Puerto Escondido, Mexico 2010

Day 9 ?

2010-02-17T10:49:00.002-05:00

... We can't remember what we did this day. We have no pictures either? ...

Mexico - Day 8 - Mario Is All Better!

2010-02-17T10:02:00.008-05:00

On Day 8 of our trip Mario was finally feeling better! We went to El Cafecito for breakfast and he finally ate a whole meal of bacon and eggs. It was his first time in 4 days that he had had coffee and he was very happy after that!

We took a taxi ride to the Mercado (Market) which was different. Lots of fruits and vegetables, clothes, pottery and huge carcasses hung in front of stores. The people used fly swatters to slap the meat to get the flies off of them. In one section of the Mercado, there were lots of fish that had been salted and that did not smell the greatest. I was hoping and praying that Mario wouldn't get sick from the smell since he still had a queasy stomach every now and then.

We don't have many pictures from that day. I do have Mercado pictures that will be in a later post when we went back.

Mario (February 7, 2010, El Cafecito, Playa Zicatela)

Mario (February 7, 2010, El Cafecito, Playa Zicatela)

Mario (February 7, 2010, El Cafecito, Playa Zicatela)

Mexican Taxis (Mario (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Random Shots (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Random Shots (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Random Shots (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Random Shots (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Random Shots (February 7, 2010, Puerto Escondido)

Mexico - Day 5,6 & 7

2010-02-06T19:12:00.011-05:00

It has been a long time since I updated our blog. Nothing really exciting has been happening since Mario has come down with "Tourista" or "Revenge of Montezuma" He has been ridden to the toilet for 2 days straight and on the third day (today) he has finally emerged and has been able to leave the bungalow for little walks at a time. He has eaten chicken noodle soup and then really craved pizza. So far everything is being kept down and their is no nauseau or vomitting.

Here are some pictures of Mario sick. Don't worry they aren't graphic!

Sick Mio (February 4, 5 & 6, Bungalows Zicatela)

Sick Mio (February 4, 5 & 6, Bungalows Zicatela)

Hopefully tomorrow he will be back to his old self and we will able to move on with our vacation.

Here are a few pictures from the night before he got sick. We were at a restaurant called Playa Kabballah when a little boy came up behind Mario and started playing on his head with a bracelet. Mario was like "WHAT IS ON MY HEAD?!" but I was laughing so he settled down. The little boy was only like 10 - 11 years old and here he was in the dark walking from restaurant to restaurant along the beach with a knapsack and a bowl of jewellery. We don't buy alot of things from people who walk around and ask us to buy this or that but this was a kid and Mario knew I would give in.

I went through his bowl and found a couple things that I could wear. He wanted Mario to buy a bracelet that had 2 fish on it drinking from the same glass. So we bought it as well as a purple and white shell necklace and a purple woven bracelet with a couple beads in it. How could I resist? This poor child has been in school all day, probably went home to eat dinner and then he had to start work. Everything we bought came up to 80 pesos. We gaves him 100 pesos and he couldn't believe it. We took a picture of him and he left. He didn't stop at any more tables and we couldnt see him at the restaurants next to us. We would like to think that he made enough money on us that he could finally go home and his family would be proud. He was such a sweet little guy!

Boy (February 3, 2010, Playa Kabballah Restaurant, Playa Zicatela)

Things we bought from Boy (February 3, 2010, Playa Kabbalah Restaurant, Playa Zicatela)

Things we bought from Boy (February 3, 2010, Playa Kabbalah Restaurant, Playa Zicatela)

Things we bought from Boy (February 3, 2010, Playa Kabbalah Restaurant, Playa Zicatela)

Things we bought from Boy (February 3, 2010, Playa Kabbalah Restaurant, Playa Zicatela)

In Mexico, the car of choice is the Volkswagon Beetle and let me tell you, I have been in HEAVEN! Almost every other car out here is an older Bug. EVERYONE drives them! I found this cute little one on the side of the road and HAD to take a picture! If Mario would actually let me buy a bug without complaining about all the safety risks of the Winter I would definitely want one like this. I don't think it would work to well in Canada though!

Awesome Buggle (February 3, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

Awesome Buggle (February 3, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

We also called the girls before they left for Oshawa and we promised that we would take a picture of us each talking on the phone to them! Here you go my girlies! When Mario feels better we will have the video of seashell picking! I Love you!

Talking to the girls (February 5, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

Talking to the girls (February 5, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

Mexico - Night 4!

