This trip was a long time coming and a much needed vacation after a really rough couple of months.
First, in September, our cat Cheeto passed away. He was 18 and we had him for 18 years. He was like our child and we had to have him euthenized. It was heart wrenching and I was despondent for some time after that. Then, later in September, my best friend's mom, who had been in a nursing home and declining for some time, took a turn for the worse and was put into hospice with the expectation that she would pass within days. So I spent days bedside with my best friend, who is like a sister to me, watching her mom go through the process of dying.
Then, in early October, my dad (whose health also had been declining) had chest pains and was taken to the hospital. He had a heart attack and the doctors said he needed a triple bypass surgery to have a chance at survival as 3 of his arteries in his heart were clogged. He was scheduled for the surgery a few days later (after blood thinning medication had cleared out of his system), but while in this hospital awaiting surgery, he had another heart attack and died the next day. My mom, brothers and I were at his side when he died and it was an absolutely horrible ordeal, followed by several days of funeral plans, the funeral, the burial, etc. That threw me into an even worse depression. And then, as if all of this was not bad enough, we had the horrifying Presidential election on November 8th which was the final nail in the coffin of my misery.
Our vacation had originally been scheduled for mid October, but we postponed it when my dad had his heart attack. We were very lucky that the rescheduling worked out and both condos we had rented were available at the same time, and the flights could easily be rescheduled. Amazingly, the entire additional cost for me to reschedule everything was only $58.
Now onto the fun stuff.
We have been going to Playa del Carmen (PDC) for a number of years and have always enjoyed it a lot. It has become our home away from home and we especially love the condo complex we stay at, Natz ti Ha, which is in the north part of town, right off the beach behind Mahekal Beach Resort. There is no other complex like it in Playa (that I am aware of) that is so tropical, loaded with Mexican charm (i.e. not slick and modern) with a nice big shaded pool, just a few steps off the beach and in our favorite section of town.
 |
| Natz ti Ha Condominiums, Playa del Carmen |
We have been getting concerned about (what we feel) is the overdevelopment of Playa in recent years and it was starting to look like the time may come when we will have to move on and find our new favorite place, so we decided this trip to start with 3 days in Isla Mujeres and end with a week in Playa. We figured, this way we could "sample" Isla and see if we like it, in the event the time comes that we must leave Playa behind.
So I did a lot of research into Isla Mujeres (IM) and we agreed we wanted to stay on Playa Norte, which is the most beautiful (and very swimmable) beach. We went back and forth between renting at Nautibeach or Ixchel, 2 condo complexes which are right next to each other and right on the nicest part of Playa Norte. Normally, we would go for the more Mexican/less modern place (which would be Nautibeach), but we ended up selecting Ixchel because there was a particular condo, #701 in Ixchel II building (a penthouse), that had the most amazing views and patio. We rented through VRBO and my communications with the owner were extremely pleasant and he was very responsive. He was also very flexible when I needed to reschedule due to my dad's illness.
A quick note regarding photographs. I brought my nice Canon Rebel DSLR and while I did take some nice photos with that, it's just too big to haul around everywhere, so many of my photos were taken using my Samsung Galaxy smart phone. You may notice an inconsistency in my photos as far as quality goes.
Isla Mujeres: 11/29 - 12/2/16
We arrived in Cancun at around 2:00 p.m. and got through Immigration and Customs pretty quickly. After that, we headed out to the taxi area and looked for our shuttle (CARM). He was right there as we exited the doors and within no time at all, we were at Puerto Juarez to get the ferry to IM.
It was a pleasant ride. The weather was sunny and hot and we sat outside on the top of the ferry. There was a guitarist who was playing classical music.
 |
| Puerto Juarez ferry to Isla Mujeres |
 |
| On the ferry - Isla ahead! |
Once we arrived in IM, it was a pretty easy walk to our condo. We packed light (carry-ons only) so that made it easy to get around without having to deal with taxis.
 |
| Happy to be in Isla! |
We were so excited when we entered the condo at Ixchel. The view was even more beautiful than in photos and the condo was really nice - very clean and comfortable with pretty much anything we needed. The views were panoramic...we could see just about the entire island from our patio! And that turquoise water. Is there anything more beautiful? (I would say NO).
