Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Which taxi van is ours?

I knew when we came this would be a vacation of contrasts, but it’s turning out to be loaded with things that make you think “Huh, that’s not what I expected!” Not bad, just things that make us laugh. First let me explain myself. We are in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico . . . yeah I know, we’re here again.

The first week we are sorta roughing it by staying at a place only Joe and Heidi would think to stay. The second week is staying at a fancy place with 3 other couples who probably wouldn’t think to stay here.

So here’s the cheap place. Hotel All Riviera (We use LocoGringo.com for a lot of our Riviera Maya plans. Scott is fantastic). We picked it for a couple of reasons. Firstly it is on the beach, as in I can hear the waves at night. Secondly, it is popular with Mexicans and that’s why we’re in Mexico . . . to hang out with Mexicans.

Our room is exactly what we expected; cement block for a bedframe, freezing cold air conditioner, and a poolside room complete with a sliding glass door that took ten minutes to figure out how to lock. I bought two souvenir blankets to fold up and put under my side of the bed because the mattress is so hard.

We sat out on the beach and got a contact high from the local employees sitting around smoking pot before they started their day. Then we became friends with a Mexican couple who live in Texas. I illegally bought an anklet from a girl who later ran and hid from the police. We walked up the beach to Mamitas and had 50 people ask us if we wanted to have a massage, or go on a jet ski. We came back via the famous 5^th Ave only to have 50 more people ask us if we wanted to buy cigars or hold tiny little monkeys.

Later we went to dinner and stumbled across a massive crowd around a stage that had a Michael Jackson look-alike teaching a line dance. As we elbowed our way into the onlookers we could see the audience was mostly kids and teenagers dressed like monsters and strange creatures covered in fake blood.

After dinner we came across the race of all the monsters right down 5^th Ave. A bevy of witches laid in wait for the runners and chased them with wicked laughs (as wicked as cute teenage girls can laugh).

Zenzis beach bar had Mexican rap music playing, Bad Boys Bar had old American Rock’n Roll, and the Sports bar was packed with Canadians watching ice hockey and screaming in French. All pretty much at the same time.

We’ve only been here one day!

BED BUGS!

This is intended to help travelers and anyone who has the misfortune of acquiring the dreaded bed bugs. These little critters are as small as a flea when hungry and as big as a fruit fly when bloated with blood. At any hotel, no matter how cheap or fancy, clean or dirty, you must look for these guys. But that being said, if you see one, it’s too late.

Whether you see one or not you should assume the little bugs are hiding out in your bags. When we get home we leave our luggage in the garage. All of our laundry is washed and dried at a high heat. The bags sit out there for a week. We take our clothes off in the garage and put those in the washer also.

When we travel we put our clothes in plastic bags inside our luggage for two reasons. First you know some security guy is going to rifle through your stuff. This keeps his/her paws off your undies. Secondly it keeps the bugs and critters out of your stuff until you feel confident enough to unpack at the hotel (which occasionally never comes).

This last trip was a done in the usual manner, but bed bugs still got in. The hotel in Novato had a bug crawling across the bedding in plain sight, which is a very bad sign because they are usually shy of light. This one splatted a lot of blood when killed. Another sure sign it was a bed bug… a big one. We knew we were in trouble.

Karina came out of her room one morning a week later and showed me the famous cluster of three bites (breakfast, lunch and dinner) on two different places. By-the-way, she hadn’t washed the clothes she’d been wearing and had brought her suitcase into her room before we asked her to bring it back out to the garage. We hoped the bites were fleas or mosquitoes, the next morning she was covered in bites.

I called in sick to work (thank goodness I have such a good boss) and went to work on stripping my guest’s room and ours, going over her mattress with a hairdryer on high heat, tipping the top mattress on its side, setting off bug bombs, and doing a ton of laundry. I would rather have been at work!

Then we held our breath for two days. On the third day she came out with three new bites and she was in tears. The latest bites seemed to have thrown her into an allergic reaction and she was put on a regimen of antihistamines with excellent results.

So I stood in the kitchen and began to google bed bug bites and I stumbled across a medical site that had horrible testimonials from people who’d spent untold thousands on their homes, throwing away mattresses, carpet, wood baseboards, bed-frames, the cost of exterminators, and finally the cost of relocating. In the midst of this was a short and up-beat note from someone who’d used Diatomaceous Earth (DE).

