We had a leisurely morning and got over to the Aventura Restaurant at around 8:00 a.m. It was a beautiful morning - clear, sunny and spring-like. Rogelio was our waiter and as always, the epitomy of sweetness. This morning we had pancakes and French toast - a nice change of pace. I forgot to mention that one thing I ALWAYS get with my breakfast is Mexican hot chocolate, which is sooo good. It's a little different than the hot chocolate we have in the US. It has a little cinnamon in it (and maybe just a touch of coffee for more intense flavor). It's delicious. 
Today was the typical pool and beach day. We spent a lot of time in the pool by the bar today. The pool was reallllly nice today because it was really quiet. There was only one other couple there and they were an older couple who were reading most of the time. We floated around and listened to the beautiful tropical birds and watched them flying in and out of their nests in the trees next to the pool.
We also hung out on the beach a bit today. Mr. Sassy left for awhile to go into town to purchase some things and I stayed put on the beach and napped off and on. There is always such a fantastic breeze in Playa that it is like being on narcotics. You just cannot stay awake!!! Although it was a beautiful day, the ocean was a bit rough with a sideways undertow and it was also pretty windy out. Not perfect for swimming, but still pretty nice. We did take a brief dip in the ocean, but the undertow was too bothersome to me, so we mostly did our swimming in the pool today.
At lunch today we saw Rogelio. Mr. Sassy ordered the tuna sandwich (with curly fries) and I had fish tacos, which were fantastic. Rogelio gave us a complimentary side of guacamole. We think this was his way of thanking us for tipping him at every meal. Technically, a 10% tip is already included in the rate we pay (our room rate includes 2 meals a day), but we like to add extra because we know how hard the Mexicans work and how much that little extra means to them. Rogelio especially is such a hard worker. I love how he remembers things, like the fact that I like hot chocolate, and our room number, etc.
While we were eating lunch, El Lizardo mas grande came out from under the patio. Rogelio told us that he lives under the patio with his wife and babies. Later in the week we saw his wife who was also very cute (smaller than him). We didn't see any babies.
I fed El Lizardo some of my fish. He must have a lot of practice begging from guests because he caught one piece I threw him right in his mouth. Another guest at the next table told me to be careful because he saw the iguana jump onto the lap of a female guest who was feeding him. I asked him if he was joking but he said it was true. I don't know. I don't think iguanas can JUMP. Maybe he scurried up the table.
When Mr. Sassy returned from his walk we continued to chill on the beach until around 3:30 or so, and then we went back to the room to clean up. We had an excursion planned for the evening - a Mexican cooking class at a cooking school called Co. Cos. We had booked this class last year for our October visit, but had to cancel due to that tropical storm and the possibility of evacuating. So we rescheduled it for this visit.
The school was a little difficult to find. It is located in a condominium complex on a road near the beach. Once we arrived we learned that we were the only students, so we had the instructors all to ourselves. The menu was planned based on our request for no meat (but cheese, eggs and seafood okay).
The instructors were Coty (the owner of the business) and an associate named Roman. Both were very nice and spoke good English. Both of these chefs have trained all over the world and were very knowledgeable.
There were things we liked about this class and things I didn't.
What I liked: the school and kitchen were beautiful and well-appointed. The instructors were warm and welcoming and obviously very knowledgeable. We LOVED the menu. If we went out to eat at a high-end Mexican restaurant, we would have selected exactly what we made in this class. The food that we cooked was delectable - some of the best we had while in Mexico AND we got the recipes to take home with us.
What I didn't like: Most of the ingredients were already prepped ahead of time by the chefs or their assistants (i.e. everything was already measured and chopped) so there was little actual hands-on work that we did other than assembly. The class seemed to be geared toward novice cooks and many of the tips and information they gave us were already familiar to me. In their defense, I did not tell them ahead of time that I am an experienced cook. Mr. Sassy (who is a good cook but cooks far less frequently than me) took the lead and I sat back a bit, letting him do most of the cooking, since he has had less experience in the kitchen. Also, at times the class felt more like a cooking presentation than a hands-on class. Although we did some work, it seemed that the instructors were doing a lot of talking and cooking while we watched. We both agreed that the class went on too long - 5 hours.
After we cooked and ate our meal, Coty did a brief presentation/course on tequila and mezcal which involved a tasting. One of the things we had to taste, which I firmly resisted at first, but which they finally convinced me to try is worm salt. YES you read that correctly...a salt made out of a special kind of worm that is used when tasting the mezcal. It tasted pretty good, but the idea of eating salt made from worms was a bit off-putting to say the least. We learned that the correct way to use citrus with tequila is not the American way of taking a shot and then sucking on a lime, but rather to squeeze the juice right into the liquor. It did taste a lot smoother and better that way.
The main thing I liked about the cooking class were the actual items we made were soooo delicious, and the fact that I can easily make them again at home using the recipes. AND I did learn a couple things I didn't know already, like how to make ceviche (which is very easy) and flame-roast a pepper.
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| Timbal of ceviche, mango, avocado and sweet potato |
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| Poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and shrimp, with tomato basil sauce |
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| Banana coconut crepes with agave syrup |
What We Spent Today (in USD)
Tip Breakfast: $3
Bar - Mahekal: $6
Cigar Store: $20
Liquor Store: $9
Tip Lunch: $3
Co. Cos. Cooking School Tip: $14.50
Co. Cos. Balance Due for Class: $100
TOTAL: $155.50
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