A tour of penthouse #701 at Ixchel II:
Once we dropped the luggage and took in the beautiful view and said "HURRAY, WE'RE HERE!", we decided to go to dinner early because we were starving. We decided to go to Lola Valentina just as they were opening for dinner, and everything was fantastic!
 |
| Street view, Lola Valentina |
 |
| Lots of cats around, so you know we were happy! |
 |
| Watermelon Mojito, Cadillac Margarita |
 |
| Mixed Mushroom and Cheese Quesadillas |
 |
| Fish Tacos |
 |
| Guacamole |
 |
| Chocolate Coconut Dessert...very dense, like fudge |
After dinner, we walked around the main drag, Hidalgo Street, just for a short time. We were both pretty tired from a long travel day and having got up very early, but it was fun to get a quick overview of the main drag. We both agreed it was like the best of what Playa del Carmen's 5th Avenue used to be...quaint, laid back, charming, Mexican - a smaller version.
 |
| The main drag in Isla - Hiladgo Street |
After our short walk, we headed back to the condo. We were super tired,
but the pool looked so inviting! It was lit a dark, flourescent blue
at night. To me, there is nothing more inviting than a pool at night
time, when it is lit up. So I took a short swim while Mr. Sassy sat and
watched. He was too pooped.
Tip for US airport shuttle driver: $5
Breakfast at PHL Airport: $30
Tip for CARM shuttle driver: $5.55
Tip for luggage assistance - ferry: $2.22
Tip for ferry musician: $5.55
Dinner at Lola Valentina:
2 Cadillac Margaritas $6.66
Mojito: $4.17
Fish Tacos: $8.61
Quesadillas: $7.50
Guacamole: $9.72
Chocolate dessert: $5
Havana Club Rum: $4.17
Total: $49.72 + $8.61 tip = $58.33
Total Spent Today: $106.65
11/30/16
For our second day in Isla, we decided to relax and enjoy a nice, laid-back day of beach, pool and eating. No excursions planned. Actually, for almost our entire vacation there were no excursions planned. We've been to the region so many times (maybe 12 at this point), that we've done pretty much all the usual things...snorkeling, ATV, cooking class, ruins, cenotes, jungle excursions, boat trips, etc. This trip was just about decompressing and getting ourselves back into a happy frame of mind.
Breakfast was at Rooster. It was delicious! We both had fresh squeezed OJ. I also had a smoothie (yum). I had the veggie eggs benedict and hubby had the huevos rancheros. We also got a side of potatoes. Everything was rustic, wholesome and delicious.
 |
| Breakfast at Rooster |
 |
| Veggie Eggs Benedict (front), Huevos Rancheros (back) |
We took a walk around the main drag a little and found a cute little liquor store on Madero run by a sweet, elderly lady. Hubby picked up a bottle of tequila. We also stopped at the little supermarket at the end of Hidalgo and bought some miscellaneous snacks and drinks for the condo. After that, it was time for the beach.
 |
| The most GORGEOUS beach |
 |
| Our condo's patio |
Playa Norte is SUCH a GORGEOUS beach and it's just the kind of beach I love...calm - almost like a swimming pool, and the most beautiful bright turquoise color (my favorite color in the world!). The sand is very soft, fluffy and creamy in color. Just gorgeous!
My only complaint is that Playa Norte is a pretty busy beach with lots of people. Even though we weren't in high season yet, it was pretty crowded and there were lots of chair hogs, which is a pet peeve of mine.
For dinner, we opted for a casual waterfront experience at Ballyhoo. We shared fish tacos, guacamole and coconut shrimp. The food was great, although the coconut shrimp were perhaps a little overcooked (hard/dry). Hubby got a Cuba Libra and Havana Club on the rocks, and I got an Isla Mujeres Margarita. The view was lovely at sunset.
 |
| Fish tacos |
 |
| Coconut Shrimp |
 |
| at Ballyhoo |
 |
| View from our table |
After dinner, we strolled around the main drag. Hubby got a cigar and I got gelato, which was delicious! (I had lots of gelato on this trip - my FAVORITE).
 |
| Decisions, decisions... |
 |
| Hidalgo at night |
As always, the pool looked so inviting at night, so we took a nice swim.
