Month: March 2018

I’ve not really slept well for the last two nights. I think it’s because I don’t really do anything else than sitting or laying down. Whenever I walk, it’s in a real slow pace.

Even before waking I’ve decided (that is – I decided this before I hit the lights out) to have sort of lunch at OceanVS instead of breakfast. Thus I take it real slow in the morning and I’m late into going down to the beach. According to the forecasts it’s supposed to rain today but we seem to be in luck, it’s pretty much a clear sky even though it’s a little windy. The beach were I end up is pretty much deserted (still on the north beach). After a while I hear what I believe is Brazilian Portuguese – and then I know that I have to take a peek. And it does not disappoint me. Six young ladies that makes you want to visit the southern americas as soon as possible.

A bit later I go up to OceanVS and order a beer, a tequila and a mixed ceviche, thinking that I’ll be able to order something else later on. The ceviche is awesome – and to big of a portion.

Later on when I head back from the beach I stop for a coffee – I didn’t get one this morning since I did not have any breakfast. After a quick pit stop at the hotel I go to the store at the main plaza to get some snacks for the flight (just in case) and some more beers for the evening – and I find and buy more chili sauces as well. Then I start packing!

For dinner I’ve already decided to go to Tres Mentiras, not really for their food – it’s ok, but not awesome – but for the live music and the people working there… Before though I start talking to a couple from Illinois at the hotel who’s been coming to the hotel for approx. 10 years. I do chat up a couple next to me on the restaurant as well, young German couple (no real problem there talking to them) before heading toward the hotel, but not before buying a souvenir t-shirt.

Today I again went to Q’Bravo and today there was a seat available. I order the usual, scrambled eggs with bacon, adding an orange juice and a coffee. This place was a bit different. Sure you got the bean paste that you always do, but instead of getting the rice and tortillas they serve some slices of avocados, tomatoes, something fried (I can’t say what that is but it is some kind of fruit) and toasts. The sides aside, the scrambled eggs was not the best – a little watery – and honestly half-fried rice and tortillas are real nice as a side.

You get to a point where you get tired on beach life, specially on a small island, right?! If I’d been here for more than eight days I would have planned for excursions outside of the island – and next time I WILL NOW A LITTLE BIT MORE SPANISH. Then again, I was hear to relax, for some beach time, getting a tan, eating Mexican food, drinking Mexican drinks (and if you don’t know what I mean by that by now…).

The beach day was a bit windy and cloudy but still a nice day.

For dinner I just did not know what to choose. I knew that I honestly did not want the ones on the strip, but still I walked along it looking for places and people. Not for the first time I got offered drugs from not a few of the shop attendees. This really f-ing disturbs me. Mexico is supposedly hard on drug sales and usage (yeah, you wouldn’t know it right when you think on how the drugs get to USA), and to get the question about drugs over and over again on the one main strip on a small Mexican island – well, I’m exploding inside each time, wondering if I should say something stupid or not. I never do though, I’m both a coward and caring for my own life.

Since I don’t really find another place to eat I decide to go over to La Lomita and see if there’s a seat for me. Sure, there’s a table for three available when I arrive just before a company of three south-americans (I overheard them later but can’t remember if they were Argentinians or Brazilians). Since a table for two also becomes available I decide to be nice and switch tables. I happened to be seated next to an older Canadian couple from Ottawa. Real nice. Later my poc-choc arrives and the Canadian couple gets replaced by a younger mixed couple. The girl a south american country and the guy from a north american country. He definitely did not want to communicate with me even if I got a nice vibe from the girl – that it would be ok. Fortunately (or unfortunately) they moved inside after a short time and for a while I was all alone (except for the people sitting behind me). Until a group of four young ladies (you know, probably somewhere between 27 and 37) moved outside. Of course we got conversing a bit, all but one, the beauty. But it was entertaining. A bit later the table beside me once again gets occupied. This time by an Irish fellow that have moved to the inland of Canada and who’s hobby was dj’n on turntables and real records.

For the second time in two nights, I leave ladies I probably should not have left.

After leaving La Lomitas I stop at the main square to watch a little of the basket ball game (live) and before boing back to the hotel, I walk the streets once again.

