Playa del Carmen, Mexico

We’ve been coming to Mexico for the last eight years for vacation and now after staying at El Cid for a month, we are leaving the pampering comforts of the resort to begin this next chapter of our lives. It’s safe for me to say that I am both excited and anxious for all that is to come.

We took a taxi from Puerto Morelos to Playa del Carmen, where we will call home for the next six weeks. My “what if '' of being in an unsafe place was immediately squashed.  We had to pass through two security gates. At the first gate, I am not sure why but they checked the trunk, taxi driver’s information and our reservations. After passing Canyon Golf Resort, there was a second security gate that led to the apartment complex where we had to fill out some paperwork and show ID before entering.

Once we finally found our place, it took us 45 minute, inside a humid hallway, trying numerous codes, before we could get the door open. Once inside I immediately checked three areas: the kitchen (tiny, tiny ants everywhere), bathroom and bedroom. They passed the cleanliness and smell test that I give in order to know if I can be cozy in a place.

At this point I immediately go into action to clean and sanitize everything. In order to do this I need to find the COVID approved, 10 pound sanitary wipes I brought.  Digging through my backpack and not just any backpack, but the most strategically organized, functional backpack one could pack (lists and diagrams could be included). I could not find the wipes! I started to feel myself getting a little panicky. I finally found them and made a mental note, to always put these in easy reach. I pullout out the wipes and frantically start wiping down any and all surfaces that could possibly be touched. Working strategically from one room to the next.  With sweat pouring from my face,  Jim decides it’s a good time to make a drink and head to the patio for a swim in the pool. At one point he said I looked hot and I should join him for a dip. I kindly declined by saying something sarcastic about saving our lives and killing germs first.  

As I proceed with my OCD de-COVIDing and germ cleaning I get to the bedroom and see Jim’s backpack (probably filled with germs from a day of travel)  laid across one side of the bed and his clothes thrown out everywhere even on the floor.  Jim’s packing is stress free and quickly done unlike me who takes hours and days of planning and yet both our clothes lay thrown all over in search of the first item we each needed…swim trunks and sanitizer wipes…..I guess you could say, we have a system that works.

I am all about finding the most efficient way to accomplish most tasks, and I love it!  Jim made a comment that later we need to start a grocery list for tomorrow. Immediately I go to work on creating a menu of 15 days of meals, categorizing the grocery list based on products. I have always done this, it saves time, money and you always have everything needed for those meals. Now I can join Jim for a cocktail in the pool. Not a bad first day!

The next day we venture out to do our shopping. As I walked into Walmart, feeling really good as our grocery list has Jim’s approval and additions, along with maximizing our grocery budget. I love organized grocery shopping days and we step into our routine. He grabs the cart (because I don’t want to touch it) and I have the list and we both search for items.  We are a well oiled machine that seems to ebb and flow when we shop, at least in the states.  Mexico Walmart’s are not like most, Jim says as he tries to consul me. Obviously, every item is in Spanish, which I am currently learning, but still in the “un poco” stage, they use the metric system and how they group items on aisles is beyond me. The only luck with my list was the produce aisle, which cilantro and limes pretty much dominated.  After that I was lost!  My organized method was shot to shit and now a lot of backtracking and substituting of items for our menu, which is not an efficient shopping method. Three and half hours later, way over budget, about fifteen meals shy and the Taxi ride from our place to Walmart cost $30 USD. Not off to a good start.  

I continued to get used to this new home and way of living. We had Jim’s mom and partner in crime come and visit and I was excited to spend time with them, it made this new life feel a bit normal….having dinners, playing cards, seeing the sights and just hanging out all night talking, and sharing stories that made my stomach muscles hurt the next morning.

It’s expensive to rent a car here ($85 a day), taking a taxi into town is $15 one way and walking seven miles a day was becoming a little much…so we rented bikes for a few weeks to get around town. It was fun riding and exploring more of the area, beaches and shops. I even found an art shop, but I highly recommend walking your bike in heavy traffic to avoid having a heart attack.

While in Playa we ventured out and saw other parts of Mexico. We took two trips to Cozumel, a trip to Tulum, Coba and Bacalar. The rest of our time was living life lounging by the pool with cocktail time starting a few hours early, lost hours/days on the beach, cozy times of binge watching TV and beautiful warm weather. Great beginning to this journey through life.