2010-02-02T20:53:00.009-05:00

Mario and I decided to go out alone tonight to spend some time together for the first time since we arrived. I think since there are 2 couples, we will sometimes need to just be alone instead of doing things as a foursome all the time.

We decided to go to a restaurant called La Galera which is ontop of the Arco Iris Hotel. It was perfect timing! As soon as we got there the sun was starting to set and I can honestly say that this restaurant has the best view in Puerto Escondido! Not to mention the food and the service!

We each had a Chateaubriand steak dinner with baked potatoes and sour cream, fresh bread and assorted veggies! It was AMAZING! We ate and watched the sun set and just had a great time being together in Mexico!

The prices in Mexico are blowing me away! We had this whole dinner plus 2 cervezas and 2 cokes for 30.40 CDN including tip!

I don't want to leave!

When we got back to our place, we were greeted by our friendly geckos!

Sunset (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

Sunset (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

Sunset (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

Mario (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

Mario and Me (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

View of Zicatela from La Galera Restaurant (February 2, 2010)

Chateaubriand Dinner (February 2, 2010, La Galera Restaurant)

Friendly Geckos (February 2, 2010)

Beach Day! (Day 4)

2010-02-02T17:24:00.004-05:00

This morning we were awake at 7:30, ready for breakfast. We attempted to make some poached eggs but without a toaster and with a Mexican stove that only has low and high settings, they didnt work. The coat hanger we used to toast the bread had a coating on it that made the toast taste funny and the eggs stuck to the pot. So we had Froot Loops.

We met Mitch and Nancy across the street at a restaurant and had a fruit plate full of pineapples, papaya, watermelon, apples and bananas and a large orange juice.

We got ready for the beach and we spent about 4 or 5 hours on Playa Manzanillo where Mario went snorkeling, I sunbathed and read, Mitch did a combination of things and Nancy got her hair braided by a Mexican. We ate and drank and now we are done! We are going to go for a small nap and then go somewhere for dinner followed by a walk on the Adoquin and a bit of shopping.

I will post more later, but here are some pictures from this afternoon!

(February 2, 2010)

Rocks (February 2, 2010, Playa Manzanillo)

Rocks (February 2, 2010, Playa Manzanillo)

Playa Manzanillo (February 2, 2010)

(February 2, 2010, Playa Manzanillo)

Mario (February 2, 2010, Playa Manzanillo)

Panoramic Playa Manzanillo (February 2, 2010)

Happy 20th Birthday Justin!

2010-02-02T16:48:00.002-05:00

Here is a corona for you!

Day 3 in Mexico!

2010-02-02T08:39:00.007-05:00

What a long day it was yesterday! That is the reason for my post this morning and not last night.
For the first 2 days we stayed at the Jardin Real/Split Coconut but we now need something more permanent with a kitchenette since we will be here for the month. We had been looking over the last couple days for places while we were taking our walks on the beach and around town but something else always caught our eye and hotel hunting was put on hold. Well yesterday we couldn't wait any longer and we left at 9 am to have some breakfast and start our more serious search.

We looked at many many places, even one for $2500 a month that the boys so desperately wanted (we talked them out of it!) It was a huge 3 bedroom house on a hill overlooking the ocean with a pool and a full kitchen and the whole shebang! It was very nice but felt too cold and pretentious.

We walked along Zicatela and popped into every place we saw along our way. Either the hotel was booked already, only had 1 room, had no kitchens, wasn't up to our standards or they told us to come back in a few days to see if they could arrange something.

We finally had a choice between Bungalows Zicatela and Hotel Acuario. Bungalows Zicatela had two nice-sized bungalows with 3 beds, a kitchenette and a bathroom, and a private terrace with patio chairs and table in each, overlooking the pool and the courtyard. Hotel Acuario had 2 rooms that they would be able to give us and set up a kitchen inside of them, they were not side by side and they didn't overlook anything and we couldn't have them for a few days. We chose Bungalows Zicatela and so far we are very glad that we did!

We finally got our stuff from the other hotel and made it back to the new place by 2:30 pm It was all freshly cleaned and smelled very nice. We checked all of our dishes and found that the pots and pans they supplied us with had some rust on them that I would definitely not feel comfortable using (Anyone that knows me knows that I cannot stand rust and I won't touch it, let alone cook on it.) We told the front desk and they told us in 1 hour they would have some more pots and pans. When we came back they had brand new pots and pans that had just been purchased as well as new cooking utensils!