This day is windy and cloudy, thus a perfect day not to spend on the beach. So as planned I go next door and rent a scooter – a lot more expensive than I expected, 450 pesos for 24 hours – the double amount I read about. Perhaps it’s just this place that is expensive. The scooter I get is not new and it sounds – well, not well – but the most important part works, such as the engine and the brakes.

I head south to explore and I can’t really say much about the exploring. The local population are pretty poor which can be seen on most of the houses inland (with that said, the information I’ve gotten is that a lot of the native population have either had to move to tin-town on the mid-east of the island or actually had to move over to Cancun due to the pricing). I drive past a few restaurants/tacorias/loncherias that I either missed last time (which is a high probability) or are new (which is also sort of a high probability). In my mind I’ve already decided on where I’ll have my lunch – Madera Food and Art, that Diana (co-hostess at Olivia’s) told me about. Since they don’t open until 11 am I’ve got some time to explore and when passing Límon for the second time, I stop and ask how the reservations are for the night. Unfortunately I’m not getting a positive response on that question and even though I get the owner’s phone number, I’ve already decided for another place for the evening. I do stop at one of the public parks for a while, where I see a climbing wall that would fit me very well – sort of one meter high – before I drive over to Madera for lunch. There I choose the mixed rice bowl with chicken and prawns. The flavours are there, but I’m not feeling that the chicken or the prawns are cooked well enough (the chicken’s over cooked and the prawn’s not cooked enough). I do get a chat with the chef & owner of the place (husband of Diana) since I’m sitting at the bar and at first I’m the only customer there, real nice.

Further south and I ended up at Punta Sur and the Mayan ruins. But the weather was not good enough for me to pay the ridiculous hefty admission of 30 pesos – since the last time I was here the weather was awesome and nature and rocks and water, only change that much on 1½ years of absence.

Going north on the west side and I pass Garraton Natural Reef Park as well as the extremely touristy bar and restaurant “The Joint”. I do end up, going down a steep “road” to Playa Indios Beach Club. While there a boat unloads a bunch of people – this is one of the tourist guided boats – and to be sure, it’s interesting to both see and listen to the folks getting of that boat.

After a quick pit stop at the hotel I run the island down again and somehow find Mar y Monte – which I’ll check out when it opens, but it’s probably a reservation kind of place, and if so I’ll go for the Basto’s grill instead.

Before doing anything more I drive over to Chedraui (a Wallmark owned store). I have very special things in mind when I enter the store – hot sauces! I do find them, the Yucatan produced hot sauces for approx. 15 pesos per bottle. AWESOME! Let’s hope that I can wrap them and pack them good enough for the trip first to US and then back to the old countries.

After a drop off at the hotel and a quick chat with the Canadians, I hit the road once more. I’ll have to stop by La Tarima before dinner, which I’ve passed a couple of times during the day. It’s a fairly recently opened bar and restaurant (by Argentinians perhaps – at least my waitress is from there) that specialises in organic produce. They serve breakfast, burgers & baguettes and Italian styled pizzas. I could definitely see that it might become a nice place for tourists. They also have a bunch of smoothies and juices – which I tried and the one I did was really nice.

Mar y Monte does not open until 5 pm and I get there a bit later than that. It’s of course empty when I arrive, even though I stand outside the restaurant for 15 minutes reading the menu which looks nice – I’ve already chosen a course (if I can get a table) when I enter the restaurant. When I do enter I see that there are “Reservation” signs on all tables, but waitress Maria let me have a seat at one anyways (probably for strays like me – or for a later reservation, I’m there at approx. 6 pm which is very early). The chef comes out and a short chat later I’ve ordered the tuna (that I’d already decide on before entering) and a glass of red wine (an Argentinian Malbec). Some of the entrees look really lovely as well but I don’t feel that hungry this early since I had lunch.

Not many minutes later a family of two adults and four kids enters and a bit later another adult with an older teenager actually joins them.

I receive some focaccia and celery cream. The focaccia is what it is and the cream is light and fresh. The tuna comes in, and well, I did not have to worry about getting full. I receive two big pieces of tuna on a corn mesh, sweet potato curls, cooked spring onions and tomatoes. There are also a spoon of tapenade and three different “sauses” smeared on the plate. At this point I’m convinced I did the right thing not ordering a starter – instead I order a café solo (why don’t Mexicans know what that is?) to finish my meal.

