Ahh, the final post.
Up around 7am, It's storming outside; no walk on the beach this morning. Left the window open overnight, and my pile of dirty clothes on the floor are all wet. Throw them in the dryer for a little while so I don't have to lug soaking clothes around with me. Made Cat some tea and hosed off in the shower.
Clothes are dry, and I take care of packing everything up. I'm a little sad about leaving Cat, Puerto Morelos and México, but it's ok.
As we hop in the car, I say bye to Alex. Cat takes the scenic route back to the airport, more like the service roads around some of the hotel zone north of Puerto. She points out the various hotels and centers for marine study along the way. The sun is shining now, and we hold hands during the short trip to the airport. I'm feeling better now, and defiantly smiling again.
We say our goodbyes in front of Terminal 2. Both of us had a great time together and will miss each other, but now it's time for me to explore the rest of my life.
"I choose love."
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Day 14.6
I'm noticing my belt and pants keep falling off (unintentionally). I don't have access to a scale, but I might actually be loosing weight eating all this good food here.. Man.
Cat returned from Riding, and the three of us fixed some drinks and made our way out to dinner at Ed's restaurant. They have German food here. I end up with some sort of shrimp dish with garlic. Cat ordered something unpronounceable which was pretty tasty. We sat around after dinner and bitched about the USA for a while.
Back home, I played bartender for the girls, which Cat found amusing. All of us are pretty tired, and after a couple of rounds, it's bedtime for the last time in México.
Cat returned from Riding, and the three of us fixed some drinks and made our way out to dinner at Ed's restaurant. They have German food here. I end up with some sort of shrimp dish with garlic. Cat ordered something unpronounceable which was pretty tasty. We sat around after dinner and bitched about the USA for a while.
Back home, I played bartender for the girls, which Cat found amusing. All of us are pretty tired, and after a couple of rounds, it's bedtime for the last time in México.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Day 14
Last full day in México.
Make our way to the beach for a morning walk around 8am. It's mostly cloudy and the water doesn't feel all that warm so neither of us indulge in the water today. Breakfast is a fresh fruit smoothy, coffee and some oatmeal.
Make our way out to el Rey country club to help load up the horses on a trailer for transport to Mérida for their match on Sunday. They haven't done this before, and I can tell since they're quite disorganized on who's doing what, and what's needed. Apparently they need paperwork to transport the horses across state lines which they don't have, although bribes work. Cat washes her horses, and I stroll the around in the tropical forest. The club is about 15km inland from the sea. Almost squashed a tarantula trying to cross the road on the way there.
We meet up with two of the regular polo guys from Saturday, Alex and Melolo. While we're waiting for the Menolo has to run up to a cenote down the road to pay them for a tour which was comming through. I rode with Alex and him to check it out. After winding through the forest on an unpaved road, we came to Centoe Siete Bocas or 'Cenote of 7 mouths.' I don't have swim gear, but Alex shows me around. There are 7 simple holes in the ground, going down about 15-20 feet, and all are connected underwater. I walk down the steep steps in a couple of the openings and look around. This is much more impressive than one cenote I've been to near Tulum. Alex fills me in on some interesting facts, such that some of them are as deep as 500m. In a larger hole, a tour group was jumping down the 15 ft drop into the water, looked like fun.
Headed back and grabbed lunch at the clubhouse with Catriona while waiting for the trailer. Help out where I can. We leave and I handle a teleconference with work and a customer on the way back. Cat drops me off at the square and I walk the beach back to her home to take care of some work, she's going back out to ride and practice for Sunday's tournament.
Make our way to the beach for a morning walk around 8am. It's mostly cloudy and the water doesn't feel all that warm so neither of us indulge in the water today. Breakfast is a fresh fruit smoothy, coffee and some oatmeal.
Make our way out to el Rey country club to help load up the horses on a trailer for transport to Mérida for their match on Sunday. They haven't done this before, and I can tell since they're quite disorganized on who's doing what, and what's needed. Apparently they need paperwork to transport the horses across state lines which they don't have, although bribes work. Cat washes her horses, and I stroll the around in the tropical forest. The club is about 15km inland from the sea. Almost squashed a tarantula trying to cross the road on the way there.
