After more than six weeks of skiing, the return to Playa meant maintenance overdue on just about everything — including us.
The trip home from Colorado was smooth enough, aside from the usual long wait at baggage claim — and a personal inspection on the way out of the terminal. In fairness, we were hauling an impressive number of ski bags, and a few bottles of wine had made their way in. As Mike pointed out, most people aren’t arriving in Cancun in March with ski gear. We’ve gotten used to the looks.
We Were Sick
Mike mentioned in the last article that he’d been dealing with a respiratory illness in Colorado. He still had a persistent cough when we got home. Then, a few days later, I came down with my own version of an upper respiratory thing that wiped out a solid week. We powered through, as you do, and true to form, the warm Playa air cleared Mike’s cough within a week. There’s something to be said for the climate here.
After Six-Plus Weeks Away, Maintenance Was Overdue
Anyone who’s been away from home for more than a few weeks knows the list that greets you on return. Hair cut, nails done, dentist — the whole lot. Mine turned out to be considerably more involved than Mike’s. We both had our teeth cleaned at our respective places in town. Unfortunately, one of my teeth had been bothering me throughout the trip. It was a crowned tooth, so I assumed I was heading for my first root canal.
The dentist walked me through the procedure, but something about the description didn’t quite sit right, so I decided to get a second opinion from another dentist I’d seen before in Playa.
Dentist, Part Two
The second dentist sent me for a panoramic X-ray to get a proper look at the root. It confirmed that the root had broken down, which meant the tooth needed to come out entirely rather than be saved with a root canal.
We scheduled the extraction, and since I could arrange to have an anesthesiologist on hand for some twilight sedation, I did it — mostly because it was available and I saw no reason not to. The whole thing turned out to be far less dramatic than I’d feared. The dentist placed an implant for the future tooth at the same time as the extraction, which meant the real waiting game was for my gum to heal enough to have a temporary tooth made.
I’d spent a fair amount of time worrying about having a visible gap in photos for the next five months — the timing was not ideal given we had a cruise and a long Europe trip on the horizon. The temporary tooth was eventually made, but honestly? I rarely put it in. It’s not terribly useful for chewing anyway and the empty space doesn’t show in pictures.
Birthday and Anniversary Month
April in our house is birthday and anniversary month, and this year it landed while we were both still recovering. Mike didn’t feel well enough to go out for dinner on his own birthday, which was a first. We decided the sensible thing was to roll the celebrations into our upcoming cruise and mark it all properly there instead. Practical, if not terribly romantic.
The Patio Saga, Continued
We’d started work on our upstairs patio before the high season back in November — pulled out a post, laid the wood framing for a future awning — but the polycarbonate awning itself, the screens, and the furniture situation had all been left for “the spring.” Spring had arrived.
Before anything else, Mike and I had to agree on patio furniture. If you’ve ever tried to agree on furniture with a partner, you know this is its own project. I finally found something I liked, and once we got home with a tape measure and actually stood on the patio, we were able to settle on the configuration. Progress.
We also had a couple of smaller wins. A lighted bathroom mirror I’d ordered months earlier — and had frankly given up on — actually arrived one afternoon out of nowhere. We found someone in the complex who could handle removing the old mirrors, installing a new outlet, patching the wall, and getting the new one up. A small luxury, but a satisfying one.
The hot water gave out while we were home too. We braced for the cost of a new water heater, but it turned out only one of the two elements had failed and just needed replacing. Not an easy job given the hard water corrosion, but it got done. We also finally learned to turn the water heater off when we leave — something that should extend the life of the tank considerably.
Finishing the Shades and Awning
The motorized shades for the upper deck had been left half-installed before we left for skiing — they’d arrived too late to finish. I wasn’t counting on the vendor to show up on the originally agreed date, but they did. The shades were in place the same day. Small miracle.
The estimate for the awning extension came in at 10% more than the January quote, which is just Mexico. I did manage to negotiate it down slightly — not to the original number, but enough. The vendor did a genuinely good job on that second section of the patio. So well, actually, that it made the original half look a little tired by comparison. We’ll probably revisit that at some point.
One remaining job — shade sails — will be handled by someone in the complex while we’re away on our long trip. We’ll see what we come home to.
Assembling the Furniture
The patio furniture arrived box by box over about a week. The first delivery was labeled “box 2 of 2,” which made for a slightly anxious few days — but box 1 eventually showed up along with two more large boxes each containing a chair. Time to assemble.
Mike tackled the first chair solo to get a feel for it. Smart move. The second went much faster. The sofa we decided to do together, and given that wicker furniture is surprisingly heavy, we ended up assembling it on top of the bed upstairs. Not elegant, but effective.
Getting rid of the old furniture involved the usual two-step Mexican process. I put it up on Facebook Marketplace for free pickup, which worked — until it came time to move one of the tables down the stairs and it required disassembly but the bolts were too corroded to disassemble. The fellow who’d come to collect it left without it. A couple of days later someone in the complex managed to get it apart, and I had to find a new taker for it. Eventually resolved, as things eventually are.
We finished assembling everything the weekend before we left. Two days to enjoy the completed patio before we pushed all the furniture up against the glass for the summer. Such is life.
One Proper Outing
In the middle of all this, we did manage one genuinely fun evening out — a local taco festival in the park in front of City Hall. We met some friends at the neighborhood bar first, then wandered over. The tacos were excellent, and there was traditional dancing on a stage that made it feel like a real occasion. A nice reminder of why we love being here. We had a few nice meals out while we were home but there is noplace new to tell you about.
Getting Ready for Five Months Away
The rest of our time home went toward preparing for our next trip — five months, spanning a cruise, several weeks in Africa, and an entire summer in Europe. Different climates, different dress codes, different everything. It required some actual thought.
I’ve never successfully shopped in Playa before, but after finally identifying where the better stores are, I managed to find a few things I needed before we left. Small victory.
We fit everything into two carry-on bags, one checked bag, two backpacks, and felt quietly proud of ourselves. The condo, in theory, is a lock-and-leave kind of place. In practice there’s always a list: turning things off, closing things up, leaving money for the various people who keep things running while we’re gone. Having a month at home made all of that possible. Without it, we’d have been leaving in a panic. Instead, we left organized.
How do you prepare for a long trip with multiple climates? I’d love to know your packing strategy — especially if you’ve cracked the five-months-in-two-carry-ons problem.