During my stay at the restaurant I do get to converse with the other customers in the restaurant – at least two of the three adults (the male person in the company does not seem too interested in conversing with me). And here’s where I do the same mistake as usual – I understand the single lady’s signals too late. What do I care if she’s got a couple of teenage daughters? Instead I leave the restaurant without any action at all – and to be honest, she was a beautiful lady.

Waking up to a gloomy sky – or rather, the sky is only visible when standing on the toilette, so either I put my head outside of the room or, well, into the bathroom. Checking the wide world web and it shows me that it’s going to be thunderstorms during the day and night. So therefor I decide against renting a scooter for the day. But I do decide to look up on rentals during the day.

For breakfast I go to the Q’Bravo but it only seats a few guests and after trying to sit down by a couple’s table I find out there is actually a queue – so I go other place. The other place happens to be Loncheria Alexia & Geovanny. It’s almost full but I get a place at a table and later on a taxi driver joins since I’m sitting alone on a table for four. There is a big group of people at the middle table, all seeming (to me) Spanish speaking customers who have ordered before I arrive to the loncheria. Luckily I’m on both vacation and Mexican time, so I don’t really have any rush. The big table’s food comes when it’s ready – you just have to start eating when the meal arrives – just one of the charms with these loncherias (and Mexican?). The old lady that waiters is just taking it in her own pace – which is just awesome to watch, nothing phases her! 🙂

I order the huevos con toncina, lemonade y una café negro – and just sit down for the wait. As many other times I realise that I really need to learn Spanish – I like both Spain and Mexico and would definitely be able to travel South America if I could speak Spanish. During my breakfast I also ponder and not for the first time, how small the native Mexican Indians are, that meaning their height of course. And also the beauty of the female population – there are many local ladies that are so pretty.

Closer to noon and the clouds disperse a little and I brave the internet forecast to head over to the beach. This time I break my tradition and walk further east on the northern beach. The weather is still warm and mostly without wind, so when a cloud covers the sun or a wind gust comes – it’s rather nice. Around 3:30 pm the weather starts getting worse and I head over to OceanVS for a few beer.

This night I don’t know. Where am I to eat? I google, I search my brain, nothing good comes up. Tomorrow I’ll try to have dinner at Limon (unless it’s fully booked), but that’s tomorrow. When at La Lomitas I get some kind of recommendation for the restaurant Comprades. So after a stop at the main plaza – where I got to see (assuming she was from the US) an American with a baby stroller – with a mini version of a dog. What was the problem? Either the dog is to lazy or the owner is…

I head over to Comprades, and well, this is on the main strip, and it shows on the prices. The food is good and the view is nice since I’m watching all the people walking by. What is not good is, this is the second time I get gratitude added to my bill without asking for it – and it pisses me off. I will add gratitude if the service and the food is good enough, but to “force” me to add gratitude is not the way to have me coming back. This is also the most expensive meal I’ve had and definitely not the best – so I won’t be coming back anyways.

I’ve slept well, as well as possible. My Canadian friends are pleasant to chat with but maybe I should have said good night and went to bed earlier. Good thing is (apart from the fact that a cat seemed to be in distress all night – or it was just horny) that with the earplugs I slept like a baby.

Fourth day, fourth breakfast and the last one in the row of the restaurants on the Mercado plaza – Loncheria Tacos-Tumbras. It’s good eggs, the second best of the four. This day (a Sunday) I also ask for an aqua limón (lemonade) which is really good. I don’t think it’s much or any added sugar in the drink.

After the usual preparations (the smearing of sun screen lotion) at the hotel – I do only use 30 in my face and 15 on the rest of my body – I head over to the beach. It is real crowded. I’m guessing more tourists and more locals on the Sundays. It was 29 degree celcius yesterday, it is 29 degree celcius today. I finish my 1L bottle of water after 2½ hours in the sun – it’s just pouring out of me! Around two pm I’m finished but I do hang out another hour – because it does not feel as if I’m getting any sun at all – even if the sweat is heaving out of me by the bucket. On the way back to the hotel I walk the beach west and then south. There are a lot of people here!

A bit later I leave the hotel, a little earlier than usual but… I walk the walk and stop around the ferry terminal just to check out the “tourists”. After getting bored of this, I end up at the main square and just sit down checking out the local flora which consists of locals and tourists. A few food stands have set up and looks nice – if you have not tried out the food stands, well that’s a recommendation, though knowing Spanish is a good thing for these.

