Maximus Nero

My new houseguest from Coco's cat refuge is Max. He was found "baking in the sun" on a vacant lot in Playa, and brought to Coco's by a concerned neighbour.
When I first met him, he was covered in soapsuds having his first bath, and looking mortified by this unwanted attention. He shivered all the way home and bolted from his cage under the lounge where he stayed for 2 days, hissing at me. Surprisingly though, when I picked him up he didn't bite or scratch me, but he did eat like a savage (I guess he is).

On the 2nd night, he sauntered out of his hiding place, jumped into his lime green faux-fur bed and started playing with his toys, and he's been fine ever since.
I reckon Max is no more than 4 weeks old, very thin and as you can see he still have lovely blue eyes. But now he's eating well he seems to have lots of energy and an inquisitive nature and he's learning to trust me.
Max will stay with me for 2 weeks, until he has put on some weight, finished his anti-parasite treatment and his 14-day quarantine. Then he'll return to Coco's and join the other kittens to play.

We also met Truffle at the shelter - she's a ginger and white kitten who likes yoga and was stretching into a "downward dog" in the window and crying for attention. I could easily have taken her home too, but Max needs attention for now. And with that sweet little face, it's not hard to give.

Weekend at Gran Bahia Principe

There was another gathering last weekend of members of the RETA group of which I'm a member, at the Bahia resort about 1/2hr south of Playa. The resort is all-inclusive, so whatever you heart (and belly) requires, it can be yours. That includes their wonderful selection of cocktails - Tropical Sunset being my current favourite!

The 3night 4 day event was free for members, but someone was paying for it, so my plan was to get there early and get their money's worth. But check-in time wasn't until 3 and the resort was full, so I had to cool my heels with lunch and then a swim before my key was handed over. I decided a snooze was in order before the evening cocktail party, but I had hardly nodded off when a knock came at the door and a young man wanted to set up my champagne and fruit basket. I hadn't ordered anything but I wasn't about to say no to free champers! The 2 waiters took a lot of care with aligning everything just right, and it did look very pretty.

The cocktail party was only 75 minutes away, so I filled the spa bath and climbed in. After a false start where I sprayed the whole bathroom with water, I got the nozzles adjusted and laid back to relax. Ah, I have missed having a bathtub!

I met the other 16 attendees over drinks in the Lobby Bar, then we headed to Portofino restaurant for dinner. We had eaten there the last time and it was fabulous, but they must have changed chefs and the food was very average this time.

Friday was a busy day starting with a walk through the Tao construction site. It's an interesting concept, a community built around the premise of healthy mind, body and spirit, and focused on lifelong learning. There will be a community centre built with glass floors over the cenote below, so you can do your downward-facing dog looking into the cool blue underground river. There will be a community garden, cooking and language lessons, even salsa classes (the dance, not the sauce). They have employed some famous guy from a health ranch in the US to run it all.

We saw the new Golf Clubhouse and drove around the edge of some of the fairways. Your golfcart here has a GPS so when you get hungry you just push a button to order your favourite food and beverage, and a waiter will bring it to you on the course. I would imagine play might slow down considerably while you enjoy sushi and a cold beer.

Then back to the conference room where we were given info about legal and immigration matters, and told about the new airport. The Cancun airport which currently serves the Riviera Maya brings in 9 million visitors each year; in the peak season, 500 flights per day arrive here, and the income from this 80 mile stretch alone makes up 60% of Mexico's tourism revenue.

After lunch at the buffet we headed off to see Tulum village, and then to have a swim and a drink at the Om bar on Tulum beach. The beaches here are superb, fine white sand, clear water and almost deserted. We spent a few very pleasant hours swimming, chatting and relaxing here.
On Saturday we had 1 on 1 meetings with the TAO salespeople, no I didn't get out my chequebook! And then we were free to enjoy the resort's facilities until the farewell cocktail party that evening.

I hung around on Sunday, drinking pina coladas and enjoying lunch at the buffet until about 5.30 and needed nothing more than toast for dinner.
Nothing like a relaxing weekend and a variety of cocktails to make me feel that all's right with the world!
Now back to yoga and deal with the excess pounds this trip has added!

