New Furniture and Entertaining at Home in Playa del Carmen

Now that all of our stuff is in Playa, we will be arriving frequently with luggage filled with wine and other items purchased in the US. We are also taking all of our ski stuff from Playa to the US or Europe and back once a year. That many heavy bags are always a challenge, but we are getting used to curb checking, if available. Our return this time involved getting new furniture, having fun with friends, and checking out Playa’s many culinary delights.

Getting Home to Playa

Arriving in Playa at the end of ski season is always a challenge, both for our driver and us. That is because we had two winter clothing bags, a boot bag, a ski bag, our large suitcase, our two carry-on suitcases, and two backpacks. Our driver had to make sure that there was a minivan to pick us up from the airport. And the two ski clothes bags, the ski bag, and the suitcase weighed 50 pounds each! Why, you ask? Wine, of course. Plus, an upgrade for our reverse osmosis system.

Usually, we mule (bring) things back with us from the US when we go. Some of the things we want can’t ship to Mexico, or it is cost-prohibitive to do so. When it comes to wine, the selection is so much better in the Bay Area than in the Cancun area that we can’t resist. Besides, we can each bring back eight bottles, provided we can make the weight limitations work. Nothing broke this time because we now have these cute little sleeves to protect the bottles. Home, sweet home.

Installing Things When We Got Home

Two recent additions to our new home didn’t work correctly and had to be replaced. First is the iSpring reverse osmosis system we installed under the sink. It would have worked fine, but because our water pressure is low, the tank wouldn’t fill, and water ran down the drain all the time. Not only could you hear water running, but water here in Mexico is expensive. After calling the vendor, we found we needed a unit with an internal pump to have the system work properly. For $100, they shipped us a brand new system with the pump. The only glitch was that they could only ship to the US. The unit was bigger and heavier than we expected to mule.

One of the things I did the first week back was to install the new system. The installation wasn’t too hard once I figured out how the hose clips worked. Once installed, the blessedly silent pump filled the tank under the sink, and the sound of water running stopped. Unfortunately, the new unit is a bit larger than the old one, so it didn’t fit in the same place as the old one. However, it still fit under the sink without having to adjust any of the many hoses. 

Then the Door Lock

In addition to the reverse osmosis system, our new front door lock fingerprint reader had stopped working after about a month. Because it didn’t work properly, the batteries for the unit were draining really fast. The company graciously sent us a new unit that we brought back with us from the Bay Area. It took a little longer than expected to replace the unit because I had to remove the old barrel lock and put it in the new assembly. Unfortunately, the screws didn’t fit quite the same, but I got it to work. Since reprogramming our fingerprints, the unit has worked like a champ, and the batteries aren’t running down quickly anymore.

Yay, New Furniture!

Way back in January, I spent a good amount of time designing three pieces of wood furniture to be made from local wood called Tsalam. I selected a carpenter, one I had worked with before, and paid a considerable deposit before we left in February. The furniture was supposed to be delivered during the first week of April, the week we returned. But when I contacted him at the end of March, he said the furniture wasn’t coming until the 25th of April. Naturally, I threw a hissy fit, and the first piece arrived at the end of our first week. The rest followed the next week.

The New Entertainment Unit

Mike and I had known in advance that we wanted to move the TV six to ten inches to the right. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem except for the noise of reattaching the bracket to the wall. But in our case, there was also an outlet in the way. Since the largest, most complicated piece of furniture was our wall unit, the carpenter didn’t want to move the bracket until the entire unit was installed on the wall. That plan worked out really well because we were able to meet Mike’s requirements for the location of the TV, and the carpenter was able to center the TV in the wall unit.

Of course, we stood by the entire time and it was a good thing because the helpers were going to install the TV bracket upside down. Fortunately, Mike caught it quickly and we are even able to use the existing outlet. An excellent outcome all around.

The New Buffet

The granite top for the new buffet arrived at the same time. Again, it was good that I was standing there because they didn’t know how I wanted it placed on top of the furniture. The only glitch was that just before the granite guys left, they put some kind of sealer on top of the granite. I’m not sure what it was supposed to do, but about five hours later, the surface of the granite was dull and sticky.

In retrospect, I think the sealer was supposed to be removed with turpentine, which I don’t have and am allergic to. Anyway, I spent more than an hour trying to clean the top with various cleaners that I had in the house, and nothing seemed to work. Finally, I tried some goo-gone wipes that I had bought last year. That worked, but I know that stuff melts nail polish and gets into my skin and stinks forever. I tried to hold the wipes with something else, like a rag, but some of it wound up on my skin anyway. Fortunately, after several hours, the surface of the granite was clean and shiny.

I am so pleased with the new furniture; in fact, this is the only new furniture I have purchased in at least 25 years. This is also the only custom furniture I have ever had, and the first time I’ve designed furniture myself. It makes our home look like a home and not like a white, sterile vacation rental. I’m so happy with it that I find myself sitting on the couch and admiring my handiwork.