I remember this stuff from when I was a kid and my dad used it in the pool filter. It’s fossilized insect remains. It looks like greyish beige powder. I researched it and found that one of the main uses for DE is to physically kill exoskeleton insects such as fleas, ants and bed bugs . . . yippee! It isn’t a chemical or poison. NOTE; It is often mixed with poison, so beware! Be sure you purchase “Food Grade” or “Human Grade” DE. Big hardware stores usually sell the poison powder with DE as a minor ingredient. If your pet or child eats it, it could be lethal. They sell DE for pools, but I don’t know if that is safe for consumption. If anyone has a definitive answer to that I’d love to know.

Go to a feed store or pet store where it is pure and used for animals. If your cat steps on it and licks its paw it will only kill any insects it may have consumed. NOTE; You should wear a mask while dusting your house with it because the dust can irritate your lungs and eyes too.

So we bought a $17.00 bag of powder (and only used a fourth of it). Once home we pulled everything away from the walls, tipped the mattress on its side again, donned the masks, and using a powder sugar sifter we coated the perimeter of the room and the mattress (we just put the sheets right over the powder). I had to put drops in my eyes because they got itchy. We sprinkled up and down the hallways on the carpet and along the baseboards. I emptied out a small spice shaker and put the DE in it for the smaller spaces. NOTE; if it gets wet it is useless and messy (like outdoors near sprinklers or dew in the morning).

Karina volunteered to be bait. The idea is for the bugs to walk through the powder. It gets into their joints and shreds them . . . like walking through a field of machetes. Physical, not chemical death.

She has not had a bite since. It’s been one week. We’ve vacuumed and reapplied once, with the majority of the powder under and on her bed. We also followed the feed store’s advice and put some around an ant hill in our yard. There’s still a few straggling ants because it keeps getting damp from the morning dew.

Try DE before you spend thousands of dollars, and risk poisons in your house.

California Tour

Day One: San Francisco

We have a guest living with us for four months. Do you remember last year we went to Guatemala for our godson’s wedding? Well we talked his sister, Karina, into coming to California for a visit. She’s turned it into a semi-business trip by studying English while here.

A trip to California wouldn’t be complete without San Francisco! So, this morning we left Sacramento with an ice chest full of sandwiches and goodies. It saves so much time, money, and decision-making drama to bring your own food. We came down I-80 and crossed the new Bay Bridge. It’s really pretty, but I didn’t feel very safe because the side rail is only about 3 feet high. Today was a perfectly clear warm day in SF. Alcatraz and Angel Islands were easy to see, as was the Golden Gate Bridge. We took the first exit and made our way down to Embarcadero St. It wasn’t overly busy because it was a Friday.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the Ferry Building and the different piers. Karina took about 50 photos.

I just can’t get over how warm it was! It felt like it was 90 degrees, and for SF that is very, very warm.

We finally decided to head over the Golden Gate Bridge on HWY 101 to our hotel in Novato. You know I think I’ve only been over that bridge a couple of times in my life. It’s a spectacular view of the bay on the east side and the open ocean on the west.

We found our cheap little hotel thanks to smart phones. I must digress for a moment. Booking a night in a hotel in the Bay Area is a nightmare. First of all, the websites drove me bonkers. I typed in ‘3 people’ and ‘1 room’. It would give me a room with a king size bed, charge me extra for the 3^rd person, and not provide any place for her to sleep. I called the 800 number (big mistake because it’s just a call center and they know nothing about the hotel they represent, I highly recommend finding the local number for real prices and info) and the new quote would be as much as $100.00 more per night. One place said they had a king bed, charged $12.50 more per night for Karina, but didn’t actually have any place for to sleep. I questioned this and he said “Oh, they have a rolling bed they can bring in for her.” “Oh so that’s what the $12.50 is for?” “No the bed is $15.00 more.” “Really? What’s the $12.50 for?” “For the third person,” was the reply. Talk about crazy!

So for your reference, Novato is an adorable little town in Marin County between San Francisco and Napa Valley. The hotel we got is small and simple, but most importantly it’s dirt cheap. We even have two queen-size beds . . . Yay! American Best Value Inn, only 89 bucks a night, with no extra fees. The desk clerk, Gary was incredibly helpful. We went straight to the pool and cooled off.