Painting the bedroom wall

It's not a pretty picture. Me in my undies (well a bikini top and knickers), perspiration running down me in tiny rivulets and dripping onto the floor if I don't manage to catch it and wipe it away with the face cloth I keep close. It's 32' with 74% humidity (actually the weather site says it's 84F feels like 92F, although I don't have a concept of fahrenheit any more I know that's damn hot). Why did I not wait for a cooler day? Well that's a bit like waiting for a sudden drop in temperature in hell. It's hot today, it was hot yesterday and it will still be hot tomorrow. Better get it done.

My gaze is between the wall, the paint roller in my hand, and the paint chip - no, it's not my imagination that the first 2 bear little resemblance to the third. The chip called "creamy dill" is a soft creamy green. The wall looks like the sort of colour we could descriptively call puppy poop - and not a healthy puppy at that! I'm horrified.....  I've only done a strip about 18 inches wide, but in this heat it's drying too fast to wash off, and I don't have any of the original paint colour to go over it. I don't even know what the original colour is called to buy some.

As I stand there wondering what to do, there is a knock at the door. Oh great, now I have to scramble to put on something so I can look at least clothed. I don't get a lot of visitors but I don't need to scare them off even more. I grab the dress I wore 2 days ago and fling it over my sweaty body, pulling at the zip as I run to the door.

It's the building administrator, she wants to know if I will be at the meeting on Saturday and I answer in the negative. Her face falls, and she tells me no-one will be there. Several of us had already requested a deferment but this was not mentioned. She gives me a form to complete with contact details, and when I mention that I am in email contact with 2 other owners, she thrusts another 2 forms under my nose. It's clear as she hands me a pen that I am expected to complete them now.

Ten minutes later, business completed, she departs and I contemplate my return to the bedroom wall fiasco. For sure it will have dried by now, so there's no changing it. Maybe I'll just stop for a coffee? I briefly wonder whether it's too early to pour myself a consolatory alcoholic drink, but decide that water is what's needed first. And chilled bottle in hand, I open the bedroom door.

The Goddess of Paint seems to have paid a visit to my bedroom while I was away, and the partly-painted wall now looks remarkably close to what I hoped for. I know that sometimes paint dries to a lighter colour, and sometimes darker, but I wasn't expecting this transformation.

I strip off and return to work with renewed enthusiasm and in less than an hour the wall is finished. Well, all except a patch above the air conditioner that I can't reach even from the highest ladder step. The walls here are 2.7m high and I'm not tall as you know, nor am I keen on climbing to the top of ladders with a paintbrush. I do what I can and decide it can wait until a suitably tall and/or helpful friend can finish it off. I have about 3 litres left of the 4lt bucket so it won't dry up quickly like small quantities do.

You can see in the picture the difference between the dry colour and the work-in-progress colour.

The first coat is mostly dry and I'm really pleased with it, in fact I may not need to do another coat. The walls being such a rough texture, there will be a few spots I'll need to touch up but overall it looks great. Within an hour I can put the furniture back and congratulate myself on another job ticked off the list. Actually the list is pretty short now - maybe I'll have that drink with lunch after all, and then a little snooze in my redecorated room. I've already had a full day - up at 8.15 for a swim in the sea, fresh orange juice at a roadside stall on the way home, shower at home, cooked pancakes for breakfast, painting, form-filling, moving furniture. Goodness I'm tired even thinking of it all! Was that a yawn????

Chill weekend

Just one more day and I'm off to the Gran Bahia Principe resort, about 45 minutes south of here towards Tulum, for a "Chill weekend" with the RETA investment group of which I'm a member.

Bahia is a 5 star, all inclusive, all the bells and whistles, where I can reside in luxury, hang by the pool sipping chilled cocktails, indulge in massages or energize with water aerobics. It has, wait for it, 13 specialty restaurants, about 20 bars, 8 places for lunch or breakfast, all apart from the all-you-can-stuff-in buffets, of course. I expect to return at least 5kg heavier. So much for any weight I may have lost being ill on the weekend, it won't count against this onslaught.