I head over to Javi’s Cantina since I’ve not only read about it but also heard about it. Of course, it’s a Sunday and I’ve not reserved a table – but I’m alone and can sit at the bar. I get some help from André – who I think is a bartender. I order the daily special which is sort of a grouper in a vegetable cover with rice. It’s nice, it’s the first time I eat fish on the island – but is it worth the price? No, not for me. I could do with traditional Mexican food for 1/3 of the price and the same taste essentials.

I end the day early and decide to watch another move from the list.

I’ve already mentioned the door, did I also mention the non-existing sound-proofing?No? Thus, I woke early by the sound of my neighbours leaving for breakfast. A little bit later I, myself, left for breakfast, heading for the Mercado plaza and this day the Longeria San Martin. This one is so far the least best out of the thee (of four) that I’ve tried on the square.

The weather is a lot better today so I head over to the beach earlier. And, it’s warmer, real warmer today compared to yesterday. The sweat is pouring down, all along my body, even when I’m laying down flat on the beach. It’s only supposed to be 28-29 degree Celsius according to the app, but it sure does feel hotter. I do manage six hours and for the first time I do finish the 1 litre of water bottle before heading back to the hotel. But before getting there I stop at a Roosters for a cup of coffee.

Going out for dinner I head out for the main square and the basket ball court. Unfortunately only kids are playing at the moment so I continue the way down the island towards the restaurant I’m aiming for. When passing the restaurant it’s full of people (even though I see a table I could fit in on). So instead of stopping I continue, since I’ve not yet been this way down so far. Not much has happened since last, maybe a little bit of fixing up the buildings but not much more. I do say hi to a couple of kids and some adults sitting in their living rooms (that’s how it is right, here down I Mexico – due to the heat you have the doors and windows open). Coming back the same road I decide to stop at La Lomitas for dinner. Since I’m alone I get a table right away. It’s sort of the same as I remembered it 1½ year ago, but more expensive and more people – a lot more people. I try the Pollo Mole (sort of a chicken with a chocolate sause) and a cerveza, the meal is really good. I end up next to a American/Canadian couple and have a good time of it since they’ve both been living on the island a while and know what’s been happening and what’s stayed the same.

I do feel a little worried since a lot of people stand outside waiting to get a table – a problem I would guess due to that “travelers” are blogging about their experiences – me being one of them. The food and the experience are sort of the same, meaning that the food is really nice but the experience is somewhat dimmed due to that the restaurant is filled with tourists and having some what of a line outside waiting to get in as well. Still, I do get reminded of Sofia, and to be honest, it’s not the first time that I do being on the island. Lying on the beach hearing the airplanes above I do think that it’s Sofia piloting the aircraft, looking down on me.

A bit later I’m back at the hotel and meet up with my Canadian friends, Ronnie, his wife and friend. We end up talking loads, drinking the same and just having a blast!

The door is not fully whole, meaning that are cracks in the door you use to look through it. Oh well, it’s a fairly cheap hotel. I head over to the mercado plaza for breakfast and sit down at Loncheria Alexia & Geovanny. I order the scrambled eggs but today with bacon. I seem to do a good performance since very old waitress keep asking me things in Spanish. I answer all questions with “Si” – but have no idea what that’ll lead to. The scrambled eggs are way better than the ones yesterday. I’ll try out all four loncherias on the plaza and see which one I’ll like the best.

Before going back to the hotel (and I’m not in a real hurry since the weather is not so good, a lot of clouds) I go first to the main square grocery store to buy some beer and snacks, then to the liquor store for more tequila – it’s Friday and who knows when I’ll have time and opportunity to buy     tequila again?!

Since the weather is not that nice I do take my time, putting on the 30 sun screen lotion. After noon the sun do appear through the cloud and I get down to the north beach. It’s a bit warmer today and I keep on using my sun screen lotion (except for that part of my back that I just can’t reach), but it does not feel like anything’s happening. Then again, if I do something stupid, like stop using the sun screen, I know what’ll happen – I’ll get a sun burn, as usual. Maybe I’ll continue the 30 block for today and tomorrow before going down to 15 which I also have.

After four hours the clouds are coming in and I go back to the hotel. Afterwards it does seem that I chose the correct time to leave the beach – since not long after I leave the beach, the rain comes, and down it comes, real good!