We meet up with two of the regular polo guys from Saturday, Alex and Melolo. While we're waiting for the Menolo has to run up to a cenote down the road to pay them for a tour which was comming through. I rode with Alex and him to check it out. After winding through the forest on an unpaved road, we came to Centoe Siete Bocas or 'Cenote of 7 mouths.' I don't have swim gear, but Alex shows me around. There are 7 simple holes in the ground, going down about 15-20 feet, and all are connected underwater. I walk down the steep steps in a couple of the openings and look around. This is much more impressive than one cenote I've been to near Tulum. Alex fills me in on some interesting facts, such that some of them are as deep as 500m. In a larger hole, a tour group was jumping down the 15 ft drop into the water, looked like fun.
 |
| From México |
Headed back and grabbed lunch at the clubhouse with Catriona while waiting for the trailer. Help out where I can. We leave and I handle a teleconference with work and a customer on the way back. Cat drops me off at the square and I walk the beach back to her home to take care of some work, she's going back out to ride and practice for Sunday's tournament.
 |
| From México |
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day 13
Hmmm. Yet another day in paradise.
This morning I chauffeur Cat down the Playa del Carmen for an appointment for her back. Apparently one of her horses got spooked (the one I rode) and she partially fell off and screwed up a couple vertebrae in her back, requiring weekly injections of ozone gas to help heal.
We ran over to an organic produce store which has a tiny cafe. We had fruit salad and fresh fruit smoothies. $90 for breakfast for two.
Today is a beautiful day for the beach. Mostly sunny. around 85 F and a steady breeze. After returning around noon, Alex knows where we're going, she leads the way winding through 4 blocks to the street entrance. Catriona is off to work and pick up a friend from the airport.
I leave my stuff around a post and hop in the water. The wind is much stronger and steady on the beach. The waves are strong, and the water is comfortable. The beach is empty except for Alex and I.
I lay down the beach towel, and quickly sit down to prevent it from blowing away. Laying on my back, I can feel the sand being blown against me and it's a great feeling. I must avoid opening my eyes or mouth. The sun is hot, but the wind helps cool me off. All I hear is the wind past my ears, layered with the constant rolling of the waves, and rustling of nearby palm trees. Occasionally the voices of a couple taking an afternoon beach-walk, or the sound of the sand being blown down the beach. It sounds like soft static from a distant radio station.
Alex lays down in the sand and waits patiently about a yard from me feet. She rises when I turn over, as if expecting to go. "Not yet," I tell her. We get up to move on. The towel is covered in sand except where I was laying. I'm pretty much covered too.
We make our way north, walking for about a third of a mile and turn around before reaching the next resort. Alex finds a chunk of an old coconut floating near the shore she seems to be interested in and brings it back down the beach with him. A passing couple remarks, 'you have a pet coconut too, now.'
I ask Alex to take me to find Sarah at the beach bar, who has a key back into Catriona's house. He seems to understand and leads me directly there, walks around wooden the beach shack. The bar is closed so we make our way further down the beach towards town.
I realize I should drop Alex off at home and wander around the town for a bit on my own. I ask Alex to take me home, and we make our way back to the road, although at a different place than where we entered. As I was farther south as this point, I expected to make a right. I walked up the road a bit, but Alex crossed the street and waited off to the left. I called for him, and she stood there with a look as if saying, "you're lost dummy. Follow me." So I did. We wind around a few blocks, myself chasing Alex, and yes, I'm lost at this point. Alex stops at an unfamiliar white house. He paces in front of the gate. A neighbor drives by and comments, "Looks like that dog is walking you!" I said that was definitely the case, and that I told her to take me home. They said she took you to her old house. I look up and see the back of Cat's house, her new is built directly behind her old one as she had bought 4 adjacent lots. Good dog.
