January 17–19, 2014 - Tulum

Seems like we have fallen into a routine : sleep late, walk into town, come back, read & nap, eat, go to bed. It’s not a problem!

Friday morning was sunny, but cool. We took a walk then went back to the apartment for lunch.We decided to go into town for dinner even though it was sprinkling and had dinner at Dona Tina. Tobey had the chicken soup and I had a chicken dish with rice and beans. The meals were okay, but not sure we will go back. The rain stopped during dinner so we took a stroll down to the square to see if there was anything going on. There was a group of “clowns” setting up for a show. Since my Spanish is rusty and Tobey’s worse, we opted to pass and headed home.

Saturday - The sun came out – and Tobey is starting to feel better! We walked into town, checked out different areas, picked up a couple groceries, and stopped for lunch. One of the high schools we passed had murals painted all along the outside wall. We have noticed several signs urging a stop to violence around town. I hope it is working!
Another thing that is difficult for us to comprehend coming from Colorado is what seems to be total lack of concern over dumping trash in the street. We have noticed this all over Mexico and Tulum is no different.

We stopped at El Chino for lunch and had shrimp and fish tacos.

Three fish tacos or three shrimp tacos were $51 pesos. They also served chips and the hot fish dip, as well as pico de gallo – YUMMY!

We hung out at the apartment and read, then watched a movie before going out for a late dinner. Every time we had gone by our dinner stop, the place was always packed with locals, as well as tourists, so we figured it was good – and it was, as well as cheap! They specialize in tacos al pastor. “Al pastor” is a dish developed in Central Mexico, likely as a result of the adoption of the shawarma spit-grilled meat brought by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico. We both had 2 tacos and split a glass of horchata. Horchata is a milky drink made from ground rice. It doesn’t sound very good, but it is usually very good. This one was a little watery and not as sweet as others we have had, but it’s a nice change from soft drinks. I forgot to take my camera so no pictures of the meat on the spit! We will probably go back – 4 tacos and one large drink was only $40 pesos! ($3 USD)

We walked around town and went to the square where the church across the street was having a huge outside revival type service. They had lots of music and praise team action going on. After getting a chocolate crepe, we headed back to the apartment around 10pm.

Today,we got up early so we could go to the beach before the Broncos-Patriots game. We walked into town and caught a Colectivo (a kind of mini-van shuttle bus) to the beach.

It was beautiful! We walked up the beach,then stopped and “borrowed” one of the hotel’s beach chairs for a while. We walked back down the beach before deciding to head back to town. Back on the street we watched for a colectivo, but didn’t see one, so opted to take a taxi. The collective was $30 pesos from the center of town; the taxi was $70 pesos from the beach to our door. Not bad either way!

Back at the apartment in time for showers, lunch, and the Broncos/Patriots game. Needless to say, we were VERY happy with the turnout! Broncos are Super Bowl bound!

We saw this delivery motorcycle on Saturday and took it to be an omen that we were going to deliver at the game today and we did!
Hopefully the sun will be out again tomorrow and we will head back to the beach!

January 15-16, 2014 - Tulum

Rain, clouds, cool – not what we had planned on!  Tuesday night it started raining and rained all night. Wednesday we woke to total cloud cover. Tobey was feeling a little better so we decided to go ahead and walk to the supermarket before lunch because we were out of “main dish” food.

It sprinkled on us off and on but we were back to the apartment by lunchtime and were only a little damp! We closed up all the windows and settled in for a quiet day of reading.
We found an English-speaking TV station and watched some re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, then watched a movie after dinner.

Today the sun came out, but the temperature stayed below 70 and it was breezy. We decided to walk to the west side of Tulum today and see what it was like. We passed a huge sports complex that had baseball diamonds, soccer fields, basketball court, and track. It was several blocks long and was well-maintained.

As we passed one house I noticed a sign that brought a chuckle – even in small towns in Mexico there are Tupperware ladies!