We needed to get groceries for breakfast and lunch to cut down on some of the costs of eating out all the time. We all grabbed a cab and headed for the grocery store Super Che. It took us awhile to figure out the prices since everything was in Pesos. A loaf of bread was 19.30 and a small individual cup of yogurt was 2.50! We tried to buy things of names we recognized, but that was not always possible. We did end up getting some Smucker Raspberry Jam, some Kraft Mac and Cheese, some Kellogg's Frosted Flakes that are called "Zucaritas" in Mexico as well as some Heinz Ketchup and French's Mustard. After 2 hours and 845.00 we grabbed another cab and brought all of our food back to the bungalow.

After we found a place to stay and had all of our groceries we were finally settled in and could start to really relax (not that we haven't been since we arrived), but now we can spend more time doing the things we want to do and know we have a place for the month.

We had an afternoon swim in the pool and got ready for dinner. We all wanted Pizza tonight so we stopped at Olas Altas Restaurant to have some cervezas and pizza and watch the sunset. Unfortunately the sunset was very dull because there was a cloud covering in the distance. The pizza on the other hand Mario and I thought was awesome. It was called "Olas Altas Pizza" and it had mushrooms, ham, pepperoni and roasted garlic. I ate more at dinner last night then I had since the trip began. I am finally starting to feel better! During dinner Mitch taught the waiter how to say "Whassss up" like in the commercials and when he came back to give us our bill he had it down perfectly!

We went back to our hotel room and just unwound.

We are planning on having a quick breakfast this morning and then taking a walk to La Punta and back and then spending the day at the beach, sunbathing and reading a book.

Will post more later!

(February 1, 2010)

(February 1, 2010)

Grocery Shopping (Super Che, February 1, 2010)

We Have Arrived In Mexico!!

2010-01-31T18:11:00.011-05:00

After an eventful morning on the way to the airport (getting lost, being nervous and sick) we finally arrived in Puerto Escondido!

We arrived at the airport at 5:30 am on Saturday morning. We had some problems checking in to our flights as our travel agent didn't book seats ahead of time! We had to have single seats scattered all over the full plane! Our travel agent had said earlier in the day that the flight was not booked solid so we would have plenty of choices.... yeah right!!! It was booked full! Fortunately Mario and Nancy had seats next to each other so Mario gave me his and Nancy and I sat together.

6 LONG hours later we arrived in Mexico City after a plane ride with LOTS of turbulence! Our plane was late coming in so we had to really rush to get through customs and make our connecting flight that left 30 minutes after we landed in Mexico City. We made it!

The plane to Puerto Escondido was short, only 50 minutes. I fell asleep before that plane took off and when I woke up I was freaked out because I couldn't hear!! My ears were blocked and hadn't popped! It took me like 10 minutes to unblock my ears.

We arrived in Puerto Escondido and I was quite surprised to see the army guarding the airport with rifles almost as tall as them! A dog sniffed all the bags to check for drugs and what not and when we were cleared we took our bags out of the airport. This is where the fun began!

When arriving in Puerto we were going to spend a night at Brad's at the Split Coconut/Jardin Real until we could find a place for the month. A taxi came to pick us up at the airport and I was not expecting this ride! There are no street signs, no street lights and no speed limit in Mexico!

We arrived at the Split Coconut and we checked into our rooms. It is a very nice place with a palapa covered bar and a swim-up bar that is behind a waterfall. The rooms are simple, but decent.

We took a walk over to El Cafecito for something to eat and we ordered 2 orders of fajitas that they shared between the four of us (have you ever been able to share food in Canada?) The portions are so big we have to share them or at least half of it is wasted. They were incredible! Mario and Mitch had a beer each, I had a coke and Nancy had water and we spent 21.00 CAD! It is super cheap out here and the food is amazing!

We wanted to explore a bit and decided to take a longer walk that led us through some pretty povery stricken places, which I was not expecting and was quite the culture shock. We saw at least 10 wild dogs, and roosters walking around with their babies. When we hit the main street (the Adoquin) it was full of stores and restaurants and vendors trying to sell their stuff! Lots of colours and smells!

We ended up at Danny's Terrace on Playa Principal at Happy Hour. We sat and had a couple beers (and a coke of course) as well as a nice-sized plate of Nachos, while the sun set and the fisherman anchored and cleaned up their boats.

