Second to the last Day

I woke up this morning and thought I'd do some computer cleanup.  I had about 16,000 emails I needed to delete off my computer, and I've been putting it off for forever.  As usual, I don't dress up to go on the balcony and sip tea, and do my thing.  However, I stepped out on to the balcony and these voices above me started laughing and saying "guess you didn't expect us above you".  That would be correct sir!

Turns out there's a cruise ship in the bay, which is unusual.  I've never seen it.  So there's three different stories going around about the ships.

1. An expat told me last year that cruise ships used to come in regularly, but the expats started a campaign to have them banned and succeeded.  If that's true...why the cruise ship?

2.  I heard that the cruise ship industry refers to our area as a "red" area, i.e. heavy cartel traffic, and refuses to bring the cruise ships in to Zihua.

3.  I heard that occasionally the smaller cruise ships will come in.  The larger ones want access, but in order to do so, the bay would need to be dredged to allow the depth necessary for the larger ones.  Zihua is too poor to pay for the dredging, so they told the cruise industry that they would have to pay for it if they want it. The industry seems unwilling to do so, so they only send the smaller ships occasionally.

I don't know which story is right...all I know is...I see a cruise ship!

We had fun discussing the whole thing, but I really looked funny with my poofy hair on top of my head and my long shirt on, holding a laptop and craning my neck to talk to two different couples.

Are these dates? 

They did finally leave me alone to clean my mailboxes, and a couple of hours later..I was done.  One thing off the list! Later, I headed down to the pool and did some snoozing and sunbathing.  I ordered the obligatory Miami Vice during happy hour and sipped away in contentment.  I ended up talking to the couples I've made friends with.  Seems I created a monster telling them about La Papa Loca, because they were headed there again for the stuffed potatoes...not that I blame them.

I headed down to Lety's. I had the breaded fish because I'd read a different blog about an expat in Akumal and he was talking about a place that had the best breaded fish and that he's had it at least 60 times.  Being one of Pavlov's dogs...well....I had to have it. It was good, but not as good as I would've expected.  However, I was hungry (I forgot to eat) and ate all of my vegetables and rice. For 145 pesos (including the beer), I was doing alright. I'm getting low on pesos and I refuse to pull out more money, so we're watching it.

It's Sunday, so there's festivities in the central basketball courts.  Arturo told me I had to check it out.  I watched the dancing and the people having such a great time.  The sun was starting to set and to witness this with the incredible hillside as a backdrop was just breathtaking.

The Tamale Man

I walked around just taking in the sights, knowing that time is short and I'm headed home soon.  They had all kinds of vendors in the square. You could get Agua Fresca, tamales, empanadas, ice cream, pop corn, corn on a stick...you name it, it's probably there. After doing some walking around, I decided to sample the local cuisine. I opted for the empanada. It's this huge monstrosity that you get to choose the fillings for and the make it right on the spot.  This includes the masa that surrounds it.  I decided that since it's close to leaving, I'd take a chance on the pork and queso.

Watching them work was really something. Mixing the masa, rolling it into balls, pressing it out into an oblong shape, putting in the filling and sealing it shut and sliding it into the hot oil. Absolutely awesome.  I prayed that I would not be paying for this gastro-intestinally later.  After it came out of the hot oil and patted dry, they split the side and put more toppings on...shredded cabbage, cheese, creama and hot sauce. The price for this huge meal? 30 pesos!

I find an empty park bench and dig in, enjoying the spicyness and the stringy melty cheese.  This was something that required fingers along with my fork.  I thought about using my tactical knife, but thought the better of it.  As I'm eating, families are walking by watching me attempt to eat cleanly.  I'm sure they were giggling inside.

I walk around a little bit more after finishing the empanada, but I know I want to head back before it gets too late.  It's about 8 p.m. when I head back to the stair case.  Yes, I know.  I had my flashlight out and my knife out and open...just in case.  I look up the long stair case take a deep breath and begin the steppin!  Other than my huffing and puffing, everything was pretty quiet.  I stopped half way up so I could look at the lights of Zihua.  This place is magical and I love being here. The weather this week has been phenomenal!  The temperature was just right...although once I hit the top of the stairs, I had sweat running down my neck..a combination of not being in shape and a heightened sense of my surroundings. Just glad I didn't have to use the knife.  I click it shut and head into the resort.

One more day....