Later on for dinner I wander the streets, not knowing where to head. I check out a few places on the way towards Olivia’s which I’ve read some about. It looks to be fairly full, even though I see empty tables here and there. I only get a place at the bar, which may show that the restaurant is booked, or they just don’t want to place a single person at a two person table, but it looks promising for me any ways. After a recommendation from a waiter, I order the olive chicken dish, which is nice but it would have been ever better with some bread or tortillas to get all that nice sauce. To my surprise they also have brews from the Isla Brewery and the double IPA Mucho Macho – which is an awesome brew. I get to chat with the owner of Olivia (or rather one of them). Both of the owners are Israeli (married) that moved to Isla Mujeres 15 years ago. I also chatted up (not to hard since she was like standing right in front of me for my duration on the restaurant) my bartender/waitress/hostess as well. Her name was Diana (see, this one actually presented herself), who originally was from the mainland (not Yucatan) but now lived on the island with her American boyfriend/husband whom I later got to be presented to. Diana and her husband also own and run a loncheria “Madera Food and Art” on the middle of the island. Let me see if I can visit them later on (sort of mon-sat, 11 am to 5 pm).

Back at the hotel I decide to watch a movie (from the IMDB top 250 list) and choose Whiplash, to which I fall asleep. So when I wake, I restart the move and finish it before lights out.

It’s really hot and moist and the hotel room will only let the AC be on when you are in the room. So getting a good temperature to sleep in is not easy to start with. It will probably take a few days to find a perfect sort of middle road. Thus – I didn’t sleep very well and awoke early needing to use the WC. This went as expected, using the WC that is. What did not go as expected was that the water tank was not full and it was hardly refilling. I had noticed that the water pressure was a little bad, but I know this to be sort of a fact on the island, since they actually don’t have any fresh water supply, instead they are dependent on filtering the sea water for drinking, washing and what not. This though, was not good. I needed to be able to flush the WC. Another thing, except for the room being to hot, WC not working correctly, was that I had gotten quite thirsty… I missed buying water last night when I arrived and it’s not really recommended to drink the tap water. So not a really good first morning right – but honestly – problems for the industrialised world – right! And easily fixed.

I knew of course approx. where to go for breakfast, but wanted to explore a little since some things must have happened since last I was here. This time I actually did go into the local market – and was a little disappointed. Then again, if I had done what I told myself the last time and learned Spanish – everything might have been different. When walking out the other side of the market (it’s an “inside” market) you come to a small, let’s say, square. Here there are three different breakfast & lunch restaurants – location 1, 2 & 3 (there is a fourth but I’ve not seen it open). This day, Letty’s, was the choice. For “late” (approx. 9.30 am) breakfast, I chose the huevos revueltos con chorizo y una vas ozumo de naranjo (so, scrambled eggs with sausage and a glass of orange juice). The eggs came with rice, beans and tortillas. So I was real full after my breakfast.

I continued my first day of exploring and did find a few new bars and restaurants along the way. I also had a few other other things in mind, such as a beach bag, some water for the room (which had a fridge) and of course some Tequila. I walked down the back streets towards the public square (which have the basket ball court) looking for a shop to find some kind of beach bag. Closing in on the square I gave in and said hola to one of the tourist shop owners. He did not have what I was looking for, so he called on the guy right across the street. He didn’t really have what I was looking for either, but – found something, his “last” (hidden behind everything else) awesome bag for 250 pesos. You all know how I am at haggling – for shit, that’s the correct term. But I asked for 200 pesos, just for the heck of it. It was accepted and right away I felt as is if should have said 100 pesos. Still, I needed a bag. Before heading back to the hotel I got some water and also a bottle of Cazadores (tequila if you did not follow).

The first day on la playa and I need to be careful. I’ll probably get a sun burn, but if I can make it a little bit easier then the better, so I make sure to use that 30 sun screen all day, a lot – but of course missing a bit on my back – where I can’t reach. I end up at the north beach and after some time I notice I’ve happened upon a hive of middle aged americans – and somehow, most of the women are, let’s be sensitive, a little bit on the heavy side. I’m not perfect, definitely not, and on the heavy side as well. But I can and will do something about it. There are of course younger americans, latinos and Europeans to lay my eyes on, but the sound of my beach neighbours are… difficult.

