Huaya

I found out what that funny fruit is. I asked a local today who spoke a splash of English and made him write it down for me. It has many names...depending on where you come from. Here's the wiki entry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamoncillo

What is This Fruit?

I bought this yesterday from a couple of hombres selling fruit on the street. I'm sure he told me what it was in Spanish, but I can not for the life of me find out what it is! I've googled every possible term to no avail. It is small and green, with a large pit on the inside. There is very little fruit on it and what fruit there is is soft, light pink and sweet/sour. If any one has any idea, I would appreciate it! Oh, and the fruit man gave me a bag of chile spiced salt to eat it with.

A Very Full Day

Yesterday was my first day on my own. Caleb's back at work, so now it's up to me to fill my days. This may end up being more daunting than it sounds, especially since I don't speak Spanish or know anyone yet. Still, if yesterday was any indication, I think I'm going to be just fine.

I made a list of things to find and accomplish first thing in the morning, so I had a plan for the day. First on that list was to find the nearest laundry mat. I went to the corner store and with a dictionary and some pretty silly pantomime and a map, I managed to find out that the nearest laundry is not very close. That's what I feared. Loading up my bike with my dirty sheets and towels and biking to town in 95 degree weather is doable but not ideal. While I was "talking" to the cashier, a young woman came in and spoke a bit of English, so she started translating for me. And here's the amazing thing. Through her I found a woman two blocks from my house who has a washing machine and will do our laundry for 10 pesos a kilo. That's about $0.77 for 2.2lbs. And I don't think I'm ripping her off either. For what I've seen that's pretty much the going rate here. I'm still going to do some our clothes in the sink, but this is great for our bulkier items. Also, she has a one day turnaround. I'm so grateful.
The woman that I met in the store and who was so helpful is Faby, and she and I are going to get together regularly and swap English/Spanish lessons. So this was not a bad start to my day! I had only been out and about for 20 minutes.

Back on my bike again and peddling to town, I found a great little shop that sells fanciful stuffed animals, hand-sewn, colorful, and with a delightful sense of humor. I learned later that these toys are all over town. I wish I could make something this cute. Really. And it got me thinking. Stores in the U.S. would love these Mayan made children's stuffed animals. Maybe I could start selling them. Let me know what you think. I'll post a few pictures and maybe create a temporary web page for them. So now my creative juices are flowing and I'm feeling more excited about being here.

While in town (pueblo) I successfully figured out our Mexican cell phone chip problems, had my first aqua fresca (like lemonade) , faxed our sublease agreement (after stopping at 3 different places), found a great fruit and vegetable stand, and got homemade tortillas that were still warm from the tortilla factory. All in all pretty good.

I saved the fish and cheese shop for another day, since I have plenty of time to get to know this place.

One thing that I should mention. Caleb and I have never been to a place where we've been so conscientious of the fact that we are privileged and wealthy by comparison. Here, many people have very, very little. We've walked the outskirts of town and most people live very humbly. I have seen mothers standing in the doorways of crumbled down buildings, hovels really, their children playing soccer in the street. People live in shacks. I don't know what the sanitation conditions are like. Walking by all I've seen inside are plastic chairs, buckets and hammocks. Still, people smile at you and say, "hola" if you smile at them and initiate. I'm trying to be sensitive to this culture since I am the outsider. I have yet to meet an unkind person here. I'm sure they exist, but coming from Rhode Island that's saying a lot. R.I. is not known for it's politeness. Ha. Caleb commented on the fact that even though there is so much poverty here you don't see anyone begging. Everyone is trying to provide a service and they all work extremely hard.

When I got home from the pueblo I did my Rosetta Stone Spanish lesson. It seems like a great program so far. I think Caleb has a better memory and I have better pronunciation. Together we may actually be able to communicate.

We had dinner at "Charlie's". It reminds me of a Cuban club in movies from the 1940's. There were round colorful tiled tables outside in this lovely little courtyard, with palm trees and flowers and very polite waiters. The food was delicious. "Charlie's" has a stage and a little band was playing salsa and flamenco music. The harpist and bongo player were amazing. A young, cute American couple were on their honeymoon and trying to dance. It was so sweet and silly I had tears rolling down my cheeks. They danced the night away, rather tipsy, trying to learn how to salsa, and totally in love...that young, new, sweet love with lots of spontaneous kisses and laughter. It was a good reminder for Caleb and I to enjoy being young and in love and maybe act a little less responsibly (that was Caleb's hint to me anyway!). We've determined I either act like I'm an old lady or like I'm somewhere between 4 and 8yrs old.