What we spent today (converted to US dollars at the rate of 18 pesos/dollar):
Tip for Maid: $2.22
Breakfast at Rooster:
2 OJs: $5.77
Smoothie: $3.61
Veggie Eggs Benedict: $6.66
Potatoes: $.56
Huevos Rancheros: $5.83
Total: $27.44 + 3.94 tip = $31.38
Bottle of tequila: $13.88
Supermarket - misc. snacks and drinks: $12.33
Dinner at Ballyhoo:
2 fish tacos: $5.00
Guacamole: $4.44
Coconut Shrimp: $12.22
Cuba Libra: $4.44
Margarita: $4.44
Havana Club: $4.44
Total: $40.56 + $7.22 tip = $47.78
Cigar: $4.44
Lg gelato, including tip: $5.56
Total Spent Today: $117.59
__________________________________________________
12/1/16
In Isla Mujeres, golf carts are the primary means of transportation. Yes, there are some cars around, but the island is so small, I guess golf carts are preferred since they are smaller and take up less space. Everyone recommends renting a golf cart for a day and touring the island, so that was our plan for our third day. It seemed like a good way to get a broad overview of what the entire island is like.
We rented our cart from a little shop right behind Ixchel called Luxury Car Rentals, which cracked us up because what they rented were golf carts, not cars, and they were by no means luxurious. At any rate, it was very easy to rent from them and off we went. It was a little nerve wracking at first, getting used to driving the golf cart, but it didn't take too long to get the hang of it.
We had a MapChick map in hand and used her special map for a Golf Cart Tour.
We started to drive south, down the eastern side of the island, and our first stop was the Mango Cafe, which is highly recommended for breakfast. I just had to try the Coconut French Toast, which I have read a lot of glowing reviews about, and it did not disappoint! Hubby had the Breakfast Quesadillas which he said were delicious. We both had fresh juice and hubby had some coffee. It was a very nice experience.
 |
| Breakfast Quesadillas |
 |
| The Legendary Coconut French Toast |
After breakfast, we continued on the road with our next stop being the Turtle Farm. The Turtle Farm is a preserve which helps to repopulate the sea turtle population. It was a nice little stop. There are several areas to visit at the farm, including an indoor area where we got to see a whole pool of baby turtles!
There were also other forms of sea life to view and I took a couple of photos.
Outside, there were more pools for the bigger turtles, and finally a huge penned in area in the real sea for the almost grown turtles, which I believe is their last stop before being released into the ocean.
We hopped back into our golf cart and proceeded further on to Punta Sur, which is the southernmost point of the island, and a place to explore for spectacular views. There is a general area that is free to visit, and another area of the park that you must pay to enter (only 30 pesos, or less than $2USD) and it is well worth it to gain access to all the various walkways with drop dead gorgeous vistas! We spent a lot of time walking through the park and I took tons of beautiful photos.
 |
| Walking the trails at Punta Sur |
Boy were we hot after that!
Then we headed back north on the western side of the island. Our goal was to visit one or two beach clubs. I was curious to see what the beaches were like, outside of Playa Norte. First we stopped at Captain Dulce's beach club, but it didn't grab us, so we moved on to Zama Beach Club, which we knew had a pool. It's always good to have the option of swimming in a pool, in the even the ocean is cold or otherwise unpleasant in some way (seaweed, etc.).
 |
| Zama Beach Club pools |
Zama was a nice beach club and the pool area was really pretty. The pools were not heated and were chilly, but in the mid heat of day, it felt really refreshing to jump in. The service was attentive and the food was good. Not "out of this world" good, but good enough. We shared some guacamole and fried fish quesadillas and we also had some drinks.
The beaches on this side of the island are (in our opinion) not that impressive. The water isn't anywhere near as pretty as Playa Norte, and the beaches are not visually stunning. But it's still a nice, relaxing place to hang out and we enjoyed ourselves.
While we were there, a particular bird was hanging around posing for my camera and I got some pretty shots.
