Neither of us slept very well, especially me because my back, arms and hips were killing me from the bed. Mr. Sassy said he was also a little stiff, but I don't think it bothered him as much as me.
Since we had skipped dinner the night before, we were very hungry, so at around 7:00 a.m. we took a walk down the beach road, hoping to find a restaurant that was open. No luck. So we went back to TDS and got into the car and drove to Zamas, a restaurant we were very familiar with because we had stayed at Zamas the last time we visited Tulum and went to their restaurant a lot. Luckily, they were open. Mr. Sassy ordered banana pancakes with fruit and a couple cups of coffee. I ordered a vegetable omelet with potatoes and toast and Mexican hot chocolate (bill came to $209 pesos, or about $17.50 USD). Everything was very good and I must make a special mention of the toast because their bread is homemade and VERY tasty which is not usually the case in Mexico (I have found that Mexican breads and pastries tend to be on the dry and bland side and not that good). For me, Mexican hot chocolate is an essential requirement every breakfast when I am in Mexico! It has a delightful taste that is a bit different (and better in my opinion) than American hot chocolate. There is an essence of cinnamon in it and a certain creaminess that makes it very tasty and addictive. I have a good recipe for Mexican hot chocolate, if anyone would like to try to make it at home (it is really nice to make during the holidays) and I will post the recipe at the end of this post.
Today was a perfect beach day and little did we know that this day would be one of only 2 PERFECT beach days the entire vacation (all the days were nice, but "perfect" for me means the water is calm enough to float around on my back, and the wind is light - Mr. Sassy is less particular than me about this stuff). We hung out at the cabana all day, and went into the ocean a few times which was sooooo calm and lovely, and at one point in the afternoon took a long walk north on the beach. We came across a playful beach dog who seemed to have no owner (a real problem in Mexico) and Mr. Sassy played with him - throwing a stick for him to retrieve into the ocean. The dog loved it.
Today a friend appeared at our cabana - a HUGE iguana! He made an appearance on the little patch of sand outside the upper right hand side of our porch. He just stood there, staring at us and watching every move we made and when we tried to come closer to him, he scurried under the patio. He had to be about 2 feet long to the end of his tail. Being the obsessive animal lovers that we are, we HAD to give him a name right away. Mr. Sassy started calling him El Harryhausenor after Ray Harryhausen, a filmmaker who specializes in stop-animation. Mr. Sassy thought the iguana would make a good candidate to play the role of a dinosaur in one of those movies where they film small reptiles and overlay film of humans next to them so the reptile looks huge like a dinosaur. Anyway, very silly of course and I immediately shortened the name to Harry. What I loved most about Harry was those spiky mohawk-looking things on his head. I soooo wanted to pet him, but forget about it. He was having no part of that!For dinner, we decided to drive into the pueblo and eat at Don Cafeto's, a bustling little restaurant on the main drag that appears to be popular with both locals and tourists. There was a cute man playing the piano who at one point came over to us and asked if we had any requests, so Mr. Sassy requested Black Magic Woman by Santana, thinking there might be a chance the man would know this song. The pianist looked at him thoughtfully for a second and said he really didn't know that song, but he'd give it a try and I must say, he did a really good job. Being musicians ourselves, we were very impressed. Of course we gave him some money as a thank you. Here's little clip of our visit to Don Cafeto's, although I didn't video tape the pianist when he was playing our song.
Mr. Sassy and me both selected the same entree (this happens a lot when you are married a long time) - chile relleno, which is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. It is essentially a big poblano pepper which is stuffed with Mexican cheese and then battered and fried. The platter came with beans, rice and fried plantains (Mr. Sassy lovvvvvves plantains) and Don Cafeto's also serves this interesting vegetable salad with all their meals that has a vinegar dressing, and chips and salsa of course (muy caliente!). Plenty of food. Mr. Sassy also had a mojito and I had flan for dessert. The food was very tasty! The atmosphere at this restaurant leaves a little to be desired....flourescent lighting, cheap, non-descript decor and the bathroom had a leaky roof, but what it lacked in atmosphere it made up for in food and the staff is very friendly. Our bill was only $260 pesos (which is about $22). Cheap!After dinner we walked around a little. It was raining so we ducked into an internet cafe and checked our e-mail. I am always worried when we are away that there is some emergency at home I need to know about. The internet was very inexpensive...the equivalent of about 50 cents for 20 minutes but the connection was sllllllllllllllllow as molasses so we didn't do much e-mailing. Since it was raining, we decided to call it a night and go back to our cabana.
Riding down beach road at night is an interesting experience. First of all, you have to watch constantly for topes (speed bumps) which are ubiquitous and seem to come out of nowhere (it's good they have them, though, because the taxi drivers and workers tend to speed on the beach road). At nightime, creatures make an appearance on the road - bats (which fly madly across the road in several spots) and crabs which walk on the road at night, not to mention perros y gatos (dogs and cats) which are always around. On an average night driving on beach road to TDS we dodged about 10-15 crabs. This is one of the reasons I always go the speed limit. I'd say the crabs' bodies are about 4-6" across. I got out of the car and was able to get pretty close to one in the road.
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs. freeze-dried or powdered instant coffee (dry)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups milk (whole is best)
whipped cream
Heat all ingredients except milk and whipped cream in 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in milk. Heat over low heat. Just before serving, beat with hand beater until foamy. Top each serving with whipped cream.
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