As we turned and headed back toward town I noticed this fellow walking in front of us carrying a chicken under his arm. Not sure if he just bought it or was off to sell it.

A little further down the street we encountered some road construction going on – and a HUGE road saw!We wanted to find a lunch stop on our way back to the apartment and decided to try this little stand near the primary school we had spotted on one of our other walks.

We both had two tacos asados and drinks and the bill was only $62 pesos. ($4.75 USD) It was really good and very popular with the locals!
Back at the apartment we read, napped, chatted with Tyler on the computer, and called our Moms. We decided to see if we could find a different kind of cold medicine for Tobey, then we went to Camellos for dinner. Chris and Barbara (our apartment owners) said they have great seafood – and they did! I had the garlic shrimp and Tobey had the fried fish dinner. Before the meal, we were served chips, pico de gallo, and an interesting fish/tomato salsa. It was really yummy! Dinner with tip was $335 pesos – just over $25.

There was a crepes stand just outside the restaurant so we got a crepe with Nutella and caramel sauce for dessert ($25 pesos) on our way home. Another day in paradise!

Tulum, Mexico January 13 & 14, 2014

Another couple, quiet days in Tulum!

Yesterday we walked and walked – all the way back toward Chedraui, not for groceries, but in search of bicycle shops. We stopped at a few to check out rental and purchase prices. If we decide to get bikes, it will be cheaper to buy them, then sell them back to the shop in four weeks than to rent! We haven’t made any decisions yet, but have some options!

After our walk, we came back to Villa Clarita, took naps, then a quiet evening watching a movie and reading.

Tobey isn’t feeling 100% so today we took a short walk and came back for naps. I spent time in the pool then reading and catching some sun. We have been playing some cards and so far I have won two games of gin rummy! WOOHOO!!

This evening we took a short walk to the pharmacy to get some cold and sore throat medicine and cough syrup before dinner.

We stopped at a very local restaurant we passed on our way to the pharmacy for dinner. There was no menu – just come back to a table by the kitchen and point to what we wanted to eat! I picked the chicken mole and Tobey  had the Bisteck ala Mexicana. (I had the owner write down what Tobey’s was called!)  Mine was served with two pieces of chicken, rice and a mole sauce. Tobey’s was a chopped beef with green peppers and onions in a sauce, served with rice and black beans. (We asked them what was the best and they said the Bisteck). They also brought us a stack of soft corn tortillas and we ordered cokes. Both meals were delicious! Because there were no menus, we had not idea how much the meal was going to cost. We were pleasantly surprised that including tip, we paid $132 pesos – $10US.

No other big plans for the next few days – just relaxing and catching up on some movies.

Phoenix - Tulum, Mexico January 11–12, 2014

Mom dropped us at Sky Harbor Airport at 6:30 a.m. for our departure to Cancun. The flights through Dallas were uneventful and we arrived Cancun at 5:00 p.m. After clearing customs, we met Chris, the owner of the apartment, and his father-in-law, Jacky, for our 90 minute drive to Tulum. After a quick stop at the Chedraui Supermarket to pick up some groceries, we arrived at Villa Clarita Tulum about 8:30 pm. Chris gave a quick tour of the apartment and I got started cooking dinner. 9:00 pm, dinner was on the table, and we were able to really relax! We watched some American football with Mexican commentators before going to bed.

Today we had Mexican pastries (not nearly as sweet as American pastries!) and fruit for breakfast before taking a walk in town. We walked all the way to the Chedraui Supermarket – about 3 km each way – to pick up some of the things we forgot last night. There seem to be lots of hostels in Tulum and we noticed several Americans, as well as Australians and Europeans, in town.