Later on we get rain out of an almost blue sky and then the wind picks up and blasts me, even though I’m laying down on a towel on the beach. Therefor I decide to get up and visit OceanVS for a cerveza and a tequila.

The evening starts with a little more exploring, but the town is small and not much has happened. Even though it looks as in few years things have happened, since construction is ongoing here and there. I do check on some of the places I had in mind but it’s just too many people out (I might be a bit early since it’s only about 7 pm). There is one place that I pass, with no people in it and three of the staff sitting by a table. I enter and get a menu, which is the regular type of Mexican menu. But. Something is wrong. Nothing’s happening in the kitchen and the staff is just sitting there. So I leave. Instead I head over to Tres Mentiras for a couple of Isla brews, this time testing the Claro Que Si (Blonde) and Cruda Ayuda (Ginger). Later on I get a little bit too hungry and decide to go to Qubano. Right away I go to the bar since it’s nicer when you are alone. After a small chat with the waitress I order the Qubano sandwich. It was awesome the last time I was there but also since the waitress tells me, when asked about the sandwich and a new dish they are promoting on the menu, that the sandwich is the best. So I enjoy the food, a brewski and the sights, like the waitress daughter that work the bar. The bartender seem to have a thing with the kitchen boy.

When thinking about it, I do believe that I met both the waitress and her daughter last time I was at Isla Mujeres – and her daughter was as beautiful then as she still is. The indian heritage do wonders in some of the population.

Back at the hotel I strike up a conversation with an older fellow, his wife and her friend – all from Canada. We sit down and have a nice chit chat about sort of everything.

I had ordered a taxi for 5:45 am – because I needed to be in time since I did not know how long time it would take to the airport, time to baggage drop, security check and all. Turns out I was way out, that is way early, but then again, better to be early than to miss my flight which would be a bother. I did get stopped in the security check for my bag but I don’t actually know why – they never said, only looked through my bag. It could have been the fruit I’d brought for the flight. I did make it inside and the terminal is very small and easily navigated so I had time for a breakfast sandwich before boarding.

The boarding procedure was, interesting, to say the least. First off the pilots were delayed from one or two different domestic flights, so the boarding was already delayed according to plan. For the actual boarding the priority and families with kids went first of course. Then came the rest, at least they tried to organise it by having the aisle seats entering last (which I was one of) which was logical. The to me not so understandably was that there was one of the staff checking passports and boarding cards, at least until there were perhaps a third of the passengers left to board. After that another of the staff started helping out getting the passengers onboard. This I believe was one of the reason we were later than planned (independent on the pilots of course), and when you are late enough to start taxiing out, you’ve probably missed your slot and we had. We had to wait for some time on the runway, not hours, but a while. Luckily I was not in a hurry, this is my vacation and I’ll make do with a delay.

The flight itself was rather slow, I had some time to read, watch a movie (Into the Wild), eat my brought fruits and nuts as well as a couple of whiskeys. At the later part of the flight I got to talking with the couple next to me. They were heading to Cancun for the first time and to a resort in the hotel zone. They had somehow won the trip and it was also their first time on a resort. The fellow worked in construction and the girlie in the fishing industry – even though they lived inland, approx. 600 km north of Vancouver.

The Mexican migration was even easier than the Canadian and it feels as if the US could learn a thing or two from these two countries. A quick pick-up of my bag and through customs and I’m in Mexico. Viva Mexico!

I bought an ADO ticket to Cancun downtown for 75 pesos and went outside into the warmth – AWESOME! It was as I remembered it outside of the terminal, full of taxi drivers trying to pick up a ride. Knowledgeable and experienced as I am, being here a second time – 🙂 – I went straight for the ADO buses. I had to wait about half an hour but chatted up a girl visiting friends in town – from a previous time when she had been studying in Cancun. Found out this way that not everyone coming to Cancun is trying to use the local (small) buses – since they are a little confusing.

After a few minutes waiting on the bus another lady (maybe that sounds a bit weird, she was most likely younger than me) came up asking for help – she needed a mobile with data traffic since she had forgotten hers at home. Since I’d just payed for 500MB of data I let her use my phone.