Door was open so sat in the sun on the roof for a bit, out of the sand. Washed the sand out of my hair and walked a decent amount of the town. It's really cute, with a little playground, basketball court and stage in the center. All kinds of little shops and restaurants as well.
Cat returns later with her friend 'KK' from the airport, she's quite a funny girl. They catch up and unpack her stuff. KK brought an iPod for Cat from the states, and I help setup it up on her Mac. KK's off to visit a friend five houses down the road, Cat's off to a town meeting and I take a stroll around the residential area admiring the houses, taking pictures of some which were for sale.
Later we go rescue KK from the friends down the road since she's already half in the bag. Dinner is at a Asian restaurant on the square. The three of us share some beef-on-a-stick kinda appetizer, I try the wonton soup, and we split a whole, deep-fried fish with stir-fried veggies over it, all of which is excellent. I'm pretty sure the fish was probably caught earlier in the day here. I'm told Puerto Morelos is known as "A drinking town with a fishing problem."
We make our way home, light some candles behind the bar and fix a few drinks for the three of us. Cat and KK are dancing to music in the living room, until KK falls down and knocks over a plant. Cat and I dance for a bit. Helped KK up the stairs to her bedroom, Cat and I finish our drinks and call it a night.
This morning I chauffeur Cat down the Playa del Carmen for an appointment for her back. Apparently one of her horses got spooked (the one I rode) and she partially fell off and screwed up a couple vertebrae in her back, requiring weekly injections of ozone gas to help heal.
We ran over to an organic produce store which has a tiny cafe. We had fruit salad and fresh fruit smoothies. $90 for breakfast for two.
Today is a beautiful day for the beach. Mostly sunny. around 85 F and a steady breeze. After returning around noon, Alex knows where we're going, she leads the way winding through 4 blocks to the street entrance. Catriona is off to work and pick up a friend from the airport.
I leave my stuff around a post and hop in the water. The wind is much stronger and steady on the beach. The waves are strong, and the water is comfortable. The beach is empty except for Alex and I.
I lay down the beach towel, and quickly sit down to prevent it from blowing away. Laying on my back, I can feel the sand being blown against me and it's a great feeling. I must avoid opening my eyes or mouth. The sun is hot, but the wind helps cool me off. All I hear is the wind past my ears, layered with the constant rolling of the waves, and rustling of nearby palm trees. Occasionally the voices of a couple taking an afternoon beach-walk, or the sound of the sand being blown down the beach. It sounds like soft static from a distant radio station.
Alex lays down in the sand and waits patiently about a yard from me feet. She rises when I turn over, as if expecting to go. "Not yet," I tell her. We get up to move on. The towel is covered in sand except where I was laying. I'm pretty much covered too.
We make our way north, walking for about a third of a mile and turn around before reaching the next resort. Alex finds a chunk of an old coconut floating near the shore she seems to be interested in and brings it back down the beach with him. A passing couple remarks, 'you have a pet coconut too, now.'
I ask Alex to take me to find Sarah at the beach bar, who has a key back into Catriona's house. He seems to understand and leads me directly there, walks around wooden the beach shack. The bar is closed so we make our way further down the beach towards town.
I realize I should drop Alex off at home and wander around the town for a bit on my own. I ask Alex to take me home, and we make our way back to the road, although at a different place than where we entered. As I was farther south as this point, I expected to make a right. I walked up the road a bit, but Alex crossed the street and waited off to the left. I called for him, and she stood there with a look as if saying, "you're lost dummy. Follow me." So I did. We wind around a few blocks, myself chasing Alex, and yes, I'm lost at this point. Alex stops at an unfamiliar white house. He paces in front of the gate. A neighbor drives by and comments, "Looks like that dog is walking you!" I said that was definitely the case, and that I told her to take me home. They said she took you to her old house. I look up and see the back of Cat's house, her new is built directly behind her old one as she had bought 4 adjacent lots. Good dog.
