Awe Inspiring Banyan Trees

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"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul".

Things I love...

3. Freshly squeezed orange juice sold from bike carts on the corners here.

Thursday/Jueves

Al was up and at 'em early Thursday morning to go for his dive. I got up with him to see him off. I have to say I'm always a little apprehensive when he dives but I know he's with experienced divers who know the area well. Al lives for these dives & I can imagine the complete quietness of the ocean places him in a zen zone unlike any other. Life above water is so hectic and we all need an escape and the ocean is Al's grand escape. He always comes home with a smile and so relaxed. (PS Good time to ask him to borrow money).

Dave who Al usually dives with was experiencing some internet difficulties, so Al could not contact him & made arrangements with another dive company. He had a wonderful dive, except for at the end when he was leaving the boat carrying the oxygen tanks and regulators, he realized too late one of the regulators was caught on the step. Oops; when he went to untangle it, it flipped up with force and hit him right in the kisser. So he's got a swollen lip (very bruised on the inside) and when we're out walking around I'm getting these looks like Al's "old lady" took a round out of him. It could've been worse if he'd broken his nose, so he's pretty grateful for that. We don't need anything broken on this trip, muchas gracias.

I had bought a beach dress & the store forgot to remove the big clunky security device, so Martha & I went to get that removed which seemed to take hours to get someone to remove. We have done a lot of walking here let me tell you. I love the walk from the house to the entrance of Playa; hearing the birds, seeing the luxury homes, the manicured lawns, palm trees, all the people out walking, biking etc. It's just such a sunny happy place. BUT there's one thing along the walk that makes me realize how small I am in this big crazy (loco) life.

Along the way you will literally be stopped in your tracks by these huge trees with aerial roots. These are called Banyan trees, an Indian fig tree with hanging aerial roots which makes you look up in complete awe. The branches send down these big shoots which in turn become other trunks. HOLY fascinating. Apparently the Buddha would find enlightenment while sitting under the Banyan tree. The structure of the tree is magical; and in many countries every aspect of the tree is used for medicinal & every day purposes. The root to brush your teeth with, the bark and seeds are used to control diabetes, the leaf is used as plates, and the sap used to cure skin issues and inflammation. (Heck on the way back home I think I need to climb the tree and bite off a big chunk of it to ward off bad things...or I can grab a big leaf & run around slapping everyone that gets out of line 😉

Anyhow, it is known to be the widest tree grown in the world. You have got to see it to believe it. Dad would find it totally impressive and a work of art. (I posted a pic of Rory & Ava under the tree the other day but cannot find it today so I used a pic off the web to show the Banyan Tree in all its glory).

Afterwards we hit Marti Sports Store, a fantastic store selling all the top athletic brands and they had their Nike ball hats on sale so Martha and I each bought one. (NOTE to people: do not go in there sweating buckets and expect them to help you try on their Nike ball hats... Martha). Hahahaha.

The Nike hats they sell here are just so lightweight with SPF protection of 30, and better yet they were on sale for 50% off. We also both bought a pair of Foster Grant Iron Man sunglasses which are cheaper here than at home & are extremely lightweight & comfortable, especially for bikers.

Then we walked about 12 more blocks to find an organic food shop, Bio-Organics to get Lara some gluten free bread as she is Celiac and what we packed to bring has been used up. I had not been to this spot on 26th avenue before, so it will be something I can blog about for the business. They have a cafe too with some choices for all diets (organic, vegetarian, dairy, gluten free etc).

Playa is growing dramatically. There are over 750 restaurants here, so where do you start to figure out places to eat? For years now I've made it my mission to walk around the town, and every time we are here we try something new, and I take pictures & notes of our experiences. Some fabulous restaurants close, and some new ones appear that don't make us so melancholy.

As part of the introduction package when you rent a condo through Playa Beach Getaways is a section on dining in Playa. From a lot of research I compiled a list of dining spots & bars, broken down by price and location for our clients to choose from, which lists them on the beach, on 5th avenue, off 5th etc. and by price and category. (That was a HUGE job but one I was proud of).

So it's fun to stop, check out new dining spots and generally we mostly enjoy an appetizer & drink to get the ambiance, service, price and of course the taste, quality and presentation of the food itself. If we like it, and there are an array of choices we generally go back.

There are so many little walk-in/take out spots here offering wonderful little gooey bites of goodness for $1. Pizza, tacos, waffles, crepes, hot dogs, ice cream, gelato, and doughnut stands that are all over the place and all with their own take on their products. Our favorite; the food carts offering roasted chicken on a fresh panini roll with pickled onions and a sauce on the side. Amazing and I think we pay $1.50 for them. They also have Tequila & Daiquiri Bars where you can just walk up and get a drink for the road. Now that's what you call living the good life 😊

We stopped at Aldea Corazan for happy hour, and to wait for Al to join us from his dive. We know the owner who always gives us great treatment including a discount on "la cuenta"...the bill! This is a stunning restaurant with waterfalls, stone throughout, beautiful tropical plants, and in the back, a tropical courtyard that sits atop a cenote, with waterfalls and lit with torches at night. It is fine dining, with excellent & attentive service. We ordered crispy friend cheese sticks with toasted tortillas with an avocado green sauce dip. It was very good. Martha had a strawberry mixed lettuce salad with goat's cheese, hibiscus flower, and these little crispy bits of honey mixed with sesame seeds. They were SO good I kept stealing them off Martha's plate till she deftly poked my hand with her fork. AYYYYY...That's one way to tell a gal to "fork" off.

I've been on a bit of a mission to have an on-line Spanish lesson each day. So far it's working as yesterday after I finished eating, I told the server my napkin could go in the basura...(garbage). Once you learn the basics, you then want to try to speak in full sentences without totally embarrassing yourself by perhaps using the wrong word like, instead of asking what time it is, you tell a complete stranger you have hemorrhoids. (Maybe I can convince Marth to say the wrong thing just to get a rise out of her). Get her back for jabbing me with a fork).

For example "baño" (pronunced ban-yo) is bathroom. Do not ask where the banjo is; they don't play banjos here...

After lunch Al went to Marti Sports Store to do the same as us; buy sunglasses & a new Nike hat. While I met the girls to go play a game of pool. We ended up at this quaint little restaurant on 8th, where we got the fresh cinnamon rolls the other day. It is a lovely cafe, with an outdoor sitting area, and reasonably priced smoothies and a light menu.

Given Lara & Kate were finally going to make us their chicken stir fry we settled on some French fries to satisfy a craving. These papas fritas (French fries) were amazing. Fresh potatoes, fried crisp with that fully cooked tenderness in the inside. Served with both Ketchup and a mild chipotle/mayo.

We cabbed home and it was finally the night for our stir fry dinner, so Lara & Kate got chopping broccoli, onion, cilantro, carrots, and we boiled rice vermicilli noodle, cooked chicken in a garlic chili paste with cumin and fresh lime. It was a HUGE hit overall. Good job girls! We've got this teamwork thing down.

So signing off on another warm sunny Friday morning. Going for a dip in the pool. Some of the family has gone to Isla Mujeres; the island. I stayed home to do a bit of work, and to have some quiet time by the pool, reading/working, then heading out. No worrying about kids/sunblock/hats/what anyone wants to eat/please pick up your towel/wear your sunshirt & so on and so forth.

Motherhood is realizing that 90%!o(MISSING)f motherhood is locating someone else's crap.

(PS Marth just asked me if I saw her sun shirt and was convinced I had taken it or it was in my room. ACK, I am NEVER DONE) PSS photos are below. And put on your darn sunblock...it's hot out there.

Your friend in Playa-Dice (paradise)

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