Hot and tired, we got back to the apartment and had a quick lunch, then I took a quick swim in the pool. It is NOT heated, but felt pretty refreshing.
The Broncos played this afternoon, so we were parked inside cheering on our team. Sorry if you are a San Diego fan, but we were very happy with the win today!
After the game, we headed back into town for dinner. We had planned to eat at Camellos, a seafood restaurant Chris had recommended, but they were already closed. We kept going and found a taco restaurant that looked pretty good. After selecting tacos camarones, tacos pescado, tacos asado, and tacos pastor, we added chips and pico de gallo and cokes to finish off the meal. Everything was tasty and was only $120 pesos including the tip ($9.25 USD).
We strolled back to the apartment after stopping for ice cream to share on the way. Not a bad way to start our trip!

Scottsdale, Arizona - After Christmas

Tobey and I had planned to spend the week plus after Christmas being adventurous, getting out, and doing some hiking and exploring. Things don’t always go as planned because Tobey ended up catching a horrible cold and spent a good deal of the week in bed, feeling miserable.

Instead of big hikes, we ended up taking Penny to the park not far from our moms’ houses to walk and chase tennis balls. My mom went with me several times and Tobey when he was feeling up to it. It was fun to watch the Canadian geese – some days almost 200 of them – as they came in for a landing on one of the lakes! It really was amazing.

We got to see a few movies: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Saving Mr.. Banks, and Last Vegas. I liked them all! Another day my sister and I did our “shop ‘til you drop” day. We were pretty successful in both regards!

Several evenings we played cards with our moms and Tobey’s sister, Patty. We have fun playing “Golf” and “3-13”. One night I had an incredible hand in Golf – a Minus 26 in one hand, then ended up not winning the game! Another day!!

A few times we played Pinochle with our moms at their clubhouse. Tobey ended up being the big winner one night and coming home with $7.00!

I also got to take a short hike with Fort Collins friend, Susan, who was here visiting her folks. We did part of the Squaw Peak base hike – easier than the Summit hike and not as crowded. Of course, we went on a Monday – after the kids had gone back to school from winter break!
I also got to have breakfast with a high school friend, Rita. We try to get together when we come down every December to catch up. Good company & good food!


It was soon time to pack most things up and get ready for our month in Mexico.

Hugs to our moms who are taking care of Penny while we are gone. She will keep them on their toes and be helpful when it comes to washing the dishes!

December 23, 2013 - Squaw Peak Hike – Summit Trail

Tobey, Tyler, Katie, and I decided to try the Summit Hike at Squaw Peak. We took off about 10 am soon discovered that it was a popular hike – not many parking places in the park and lots of people on the trail!
The summit trail is quite steep and we went a little over a mile up before we decided to turn around and head back down and go for lunch. There was a lot of junk hanging in the air over the Phoenix valley. Not a good thing!

It was after noon by the time we hit the parking lot and headed back to Scottsdale for lunch.
We treated ourselves to some yummy burgers at Rehab Therapy Burgers in Old Town Scottsdale and enjoyed the 70° weather! Tobey and I decided we would get an earlier start and try tackling the Summit another day.

Packing for a trip … the joys of traveling! December 2013

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I love to travel! I do not, however, like packing for trips. It ranks right up there with wanting to poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick on my  “I want to do it” list.

Tobey and I headed off to Arizona on December 20th to spend the holidays with our families, then in January we will fly to Mexico for a month. We needed to pack clothes for cold weather and semi-cool Arizona weather, as well as bags to take to Mexico. Oh, and then there were the Christmas gifts that needed to load into the van – and our dog and her paraphernalia - and our son and daughter-in-law and their things! This was going to be a challenge for our mini-van!

I really like the flexibility of packing in the motorhome. I always want to “take it all” and I have more room in the motorhome. Since we are flying to Mexico, I needed to condense everything into 2 suitcases (and include scuba gear) and somehow, I managed to get it all in. Everything for the Arizona portion of the trip fit into another suitcase and a large box for Christmas gifts.

We were a little cozy, but we made it here and seem to have everything we need. We will enjoy another two weeks in Scottsdale before we take to the air for Cancun.