Well I'm off to pick up my laundry and learn some Spanish. Caleb and I are going to the beach after he gets off of work. There's been lots of thunder lately and it sounds like God's moving furniture in heaven. I think it's going to rain today.

Our Place

I've come to realize that some of you think we actually live on the beach. Whereas that would be amazing, we actually live in a neighborhood east of town called Villas Tulum. It is a newly developing area and not super full yet. However there is a nice mix of locals and expats. We have two taquerias within a three minute walk and several small convenience stores. The neighborhood is up and coming and I think will get pretty full over the next couple of years as more foreigners buy summer homes here. Thank God, that is not the primary vibe now and it is still very much Mexico.

So here's our street and our little villa. We think it's great.

Pictures of Paradise

Paradise

If it is at all possible, we managed to find an even more beautiful beach today. Breath taking really. We took a taxi this time and just said "playa" which is beach and he took us somewhere amazing. It was a beach club called Paradiso - Paradise. The little walk up the dune to the palm tree covered beach and aqua water was jaw dropping. Caleb and I just kept grinning at each other. We spent the whole afternoon there and CM got a sunburn though he was wearing sunblock the whole time. I should mention that this beach is soft and sandy, not seaweedy. I didn't need to worry about getting tangled in any sea life while swimming. The water is so warm, almost too warm if that's possible. My lips still taste salty, hours later, after a shower, I feel I can still taste the sea.

Pictures coming soon!

Off We Go To Mexico...

Many of you thought we were moving to NYC around this time. And we were. However, after realizing we could really go anywhere since Caleb works online and I am jobless as of the end of July we decided, pretty much on a whim to move to Tulum, Mexico. NYC will still be there, and we are foot loose and fancy free at the moment.

So here we are. After a grueling move and a heartbreaking good-bye to my kids ( aka the kid's I nannied for and love, love, love) we are in Mexico. Tugboat got stopped at customs for not having the right rabies shot and we had to wait for about three hours for the customs agent to find a vet available on Saturday to drive to the airport and vaccinate her (again). Thank God, the customs guy was so patient and nice. Tugboat had to pee so bad, poor dog, since she'd been in her carrier for close to 10 hours! She's a trooper though and we had no accidents. I partly owe that to the sedative she was on too.
We then had to hire a pricey car and made it to Tulum by about 7:30pm. A trip we expected to take 6 hours or so, ended up being about 16, what with a delayed flight and a rabies threat dog. It's amazing the things one is capable of on two hours of sleep while pms-ing.

We made it to the beach yesterday. We have bikes and are both relearning how to ride them. We are about 3km to the beach along a straight and dusty road bordered on both sides by jungle. It really is jungle, not woods. Vines, and palm trees, and leafy vegetation that just entwines into each other. Pretty neat and a bit intimidating. Like if my ball rolled into the underbrush, I'm not sure I would want to go scampering after it. I also saw a really big lizard. We were soaked in sweat and dust by the time we first laid eyes on the turquoise waters. By then we felt like we'd earned it. Words are not enough to express how intensely beautiful the beach is. The soft white sand and palm trees, and blue, blue water and big white fluffy clouds with a gentle, salty breeze....heaven. Especially with a cold beer and a fun bed lounge thing on the beach. The water was warm. So warm that there was not a moment of adjustment really. We jumped waves, and laughed and were weirded out by the strange leafy seaweed we kept stepping into. I kept hoping I wouldn't run into any stingrays. I've done too much reading....

We rode back home and rescued our baking dog from our apartment. Which by the way, the place we are renting is great. Very charming, brightly colored and in a real neighborhood. We have airconditioning, but are trying to use it sparingly as the cost of electric here is outrageous. No scary critters yet in the house, for which I am so greatfull! We have an arsenal of bug killing devices, so hopefully we will remain critter free.

Some small adjustments: You can't drink the water, or flush toilet paper, and wearing clothes at all feels like punishment. The upside: We can get shrimp, ........oh, my gosh! There's a lizard in the house! Wow... it's small and very fast... hold on, I'm going to try and let him outside.

Ok, I'm back. Lizards are very fast. I have no idea how he got in, and Caleb was wondering if we should treat them as pets or like rodents, but anyway, he's back outside now.

As I was saying, the upside is that we can get a large plate of shrimp, octopus, and conch ceviche for $7, drink mojitos on the beach, and read all day long. Sounds fun, huh? It is, but it is also a bit of a treck to town and the beach and we are tired and adjusting. However, overall we are loving it. This place is pretty amazing. Really, God is amazing for making this all happen for us and for creating such a beautiful place. I'm so thankful!

I will continue to post regularly and update you on our adventures.