Cozumel, Mexico: Day 8: Monday, 2/8/10

Breakfast was very tasty this morning. We had scrambled eggs which were mixed with peppers and onions, served with tortillas, and a tiny smidgen of black bean sauce. We also enjoyed the pound cake again.

After breakfast we did a quick check of email. We've also been watching the weather at home with concern because despite the fact that about 24 inches of snow was dumped just 3 days prior, the weather forecast indicated that another storm was on the way, just in time for our flight home. I have to say, this was making me really nervous, but we tried to put it out of our mind and not let it bother us too much. Not much we could do about it so no sense in letting it spoil our day.

We decided to spend another day at Los Girasoles today. The walk was pleasant. Today we staked out a spot closer to the cove where we snorkeled yesterday and it was a really great spot to sit. The waiter we had today was something of a nudge. The second we arrived he was on us to order something and he returned at least once every 30 minutes, or at least it seemed that way. The third time he came by, he told us - in fairly hard-to-understand English - that if we buy 2 drinks from him, he will give us 2 for free. Reading between the lines, we got the impression his offer was not officially sanctioned by the restaurant, but whatever. It sounded like a good deal to us, so we took him up on it. I decided to get 2 banana daquiries and Mr. Sassy ordered a drink similar to rum punch. Mr. Sassy spilled his second drink, so I shared my banana daquiri with him.

We decided to go for the lunch buffet again. The hot food choices weren't as good today as yesterday, but we still felt the buffet was a good deal for the money.

The weather was a little cloudier than yesterday, and it was a little breezier today so it felt a little cooler. I did some more snorkeling today and saw similar fish as yesterday. Mr. Sass didn't go in today as it was too cold for him, but he sat in a smaller wading area (that looks like a natural jacuzzi) and stuck his legs in.


For dinner we went back to Parilla Mission. Our goal was to have dinner and then take care of some business afterwards including purchasing our ferry and bus tickets for our transportation back to Cancun on Wednesday so we wouldn't have to be stressed out Wednesday morning taking care of this, especially since we have a tight connection between the time the ferry arrives in Playa del Carmen, and the time our bus departs to Cancun.


During our walk to the restaurant, we came across a beautiful church whose doors were open, so we went inside to take a look at it (I forgot to note the name of the church but it was really pretty).
















At Parilla Mission, Mr. Sassy ordered my favorite, chili relleno (which he really enjoyed) and I ordered a fried fish platter which was deeelish. We also ordered some guacamole and chips and I ordered flan for dessert. We also ordered 3 beers and a Coke between us and the entire bill with tip came to $30. Our waiter was a real sweetie - very friendly and sociable.

After dinner we walked toward the waterfront and as luck would have it, we came upon the ADO bus ticket office. So we popped in to buy our bus tickets for Wednesday and here is where I really have to toot my horn. The ticket agent spoke no English whatsoever, and I managed the almost the entire transaction in Spanish. This was no small feat, considering I had some questions to ask her about the connection times between the ferry and the bus! Luckily, as I was trying to firm up the final details of the transaction and was just getting stuck on some Spanish trying to figure out how to ask her if the ferry is usually prompt (and of course I left my Spanish book back at the hotel), a Mexican man (who spoke some English) walked in and helped translate my question and her answer. But I was just so proud that I handled about 75% of the transaction without his help. It's amazing how much Spanish comes to me when I really need it. I even surprised myself! (Mr. Sassy was very impressed).

After that, we headed to the ferry dock to buy our ferry tickets. Lucky for us the ticket agent spoke English, so that transaction was easy as pie.

Our next destination was Los Cincos Soles which is a very nice store (in the same building as the restaurant Pancho's Backyard). I wanted to look for a couple of gifts for people back home. It took us about 10-15 minutes to walk to the store only to find out they were closed. Rats!

We sat down on a bench next to the store and took a rest from walking and did some people watching. After about 10 minutes, we decided to walk back to the hotel, which was a bit of a walk from there. We got back to our hotel at around 9:30 and came across this little cutie outside. He made us homesick for our "boys" and we consoled ourselves that although the end of our vacation was drawing near, we would soon get to snuggle our furboys. It was 9:30 when we got back to the hotel and we went right to bed. We were beat!

P.S. We've been walking by this silly statue all week and laughing every time we pass it by, so finally we decided to take a photo of it.