & freshly squeezed ocean juice). Despite it being late morning, who am I to turn down such a gracious offer?? (Tonya whom I write travel blogs for, her husband is part owner of Wicky's so there's another connection for me). We chatted about the full-fledged services they provide being a prime upscale oceanfront club such as weddings, cocktail parties on the beach, etc. Omar was a wealth of information, where I should go touring next time, and to check out the big shopping mall Las Americas. We had a lot of laughs, and exchanged emails so I can pick his brain on upcoming blogs for Playa Beach Getaways. I'd better have some business blogs to write when I get back right Tonya?!

Later Danielle and I went back for lunch at Wicky's and enjoyed a beef dip and a grilled chicken club. SUPERB. We listened to music and just took in the ocean and sounds, sitting quietly & feasting with our eyes so we can feed off those memories when we return to the snow at home. Snow that everyone was all to happy to tell me about. I guess for all the rubbing in I did about how sunny and hot it was here, I deserved a dose of me own medicine!

As I said before, when Playa and I met it was "love at first sight", and I so enjoy returning to it every time we go. I especially enjoy sharing it with friends and family. A little over four hours on a direct flight from Ottawa, 45 minute ride from Cancun, safe with an international vibe and the most welcoming, fun, gracious welcoming Mexican people who can't wait to share their home with you. Who wouldn't love it? We will be returning in January for more adventures. Stay tuned!

Before we left to catch our plane, I went to say goodbye to Odin (our fabulous beach waiter) and gave him what leftover Pesos I had in my pockets and he shook my hand and said this.

"Vuelto pronto; we' el ll aquí esté esperando para saludarle…" Translation: "Come back soon; we'll be here waiting to greet you!".

Thanks for visiting my blog and learning about Playa. This is just my personal fun travel blog, I write a travel blog for Playa Beach Getaways (Tonya Sarina) and you can find me weighing in all sorts of fun topics to do with Playa del Carmen at: http://www.playabeachgetaways.com/blog

Adiós hasta la vez próxima (goodbye till next time!)

Sal

PS SNOW? PSS I have a good feelin' margarita withdrawal is going to be painful..reallly painful.

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