Back at our hotel, there was a band playing for Music Fest 2010 but we were wayyyy to exhausted to listen so we went to bed and 10 minutes later, we no longer heard the music. We were dead to the world!

THE NEXT MORNING!

We woke up at 8:00 am and grabbed a shower and got ready for the day. Mario used the walky talkies to contact Mitch and Nancy. They were already at El Cafecito eating breakfast. We hopped in a cab and joined them. We ordered a grand slam breakfast which we again shared. It was huge and we were full, with food left over. Mario had a large freshly-squeezed-right-there-in-front-of-your-eyes orange juice and we each had a cup of coffee (10.00 CAD with tip)!

We walked quite a few kilometers to Playa Zicatela where we stopped at a restaurant/bar right on the beach. The waiter was great and spoke both Spanish and English. We were there for about 3 hours just talking and taking in some sun, watching the HUGE waves crash against the beach. After 3 beers for both Mario and Mitch, 2 Banana Daquiris for me and Nancy and a Cheese Quesadilla (22.00 CAD total) we started back to our hotel where we spent the afternoon by the pool, laughing and having fun.

We are now back in our hotel room thinking about having a small "siesta" before the live band starts playing again tonight.

All is well in Paradise! 27 more days to left!

BTW those Banana Daquiris are the best things I have ever tasted!

First Meal In Mexico (January 30,2010, El Cafecito, Bacocho)

First Meal In Mexico (January 30,2010, El Cafecito, Bacocho)

First Meal In Mexico (January 30,2010, El Cafecito, Bacocho)

(January 30, 2010)

(January 30, 2010, Danny's Terrace, Playa Principal)

Taking in some sun (January 31, 2010, Restaurant on Playa Zicatela)

Giant Hand (January 31, 2010)

Charlie's Angels (January 31, 2010, Playa Principal)

Stairs (January 31, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

Mexican Bus Stop (January 31, 2010)

Karate Kick (Mario and Mitch, January 31, 2010, Hotel Jardin Real)

Tried and Failed Panorama (January 31, 2010, Playa Zicatela)

Flinstone Chairs (January 31, 2010, Grecko Bar, Playa Zicatela)

Banana Daquiri (Me and Nancy, January 31, 2010, Bar on Playa Zicatela)

51.5 Hours To Go!

2010-01-28T11:33:00.000-05:00

We will be landing in Puerto Escondido in 51.5 hours!

The last of our suitcases were packed this morning and are waiting by the door to be put in the car when we leave at 1 am on Saturday morning! They are busting at the seams! I couldn't leave anything behind! What happens if I need something?!?

There is a steady flurry of snow coming down and we can't wait to leave it all behind us! We will miss Winterlude and the visit from Aunt Marg and Uncle Roman :( Hopefully they will visit us again in the summer or we can go visit them at their BEAUTIFUL cottage!

We have to still photocopy our passports and ID and make our emergency contacts to have on us. I need to get my eyebrows waxed and go for my last tanning session. I think I am addicted to tanning! Hopefully it doesn't make me all wrinkly though as so many warnings about tanning beds state that tanning ages the skin! It is a risk I will have to take! Hahaha!

3 Days Until We Leave!

2010-01-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

We leave on Saturday and I finally have our blog up and running. We are both very excited but, I think I am more excited than Mario. It is my first time to Mexico and Mario's 4th time. I think that may be the reason for my excitement. We decided to go to Mexico for a month at the beginning of January. Mario has been bugging to go for almost 5 years so it is about time we do something together! That's right, we have been together for almost 5 years (we will be spending our 5-year anniversary out there!) and we have never been away with each other, not for a weekend, not even for a night in a hotel! We decided to go since this is a special year for us. Mario just turned 40 on January 1st and we have been together for 5 years!

We are going away with Mario's cousin, Mitch and his wife, Nancy. Nancy and I get along great and Mario and Mitch act like kids when they are together so we should have a great time!

We will be leaving on Saturday at 3 am for the drive to Montreal to catch our flight at 7:30 am. We arrive in Mexico City at 12:30 pm with a 1.5 hour layover. At 2 pm we catch our connecting flight to Puerto Escondido. We arrive at 3:05 and this is where we will stay for 29 sunny days! *knock on wood* (Seriously though, have you ever heard of a bad day in Mexico!?)

We will be updating this site regularly so that the twins and my mom can see what we are up to! I will post all our pictures and some videos that Mario is notorious for taking!

I can't wait to leave! MEXICO here we come!