The great part is that I get to meet other RETA members and hear their stories. Last time I made a real friend who is going to visit me here next month. We are shown the new developments which is currently the TAO healthy lifestyle community, where the clubhouse will be built with glass floors above the cenote sinkholes sacred to the Mayans. You will be able to do yoga, learn languages, cooking or natural therapies, have a massage or swim. It sounds like a great ready-made community and they already have a well-known leader picked out. (Well I've never heard of him, but I believe in the US he's well known).

As well, we hear speakers telling us about life here in Mexico, legal issues, immigration, health, all useful stuff, for me particularly.

For us RETA members this weekend is absolutely free, one of the perks of membership. There are other chill weekends but I'd generally have to fly to get to them, so this is a twin bonus. Oh and did I mention the cocktails?

So my next "broadcast" may be from my divine room at the resort (free WIFI access of course) or maybe those wicked pink and orange things with the tiny umbrellas will make all communication impossible? or at least unintelligible?

Roll on, Thursday!

More fun with The Bootmen

There was a problem with the shoe I had resoled a few weeks ago, so I took it on Friday with its partner, and another pair of shoes only one of which needed a new heel leather, to my trusty shoe repairmen, the Bootmen.

I explained the problem with the first shoe, and then that I needed the 2nd pair heel to be level because if it's not, it makes my foot slide sideways and hurts.  Always smiling, the guys understood the issue, nodded their assent and told me to return on Monday morning.

As it turned out, I'd been crook over the weekend and couldn't face the walk down there in the heat on Monday, so it was Tuesday morning about 10 when I returned. "Ah, pretty lady, I was JUST about to start yours. Can you come back in maybe half an hour?" Sure, not a problem. This is Mexico, nothing happens on schedule.

It was about 2.30 the next time I came back, thinking he'd have to be finished. Well yes, the first pair was fine, he got me to try them on to make sure they were OK. That's great, I said, and the other ones?

Their eyes grew round and the 2nd man quickly found the other shoes, ripped off both the heels and set to work. Only one heel had needed repair but it was too late to argue. Off he went gluing, nailing and shaping the 2 heels. Meanwhile the first man was keeping me engaged in conversation. He explained that he spoke 3 languages because he grew up in Belize where English is the official first language, spanish widely spoken and creole spoken but not taught in schools. He told me about his father from Belize and his mother from Honduras (god rest both their souls!), and about the lovely cities, islands and Mayan ruins in his homeland.

At some time during this conversation, the other guy gave him one of my shoes and soon both of them were hand sewing the soles (I didn't even realise they were coming loose). I found out more about Ambergris Caye and the delightful city of Belmopan, and even an invitation to accompany them for a road trip to Belize when they return in September - because that's when all the best parties are! Of course, my mama always told me never to get in a car with one, let alone 2, strange men, so I think it's unlikely I will take up their offer, but maybe I'll see them there. I certainly want to visit Belize again and who better to give me tourist advice?

Finally, both shoes are finished and placed lovingly in a bag with the first pair. All those repairs, considerably more than I'd asked for, and 45 minutes' entertainment, and what did it cost me? 50 pesos $4.  My shoes felt like they'd been made for me, and I had a smile all the way home. So what if the repairs took longer than promised? In fact I wonder when/whether they would have started if I hadn't kept going back?  Maybe it's just their way of keeping people talking to them to reduce the boredom of their lives sitting in a tiny stall surrounded by 500 shoes (remnants of people who forgot to go back?).

Who cares, the Bootmen and I are now good friends and we all smiled a little more today - which after the ATM disaster, was a very nice change.

Revenge of the ATM machines

I've been using my Australian credit cards for many years to withdraw funds overseas in local currencies. I've never had a problem with the amounts being wrong, or the machines grabbing my card, till Saturday.

The ATMs at the bank that I usually go to are generally reliable, and allow me to withdraw my full daily limit - some ATMS here have silly limits and you have to do 3 transactions with 3 lots of fees to get what you need. There is also often a lineup, as others have discovered the Banorte's usefulness, so I decided to get down there fairly early about 10am.

