Mexico Day 5 - Housekeeping and relaxation

 We were all pretty tired after yesterday's adventure and we had some housekeeping to do so today was another rest day. And you may want to skip ahead to the pictures because there will be a little bit of complaining. 

This resort is gorgeous. The pool is wonderful, the beach is perfect, and the view is amazing. The rooms are spacious with multiple balconies, a large living room, a huge bedroom, and David's room too has plenty of room. But the kitchen is ridiculously tiny. We do have a full size fridge thankfully but the rest of the "kitchen" is a toaster, coffee maker, hot plate built into the counter, and a tiny sink that has no hot water. This is a place that was designed for snacking, coffee, and wine, not meals and cooking has been a challenge. Every meal James has made has had him running back and forth between the hot plate on our counter and the hot plate in David's room. 

The drive down our street. What is up with the tree placement?

It is a little obstacle course to get out of our development. 
Often there is a speed bump too right after one of these sections. 

The dishes too have been tricky. One meal for the 7 of us fills up the sink (again really small) and counter with dirty dishes and leaves no space for clean ones to dry. And despite all the scrubbing and soap it still bothers me to wash dishes in cold water. We did get ourselves into trouble that first night though because on our counters was a notice from the hotel promising a once a day dishwashing service. Unfortunately when we called the number and inquired at the front desk that sign turned out to be less than accurate. All this is fine, it is just another indication that this place is designed for people who travel differently than we do. 

Another of our small frustrations is the laundry situation. The information we had when planning this trip was that there was an ability to do laundry at the result and so we packed accordingly. But this also turned out to be inaccurate. So James spent this morning finding a laundry service in town where we could get our clothes washed. In some ways this gorgeous resort has less amenities than your average hotel, or at least it is harder to "live" here than in say a Comfort Inn and Suites or a Homewood Suites. Although I think the problem is that this place isn't meant for us. I think this is made for people who don't want to cook or wash their own clothes, at least not while on vacation. 

A colorful hotel

Ok, enough of the complaining. :-) James and the boys spent the morning grocery shopping and dealing with the laundry while I spent it finishing up yesterday's post and uploading pictures over slow internet. But we were able to relax a bit after lunch. 

We all went to play in the ocean and the waves were better today. We splashed and dove and had a really wonderful time. I wish we'd been able to take some pictures! We saw a fish and there must be lots more because Pelicans were diving all around us. After the waves we rinsed off and returned to the pool where the boys played volleyball and I got to float and read my book. (Yay for the return of my kindle!! It isn't waterproof but it withstands an occasional errant splash better than a paper book does.)

Will in his natural habitat

Xander in the pool

After swimming my wonderful brother volunteered to watch the kids so James and I could get some time alone. We left Jon to cook dinner, mac and cheese and hot dogs, and James and took a walk into down. Our development ends right at the beginning of 5th avenue, which as I think I've mentioned is the main tourist street. That kind of street, full of people, stores, music, and entertainment is kind of my nightmare. So after a block stuck in the crowd we escaped to walk on a parallel road. 

Me on 5th Avenue

After walking for a while we discovered two highly recommended restaurants, an Italian restaurant (they make their own gnocchi!) and a Brazilian steakhouse. The Italian one looked fantastic and it was cheaper but I was in the mood for steak and excited about trying something new that I might enjoy. It was sort of a buffet style restaurant and the waitstaff were dressed handsomely in fancy traditional Brazilian dress. I definitely felt underdressed! 

The meal was delicious! All the side dishes were available in a buffet in the center of the dining room and waiters would walk through the restaurant carrying large skewers of various cooked meat. We had chicken wrapped in bacon, chicken thighs, breaded pork, and at least three different types of steak. There were also sausages on offer but we had quite enough already, especially with the melt in your mouth steak which was just perfect. They also came round with a toasted roll filled with a garlic cream sauce. It was heavenly!

David and Christian

It is hard to get a picture of Will in the pool
because he is always under water!

Xander swimming

After dinner we walked home, mostly on 5th avenue. We stopped at a local chocolate shop which sold spicy Mayan chocolate. They served a lovely layered mocha cake but we were still too full to finish it. When we finally arrived home around nine it was to find an empty house. David, rocking his uncle role, had taken the kids swimming. We found them alone in the pool playing a game of tag in the warm water. It was the perfect end to the day.

Playing in the pool

Xander, Christian, and David

Tomorrow should be more exciting, we are taking the boys snorkeling! Hopefully we can get some pictures, but boy do I miss my old waterproof camera!