Fractions

I need more fractions in my life. Never thought I'd say that.

Pants, I need a 1/2. One size is too small. the next size is too big.

Shoes, I need a 1/4. I already wear a half size, but they could be just a tad bit bigger. The next size is way too big.

Thermostat, I need a 1/4, a 1/2 and a 3/4. Oh let's face it, there is no comfortable. I am either hot or cold, and sometimes both at the same time.

Mexico 2016

Just came home from Mexico late last night. This trip, the 8th, had some firsts. I went to Xel Ha, something I have been meaning to do for several years and my husband got sick. Really sick.

Xel Ha was amazing. Best snorkeling ever. Saw a stingray. Swam with a sea turtle. Tons of fish. I look forward to doing that again. Learned a lesson, see previous post. Take shoes you can attach to your life jacket. I think I burned the bottom of my feet walking on hot paths. Also, we turned our fins in before floating down the river. Those would have been helpful when trying to maneuver. But our lack of direction did lead to a lot of laughter. If you can't laugh at yourself...

Would have helped if we knew where we were going to. The map in my pocket, was not much help once it was water logged. We came upon a group of parrots in a little display area. They weren't there long, I don't know if the parrots come in to eat at a certain time, or what. But luckily, we happened upon them. Macaws, beautiful. And, we did our usual, we greeted them with, hell-o. One turns it's head and checks me out. I repeat, hell-o. Black beady stare. Then the light bulb ::bam:: Hello, to me, Mexican parrots. Hola, I say. Beady eye responds back, Hola. Who knew parrots spoke Spanish! ;)

As I mentioned previously, my husband got sick on Thursday. We were flying out on Saturday. You know it is serious when you call a doctor in Mexico. We were lucky, her English was pretty good. Medical terminology is often studied in English, or has roots in Latin. So we shared a common language. Her calculation from Celsius to Fahrenheit scared me, and was wrong. Not that I can do that calculation in my head either. Steve's 104 temperature, turned out to actually be 101.5. I know Fahrenheit has no more meaning to her than Celsius does to me. I knew looking at him that he was not running a 104 fever. He was breathing, alert and oriented.

We were discussing this afternoon how quiet it was at the resort. At least in our room. Our house is never quiet. You get so accustomed to the noise that you don't notice it anymore. We've not had the TV on all day. If seems like an unwelcome intrusion.

One bright to slightly woozy part of the trip was the Axel specials. Axel is an evil bartender (haha) but makes amazing margaritas. 

2 oz anejo tequila, he preferred Hornitos
2 oz Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Rim glass with salt and serve over ice

He says margaritas should not have syrup in them. Experience says he is correct, unless you want to drink more than 1 or 2.

Along the way, we taught a new English word to one of the servers. Eventually. She admitted that she did not know this word. Good to pay back, I have been taught many Spanish words. 

I almost forgot to mention the roller coaster flight into Cancun. There was a great deal of shaking, rocking and rolling. It was not a horrible flight, after all we remained in the air, But it was one of the roughest we have had. 

I also wanted to mention the unusual man at airport. Sitting at our gate waiting for our departure, this man walks up and sits down on the opposite side of the gate. Suit jacket, jeans, leather hat, sunglasses...here's the strange part, he's wearing boots that are so small his feet don't fit in them. They were those half boots with the zippers on the side. His were not zipped up, and his heel is hanging off the back. In addition, he is carrying a cooler as his carry on item. Then he started greeting people, like he knew them. Like they all belonged to a secret club that had a super, double secret, hand sign...only he was the only one aware of it. Nothing suspicious here. We boarded before him and wondered if they pulled him out for a random search. I was glad when he walked past our row on the plane.

Mexico, 8 years and still learning

We say we learn something new every year we go to Mexico. I was trying to remember them all. This goes beyond the normal recommendations, of don't drink the water. By the way, that does not apply in the resorts. Or, to me, what is logical, be polite and respectful of your host and their employees. Paying to stay somewhere does not release you from your manners.

Ok, the lessons we've learned:

When booking a resort, read reviews, of course. Then, go to Google Earth and look at the aerial view. This will show you several things; what does the beach/ocean look like? Is the resort built parallel to the ocean or is it a 20 minute walk to the beach? We booked one that was on a narrow piece of land, so it was built so that the lobby was a 20 minute walk from the beach. Everything was a long walk. Also look to see if there is a "sister" resort. A resort will advertise that they have xxx number of rooms, but when you get there, you find a second hotel on the property, doubling the number of people, often sharing your restaurants and pools. We've even found sister hotels, where one is adult only and the other is family oriented. What good does it do to book adult only, if that only means your room?

Take an ink pen in your carry on. There are immigration papers to fill out. It is really hard to borrow an ink pen from people in a hurry to start their vacation.

Once you clear customs and immigration at Cancun's airport, put on your, I have a destination face, and walk with purpose right past all the people that want to stop you. Do not stop until you are outside. They will tell you anything to get you to stop. Then they will waste your time trying to sell you something.

Once you make it outside, you should be looking for the private transportation you prearranged. Our first year, we just booked transportation. To our hotel in Playa del Carmen, an hour from the airport. We were the last stop, of I don't know how many. Never again.

At the resort, order your drinks the way you want them, by name. We order anejo margaritas, in order to get the aged tequila. Smoother drink. If you prefer Absolute vodka over Smirnoff, order your drink that way--if the resort has it.

Speaking of never again. Never, ever, enter the US through Miami. As annoying as all the winding lines can be, it beats the mass chaos that is Miami.

Some years we have been lucky, some years, heading home has been a nightmare of endless lines. Checking in with the airline and printing your boarding passes at the hotel, the day before departure, can save you one entire line and a tremendous amount of irritation. There may be a nominal fee, so far ours have been free, but it would be worth it, if you hit high tide at the airport.

There are more, I'll add them as I recall.