After a couple of hours, we started to head back into town and end our trip around the island. We were both feeling overheated (it was really humid and quite hot) and a little tired. We parked our cart on the street (we had it for 24 hours) and went back to the hotel to relax awhile before dinner. We decided to spend some time at the beach and it was nice. The water was warm and calm and it wasn't too crowded. Late afternoon is definitely the most beautiful time at the beach in our opinion.
 |
| Hilarious! This bird is photo bombing my photo of Phil! |
We also took a nice dip in the pool.
For dinner, we went to a highly recommended restaurant called Olivia. It is a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant. We enjoyed this meal immensely! The atmosphere is really pretty, romantic and tropical, in a garden setting with thatched roof and tiki torches. It's very dark, so my photos are a bit dark (I didn't want to use a flash and ruin the atmosphere) but you get the idea.
 |
| Tapas Sampler appetizer |
 |
| Pretty, romantic, tiki-lit restaurant |
 |
| Front: fish entree, back: chicken |
We had a couple glasses of wine and shared a large appetizer of tapas, which was so delicious - I could have eaten just that and been happy as a clam! Hubby had a chicken dish with olives, and although I was tempted to get my favorite - spanakopita - I decided to get a fish entree instead, which was quite delicious.
I was tempted to get dessert there too, but had it in my mind that I wanted to try a street food called marquesitas. They are thin, crunchy waffles, made on a large waffle iron, and then filled with a variety of fillings and rolled. Apparently these are very popular in Isla. I got nutella and banana and it was soooo yummy!
 |
| Marquesitas! |
After that, we walked around a little and then headed back to the hotel. I guess by now you can tell we are not party animals who "do the town" or go bar hopping all night. We are more about chilling!
What we Spent Today (converted from pesos to US dollars are a rate of 18 pesos/dollar):
Tip for maid: $2.78
Golf cart rental (24 hours): $44.44
Breakfast at Mango Cafe:
Coconut French Toast: $5.56
Breakfast Quesadillas: $6.11
Watermelon Juice: $1.67
Mango Juice: $1.67
Coffee: $1.67
Total: $16.68 + $2.77 tip =$19.45
Entrance Fee, Turtle Farm (2 people): $3.33
Entrance Fee, Punta Sur (2 people): $3.33
Banos, Punta Sur (2 visits): $.56
Lunch/Drinks at Zama Beach Club:
4 Coronas: $8.89
1 Havana Club: $5.00
1 Coke $1.67
1 Mojito: $5.00
Guacamole: $6.67
Fried Fish Quesadillas: $5.56
Total: $32.78 + $6.11 tip =$38.89
Dinner at Olivia:
2 glasses of wine: $7.78
Tapas Sampler: $6.39
Chicken entree: $8.61
Fish Entree: $8.61
Total: $31.39 + $6.39 tip =$37.78
Marquesita: $1.94
Total Spent Today: $152.50
_______________________________________________________
12/2/16 - Leaving Isla and heading to Playa del Carmen
Well, our three days in Isla Mujeres went quickly and we enjoyed sampling this beautiful island. Our assessment is that we definitely love it and want to visit again for a longer stay! We like the laid-back, relaxed vibe of the island, although it is by no means "sleepy". It is obvious that Isla is on the track to developing a lot. I just hope it doesn't become the insane metropolis that Playa has become!
We think Playa Norte is a simply stunning beach and the most enjoyable to swim in of any in the region. We prefer calm, very swimmable beaches and Playa Norte fits that bill perfectly. I guess the only downside is that since it's the most swimmable beach, it's also the most crowded on the island, and we tend to not like crowds, so we always travel in low season or shoulder season. We almost never travel in high season for numerous reasons, but most importantly because we do not like noise, chaos and crowds.
The only downside about Isla, from our perspective, is that the main drag, Hidalgo Street, isn't very long. You can walk the whole thing in about 10 minutes. We prefer walking on pedestrian walkways as opposed to regular streets, so in Isla, after about 10 minutes of walking, you are off the main drag and into the regular streets. Kind of a downer.