There was no sign that the ATM wasn't functioning correctly - it asked me all the same questions it usually did, but when it asked me the final "confirm your transaction" and I pressed the button, it came up with a message saying Sorry I am Out of Order. (Information that would have been useful BEFORE I inserted my card). I pressed the back and cancel buttons but to no avail, my card had been gobbled.

Fortunately, the bank was open although it's Saturday so I went in, and joined at least 70 other people. I didn't want to line up for a teller, there was no-one at the Customer service desk, so I joined a short queue behind the desk for opening new accounts.  The customer seated at the desk was in no hurry, despite the growing line behind her. She wanted to discuss the pros and cons of each type of account, what colour her card would be, and what would be the best way to do so-and-so. The bank teller attended her patiently, also with not a care for the line, but whenever she left her desk to get copies of something, some impatient man (sorry to say it, but ALWAYS a man) would jump the queue, pounce on her and explain his problem and she would also listen patiently and try to help, again without a care for the others waiting patiently. Although there had been only 1 person ahead of me in the queue, it took me more than an hour to get to her desk, and when I did, it was only 5 minutes to fish the card from the machine and return it to me - thank heavens I had a copy of my passport with me.

I was sick on Sunday so didn't get back to the bank, but Monday morning remembered that I still needed cash so I went to another branch of the same bank. The first ATM kindly told me in advance it had no money, thank you. But the other one let me get through the whole sequence again before the same red notice came up Sorry Out of Order, and again my card was gulped. Again, a visit inside the bank, again a long wait with a woman trying to argue that there was 500 pesos more in her account than what was showing, and wouldn't take no for an answer. I was still feeling lousy from food poisoning so by the time I got to the front I was starting to sway. "Ah no senora, sorry we can't open the machine now, you'll have to come back after lunch".  There's no point either in trying to argue or losing your temper, you learn pretty quickly here that those attitudes only make things take longer.

I went home and had a rest, then at 2pm I trundled up there again. She remembered me, found the card and returned it with a smile.  I still needed money, so I tried again, and this time the machine only asked me 2 questions before swallowing my card and closing down. I was almost in tears of frustration as I returned inside the bank and the teller saw my face. "not again?" she asked me. "Oh yes, the 3rd time in 2 days," I told her. She immediately picked up the phone but after a lot of rapid spanish she sheepishly told me "I'm sorry we can only open the machines once a day, you'll have to come back tomorrow". I doubted very much that was the case, but again not worth arguing.

This morning I fronted up again, and she directed me to who I think was the Manager; I had seen him the previous day ducking in and out of locked doors, trying to avoid being accosted by the people waiting. He pulled from his desk a stack of cards at least 4cm thick, but no mine was not amongst them. He then rummaged through other drawers and finding nothing, he went over to talk to a teller. She left and disappeared into another room, returning with another stack of cards, thankfully mine was amongst these.

"The machine is broken" he told me. Oh really??? "Yes it's just been taking everyone's cards. We have someone coming to look at it this afternoon".
Are they both broken? I asked. "No, the other one will be working in an hour or so" - which I think means that YES they are both broken now but hopefully one will be working soon and the other later today.

I STILL need money, and I'm sitting at home weighing up my options. Having lost my card 3 times, does that mean the run of bad luck is now over and I can happily insert it into another ATM without fear of repeating the experience? Or is it the start of a curse? Should I wash my card in rainwater gathered at midnight, or the tears of a blue goose, or pray over it and sprinkle it with tequila? Any voodoo or hokus pokus you kindly friends can offer, send it NOW! 

Important Things I've learned (and relearned)

1. When you reheat food make sure it is hot enough to kill any bacteria lurking there. This would have saved me 12 hours of vomiting and 36 of recovery.

2. You can keep vomiting long after there's nothing left in your stomach

3. When they tell you to only sip water, not gulp it, it doesn't matter. If you are really thirsty and dehydrated, drink! The difference is only the time it will take to come back, not the indubitable fact that it will! Sipping for 4 hours will still be wasted in one watery gush.

