Day 16 - February 16

I woke up early and decided to go out for breakfast and walk the beach back.

Au Naturale
I only wore lipstick because my face has been so horrible since I got here.

Breakfast
I was going to go to a place called Smoothies Lifestyle (where the owner used to work with Emeril Lagasse) but I went there and it was like a Starbucks.

On my way there, I had passed Hotel Playa Del Karma, which I have been wanting to check out and the lady told me that they had a restaurant. It was very cute, but I really wanted to check out this other place.

I guess that I was just meant to eat at Hotel Playa Del Karma, so I walked back.

Hotel Playa Del Karma
This is a very cute hotel on 15th Avenida (around Calle 14). It has a lot of foliage and cute hammocks on each balcony and the balconies face the inside of the resort. (It's so sad that these hotels can't compete with the All-Inclusives. For the same price, you get so much more at an AI property.)

The restaurant was very cute too and the waiter was from Italy, but living in London. He's here for a while because his friend owns the hotel and he gets a free room. Lucky guy!

I ordered the Banana Pancakes, and I saw the lady take a banana, and it was taking long time. Then, I saw her take another banana, and I thought she made a mistake and was making them over. I thought that maybe I made a bad decision and that she didn't know how to make pancakes. When they appeared, they were beautiful! They were the fluffiest and most moist pancakes I have ever had! They were better than the one I had in St. Lucia. She even put banana in the pancakes as well as on top (that's why she took another banana). LOL

They were amazing! My mom would have loved them.

Pesos
I got more Pesos across from Jorge's store, but the exchange rate has dropped. Now it $1.00 Pesos to $13.25 U.S.

The Beach
I walked the beach back to the ferry dock. The water was beautiful.

Joyeria
On my way back, I walked down Calle 4 again and found the store that I had been looking for. I knew that it was on 4th! It's a very little place and the windows are tinted. There's also no name on it. The reason I noticed it before is because the night I met Annemarie, the door was open.

I totally scored! The prices were in Pesos like the older woman told me. This is where the locals buy their goods to take to 5th Avenue and sell to us Gringos for 10 times more! I felt like I was buying the whole store. Heck, I AM THINKING OF SELLING IT ON 5TH AVENUE TONIGHT!

It only cost me $42 U.S. for 13 items (bracelets, necklaces, pendants).

Toothbrush
I brought a Travel toothbrush with me and I wanted a real one, so I stopped at a local store right near Urban Suites and bought one.

Urban Suites
I came back and checked on things and wanted to cool of and put the jewelry away. Then, I went to the rooftop to read, but it was so hot. I tried cooling of with the shower on the rooftop, but I would dry off so quickly.

Siesta
I took a nice little Siesta while the Internet was down and the sun was at its hottest.

Starbucks
I thought that I would log in at Starbucks and do some work in town. No such luck! Everyone else seemed to get on just fine but it would not connect me. The guy was washing off tables and noticed that I had clicked on "diagnose problems," and told me that I needed a password, which he gave me and it still didn't work! Very frustrating.

Now, I had to walk around town with my laptop in a beach bag! I was holding onto the bottom because I didn't want the handles to break.

Dinner
I went to Palapa Hemingways for dinner. It's located on 5th Avenue between Calle 12 & 14. It's a thatched roof palapa. I had a seat outside, but it's so annoying that the smokers always get the best seats (outside) because they are not allowed to smoke indoors anymore. C'mon Wisconsin, get onboard! If Playa can do it, so can you!

I ordered an appetizer of Goat cheese and bananas rolled in coconut. You just knew that Goat cheese would fit into one of my meals! It was good, but very rich. I should have ordered my usual salad.

Seasons in the Sun
I was looking in some shops and this one store was playing "Seasons in the Sun," and a little Mexican girl who was about 7 was singing the words. I told her that I knew the song too, but I don't think that she believed me. I told her that it's a sad song.

Ditching the Laptop
I was not walking around with the laptop all night, so I decided to take it back to the condo.

La Kalaka
I asked the owner of La Kalaka if he knew anything about the cute place next door and he said that the rent is only $100/month! That's insane! He said that a liquor license is very expensive though, so I have to nix that idea. It has so much potential though.

Jimeer
Oy! Every time I walk by, he stops me and wants to know when we are going "dancing." LOL The best part is that I don't even have to lie because I can't dance! Then, he tells me that I am "beautiful," and I'm like "Hasta Luego!"

Luckily, he's not there in the mornings anymore since the restaurant opened, but he's there in the evenings.

Mom's Hotel & Bar
On my way back, I saw the guy who runs the restaurant at Mom's get dropped off by a taxi driver who literally dumped all of his grocery bags in the street. He had about 15 bags, so I picked some up and helped him across the street. He was very appreciative and offered me a drink, but I declined because they were smoking in there.

Auto Repair Shop
The guys at the auto repair shop across from Urban Suites literally wake up every time I walk by and act like I'm the best thing that they've seen all day. I'm not sure why, but they really seem to like it when I walk by every day.

Internet
Would you believe that it was working again?

It was still early though, so I wanted to go out and enjoy the evening and walk off some of my food.

Sangria Bar
Oh, no! On my way back to town, two men were looking at my Sangria Bar. I asked if they were the owners, and they said they wanted to turn it into a pizza place (there's one on every corner) and there are 2 Italian restaurants on that block already. Let's get more creative than that! Besides, I pointed out the fact that there is no kitchen. Apparently, that's why the other tennants before didn't stay very long, but it has so much potential and it's so cheap! It can be something different (not necessarily a restaurant where you have to cook).

5th Avenue
I just walked around 5th Avenue again and back on 10th. I stopped at Plaza Pelicanos just to look around.

You guys probably think it's boring that I like to walk around 5th Avenue, but it's not. First of all, I get excercise, and secondly, there's something new and different to see every day!

My Usual Route
I love my route because everyone knows me now (even the poor family).

El Perros
Baloo and the little golden dog were buddies tonight. The golden dog (who reminds me of Ginger, my Grandma's dog) gets excited to see me now.

There was a new black dog that I was petting that I thought belonged to a couple. Then, they said it wasn't theirs. The dog went running across the street just as a taxi was coming, and I couldn't even watch. Luckily, it made it. Then, it crossed the busy intersection unscathed. I don't know how it did it!

Urban Suites

Work
I was back by 8:00 p.m. to finish up some more work, and I finally completed my quotes. Yippee! Have I mentioned how terrible the lighting is in this kitchen?