But all things considered, we were very pleased. As for Ixchel - believe it or not, we have mixed feelings. The obvious upside is the wonderful location and for the penthouse we stayed in, the VIEW! OMG, unreal. We almost had to pinch ourselves to ask if we were really viewing what we were viewing. The stunning, deep turquoise of the expansive, calm sea is so breathtaking! The condo we rented was very nice, well maintained, and the owners were fabulous to deal with. The staff at Ixchel are also very nice.
On the downside, Ixchel - while upscale, clean and well maintained - has more of a hotel feel than a comfortable, homey feel. We are also not big fans of the sleek, modern architecture. I am not sure whether we will stay there again or try Nautibeach next door to see how we like that. We did pay a quick visit to Nautibeach to check it out, and it seemed more like our type of atmosphere, except that the pool was not heated and it was quite chilly. We are pretty picky about water temperature and do not tolerate cold oceans or pools, so this could be an issue. Maybe not a dealbreaker because the water wasn't FREEZING. It was just chilly to the point that it would be a bit uncomfortable getting in.
A couple other things we did like about Isla, as compared with PDC: it was a quieter town with very little blaring music and I don't think we heard ANY techno/house music anywhere that I can recall, although the beach bar located in front of Ixchel occasionally had their sound system up too loud - playing some annoying music (reggaeton, etc). Also, the vendors were nowhere nearly as aggressive or annoying as in PDC. It was just a lot more relaxed and "chill" and much less Americanized. We didn't see any corporate American stores like Victoria's Secret or H&M and that was a welcomed relief. It was much more Mexican and we loved it.
And now onto Playa del Carmen!
First, we went to breakfast at Lola Valentina and it was wonderful. I had something called a Mediterranean Croissant, which was basically a croissant piled high with sauteed veggies, and hubby had eggs benedict. We also had fresh squeezed juice and hubby had coffee. They were very nice to offer us a 10% discount because they saw we were wearing bracelets from Ixchel (some of the restaurants have a discount arrangement with different hotels).
It was easy to walk to the ferry with our carry-on luggage, so again, we avoided taxis. The ferry ride across was just as pleasant as the trip over. Once we arrived in Cancun, it was very easy to catch a taxi to the Cancun bus station for our bus to Playa.
The ride to Playa was uneventful and we were excited to arrive in our old stomping grounds. I always think it's so much fun to arrive at the PDC bus station on 5th Avenue. Hubby and I have a tradition of walking to our condo, pulling our luggage down 5th Avenue. It's hot and it's a long walk to Natz ti Ha (which is near 38th and the beach), but I love saying "no, gracias" to the taxi drivers and being an able-bodied person, instead of a lazy American! Ha ha. Anyway, we needed the exercise with all the calories we are eating and drinking!!!
It was around 2pm by the time we got to 38th Street, and we were getting pretty hungry, so we decided to have lunch at one of our favorite places, Piola. It's right around the corner from Natz ti Ha and we have never had a bad meal there. The pizza is thin crust and some of the most delicious we have had. This time, we got the 4 cheese pizza and it was very good - a bit salty because one of the 4 cheeses was roquefort, but man was it yummy! And it tasted soooo good after a long walk. Hubby had a really large bottle of a Mexican beer called Mundo Maya and he said it was rustic and full-bodied. I had a nice cold Coke.
After that, it was check-in time at Natz ti Ha! We were very excited to be back as we LOVE LOVE LOVE this condo complex. We love the total vibe - all the tropical foliage, the running waterfalls, the beautiful, Mexican design of the complex, the tropical birds flying all around, the gorgeous stone wall that surrounds the huge, quiet, shaded pool, the nice staff. This was our 4th time staying at NTH and we've always stayed in the same first floor condo. This time, we decided to try a different condo and we LOVED it. It was a second floor condo close to the beach, and it was a 3 bedroom, but we rented it as a 2 bedroom (we really only need 1 bedroom, but most of the condos at NTH are at least 2 bedrooms). It was so beautifully decorated, clean and comfortable. We loved the patio and felt like we were staying in a tree house because our patio was surrounded by palm trees. There was a sliver of ocean viewable from our patio, but really not much, since the foliage hid most of it. By the way, we booked our stay through Mike at Playa Breeze and we were very happy with our experience.
Once we settled in, we decided to take a quick walk to the beach, just to check it out.
