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.