We decided to take a taxi to go shopping downtown to look for souvenirs for the boys. When we arrived, I immediately started looking at these handmade Mexican dresses. They were very pretty, but kind of see-through in places and something I would only wear in a country where I didn’t know anyone.
The “salesman” started throwing out prices - $40 - $30 - $25. The closer I looked, the more see-through the dress. So I told him no. Then he explained how the dresses were handmade and fit anyone. “You have big tomatoes or small tomatoes – no matter – dress still fit.” (Yes, there were also hand motions indicating what he meant by tomatoes.)
This made me bust up laughing, and for some weird reason endeared the man to us. He followed us down the Market row a few more booths and even came down more on the price, but we didn’t buy the dress. He was quite entertaining, however!
Then we went into the next shop. I don’t remember what we were looking for, but the man in the shop asked Trey if he wanted cigars. Trey shook his head, so the man followed up with “maybe some weed?” Nonchalantly, Trey said, “I don’t smoke.” I said something to Trey about it later because it was probably the second time in my life someone’s mentioned the possibility of weed in a serious matter in my presence, and I think the only other time was also on vacation in Mexico. The question was a novelty to me. He didn’t even know them man had offered him weed.
We eventually purchased an obnoxious, floppy hat for me to wear in the sun to protect my face from wrinkles (I’m very wrinkle-prone, you know), two Mexican soccer jerseys and two handmade wooden alligators for the boys. We got a great deal on the alligators! We talked him down from $40 each to $20 each, and we were very proud of ourselves.
Until we found them in the hotel gift shop later for $7.
When we returned to the hotel we finally made it to the fabulous pool that appears to drop off into the ocean. This is a picture we took:
After we cooked under the Mexican sun for a sufficient time, I headed upstairs while Trey turned in our towels down by the pool. The housekeeping lady – Vicki – was working in our room, so I just say down in the hallway outside waiting for her to finish. I hate when I’m cleaning and someone starts walking around me getting things out, and I didn’t want to do that to her. I had my book, so it wasn’t a big deal to park in the hall.
Trey came around the corner and said “Let’s go. We’re getting massages in the palapa by the beach.” So off we went. He told me on the way downstairs that he was worried I wouldn’t want to get another massage because he scheduled it for right then (they were running a one hour half price special) and didn’t ask me. I explained how it’s never a bad time for a massage.
So off we went to our appointment. We had the pool on one side and the rolling waves of the Mexican Caribbean on the other. I could hear all of the people laughing and playing in the pool, but I could also hear the sound of the ocean. The harder I focused on the ocean, the louder it became – until I could barely hear the noise at the pool.
Life lesson – whatever you focus on is the loudest. If you concentrate on all the bad things and the negative people, that’s all you’ll hear. But if you focus on the right things, the wrong things are barely there. Ahhhh...the clarity of a vacationing mind...
That night we went to the local “mall” to eat some delicious food and see Get Smart. I know that’s lame, but we never get to see movies here and I really wanted to see Get Smart! I loved the reruns of it from when I was kid. The concierge at the hotel assured us it was in English with Spanish subtitles. However, when we arrived to buy our tickets to Agente 86, the teenager behind the counter said – in perfect teenager English – “You know it’s in Spanish, right?”
Nevermind.
The night wasn’t a total waste, however. We managed to meet up with Pancho and go out carousing ;) I just love this picture. Really. I think it’s pretty darn hysterical.
Sidebar: When we showed Keaton this picture, he studied it for a moment. I expected a question about what we were doing or a comment about us being silly. When he was finished with his review, his only comment was "Why isn't the donkey saying cheese?" I honestly didn't know how to answer that.
The next day was also (of course) fabulous. We did nothing except sit by the pool. I thought about climbing in the Jacuzzi on our balcony, but the more I studied it the more I thought it was a bad idea. First of all, I am terrified of heights and we were on the eighth floor. Second, it didn’t make sense to me structurally. See, that Jacuzzi had to be heavy. Add 20-30 gallons of water and me, and that’s a lot of weight in one place on a balcony eight stories above the ocean. I couldn’t make myself do it.
I’m so adventurous.
But on Thursday, we stepped out and had a real adventure.
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