4. When your body says "sleep", give in. Sooner or later you will have to.

I know I shouldn't look unkindly on the thai noodles still sitting in my fridge. It wasn't their fault that I failed to press one more button on the microwave. They don't deserve my suspicious glances as I reach for my bottle of Gatorade. But I still suspect that they will end their lives in the trash rather than in my belly. I hope that Thai noodles don't now join hot dogs on my no-go list, guaranteed to bring on nausea and awful memories with just the smell. That would be a shame as I really like them. Time will tell.

After about 30 hours of sleep and 10 hours of blurry wobbly semi-consciousness, I'm now mostly vertical and able to hold down Gatorade and dry crackers. I'm even starting to crave my fav iced coffee drink so I must be getting better. It's a great excuse to take it easy and have a nanna nap after lunch. I'd like to think I've lost several kgs, but I don't think that's the case. Oh well, better see what's on TV so I can watch something mindless and relax!

Free DVD library

It's been weeks since I last exchanged my books at the Centro Maya's Mobile Library, so when I got back from snorkelling at 5.45pm I had a fast shower to wash off the salt and then caught the bus over.

I exchanged 4 books for 5 new ones, which will keep me busy for the next few weeks. And I also discovered a new service of DVD exchange - you just bring a DVD you've seen and no longer want, and take home one you want to see. It's not like a video shop, there is hardly a huge collection, mine was #179 so I guess there are about 200 in total. They ask you for a donation of 1 peso (about 8cents Aus) but are quick to backpedal - "that's if you can spare it, or you want to, senora) and I was happy to give them 5. What a great service!

While at the Centro Maya I called in to my fav supermarket cafe where I get the coffee and donut deal, and a fresh bubbling pizza was being taken from the oven. Well, after such a relaxing day, who wants to cook dinner, so I bought a slice. The boy must have thought I needed fattening up (as if!) because he gave me the largest slice - about 8" across and dripping with ham and mushrooms, all for $1.80. And then having already made a piglet of myself by finishing said slice, I went back for the double vanilla cappucino and a fat chocolate donut. All in all, a $3 dinner, and I could hardly drag my full belly back to the bus stop. I did think I should probably walk home to try to work off the meal, but that thought lasted about 10 seconds and I hopped on the next bus. It's probably not much more than 1km, but it was getting dark.... and I did do lots of snokelling today.

No plates to wash, nothing to do but update my blog and collapse into bed with a new book!

Snorkelling with Turtles

Well, OK, there was 1 turtle that we followed, but that's enough for me. Her shell was about 2 feet long, and she had gorgeous markings. There were 4 or 5 of us floating over her in water less than 2m deep, while she nibbled grass and cruised around. And then she turned and swam right past me up to the surface where she stuck her head up for a gulp of air. She seemed very relaxed and not at all concerned about having humans so close. What a fabulous experience!

Actually we didn't think we'd get there today. Yesterday it rained a lot of the day with a huge thunderstorm which flooded and closed the local supermarket. So I was expecting that we'd have to defer again, but when my alarm sounded at 8.30 I was surprised by a lovely sunny day. First we stopped at a bakery near a service station south of Playa for their special economic baguette. For 15 pesos $1.20 we got a 12" baguette with ham, cheese and salami, now that's unbeatable value. And boy was it delicious - freshly-baked bread with an olive oil and garlic coating.

We headed into the jungle to collect 2 friends of Carla's mum who live in palapas, only 5 minutes off the main highway and it was wonderfully shady and cool. I tested the hammock and think that yes I could sleep very soundly rocking in one of these. Then off to Akumal Bay about 30 minutes south of Playa, where the water was aqua blue, warm and full of colourful creatures including the turtle. Apparently this is the best place to find them. We snorkelled, we drank, we ate, we slept, we swam, it was a perfect day!

This weird looking fruit is fuchsia pink on the outside with yellow spiky tips, and inside it's white with tiny seeds. It looks like chocolate chip icecream coated in pink wax! But tastes good.

On the way home I silently thanked the benevolent deity who led me to my new home. I love my life!

Julio Regalado

One of the supermarkets here has a special promotion on at the moment, called Julio Regalado. Literally, it means July Gifted, or Given a gift by Julio, and it's clever because Julio is both the spanish name for this month, and a man's name as in Mr Iglesias Snr (Hooleo).