This was not a good experience, I am sad to say. On this particular day, the beach looked terrible. It was smelly and there was a lot of brown, fibrous seaweed floating in the water which made the water brown near the shore. The beach was very eroded and there was almost NO beach! The water was coming all the way up to Mahekal, almost to the ocean front rooms! I didn't take my camera on our walk, so I don't have any photos of this to share.
As if this was not bad enough, our worst fears had been realized. A new beach club in the lot directly north of Mahekla's beach (Martina Beach Club), which opened since our last visit to PDC, was BLASTING that horrible, thumping techno music that we despise and the sound was overwhelming the entire area. I am sorry, but this type of music (and especially at that volume!) has NO place on a beach!!! The beach is not a nightclub! I could see reggae, Mexican, downtempo, or some other relaxed kind of music (at a reasonable volume) but the ridiculous thumping shit music is completely inappropriate and should be banned from the beach! It is unfathomable to me how ANYONE can enjoy that type of music, but especially on the BEACH where one is supposed to be able to relax and chill.
We ran into Mike, our property manager, and he told us that Martina is hurting business in the area and the community is in an ongoing battle trying to get Martina to turn their volume down.
I will tell you this. As bad as it was on the beach in front of Mahekal, it was far worse for the people in the condos at the Elements, which is the complex directly behind Martina. If I owned (or rented) a condo there, I would be having a complete COW! They are directly in the line of fire of those speakers!
The good news is, these bad conditions did not continue through the week. Yes, the beach remained eroded and there was little room to sit on the beach, but otherwise things shaped up after this first day. Martina wasn't as loud - some days we didn't hear any music coming from them (I wonder why?), and the brown water, smelliness and seaweed went away by the next day and stayed away. The beach became much prettier and stayed that way for the remainder of our trip. Thank God!
Our goal for this PDC trip was to try some new restaurants, as well as a couple favorites. One of the restaurants we've been wanting to try for awhile is Papa Charley's, so that's where we went for dinner. We started with a couple glasses of wine. Hubby wasn't super hungry, so he got a Caprese Salad and that was it. I had Ravioli with Aurora sauce as well as a piece of apple pie. The food was delicious. I wouldn't say it was on the level of La Famiglia (our favorite PDC Italian restaurant), but we enjoyed it.
On the way back to the condo, we stopped at Ah Cacao for a brownie.
We walked around a little, but not too much. We were feeling a bit tired so we headed back early.
What we Spent Today (in USD, converted a rate of 18 pesos/dollar):
Tip for Maid: $2.22
Ixchel bar expenses for 3 day stay: $17.78
Breakfast at Lola Valentina:
Eggs Benedict: $6.67
Mediterranean Croissant: $7.17
Orange Juice $1.94
Watermelon Juice $1.94
Cafe Mexicana: $1.94
10% discount
Total: $17.50 + $4.72 Tip =$22.22
Ferry (2): $8.66
Tips for Luggage Handler: $4.44
Tip for ferry musician: $2.78
Taxi to bus station: $5.56 + $1.11 tip =$6.67
Bus to Playa (2): $14.44
Lunch at Piola:
Lg Quatro Formaggio pizza$15.39
Liter bottle of Mundo Maya beer: $12.22
1 Coke: $1.61
Total: $29.22 + $7.44 =$36.66
Dinner at Papa Charley:
2 glasses of wine: $7.78
Water$1.39
Caprese Salad: $6.11
Ravioli with Aurora Sauce: $5.56
Double espresso: $1.67
Apple Pie: $2.50
Total: $25.00 + $4.44 =$29.44
Brownie at Ah Cacao: $1.44
Total Spent Today: $146.75
_______________________________________________________
12/3/16
The rest of this trip was really laid back for us. Our only objective was to relax. No excursions, site seeing or any special outings planned. So lots of hanging around and eating!
This morning we had breakfast at our FAVORITE breakfast destination in PDC, La Cueva del Chango. Words cannot describe how wonderful this place is with its tropical, outdoor, jungle setting and delicious, wholesome, rustic food. The kitchen is visible from the dining area, and you can watch the Mexican ladies hand pressing the tortillas and stirring the sauces. The food is just wonderful. In past stays in PDC, we've eaten most of our breakfasts here.
