February 14 - Day 14

It's Saturday morning and this was the first quiet morning. I couldn't even believe it. I woke up at 7:00 and was very surprised because usually there's the sound of roosters crowing, dogs barking, trucks driving by, horns honking, and the mechanic clinking.

Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day! This is a popular day here in Mexico (or they are really marketing it to attract the tourists). Jorge said that they are having "Love Fest" - like a big festival with DJs on certain streets and his store will be filming a commercial there, but I don't know if I feel like going to a "Love Fest."

Bahia Principe
I was up and out early. I walked to the collectivo station and to the Bahia Principe. It was a full house!

Tulum
I went to the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum today. I found a spot by the pool, then walked the beach for a while (they really have a big stretch of beach there). I stopped at the Swing Bar and got a drink.

Es muy caliente again today. I put my chair in the pool and enjoyed the sun. When it would get too hot, I would put my hands and feet in the water to cool off. I was mad that I forgot my book at the condo. I haven't even had a chance to finish it yet. I woke up because some moron guy kept burping out loud and it was completely disgusting. People really have no consideration of others.

I met some people who were there from Toronto. They were very nice. We talked for a while.

Valentine's Day Celebration
They made Paella and Sangria near the pool in honor of Valentine's Day. Boy, it looked good! I only had the Sangria. They also played some games with couples from various countries.

Lunch
I went to the buffet at the Tulum side and it was packed. The kids were there from the kid's club and it was so cute. They had them all sitting at a huge table and they would bring plates of french fries and such. It looked very organized.

They had the most awesome beef for lunch (it was like Pot Roast).

Hacienda
After lunch I decided to walk to the Hacienda and walk around to walk off some of my lunch. Whew! I was sweating!

Eduardo
My Mayan friend Eduardo no longer works at the Bahia Principe. He was Host at the Mediterranean restaurant, but apparently he went to the El Dorado Royale. Bad move! Wish he was there when we were there in November.

Coba
I decided not to lay out anymore for the day because otherwise it's too much. As it is, my neck is striped again. I think it's just because I have wrinkles in my neck. It's hideous. I took the shuttle over to the Coba and no one what there, so I walked over to the Premiere section, and was very surprised to see that they added a little shopping village next door (just like Caribbean Street at the RIU in Punta Cana). One store was really awesome. He had very unique things. He was a bit expensive, but not totally outrageous considering that it's a resort store.

I sat in the Premier bar/lobby area and had some Orange & Spice tea that I love. I know it was hot, but I thought that it might make my body temperature even out. They only had one tea bag of that flavor left and I wanted to snag it, but I didn't.

I walked the whole path around the resort because otherwise, I would fall asleep! I was trying to determine whether I should stay for dinner.

Dinner
I decided to stay because I knew that they would go all out for Valentine's Day. I was going to go to the Cozumel buffet because it's smaller and quieter and it fit my mood, but I ended up going to the Kukulkan because I figured that they would have more festivities.

As you entered the restaurant, they passed out Champagne with Strawberry or Peach Schnapps. I had the Peach and a few sips of that I was so tipsy. It does not take much!

I was drooling when I saw the desserts. they had fruit kabobs and a dark chocolate and white chocolate fountain. Anyone who has eaten with me knows that I'm a slow eater. However, I couldn't shovel the food in fast enough to get to the dessert. I had a really nice salad to start off with though and more beef! LOL Why do I keep choosing beef?

When I was dipping my kabob (and I think I was the first, so I don't have to worry about double-dippers) there were flames shooting up to the ceiling by the guy who makes the pasta. Luckily, they got it under control because I swear that I would have been out of there before anyone else knew what was happening. I was near the entrance to the dining area and I would have flown out of there!

Mmmmm! The kabob was sooo good. I also had one of their Cappuccinos, which I love.

Luis
I went to see if Luis was around, and Gerrardo was talking to someone, so I asked the other Bell Boy and he said, "oh, he's the BIG Boss!" LOL In the meantime, Gerrardo finished and came over and said he didn't think Luis was around. Another guy didn't realize that we were friends and said that maybe the Sub-Director could help me. The Sub-Director is Rita! LOL (She wasn't there either though). The guy asked me if I was a "Teacher," and thought that was why I wanted to see Luis. What kind of Teacher would that be! LOL I wasn't even wearing my glasses, so I don't know what he was talking about. Of course, Gerrardo always reminds me of my poor Spanish (because he knows that I went to Playa for classes). I don't think that one week can really count.

I took the shuttle back to the Hacienda because the collectivos stop running around 9:00 p.m. A monkey ran in front of the shuttle. First time I saw a monkey there. (They know have a kitty roaming around too and I never saw it before.)

Collectivo
Weirdest thing! There were NO collectivos and NO taxis. There is always a line of them waiting at the Hacienda. So, I walked to the edge of the highway and like 1 minute later, a collectivo pulled up (now, that's the norm). The van was full of locals only. One little boy got on and he looked just like Sam (new spiky hair and everything).

I was thinking that they might have asked the collectivos and taxis not to park there because it was Coco Bongo night and they wanted people to book the tour from the hotel to Playa for the evening.

The collectivo driver was driving way too fast. I don't know how they expect to stop in time if someone or something pulls out in front of them. Good thing no one could speak English, because when we were right on top of the car in front of us, I said "Oh, shit!" out loud.

On the way back, the collectivo even passed Urban Suites, but I wanted to go into town, so I went to the collectivo station.

Wedding
As I was walking to town, there was a wedding taking place. The Bride and Groom were in a taxi and the reception was at a local place on the corner (that reminded me of a VFW Hall).

Shopping
There is this really unique store that I've been to before on 2nd and since that's where the collectivos are, I walked all the way to 5th Ave. and towards the beach because I noticed that it was still open. There was a mother and daughter in there and it was their first time to Mexico. It reminded me of when my mom and I went to the Iberostar Tucan.

We got to talking and the ladie's daughter lives in Chicago and they are from Michigan. Just like me, the daughter (who was in Playa and lives in MI) lost her job. We were joking that we are jobless and shopping in Mexico!

I found the pefect souvenir for Sydney, so I will give her the other things for her birthday.

They have this awesome leather Pelican statue. It sounds really weird, but it is so cool.

Paseo Del Carmen
They have the best bathrooms in Paseo Del Carmen, so I headed that way (because I didn't stop at the condo first). I still refuse to tip those people!

Omar
I stopped at Rolandi's to say "Happy Valentine's Day" to Omar. He looked totally exhausted. They were so busy, plus it was so hot.

Gringo
There is a restaurant on Calle 4 that I pass every day called El Buey. They have a big bull on the outside and it's very local. So, tonight a girl was singing karaoke and I took a picture. They were all cheering for "The Gringo" to come in and sing. Could you imagine? I think all of the dogs in the neighborhood would start barking (or crying)! There is no worse singer in this world than me (I am not exaggerating at all). It's too bad because I like to sing in my car, but at least no one can hear me!

Urban Suites
For some reason, Anna cleaned today. I wasn't expecting her. She always turns off the air conditioning. It was so hot when I came back.