A Fun Day in Cozumel

Since we were in Playa for five weeks, we had time to entertain friends from the Bay Area. Sometimes when in Playa, we get so busy with the daily activities of living and house projects that we don’t take the time to see new things. Having friends visit is a great way to get us out and pretend we are on vacation. Since our friends were keen on snorkeling and wanted to visit Cozumel, we decided to take the ferry to Cozumel for a day. Once there, we rented a van and drove south from the main town and the ferry terminal. I had researched the best places to go snorkeling from the shore, so we headed to the first one on my list.

It turned out that we could buy a package at a beach club that included the use of a chair, a beer, snorkel gear, and tequila tasting, all for $20pp. So in we went. We spent a few hours at the beach club drinking our beer, tasting tequila, walking on the beach, and snorkeling. I have to say our squid encounter was memorable, and what looked like a fish nursery near the shore had more fish than I had ever seen in such a small area. We also saw barracuda, puffer fish, parrot fish, queen angels, and plenty of tangs. I certainly had a good time.

Heading Around the Island

Then we continued south and around to the windward part of the island. It lived up to its name. We were told to stop at the Miami bar for the best mojitos ever, so we did. Were they the best mojitos ever? Not really, but drinking them with our feet in the sand always has appeal. We continued up the windward coast, where there wasn’t much to see, and then drove across the island back to town to catch the ferry.

Catamaran from Puerto Morelos

Before our friends arrived, I kept hearing how one of them had been on this awesome snorkel sailing trip out of Puerto Morelos. Being a good hostess, I wanted to ensure that our guests had a good time and did the things they wanted to. It sounded fun, too, but not going on a boat with 40 other people. Since we all had the means, I hired a 46-foot private catamaran from Puerto Morelos for a four-hour trip. We all agreed while the six of us were sailing on this huge catamaran by ourselves with an open bar that the experience was pretty bougie.

We sailed for the first hour or so, then we went to the Mesoamerican reef to go snorkeling. The reef is part of the second-largest reef system in the world and is protected as a park by the Mexican government. Our park permit was included with the boat fee, and we saw plenty of other boats with lots and lots of people. The other thing we were looking for was for us to say how long we could be in the water. Many times on the group trips, they don’t let you stay in the water too long.

Snorkeling on the Mesoamerican Reef

A life vest was required for snorkeling, which was not usually my favorite, but I didn’t mind once I realized we were actually snorkeling very close to the reef. Since the waves were breaking over the reef, we had to snorkel in quite a bit of surge. Our guide also kept up a running commentary on everything until I finally suggested we spend more time looking at the coral, sea fans, and fish, and not listening to her talk on the surface with the rolling waves. Did I mention I have had more than my usual issue with motion sickness lately? The waves, after the ferry ride to and from Cozumel, were a little too much.

That said, our guide was very helpful and pointed out lots of interesting stuff before we finally returned to the boat. I was happy everyone agreed we had spent a lot of time in the water. Consequently, we had to motor back to Puerto Morelos. Fortunately, they gave us chips, guacamole, ceviche, and an open bar. I had told them it was our anniversary, even though it had passed a week or so before. The boat was decorated with some flowers, and as we came into port, they had rose petals for us to make a wish and drop into the ocean, and they gave us cake. Everyone was full, so we took the cake back home with us. Our bougie catamaran trip was very memorable.

Cinco de Mayo

You all know that Cinco de Mayo isn’t really celebrated in most of Mexico, right? It is a holiday similar to  St. Patrick’s Day, also not an Irish holiday. But that didn’t stop a friend of Mike’s from inviting us to his rooftop Cinco de Mayo potluck. I wasn’t feeling that well that day and opted not to go, so Mike will have to tell you how the party turned out.

Mike – Honestly, it was the best party I’ve been to in years. It went from 4-8 pm with lots of locals and a few folks who flew in for the party. The bar had margaritas for $3.50, one couple settled up at the end with 10 margs for them both. Beers were equally cheap. The potluck had ample variety and quantity, but the real star was the music. The host had brought in The Phoenix, arguably the best band in town. In between sets, there was an impressive beatbox dude. The snippet doesn’t do him justice. All of this on a rooftop with a sea view and pool. A great time overall. I really look forward to the next party from this host.

Food in Playa

As usual, we had opportunities to eat out quite a lot during our stay, especially during the week our friends visited. All the eating, drinking, and being on vacation usually rubs off on us a bit, but we try to remind ourselves we aren’t on vacation; we live here.

That said, we hit some of our usual favorites, including La Perla, Romeo Pizza, Cielito Lindo, Salento, the Dirty Martini for drinks, and El Fogon. Also, the fish tacos and margaritas at our own beach club are awesome.

Below are some pics at new places for us: Primo, Chiltepin, Quinta Parilla for apps, Porfirio’s for churros, and a new sushi place, Sushi Club on 10th with nice live music. In addition, we don’t go to breakfast much, but we did and finally found a great place for chilaquiles, La Jungla de la Riviera.

What bougie experience have you had lately?