Mexico - Day 4

With all our bags packed, we had the morning to do last minute shopping and visiting a few places we failed to take pictures at. This was the view immediately outside our room.



At the entrance of the shopping center was familiar face, Speedy Gonzales. Not exactly sure why he was there but I have a few friends who'll be interested in him.



I don't generally spend a lot of time taking pictures of corridors, but I'm not likely to return any time soon and I did find this somewhat interesting.



The night before we went to a dance club with a Star Wars theme. The bar her reminded me somewhat of the cantina bar in Star Wars. There were other items strewn about; a Millennium Falcon, life size Yoda and a few more Stormtroopers.



This time it was my decision to take a picture of the local flora. I've always thought it was a bit artsy to take flowers pictures, so it explains this shot.



There are many sculptures and statutes strewn about the place. One was this gigantic harp. My sister is posing, as if she's playing. Looks pretty convincing to me.



This is a daytime shot of one of the local places we frequented at night for drinks. Depending on the day and time, all the chairs could be filled with guests ordering drinks, associating, meeting new friends, or just checking email with the free wifi provided.



A closer shot of the actual 'bar' area. Yea, I know - another shot of the alcohol. For the most part we ordered our drinks here instead of waiting for someone to take our order. This was where my sister ran into some old friends.



As we said our goodbyes to the many people and places we knew, some of the local wildlife also came to bid us adieu.



As stated before, there was lots of 'atmosphere' via statues and such. This was one prime example. Loved the looks of it, but it seemed it was supposed to be trickling water. I never saw that the entire time I was there.



This wasn't the courtyard of our set of rooms, but it was interesting enough for me to capture it on 'film'.



All good things must come to an end, as did this trip. It was now time for us to make it through the jungle to the clearing where our airplane waited for us. Time to make one last use of the machete I purchased for protection.



Here we are on our way home, as taken from the plane (obviously). I believe if you look close enough you can see the locals waiving goodbye.

The Best Thing About Snow

It’s a layer of white
all upon the ground
freshly fallen.

The children run outside
to a winter wonderland
of playfulness.

Snowballs and snowmen,
sleds and toboggans
snowfall fun.

* * * * *

Heavy and gray
the snow remains
to be moved away.

Shovels and snow tires
the bitter cold
any icy street.

What’s special to me
is when Spring arrives;
the snow departs.

J.A.Scott

Mexico - Day 3

My sister and I actually planned something for our last full day in Mexico. On Saturday we decided to visit Playa del Carmen and do a bit of shopping. As a person who loves to shop and experience new things, I was all in favour of this. Here is our first view of the city, and one we wanted to remember as our bus back was to be from this exact location.



The driver gave the layout of where various things were, so we set out. This appears to be a park/common area of the city. I love the walk-way.



Prime example of why I'm such a nerd. Not only is the first stop a local Wal-Mart, (I love to visit international versions of local stores for comparison) but I take a photo of the Spanish version of Apples to Apples, one of my favourite games.



Turns out our trip to Wal-Mart was just as eventful as anything else that happened. As we were walking around, we noticed the smell of smoke. Suddenly, one of the associate doors flew open and two staff members ran out carrying axes. A fire broke out towards the front of the store. We were horrified to realize the store was not being evacuated. So after we finished our shopping, a picture was taken of the police and fire truck outside.



We spent the rest of the time at the local street shops. Chris was searching for gifts for home, most importantly a hammock for the family.



I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, probably a good thing since I'm not good at negotiating prices and that seemed to be the trick of the trade. Essentially, I went all the way to Mexico and all I got for my kids were those stupid T-shirts.



Lately, it seems Gelato is the next trendy thing. Even the local Metro Market has suddenly started selling it. So once I saw this shop, I decided it was time to give it a try. Of course I opted for the Mango flavour. Problem is, isn't gelato an Italian ice cream? And I had it in Mexico. So what exactly did I eat? Mexican/Italian ice cream?



I saw this place and really wanted to get a coffee, but we decided to save it for later in case we didn't have time. Turns out Chris really wishes we had gone. Once our time in Playa del Carmen was over we headed back. The two of us were the only ones in the bus and it didn't seem to be taking a direct route back to the highway. Also it was going through some really rough parts of town. I got the feeling she thought we were being kidnapped so I talked to the driver to make sure he was heading back to the highway. This broke the ice and Chris started talking to him in partial Spanish and soon we were on the highway, and more importantly back at our resort.