We ate at Mi Pueblo on Grant St. Great family atmosphere and good food. We wolfed down a massive platter of chicken nachos. Tomorrow we plan to go to Muir Woods redwood forest and Stinson Beach.

Day Two: Muir Woods and Napa

There is a saying that Joe and I live by; “Go with the flow.” When traveling one never knows what will actually happen, it’s best to just adjust. We set off on our little day trip this morning to Muir Woods Redwood Forest with the plan to go to Stinson Beach afterwards. As we approached the HWY 1 exit we saw the sign saying; “Muir Woods parking lot was full—take the shuttle bus.” We found the shuttle bus and hopped on as it was pulling away and off we went. Problem is that Muir Woods is halfway to Stinson Beach, so we’d have to retrace our path after we got back to our truck. The decision was clinched when we saw 2 miles of stop-and-go traffic at the beginning of HWY 1. Stinson would have to wait.

Karina loved the massive redwood trees and the ferns. It was a warm day, which is why it was so crowded. The trail makes a series of loops going from baby-stroller-easy to hiking boots. We went for the middle one. Our luck was with us because we got to see a doe and her baby. They were separated by the trail crowded with whispering tourists. The fawn began crying for its mommy by making little sounds almost like a cat’s meow. The doe ignored it and kept eating. We moved on.

This tranquility was interrupted by the sounds of war. Two little boys came running around the corner shouting, “The dinosaurs are coming!” They both turned and shot their imaginary machine guns at their attackers, and dashed past us. I was only slightly nervous about what would be around the corner. Dad was strolling along calmly. Shortly after this came Mom with a little girl in a pink tutu talking nonstop.

After we saw the traffic jam on the way back to the shuttle parking lot we decided to head over to Napa. I love it when random choices pay off. Napa was roped off for the New Orleans Marti Gras festival. They had bands playing jazz with a Cajun flare.

It was great! They even had a little parade. We finished the night by sharing a platter of BBQ meat at Bounty Hunters. They have a great wine and beer selection. On the way home I asked Karina which she would prefer; Stinson Beach or going back to Napa. She chose Napa! I was a little surprised because she actually prefers dark beer. So tomorrow we will experience Napa.

Day Three: Napa

Slept in, then headed over to Starbuck’s in downtown Napa for breakfast. As we drove away from our little dumpy hotel, that Joe made fun of, I felt compelled to comment on hotels in general. As you all know, we’ve stayed in a lot of different types of places. Some expensive, fancy places that were dirty and some immaculate cheap little places. So let me make a general statement. If you pay a regionally low price there’s a reason. The owners have less expenses than the fancy places . . . ie, the décor is ancient, the quality is horrible, the staff is inadequate, or the location is bad. This place is right next to the highway and a wood yard, but that’s why I bring ear plugs. The décor was old and worn. The towels threadbare, sheets too small for the bed, and the shower curtain tattered. BUT, it was all clean, the beds were super comfy, had a flat screen TV, free WiFi, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and they didn't skimp on staffing. So I’d probably go back, if in the area.

I digress, we went to Silenus first because one of our best buddies is an investor in one of the wineries they feature in their tasting room; Modus Operandi. Hannah in the tasting room was very helpful. 

We went to Yountville next and wandered through the shops, said hello to the sleepy cat, and shared a glass of wine. Next we drove up through the beautiful Napa Valley and ooh’d and awe’d at the gorgeous wineries. 

We circled the parking lot of Castello di Amorosa. We were too cheap to go in, but I’ve been there before and it’s worth it once. We cut across the valley and stopped at Rombuaer Winery. The lady at the counter was so nice. Afterward we wandered through their gardens.

When we got home we watched Bottle Shock J

Hasta Luego Cabo San Lucas!

Hello, we’re heading home. All of us are as brown as the local clay. I haven’t had this lazy of a vacation ever. The big events were going out to eat at a couple of fancy restaurants, and trying to figure out what time happy hour was at which pool.

Our first pool adventure was the Sky Pool. Pueblo Bonito is enormous and the Monte Cristo Estates are outside of the main complex, so getting a ride is a must. Little golf carts zip everywhere, all the time. You just call for one and off you go. So off we went to the Sky Pool. It has an infinity pool (all the pools seem to be infinity pools and they are usually double deckers). We repeated this one several times because the bartender was so great. His name is Zenon.

