Caliente - FEELING HOT HOT HOT!

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Things I love. Starting at number 1.

1. Being on vacation and not knowing what day of the week it is. It is Monday right?

Yes, doggone it, it's hot here. How hot is it? How come you guys keep asking me how hot it is? 😊 It is so hot we can wash & dry our clothes at the same time. Wahooooooo.

Every morning, no matter the time I wake, the first thing I do is check the curtains to see if I can see the sun peeking through our blinds. Our master is so cozy; remote controls for the a/c, very comfortable cozy bed, and lots of space for clothes/luggage and sliding doors to the pool with views I can enjoy from bed. Life is hard. OK life is not hard (sorry about that).

It's a slice of heaven each & every day...and I plan on having more slices of heaven. The housekeeper Marte is so efficient, and she cuts fresh flowers to put in a vase on our patio table. It's just one more reminder how vibrant and lush this neck of the woods is.

Ray made the coffee yesterday morning, and after breakfast we walked into Playa to have lunch/do some touring around. We met up with our favorite beach waiters we see each time we're here and boy do we always get a great greeting. We saw Luis, Juan & Roberto, and we had a great chat. We just sat and just took in the ocean with our butts planted in beach chairs and our toes wiggled into the sand. The girls wanted to have a fish spa, which they have done many times and is a huge draw in Playa. Forget pumice stones & scrubs, mini fish are the skin smoother of many spas all over the world. Nibble fish which are toothless, gently suck away dead skin (sorry for the morning descritpion!) and leave your feet clean & smooth. They wash your feet thoroughly, and tanks are sterilized after each spa, and also are lit with very strong UV rays. The kids just love it. Afterwards grandma & grandpa treated them to lunch at the spa's restaurant.

Playa is alive with soccer as you can well imagine. The yells from bars is rather exciting yet can be jarring when you walk by and have your ear drums shattered. Brazil played Germany yesterday, and the host country was kicked in the balls (er soccer balls) 7-1; a major defeat for a hosting country that blew the bank to host it. Fans in Brazil were seen openly crying on the streets, setting buses on fire, and burning their own flag. I understand national pride, and I understand how emotional sports can be but it is well established soccer fans take the cake. Not that we haven't had some riots after hockey in Canada too, which was nothing short of embarrassing and head shaking. I love a good competitive sport to watch, but the minute I start racing around burning buses or flags and crying in the streets is time for Al to fit me with a nice little straight jacket. I give him my permission. (Al I like blue over a white straight jacket if you don't mind.)

I would expect the human rights groups weren't crying in the street over Brazil's tremendous loss. Given how Brazil has tried to rid people living in the slums of Rio de Janerio to "clean it up" for the flocks of tourists, many people weren't too invested in Brazil's win or loss. 11 million people live in Brazil slums. And Brazil apparently has spent well over 11 BILLION dollars on the world cup. And the people of the country are too poor to even get to a rally to protest their treatment. Many don't have gas money to get to the doctor. The money spent (like Russia for the Olympics) is beyond belief, with none of the poor benefiting and exactly the opposite, thrown out of their slums, having their villages destroyed to put in roadways & airports, and sadly ridding them of their small soccer fields (ironic isn't it?) How the heck are you going to find the next "Pele" or "Garrincha" if you don't have little soccer fields in these poor areas? Pele grew up in the slums; now he's the ambassador of soccer. There may well be no more "rags to riches" stories if Brazil has its way in 2014.

The first day of the World Cup, Sao Paulo locals protested and tanks were brought in, and tear gas and sounds bombs were used on these poor people. Boy soccer is "some" important isn't it? The strain of poverty is hard to bear with all the money being thrown around for the World Cup. Long after the glitz and glamour of the World Cup is over, Brazil will be left digging out of major financial hole they've been digging since 2007 and it will mostly be on the backs of the hungry and poor (and the majorly depressed after Brazil's beating).In the meantime, soccer is filling the bars and restaurants and I think half of Playa is shut down to watch. (PS all the TVs in Walmart are on, and the staff sitting around watching!)

After strolling the beach and being wowed by the water as always, we headed to a new mall to get some deli meats as there's a beautiful liqueur store there that sells imported cheeses/deli meats and these pickled jalapenos that Al can't get enough of. Since we were at this huge new mall we strolled around. It's built to be both inside and outside; it's amazing with palm trees and ponds throughout. State of the art everything. It includes the Body Shop, Victoria's Secret, Oakley, Harley Davidson, American Outfitters, Starbucks, Forever 21...well you get the picture. One of the biggest stores is on the 3rd floor called Sanborns which is the largest chain in Mexico started by two California immigrants back in 1903. This is a huge store built out somewhat over 5th, with amazing views of the ocean. They have a large restaurant and outdoor terrace that we decided to have lunch at. The food was not bad, and drinks were reasonable. We had to laugh, I had a glass of white wine for lunch, and the glass was SO small, maybe the size of a shooter glass, and then they brought me the tiniest bottle of wine that you'd get on a flight for my glass of wine. Then they brought this huge ice bucket and when they put my tiny little bottle of wine in there, well it disappeared. It was actually hilarious. Clearly Sanborns has me on a one drink minimum. Martha enjoyed a chef's salad, and Al & I shared a chicken surpreme stuffed with ham and cheese.

We joined up with the gang back at the house and floated till the cows came home. OK, no cows came home; we floated till we needed a cold drink & a bite. Dinner consisted of ham, turkey and cheese panini sandwiches. So easy and just hit the right spot. A rousing game of cards took place, which was a great way to tie off the night. I watched a bit of TV in the outdoor living area, and got to read a few more chapters of my riveting book.

Wednesday/miercoles

Up around 8:15 am to get lunches made for a day trip to Akumal. Bought some freshly baked panini rolls yesterday, added in smoked turkey, ham, provolone cheese, lettuce and wrapped them up for a picnic on the beach. We've been freezing our water bottles half full, so when we leave we add fresh water to them and they generally stay frozen for 3-4 hours. Great for cooler bags too.

Akumal (which means Place of the Turtles) has been voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, with a reef and wonderful for snorkeling and seeing the big sea turtles. The gentle creatures of the sea.There are beautiful lagoons too, which means the water is particularly calm to swim in, and the colors of the sea amazing. You can lay out your stuff under huge palm trees and enjoy a picnic after snorkeling. A great way to spend a day, and a day with your family.

This will be a great experience for Kate who is pretty excited about it as she's never done it before. This house has a trove of beach items; beach umbrellas, chairs, mats, flippers/masks, coolers, and it seems to me all that is missing is a cute cabana boy. And let me tell you I looked hard for him, but he was no where to be found. (I think Al must've locked him in the storage room). That Al...

So while I go look for that cute cabana boy, you guys enjoy your day. It's going to be another scorcher, but we're equipped for it, hat (checkmark), sunscreen (checkmark), sunglasses (checkmark), water (checkmark)...cabana boy (no checkmark). ;(

Thanks for coming along. Hope you aren't too bored. Will send some more of Al's fabulous pics. He's got a great eye for detail. (Well then again, look who he married - heh hee hahahaha). PS pics below of the new mall, the fish spa, food, good looking people 😊 etc.

"Happiness is sand between your toes". ~

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