why we work -- journal

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

My view from the shady palapa on the beach

MUCH bigger waves today

The in-pool chaise longe thingy where I have spent 1/2 of the past three days

View from lunch table - the net-looking this shows up quite well in the picture but you don't notice it too much in person. It's designed to keep the birdies out, but the smarter birds know how to get around this complex security system.

View of lunch: Appetizer of guacamole

and fresh salsa

with bacon-wrapped shrimp for Andy

and shrimp tacos for me - YUM

We were feeling adventurous in the afternoon and decided to head into La Crusesita (it means "little cross" - i.e., town square). Here is the square.

We did a quick walk around, checked out some more local wood carvings (didn't buy anything), saw the church with the supposed "largest painting of the Virgin Mary" - yeah right, we have that under our freeways in America :) We also saw a man walking with a cage containing what we can only figure were baby coatimundis. Allrighty - seen the town, time to head back to our bay. The hotel has a fleet of brand new Suburbans, which we'd been using all week. On this trip back to the hotel we took a local taxi, which we think was an old Toyota.

We decided to stop at Don Porfirio's for some drinks

We sat at a table and noticed a sign for a restaurant in Chicago, basically within a mile of where we live. Turns out that the owner of Don Porfirio also owns three restaurants in Chi-town - go figure.

And of course we had to have some guacamole

And in case anyone is interested in real estate in Huatulco - here's an advert with a URL

We walked back to the hotel (no more than two blocks, but there are no "blocks" here) and were absolutely overheated. Went for a refreshing dip in the pool and then decided to check out the "other" dinner restaurant. Perhaps because it's not high season, I don't know, but the hotel has three restaurants, one for each meal. But at night, the lunch restaurant is completely redecorated into a swank bistro called "Deep Blue - Smells of the Sea". You dine by candlelight while listening to funky music and eating some pretty haute cuisine for this region.

The meal began with a Deep Blue cocktail - we think it's pineapple juice and curacao

Then they brought out a light appetizer which was mariscos (which I think means seafood or shellfish) in a puff pastry with a spicy sauce - tasty. Then as a palette cleanser we were served what we think was Mexcal tequila sorbet. For an appetizer we had brie in a puff pastry with a giant yummy fried shrimp on top.

For dinner, Andy has capellini with shrimp in a tequilla sauce (thumbs up)

and I had a lobster and mushroom "casserole" that included at least a dozen different kinds of mushrooms, HUGE hunks-o-lobster, and risotto.

We skipped dessert (because we were both completely and utterly stuffed) but I did have a small kiwi tart that arrived with the bill (which was expensive for Mexico, but SUPER reasonable when comparing to Chicago restaurants of comparable quality. The service was outstanding and the meal began with a cold towel and ended with a red rose.

Comments

Monday, May 30, 2005

Slept in again, which is odd considering that we are in the same time zone as home, yet we are on the Pacific coast. Skipped breakfast for fear of repeating the grasshopper incident. Conditions today - same as yesterday, hot hot hot and humid with big surf. Did not stop Andy from swimming.

This iguana lives outside our room. He looks harmless, yet i still shriek when he moves fast.

This is the corridor that we take as a shortcut to get to the pool-beach.

This is a shot of the pool and our room is somewhere in the background.

We spent the am on the beach under a palapa. On our way to lunch, we noticed that the craft palapa (usually has people painting ceremics - entirely too much work)was filled with carved and painted wood creatures. After 1 tack between the beach and pool, we went to lunch. Andy had cheese stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon and I had lobster tacos - and guacamole.

We have decided that I am allowed to buy one native handicraft for each Bohemia beer Andy drinks. I didn{t but this cat, but I did buy two cats.

Palapa - notice the creature of leisure

We stayed on the beach until 4ish, then retreated to the cool splendor that is Ochenta (ok, it's funny to us - we are in room #80). Took Mauricio's advice and went to dinner at Casa del Mar. This 25 room hotel is on the hillside to the East of us on Tangolonda Bay.

In keeping with the Lipitor diet, we both has shrimp wrapped in bacon for dinner.

...and guacamole. Notice a theme?

YUM

It was a tad cloudy (we think it clouds up in the evening because of the humidity) but there was still a great sunset - good thing we brought the d70 to dinner :)

More of the same planned for tomorrow.

Comments (1)

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Slept in until 9ish, which must mean we are already relaxed. Staked out a good palapa on the beach and marked it with the universal "taken" symbol - sunscreen on towels.

Ate breakfast at the buffet, which is always confusing and risky in a foreign country. Finally tried to order an omelette and wound up with a grashopper quesadilla. Andy says they taste like chicken.

Spent the day tacking back and forth between the shady palapa and the sun drenched in-pool chaise lounges. The "bay" actually has some rockin waves and there are lots of "peligrosos" signs. Andy thought this meant sloths, so he went in anyway (kidding). This is my view from under a palapa.

Here's a view of the pool

and the comfy lounges (not proximity to bar in background - yet we never made it there due to the responsive and extraordinarily attentive beach-pool waitstaff.

For dinner we went to Bahia Santa Cruz- about 10 minutes away. We had dinner at Dona Celia - right on the water and free entertainment, which was a local woman singing a song about zapatos (shoes, I know that word) and playing a gourd. Nope, no pics of her.

Mexico must hate the French also - note the freedom fries on the menu.

But they had really really big margaritas.

View of Bahia Santa Cruz

View of guacamole

Mexico was playing the US in football-soccer, they brought out special tv's

We asked Mauricio, our driver from the hotel, to take us to a good shop for wood carvings on the way back. We weren't able to bargain that well, what with Andy's inability to hide his enthusiam for handicrafts. Wound up with some pottery and a spotted cat.

We're planning for another day of doing nothing - we are quite good at it once we get over the initial shock of not having a schedule/routine. Good thing there's GSM phone service here! Weather is still HOT AND HUMID - no sunburns - just bloated bellies (píctures tomorrow) full of shrimp and Bohemia beer :)

Comments

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Buenos Noches a Huatulco, Mexico!

Painless flight here and even had the exit-bulk the entire way. We are in Huatulco, which is in the state of Oaxaca on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico. We were anxious for the "welcome to Huatulco" greeting on the plane, since we still are not quite sure how to pronounce it. But the flight attendant proclaimed "Welcome to Gaudaluco" - and although we are not sure of the pronunciation, we know that's not right. A lot of the passengers laughed and corrected her saying "it is wah-TOOL-co".

We are staying at the Camino Real Zaashila hotel which is on Tangolunda bay. The drive from the airport was about 20 minutes and we were greeted with cold towels, fresh juice, and a hearty "welcome home". The hotel is very nice - almost reminds us of the hotel in Crete. Our room has a nice view and is delightfully air conditioned, which is a requirement since it is VERY hot and humid.

Spent the afternoon by the pool, which has some cool built-in chaises. Went to dinner (shrimp, of course) at the nearby square - walked back because we were stuffed! Very relaxing so far - gotta love when the only decisions you have to make is "beach or pool" and when and where to eat next.

Airport breakfast

Boarding pass

Welcoming topiaries

Hotel grounds

First view of the pool that stretches just about the entire length of the resort

View from our room

Iguana labeling system

Where we had dinner tonight

Comments

Friday, May 27, 2005

5:19am

Comments

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

He looks pissed, but he's just yawning.

Comments

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Comments

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Comments

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Morgan's 5th birthday was earlier this week. No cake though - bathing suit season starts in six days :0 He's not really a dessert-eater anyway. He prefers a morning nap in the sun followed by a full day of napping somewhere else.