The other pool was just called the Main Pool, but it was enormous, and crowded . . . lots of kids. The cool part about the pool was the beach. The only way to access the beach was below the pool. There were cabanas on the sand with lawn chairs, and a security guard who made sure you didn’t step foot in the ocean.

When we first learned we couldn't get in the ocean because of rip-tides and under-toes we felt rebellion well up in our stubborn hearts. I’m a Californian. Born and raised on the ocean in northern California. I played in the freezing ocean when I was itty bitty. However, once I stood in front of the crashing waves, I decided it might not be a good beach to play in the water. It must be very steep immediately off the beach because the giant waves reached their peak right at the water line. It was amazing to see surfer’s waves looming over us and then slamming into the sand with a deafening roar. These weren’t pretty blue waves, they were full of sand. There’s no way you could get into that water without being crushed and then sucked out to sea.

So our next adventure was to go over to the Rose. The Rose is the sister hotel. We could get a shuttle, hang out at their pool, and charge things to our room.

And they had a beach. A beach you could get into the ocean from.

We wandered along the beach, after we got our saltwater fix, and found a little taco place called Omega. I had the best fish tacos I’ve ever had in Mexico. And ice cold beer too. Just a note to the beer lovers out there, Pueblo Bonito isn’t into ice cold beer, nor do they have a good variety of beer, and they always run out of whatever you have your heart set upon. So embrace Tecate and Corona, or bring your own.

Another gorgeous sister hotel next to ours, called Pacifico, has a great restaurant called Siempre. Expensive but good. The Pacifico is all inclusive, adult only, and is designed with a Zen-like décor. Everything is quiet. Peaceful. Little tinkling waterfalls welcome you to the lobby. All of the passages are cool and white. Obviously expensive, but they let us split a meal.

We went to La Frida’s on the last night. Joe saved his Frida’s T-shirt for that night, only to find out that collars are required. They loaned him a button up shirt to wear over his shirt (but the host liked the psychedelic skull design so much, he told Joe to leave the shirt unbuttoned so everyone could see it). We sat on the balcony, so we could watch the sun set. It was hot, but spectacular.

On the note of heat, the rainfall created an amazing amount of humidity. It was super-hot in Cabo. We were so thankful for our strong air-conditioner. It was pretty neat to see the valley below our room turn green in the week we were there.

Now I sit on a jet heading home, reminiscing about all the wine we drank. We will all go to Playa Del Carmen again in November for a week, and for the second week we haven’t decided yet . . . Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Akumal? No sabemos!

Hasta Luego mis amigos, Heidi and Joe

Cabo San Lucas

Hi Everyone!

We’re on another dashing and bold adventure . . . well maybe not bold, but it is certainly dashing. This is our first trip to Cabo San Lucas. Our friends, Mark and Melissa, have a “time share” down here at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach on the Pacific side of the peninsula. Not sure how it works, but owners can use credits to upgrade from condos to the Monte Cristo Estates.

These are essentially two-story mansions twice the size of our house.

Private infinity pool, ocean view, three bedrooms with in-suite bathes and air controls, an outdoor BBQ, and a gourmet kitchen. A golf cart will zip over and take you anywhere you may want to go at the resort.The resort has 8 pools. A man comes over to our house every day to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Melissa arranged for a van to pick us up from the airport and take us to Costco on the way to the resort. We bought a week’s worth of food. The first night Joe barbequed chicken and Mark made a tasty chicken and fresh veggie pasta dish.

I woke up this morning to a weird rumbling sound and then the electricity went out. Laying there in the dark I could hear the pounding rain. What an amazing sight to see a torrential downpour in the desert from our porch. Lightening flashing continuously, rumbling thunder and the excitement of being here for such an important event as rain. The locals were so happy. The last time it had rained was eight months ago, and it was only a light rain.

Then Joe and I were off to the 90 minute sales pitch so we could get $250.00 in resort credits for food and drinks. We resisted the salesmen (Gilberto was a sweetheart), and left with the credits and a full stomach.

The rest of today was spent flopping back and forth between the pool and the lounge chairs. A black cat watched us suspiciously. The only thing missing is our best buds Dan and Denise, who couldn't make it in the last minute. It’s hard to not think of them with everything we do because for so long they planned to be here with us. (By the way, they are fine—probably drowning their sorrows with expensive wine at some little beach cottage on the California coast).

We’ll see what tomorrow brings . . . maybe we’ll get to see the desert bloom?