With our morning chores done Francene and I decided to head into town to wander around. We're on the far outskirts of Playa del Carmen so we decided instead of taking a cab we would go local and hop on the collectivo, a large van that goes up and down the coastal highway. While we were waiting on the side of the highway a cab stopped and we tried to wave him on but he rolled down the window and offered us a really cheap fare into town so we accepted. He was rocking out to dance music the whole time and conversation was difficult but the price was right, the air conditioning was cold, and it was comfortable.
Since we had not yet walked the main tourist streets we headed out. It is a walking street that is lined with all manner of shops selling things you can find three times on every block; essentially cheap crap that people buy to give their friends and family. I've long since stopped buying gifts for people because if they don't share your experiences it isn't as meaningful. Instead I try to include the people I care about by blogging and sharing photos so that maybe they can get a little glimpse of what it is like to be fortunate enough to travel to these great places. Still, there are a few people that deserve acknowledgment for favors while I've been gone so when we found a tiny shop tucked away with the most amazing detailed art from all over Mexico we knew it was the place we had been looking for. After a month of traveling and resisting the urge to buy thing we're free to make those purchased and in the end the women running the shop spent twenty minutes wrapping and packing our purchases.
By now it was early afternoon so we took a cab across town to pick up form laundry we had dropped off. I can't remember the last time I was this happy to see clean underwear. The last three days of hand washing has been no fun at all. So we blessed the woman at the laundromat and set off for an excellent seafood place a few blocks away. With the heat and our hunger it seemed to take forever but we made it and had a delightful lunch. I had fish with a bunch of little sides and tortillas so quickly turned into fish taco again while Francene got fish stuffed with an assortment of seafood. We devoured our food with great enthusiasm but still had enough left to be worth taking back to the hotel for this evening.
Right as we were walking out a cab driver was picking up his order of seafood casserole to go so he gave us a ride back to the hotel. The sun was still beating down on us so we dropped off our leftovers in the kitchen and headed down to the pool. Because we have had such stormy weather and today was beautiful and sunny most people were out so the pool was relatively unpopulated which suited us just fine. So we spent a couple bobbing in the pool chatting about nothing in particular and reliving our adventures of the last month. As it grew later the clouds became colorful so I left Francene at the pool to return to our room to retrieve my camera.
When I got back Francene joined me in a walk down to the beach to watch the sun set. We took pictures until it got too dark to be worthwhile and the tide started coming in. Happy with our productive day we wandered slowly back to our room and enjoyed a little snack before looking at the fruits of our sunset photo shoot.
Tomorrow is the last day of our trip and Wednesday we head home so we are faced with a conundrum. Do we try to squeeze in one last day of adventure or take our time and get ready for the trip home. I suspect we will decide in the morning. Below is a picture, one of many, of the anoles native to this region. These little guys and their larger iguana cousins can be found all over the place and do a wonderful job at pest control. Unfortunately they are not big on eating mosquitos.
Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 1000 ISO
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