Although it's an annual prmotion for July, it starts mid June and continues to mid-August..... Hey this is Mexico so anything goes and if I'm getting gifts I'm happy!

Most of the deals take the form of Buy 2, get the 3rd free. So my favourite iced coffee drink a few weeks ago cost me 10 pesos each instead of 15. No it's probably not huge but every bit helps. Last week it was toilet paper, and I think I now have enough to last me the rest of the year!

This week it's frozen goods (I saved $6 on my fav Popcorn Shrimp) and, heaven help me, WINE! I started today with the Lambrusco I like which, instead of costing me $6 a bottle, is now $4.

This supermarket is the furthest away of the three I frequent (of course!) so I have about a km to walk home with my bottles. Which means i can really only carry 3 at a time unless I take the lovely trolley I bought in my first weeks here. I use it now mainly to carry the 4 or 5lt water bottles, but I think I'd better dust it off, oil the wheels and get ready for my wine collection to grow exponentially!

Well, I'm off now to enjoy those popcorn shrimp - that's crumbed prawns to us Aussies, and they are really good, especially with some Thai sweet chili sauce. Add some fresh guacamole and a glass of chilled white, and it's heaven in 5 minutes!

On being lefthanded

The magazine from my local supermarket had an interesting article about lefthandedness. No, I'm not a "lefty" but was surprised to find out that the majority of tennis champions are, as well as a large percentage of Apollo astronauts.

Some famous leftys from history include: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Picasso, Napoleon, Charlemagne, Nelson and Alexander the Great. Bill Gates is too. The 3 candidates for the 1992 US presidency were all lefthanded. Apart from the presidents, perhaps the claim that lefthanders are more intelligent would be supported by this list alone.

I discovered all the little things made for us righthanders which make life difficult for the leftys: most musical instruments, computer keyboards, cameras, watches, can openers, even books which are meant to be read left to right. Lefthanders have to try to sit at the corner of a table so that they don't knock elbows with their righthanded dining neighbour. In fact, it seems that lefthanders can use 30% of their intellectual capacity in trying to live in a righthanded world.

The ancient Roman words for left and right were sinister and dexter. Similar words are used in modern Italian and Spanish. But the dictionary meaning for sinister has a negative connotation, and the word dexterity is very much on the positive side, so even the Romans saw left-handedness as an aberration. Teachers until quite recently tried to make lefthanders write with their right hand, which according to psychologists, can cause confusion and even stuttering.

People who write with their right hand tend to be more verbal, abstract, analytic and good at maths, whereas lefthanders tend to be musical, spacial, creative, intuitive, with a strong visual sense and holistic thought. No wonder that trying to change can cause confusion.

It got me to thinking, I don't even know if any of my friends are lefthanders? Let me know if you are. The International Day for Lefthanders is the 13th of August.

These steps are slippery......ahhhhhh!

I had a rather unpleasant slip down the stairs in my condo block this week. It's been raining on and off for the past month, and the steps can get very slippery. I was just remarking that to my neighbour as I helped her carry her things down, and then - oops, my feet went out from under me and I landed heavily on my back. My head flipped back and hit a stair with a nasty thud. I sat there for a minute, mumbling "ooohhhhh" while I tried to work out whether I was now a paraplegic (yes, a little overdramatic!) and she grabbed me and looked worried.

After realising that I could still move my feet, I stood up and she helped me inside, where she checked my back and then looked even more worried.  An area about 6" square was the colour of a ripe plum! I decided it was best to go see a doctor, just in case, and headed off on shaky legs.  He diagnosed contusions but said I didn't need an xray, and wrote me out a script for painkillers and anti-inflammatories. He advised no exercise for a week, but to keep walking around rather than bed rest. The visit plus 3 scripts cost me less than $10 so at least it didn't hurt my wallet too!

The lump on the back of my head went down, but I did have a sore neck the next day, a type of whiplash I suppose. The painkillers did the trick and the gel for my back worked well; it's still sore to touch but a lot of the bruising has already gone.

I think that was just to remind me that I'm not invincible! Nothing like an injury and a bit of a shock to make you feel old and helpless!