Door was open so sat in the sun on the roof for a bit, out of the sand. Washed the sand out of my hair and walked a decent amount of the town. It's really cute, with a little playground, basketball court and stage in the center. All kinds of little shops and restaurants as well.
Cat returns later with her friend 'KK' from the airport, she's quite a funny girl. They catch up and unpack her stuff. KK brought an iPod for Cat from the states, and I help setup it up on her Mac. KK's off to visit a friend five houses down the road, Cat's off to a town meeting and I take a stroll around the residential area admiring the houses, taking pictures of some which were for sale.
Later we go rescue KK from the friends down the road since she's already half in the bag. Dinner is at a Asian restaurant on the square. The three of us share some beef-on-a-stick kinda appetizer, I try the wonton soup, and we split a whole, deep-fried fish with stir-fried veggies over it, all of which is excellent. I'm pretty sure the fish was probably caught earlier in the day here. I'm told Puerto Morelos is known as "A drinking town with a fishing problem."
We make our way home, light some candles behind the bar and fix a few drinks for the three of us. Cat and KK are dancing to music in the living room, until KK falls down and knocks over a plant. Cat and I dance for a bit. Helped KK up the stairs to her bedroom, Cat and I finish our drinks and call it a night.
Day 12
Another day in paradise.
Catriona's day off, she makes a great breakfast for us; Mexican scrambled eggs with sautéed red onions, habeñero peppers, tomato, and cooks up some Argentinian sausage with sautéed mushrooms. I took care of the dishes. We went out to run a few errands and meet some people, she's working feverishly on organizing the community Halloween festival as well as getting her school put together to open in December. She's always checking her email and calling people getting things organized. On her day off.
We stop by at one of the beach front rentals she manages to say hi to some new tenants.
We get back and I take care of some work, took a few pictures of her house and relaxed while she out to a meeting for an hour or so..
Catriona returns and I give her a hand in the garden, planting basil and putting up some curtains in the adjacent town-house which is to become the school.
A couple of her friends from Minnesota who have a house in Puerto call to see if we're up for dinner later. We clean up and make our down town to a little restaurant on the south side of the town square called 'la Panza es Primer'. One of the couple is apparently the lead kidney transplant expert and now spends his time travelling the world giving lectures.
Cat and I shared a dish which called 'pollo en cilantro'; cubed chicken breast in a cilantro and cream reduction, served in a small sauce pan alongside tortillas. It was outstanding. We had 3 rounds of house margaritas and talked for a few hours. It was a lot of fun, and a great time!
Back to Cat's place, we chill out on the couch with an old black and white western, fix a few drinks and talk about life.
Catriona's day off, she makes a great breakfast for us; Mexican scrambled eggs with sautéed red onions, habeñero peppers, tomato, and cooks up some Argentinian sausage with sautéed mushrooms. I took care of the dishes. We went out to run a few errands and meet some people, she's working feverishly on organizing the community Halloween festival as well as getting her school put together to open in December. She's always checking her email and calling people getting things organized. On her day off.
We stop by at one of the beach front rentals she manages to say hi to some new tenants.
We get back and I take care of some work, took a few pictures of her house and relaxed while she out to a meeting for an hour or so..
Catriona returns and I give her a hand in the garden, planting basil and putting up some curtains in the adjacent town-house which is to become the school.
A couple of her friends from Minnesota who have a house in Puerto call to see if we're up for dinner later. We clean up and make our down town to a little restaurant on the south side of the town square called 'la Panza es Primer'. One of the couple is apparently the lead kidney transplant expert and now spends his time travelling the world giving lectures.
Cat and I shared a dish which called 'pollo en cilantro'; cubed chicken breast in a cilantro and cream reduction, served in a small sauce pan alongside tortillas. It was outstanding. We had 3 rounds of house margaritas and talked for a few hours. It was a lot of fun, and a great time!