The bus came when it was still light outside, but it soon became dark and the drive did take some time due to the Cancun traffic – I wonder if there are times when there are no traffic jams in this area. From ADO downtown central I directly went for a taxi, and yes, I should probably not have paid the 100 pesos but I just wanted to get to the ferry. In the end, perhaps, it was good that I didn’t haggle since after buying the ferry tickets (150 pesos one way – but you always buy return), the ferry was unloading and 5 minutes later I was on the ferry to Isla Mujeres.

I quickly found the hotel (the island is very small and I had not forgotten everything) and checked in with Carlos. I got up to my room which was without balcony and extremely hot. I quickly checked the room, unpacked what I needed to and stashed my valuables into the safe – which could not be locked. So, you all remember how a hotel room safe looks like. Small, a door, a keypad – that’s it, right! No – not everywhere, here it’s more old school and does not have a keypad, so before managing to lock it I had to run down to Carlos. I even had to run down to Carlos a third time before heading out – since I could not for my life understand how to lock the door. It was real simple. Press the lock button on the inside and then close the door.

I knew exactly where I was heading, Tres Mentiras, for some Isla brewery beer and a bit of a food. I had a special (three tacos and a cheap beer), tequila and La Mordida (IPA). I was tired and warm and just hung out. Later on a family of three sat down by the table beside me and I just had to talk to them since they were trying (unsuccessfully I would say) to play UNO with two players – and with incorrect rules. Thus before heading back to the hotel I joined one hand of UNO and helped them along the way with at least some of the rules.

We had decided already last night that I would visit UBC during the day and also join Vera’s class for the day, but I did not get up or leave with Fred & Vera as they left for work. Instead I waited a bit before getting up and getting ready. I also re-packed my bag to make sure everything would fit. Of course, that should not be a problem since I had not bought anything and had left the Kexchoklad stash with Vera. Later on I took the short walk down to UBC in a nice type of weather for Vancouver, a little bit on the chill side (above freezing) but sunny. I walked past the UBC golf course which looked nice and I got a little bit of an itch to try it. I walked through campus with a lot of apartment buildings which looked real nice. I got to the meeting place, Fred & Vera’s working place well in advance before Vera’s class so I got a coffee at Tim Horton’s and sat down to check my e-mail and other stuff. Here I decided to check in my flight for tomorrow and to make sure that I could check my luggage as well – since this could only be done on the airport or online 24 hours before the flight. To my surprise I needed my passport to check in… why? I don’t really know, but fortunately I had my passport information on other places since my passport was not with me for the day.

A little bit later I met up with Vera to join her class. This was interesting! Not only the class itself but also how kids behave nowadays in class. A lot of them were not paying attention and were chatting away on their laptops with all other stuff than the class. Fortunately Vera did a good job and some of the students were active and seemed like they wanted to learn. After the class we met up with Fred and I got to see their lab on 4^th floor. Then we went for lunch at the Bean place (a coffee joint). A while later Vera and Fred left me and I sat down just surfing, doing stuff I had not been able to do for the last couple of days – no work though! 🙂

Me and Fred where to meet up and get back to the apartment since Vera had taken her bike (as usual) to work, so I went back to the Forestry department and waited a bit, but time took it’s toll and the weather was nice, so instead of waiting to take the bus I walked back to the apartment myself.

Later on we all three met and took the bus down to a very specific, a favourite of Fred & Vera, brewery – the 33 Acres Brewing Company. A real nice and small brewery tap room right in the centre of (whatever part of) town – 15 W 8^th Ave, Vancouver. We all ordered their pizza which was produced in a food truck parked just outside the brewery, this was I think one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had and it all had to do with the produce and specially the crust. I ordered a flight to be able to test as many brews as possible for the last night in Canada. At the end, we were all a little tired and drunk and headed home, me after having tasted Sunshine (Wit), Euphoria (Belgian triple), Nirvana (IPA), Ocean (West Coast Pale Ale), Echo (Session IPA), Onyx (Black IPA) and Cerise (Sour).

Before going back we headed for Whole Foods – for me to buy some fruits for the 6h long flight and for Fred to buy some coffee, as well for Vera to purchase some beverages on the liquor store close by. The Whole Foods was definitely a store that I would have used if I lived and worked in Canada – it was just awesome, even if a little bit pricey. Back in the apartment I fixed up the last couple of things for the early trip to Cancun.

I had an awesome time visiting Vera & Fred here in Vancouver and who knows, perhaps I’ll visit them again, late summer.