This morning we both had fresh squeezed juice (watermelon and "green"). We shared an order of empanadas with mushrooms and cheese. Hubby had chilaquiles and I had fruit salad with granola and yogurt (I asked for bananas only). I also had a hot chocolate and hubby had coffee. Everything was as wonderful as always and service was very friendly and attentive.
After breakfast, we walked to the Mega Supermarket to stock up on various snacks and drinks for the condo. We don't mind the walk, even though it's pretty far, although it does get a little hot coming back.
Here is my feeling about walking. First of all, I avoid taxis in PDC like the plague because many of those guys are rip-off artists (we have experienced this first-hand) and the last thing I feel like doing on my vacation is arguing with a taxi driver over the amount of change he gave me back. If we can walk somewhere instead of taking a taxi, we do.
Secondly, we pride ourselves on not being lazy Americans. Yes, we are in our 50s and could stand to lose a few pounds, but there is no reason we can't walk, and even walk long distances. It keeps us young! And I am thankful that we are healthy and energetic enough to do so.
Besides, you've seen what we were eating. Many, MANY calories to burn off!!!
There is nothing that feels better after a long, hot, humid walk in PDC, then walking into a nice air conditioned condo. We always set the thermostat at 80 when we left the condo and even at that setting, it felt so cool and refreshing when we returned.
After our Mega trip, we relaxed with the nice cool ceiling fans blowing on us and took a nice nap! (So much for being high energy ;)
Since the beach was crappy, we decided to hang at the pool for the rest of the day. It was nice and relaxing for the most part, until a couple with a baby came to the pool (i.e. the circus came to town), but thankfully they didn't stay too long and then we had the whole pool to ourselves.
We both love the pool at NTH. It is the most beautiful pool we have ever been in. What I love the most is that there is plenty of shade. I know most people love sunny pools, but not me. I burn easily, especially when I am in water, so I love having a pool that has lots of shade where I can swim for long stretches of time without worrying about how much sun I am getting.
I didn't take any photos at the pool today, but here's one of us on the rooftop at NTH. We are squinting from the sunset.
After the pool, we cleaned up and decided to go out for Thai. We went to Gluuay Mai Thai, which is a pretty little Thai restaurant right up the street from NTH, on 38th near 5th. It was a very nice experience and the food was very good. I wouldn't say it was the best Thai food we have ever eaten in our lives, but everything was very good and it was a nice change of pace from Mexican food. They started us off with complimentary steamed spring rolls with various dipping sauces. We both got pad thai (hubby got veggie and I got shrimp) and for our appetizers, hubby got spring rolls and I got a fried tofu appetizer. We also both got Thai iced tea (my favorite). We liked the soft lit atmosphere and the nice chill music they were playing. Service was friendly.
After that, it was off to find some gelato, which is my favorite dessert. There used to be a gelato place that we liked across from Lucky Luciano's but they closed, and we are not big fans of Aldo's. I was happy to see that some new gelato places have opened since our last visit and all week, I ended up patronizing Come Gelato, which is on the corner of 38th & 5th, right across from Los Hijos de la Tostada. I loved the gelato here so much, I never tried any other places. It was fantastic - very silky and creamy. Hubby also got a double espresso.
What we spent today (in USD, converted at a rate of 18 pesos/dollar):
Breakfast at La Cueva del Chango:
2 fresh squeezed juices: $5.11
Fruit salad with granola, honey and yogurt: $4.44
Chilaquiles: $5.33
Empanadas with mushrooms and cheese: $4.89
Coffee: $1.78
Hot chocolate: $2.33
Total: $23.89 + $4.44 tip =$28.33
Mega Supermarket (snacks and drinks for the condo): $27.78
Dinner at Gluay Mai Thai:
Spring rolls: $4.72
Fried tofu appetizer:$4.39
Vegetable pad thai: $7.00
Shrimp pad thai: $8.06
Thai iced tea (2): $4.89
Total: $29.06 + $4.39 =$33.45
Large gelato and double espresso at Come Gelato: $6.67 + $1.11 tip =$7.78
Total Spent Today: $97.34
No comments:
Post a Comment