Back to Cat's place, we chill out on the couch with an old black and white western, fix a few drinks and talk about life.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Day 11
Cat and I wake and walk down to the beach for a morning swim with Alex, the dog. Her house is 2 blocks away from the coast. The beach here in Puerto is much nicer than that of Cancún, except for possibly the place my sister and mother stayed earler, but much less touristy and the beach appears to go on for miles. No chairs, no hotels. Just white sand.
She brings her snorkel gear, the water is crystal clear today. She hands me the mask and points out an angel fish and a small stingray. There's almost more sea life here than I've seen in Cosumel; she tells me not to tell anyone. oops.
When Cat originally got Alex, Alex had no experience in water, and was quite timid about it. Now she'll swim from shore out to where Cat is to 'rescue' here. Alex expects Catriona to hold on to her tail and she tows her back to shore. It's adorable.
We make our way back to wash up, Cat's off to track her builder down for some unfinished business, I snooze for a bit.
In the early afternoon we make our way out to the country club to see her horses. It's George's birthday today, the local vet, and we stop there at his home first to say hi briefly.. He's having a barbecue, and we say we'll stop by later after riding to see if they're still around.
We make our way out to the El Rey country club where they're expected to practice before next week's match against the Mérida team, although, all of the members brought a beginner. A girl from Belgium, living in Puerto, Phillipe from Venezuela, and of course, me. The other's have had experience riding before and wanted to try out polo, this is my first time on a horse.
About an hour later, the horses have been fitted with their European saddles, and I´ve been fitted with polo gear. I guess I learn to ride a horse and play polo the same day! After riding Cat's horse around in circles in the parking lot at the stables, I´m starting to get the hang of this. The club's grass polo field is expansive, but we'll be practising on the sand field today. Cat demonstrates the basic 5 moves for hitting the ball, and we're off to play polo.
The others are obviously better riders than me, and I'm having a little trouble with the galloping thing, but I'll figure it out eventually. I wasn't much help in the game, per se. After an hour or so in the field, it's beginning to get dark and we make our way back. We all change and make our way the bar at the club for a drink. This was a workout for me, I'm fairly exhausted.
On our way back, we stop back at George's place, and we're warmly invited by their family. They insisted on warming up the grill again and cooking us arancherra steak. I have to wonder if this is what they had earlier. George's mother then brought us more meat, then we heard her asking something about chorizo (MORE meat) and we had to insist that we were done, and 'no mas!' We hung around and talked with their family in their kitchen for a few hours. I stepped back and realized where I was. Cat turned to me and whispered, 'you're having one of those real Méxican moments with me, aren't ya?' Yep. It was a little surreal.
We made our way back home, I ran out to a tienda (shop) down the road for ice. Fixed a couple of drinks and chilled out to an old movie on cable. It's been storming here all night. The rain feels warm and the sound is soothing.
This has been a great day.
She brings her snorkel gear, the water is crystal clear today. She hands me the mask and points out an angel fish and a small stingray. There's almost more sea life here than I've seen in Cosumel; she tells me not to tell anyone. oops.
When Cat originally got Alex, Alex had no experience in water, and was quite timid about it. Now she'll swim from shore out to where Cat is to 'rescue' here. Alex expects Catriona to hold on to her tail and she tows her back to shore. It's adorable.
We make our way back to wash up, Cat's off to track her builder down for some unfinished business, I snooze for a bit.
In the early afternoon we make our way out to the country club to see her horses. It's George's birthday today, the local vet, and we stop there at his home first to say hi briefly.. He's having a barbecue, and we say we'll stop by later after riding to see if they're still around.
We make our way out to the El Rey country club where they're expected to practice before next week's match against the Mérida team, although, all of the members brought a beginner. A girl from Belgium, living in Puerto, Phillipe from Venezuela, and of course, me. The other's have had experience riding before and wanted to try out polo, this is my first time on a horse.
 |
| From México |
About an hour later, the horses have been fitted with their European saddles, and I´ve been fitted with polo gear. I guess I learn to ride a horse and play polo the same day! After riding Cat's horse around in circles in the parking lot at the stables, I´m starting to get the hang of this. The club's grass polo field is expansive, but we'll be practising on the sand field today. Cat demonstrates the basic 5 moves for hitting the ball, and we're off to play polo.