After our ordeal in the city, we decided to relax on the beach for the rest of the day. On our way I decided to stop at the swim-up bar and get a drink. I need to try any new experience, at least once. I believe the drink 'special' of the day was a Bahama Mama.



After the drink, I spotted a bird I was unfamiliar with. In an attempt to bolster my artistic skills with shots of the local flora and fauna, I decided to shoot this bird, with a camera of course.
Update: I believe this is called a 'Purplish-Backed Jay'.



Finally we made it to the beach where we spent the rest of the day, till evening came upon us. It was time for dinner so we went back to the steak place. Afterwards we decided to do as much packing as we could so we'd have the entire next morning to eat breakfast and say goodbye to the resort.

(To be concluded)

Watch out American Idol contestants!

Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes Super Mario.

Mexico - Evening 2

I'd like to say this set is 'Day 2' of Mexico, but believe it or not I didn't always have my camera with me and for most of this day I didn't. We spent most of the day in the water, so I wasn't bringing my camera. Besides the beach, there were various other ways to enjoy the water. In the morning we started out relaxing in the lazy river. Well, I say relaxing what I mean is trying to stay afloat of the inner-tubes without falling off. The next stop was the wave pool, followed by the swim-up bar. I'll let you guess which of the two I enjoyed more. We spent whatever remained of the day before the sun went down, on the actual beach. Closer to dinner time we left to make reservations. I decided to bring my camera with me this time.



On our way to dinner I took this evening shot of one of the pools. The other side of this, was the wave pool. Further on was the whirl-pool with water colder than the swimming pool. We figured out quickly why no one was in it.




After dinner we stopped at one of the many cocktail lounges. I had to take a picture of the bar, as a possible reference next time I redecorate the 'Sugar Shack', my basement bar. I love the lights under the bottles.




Because no one else was with us on the trip, we decided to do a shot of El Jimador for everyone not able to make it with us. That is to say we did one shot for everyone, not one shot for everyone not there.




I tried to get my sister to pose, as if she were pondering a difficult move. She ended up looking more upset over something. Of course she had nothing to be upset over, it's not like we were kidnapped or anything.

Actually, that reminds me of our trip to Playa del Carmen. Of course you'll have to wait till next time to hear that story.

Mexico - Day 1

We arrived in Mexico mid-day on Thursday. Our driver picked us up immediately after we left the airport, so we didn't have to worry about travel to the resort. It gave us more time to sight see before arriving at Iberostar - Paraiso Maya.


The room was surprisingly big, plenty of space to store our stuff and have a place to unwind after a hard day of relaxing on the beach.


The walkways between the actual resort and the beach were nicely done. I loved the exclusive feeling to it all. The trees and overhanging plants added to the atmosphere fantastically.


As we walked along I made it my goal to make sure I took a picture of anything unfamiliar to me. My sister wanted to make sure I took a few pictures of the flora.


One of the few shots I allowed to be taken of myself. Chris thought I needed a few since I didn't get many pictures of myself while in London.


I certainly had no idea I would run into an undiscovered animal. I've never seen these things before, but learned they are called Coatis. Very tame animals, and they were everywhere! Of course they were likely sustaining themselves from all the food scraps being left behind by uncaring tourists. There were many signs asking not to feed them, I guess some people just don't know how to read.


Having checked in, eaten and explored for a bit we decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach till dinner time.


We had reservations for dinner at a steak place (yes, part of the all-inclusive package), but I still found time to make a play on the large chess-board I discovered. Hope it didn't spoil anyone's game in progress.


After dinner was done, we did our best to walk around and explore. I didn't bring my camera after dinner so I have no pictures of the show we ran into just after. They were doing a lot of musical numbers from Broadway plays such as the 'Lion King', 'Cats', 'Chicago' and several others. We got "lost" on our way back to our room. Of course I rather enjoy getting lost in a new place. I did the same thing one evening in London.
PS - This photo was not taken by me. The rest were.

Gorilla Marketting - Cadbury Style

As much as I dread commercials over my favourite television shows, there are a few that stand out. This Cadbury gorilla marketing video is fantastic! Cadbury Dairy Milk - It does the body good. And oh yea, why can't I see something like this in real life?