Day 6 - February 6

Es much frio! I couldn't sleep all night because I was freezing. When I woke up, I opened the door and went outside to get the warmth of the sun, but it was too windy.

Work
I worked all morning, so I had breakfast and lunch at the condo.

Shower
OMG!.....I was already cold, and no hot water. I could not wait to get dressed and get out.

Centro Maya
Since it was chilly out, I decided to go to the mall, Centro Maya. I was going to take the collectivo, but decided to walk instead. I walked back too.

Woolworth's closed, however.

Market
On my way back to the condo, I came across a market that looked pretty lively, so I stopped to check it out. I never saw it before. I wasn't very big, but it was nice.

Helado
The sun finally decided to come out and it got nice and warm, so I got some ice cream at a local place on 30th Avenue and Calle 4 on my way back to the condo. It was coconut ice cream covered it chocolate with some coconut sprinkles on the outside.

More Work
Well, it's Friday, and fortunately it slowed down a little.

Chedraui
Remember Chedraui? It's the store (similar to Wal-Mart). I had to get a few more things, so I walked over.

Lonestar BBQ
Last time I walked to Chedraui, I passed an American looking man sitting outside reading a Tom Clancy novel. So, as I was walking past again, I realized that he must have moved from the States and wasn't just visiting. I saw him inside and stopped and asked him. Sure enough....he used to live in Texas and he worked in compliance for Marriott hotels. After he got divorced, he moved to San Miguel de Allende and didn't like the weather, so he moved to Playa. Now, he's re-married to a young, Mexican girl.

Dinner
I had my leftovers from Rolandi for dinner and then decided to walk to town for some more exercise.

On my way, I rant into an older Canadian couple who were trying to find 10th Avenue, so I told them to follow me. They had a list of restaurants that they were looking for.

Baloo
Baloo was out tonight, but he was resting in the street. I was trying to convince him to move to the sidewalk, but he was ignoring me. When I pet him, he completely rolled over onto his back. LOL

Playa Del Carmen
I walked all over 10th and 5th again. I was worried that I might have more messages though, so I was in a hurry to get back and check.

Corn Ice Cream
The other day Carlos told me about an ice cream store on 10th across from the bank. As I was walking that way tonight, I ran across it and stopped in. An old lady runs the place and they make the ice cream home made. I tried the flavor "corn." It was good, but didn't really taste like corn. I like to walk around and sample all of the ice cream. LOL She had a lot of unique flavors such as Balsamic with Berries and Te Verde (which is Green Tea), and Cabernet. She kept asking me if I wanted to try more.

La Kalaka
As I was walking back, the owner of La Kalaka restaurant stopped me again. He was very excited to tell me that the other day, he had full occupancy and that yesterday it was half full. Him and his wife are the owners and they came here from Milan 3 months ago. He's not a transplant though. His plan is to move to some island in another couple of years. I don't know how anyone can pick up and go so often.

The menu at La Kalaka is Italian with a Mexican flair. It's the cutest little place on Calle 4, between 25th and 30th Avenues.

He convinced me to have a drink. LOL...I had a Coca-Cola Light. We chatted a little longer, and naturally, he kissed me goodbye. That's what the Italian people do.

Wal-Mart
I know that it's pretty weird, but I really like visiting the grocery stores. They have the coolest things.

I ran there on the way back to the condo to pick up some stain remover. Either I bought my new jeans with a stain on them (maybe from the check-out belt or else I sat in something at Rolandi's. I didn't bring mine with me because I was trying to save space and I was worried about the weight limitations. Chedraui didn't have anything, but Wal-Mart had exactly what I wanted....Oxi Wash.

E-Mail
E-mail was down for 2 whole hours. Very frustrating since I came back at 8:00 p.m. to update my blog and get caught up on everything.

As I was sitting here, I heard something and realized that it started raining again. How lucky was I?

Jimeer
I'm not sure if that's how you spell his name, but that's they guy who is opening the restaurant serving food from the Veracruz region. I forgot to blog about him. He's asked me to go for coffee and dinner with him, but I don't want to go out with him every night. Sometimes I walk on the other block if I want an easy way out.

Es Mucho Frio Again
I am so cold. I have socks on and my blanket that I use on the airplane. Many of the locals were wearing winter coats today!

Something Is Burning
You all know how sensitive I am to scents and how paranoid I am about fires?!? Well, I'm sitting here and it's 11:00 p.m. and I smell something. I think to myself, "it can't be." Then, I hear this weird sound and at first I ignored it, but then, I thought that it might be their fire alarm. I open the door and still smell something, but it smells stronger inside and I don't hear an alarm either. I closed the door and came back in, but it was starting to scare me. I opened the door again and noticed my neighbor's light on (this is the French guy). So, I knocked and explained my dilemma. He said he thought it might be that he was "frying some pepperoni." He came into my kitchen and said he was sure it was the pepperoni. Now, he must really think I'm certifiable! Oh, and the noise...it's the wind! LOL

What's even worse is that I was wearing unmatching PJ's (because it's so cold) and I put on flip flops to run next door with my socks on an I had the travel blanket on my shoulders and I alredy washed my make-up off. I'm surprised he didn't scream when he opened the door (but then again, he answers his with his wearing only underwear).