Volume 15 - Day 153/212, 2023 - Friday

In my humble opinion, this is the proper way to foster better international relations. Just buy the Policia Municipal some ice cream, and everything will be fine. I understand the difference between the Policia and a bunch of South Korean Generals, but the idea and the follow through is all the same. It was kind of a busy day today, most of it was spent at Immigration, where I received my official exit permission, and my official entrance permission. If my residency is not completed by Monday, I will need to come back within sixty days to complete the process. Oh darn. I'll probably stay four or five days this first time coming back, but it will all be okay. Steve, Silvia, Mike and I went to a joint (Steve's words) to listen to some local music this afternoon. A place called Alive, and it was a lot of fun. We got back to the condo about six o'clock, watched the news, then headed out on an ice cream mission. We have seen the same cops on the corner almost every day since we have been here, and we always speak to them. We don't really know if they are there because this is a nice area, or because it is a bad area. I'm gonna go with the first one. Either way, tomorrow will be a less busy day.

Volume 15 - Day 152/213, 2023 - Thursday

One Fish. Two Fish. Three Fish. Toe Fish! I swore to this guy that this photo would be solely (get it) for my own private use, and no one would ever see it. I lied. Mike told him it would be all over the Internet within the hour, and so here it is. I have wanted to experience this ever since the first time I saw it, but never have dared to do it. I may do it before I go back to Austin, I still have four days. Today was a day for some accomplishments, and some no-so-much accomplishments. Overall, it was a good day. We had power most of the day, only lost power for about thirty seconds this morning. There was a noon appointment, then a couple other things to get done, and again, it was a good day. We had rain for about a half-hour, and there is no rain forecast for the rest of our visit. We have a couple things on the list to do tomorrow, and then we will join Steve and Silvia to listen to some music tomorrow afternoon.

Volume 15 - Day(s) 150 and 151/215 and 214, 2023 - Tuesday and Wednesday

Are y'all confused yet? Stay tuned. I had the first line of last night's journal entry all figured out. It was going to be All I need to do now is break my f*cking hip, but then the power went out, and I did not post anything. I fully expected the power to come back on overnight, but it didn't. It went off last night about 7:30, and came back on about 6 o'clock this afternoon. For ten minutes. Mike and I met my friend Steve and his girlfriend Silvia for dinner, and there was power there when we arrived. So far, so good. After we finished dinner, we were just sitting there talking, and the power went off at the restaurant. It was only off for three or four minutes, but I felt that was a good sign...that power was back on all across the city. Not sure about that, but when we got back to the condo, the power was back on, and so far, all is good. Yesterday, there was a miniature hurricane in Playa del Carmen, not my words, words of locals here. Lots of the sidewalks are stamped concrete, with a 'painted' finish on it, which is very slippery. No one seems to care about rain or thunder or lightning here, so we were out walking to meet friends, and I (several times) almost slipped and fell on the wet sidewalks. I didn't, but there were a couple close calls. This afternoon, there was another HEAVY rainstorm, lots of thunder and lots of lightning, and let me tell you, the thunder here is REALLY impressive. I like it. Loud and prolonged! But anyway, all is good now, the power is on, the air conditioning is working, and I am a happy man. Don't forget, I am the luckiest man in the world! This photo was after the heaviest part of the storm last night...the sky was VERY interesting. 

Volume 15 - Day 148/217, 2023 - Monday (Memorial Day in the US)

Today was a pretty busy day, and I am not sure if too much was accomplished, if anything at all. It started with a short walk to (in a little bit of a drizzle) to the 7-11 for coffee, and then we headed to the immigration attorney to see about getting my residency. Not sure if anything was accomplished there or not, but I may know in a week or so. We walked back to the condo, about a couple miles, and looked at stuff along the street, bought nothing. Back at the condo, we both went down for naps, and then we walked to Walmart, where I spent $145US on stuff. Just like at home, I spent $145 and have nothing to show for it. Tomorrow we are going back to Selecta to see what they have that I can't live without, and it is a LOT closer than Walmart. Tonight we went and had dinner, I had a brisket sandwich and Mike had something with chicken in it. It is getting ready to storm here, there have been lots of really brilliant lightning displays, but none that I have been able to capture to accompany this journal entry. Great lightning, lots of thunder, but so far there has only been a sprinkle of rain. More tomorrow.

Volume 15 - Day 148/217, 2023 - Sunday

Okay, today was kind of a busy day...I got all my chores done this morning, and headed off to the airport. I got there about 9:30, and the flight was delayed thirty minutes. I guess it is important that airplanes have pilots before they take off. I got to Cancun about 2:30, and Mike, my bestie from Florida, arrived about an hour before I did. We rendezvoused at baggage claim, then through immigration. I made one big mistake...my suit case was so full, I joked with the immigration peeps that my bag would explode if they opened it. KIDDING. Nothing terrible happened, I was not carted off to jail or anything, but it was one of those times (I have many of those) that, as I could see the words coming out of my mouth, I was wishing I could suck them back it. It was all good. We got on the transport that I had reserved, and got to the condo, unpacked and then went to the grocery. Grocery shopping in Playa was really fun, mainly because we have no idea what anything is. I recognized the bananas and the wine, but everything else was foreign. Get it? We brought the groceries back to the condo and then we headed off to dinner. Alisha and Reuben and I ate at this place when we were here a couple months ago, and this time I ordered the small pizza. I have eaten one slice so far, and I expect I will be eating this pizza for lunch while we are here. Mike brought his home too, but he ate two slices of his. On the way back to the condo, we stopped for a few minutes at the beach, and now we are just chilling out. Literally. I am getting pretty good at converting dollars to pesos, fahrenheit to centigrade, square meters to square feet, kilometers to miles. No problem. 

Volume 15 - Day 147/218, 2023 - Saturday

I had a pretty busy day today, but I got everything done that was on my list. It all started off with a nice walk with Richard and Paul. When I got home, I did laundry, then took the girls to the beautiful parlor. There was a lot of stuff in between, including cleaning the stucco under the front porch, where the barn swallows have been hanging out. Not nesting, just hanging out and pooping. What a mess. But, it is all cleaned now, and I am on a mission to keep them from coming back. I am not too sure who is going to win this challenge, but I will do my best. My immediate tactic is to keep the porch light on for a while to try and keep them from hanging out in the dark. Who knows if my psychology will work or not. Tonight was the first house concert of the third season. Bluegrass night. It was fun, and we had quite a few neighbors hanging out. It was NOT supposed to rain at all today, but at about five o'clock, it started raining, but it was over by 6:30, so the concert went on with no problems. All was good, and now it is time to go to sleep.

Volume 15 - Day 146/219, 2023 - Friday

Okay, it is Friday, and the beginning of a long weekend, and I am ready for it. Our walk was great this morning, we saw a couple Mexican Whistling Tree Ducks, and they are absolutely beautiful. I will (maybe) share a photo with you in tomorrows post. I had lots of stuff to get done today, it is (kind of) the end of the month, and that is a busy time for property management. I also had a few errands to get taken care of on the way home, and I got all that accomplished. Tonight was our neighbors dinner, and we had reservations for 17. I'm not sure how many attended, and it was held at Mulligan's, which is a restaurant on one of the Sun City Golf Courses. I had liver and onions, and it was very good. I have not had liver and onions in many years, and I thought it was an interesting item to be included on the menu. Liver and onions, lumpy mashed potatoes, and sweet potato fries. It could not have been better. After dinner, a bunch of us went to Dos Mangos Paleteria for ice cream. A perfect ending to the day. Now, it is time for bed, and I will see you all tomorrow.