The others are obviously better riders than me, and I'm having a little trouble with the galloping thing, but I'll figure it out eventually. I wasn't much help in the game, per se. After an hour or so in the field, it's beginning to get dark and we make our way back. We all change and make our way the bar at the club for a drink. This was a workout for me, I'm fairly exhausted.
 |
| From México |
On our way back, we stop back at George's place, and we're warmly invited by their family. They insisted on warming up the grill again and cooking us arancherra steak. I have to wonder if this is what they had earlier. George's mother then brought us more meat, then we heard her asking something about chorizo (MORE meat) and we had to insist that we were done, and 'no mas!' We hung around and talked with their family in their kitchen for a few hours. I stepped back and realized where I was. Cat turned to me and whispered, 'you're having one of those real Méxican moments with me, aren't ya?' Yep. It was a little surreal.
We made our way back home, I ran out to a tienda (shop) down the road for ice. Fixed a couple of drinks and chilled out to an old movie on cable. It's been storming here all night. The rain feels warm and the sound is soothing.
This has been a great day.
Day 10.6
Around 4pm, Cat and her friend make it back to the hotel. They pack up and Cat and I have a cocktail and a quick swim in the pool. The next first class bus back to Cancún leaves at 6:30. Augustine secures us a taxi to the ADO station for 6pm.
They're playing the latest Indian Jones film, only it's overdubbed in Spanish. I think I might have made it a quarter through before falling asleep. We transfer to the Playa del Carmen bus which stops at Puerto Morelos on the way south. This is about a 30 minute ride. They drop us off and grab a taxi into town. Jean was dropped off at another friends place where she was staying, and our ride ended a couple blocks away.
We're quickly welcomed by her German Shepard, Alex, who was eagerly anticipating her return. Her house is a beautiful duplex she designed and had built down here. I guess this is her third house she's built in Puerto. It's very tidy, the front door brings you to a nice living room, ajoined by a bar and then her office; the stairs and kitchen at just past that in there rear of the house, where a glass door opens to a outdoor patio with small pool. The house is is decorated eleglantly with terracotta pottery and planters around.
She lights some candles and we sit at the bar for a drink. We make our way into town to find the Friday night hot-spot.
This little bar is just slightly larger than the size of my kitchen, yet there's about 30 plus people here tonight. There's a foosball table in the street near the entrance which is quite popular. I order a couple of drinks for us, and I'm introduced to several of her neighbours and other friends around town. About a third or more of the people here do not appear to be native to México. The DJ is playing an invigorating mix of trance and house music. We and others are dancing.
Perfection.
They're playing the latest Indian Jones film, only it's overdubbed in Spanish. I think I might have made it a quarter through before falling asleep. We transfer to the Playa del Carmen bus which stops at Puerto Morelos on the way south. This is about a 30 minute ride. They drop us off and grab a taxi into town. Jean was dropped off at another friends place where she was staying, and our ride ended a couple blocks away.
We're quickly welcomed by her German Shepard, Alex, who was eagerly anticipating her return. Her house is a beautiful duplex she designed and had built down here. I guess this is her third house she's built in Puerto. It's very tidy, the front door brings you to a nice living room, ajoined by a bar and then her office; the stairs and kitchen at just past that in there rear of the house, where a glass door opens to a outdoor patio with small pool. The house is is decorated eleglantly with terracotta pottery and planters around.
She lights some candles and we sit at the bar for a drink. We make our way into town to find the Friday night hot-spot.
This little bar is just slightly larger than the size of my kitchen, yet there's about 30 plus people here tonight. There's a foosball table in the street near the entrance which is quite popular. I order a couple of drinks for us, and I'm introduced to several of her neighbours and other friends around town. About a third or more of the people here do not appear to be native to México. The DJ is playing an invigorating mix of trance and house music. We and others are dancing.
Perfection.
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