Our Freakishly Exciting Playa Blog! (minus the freakishly exciting)

November & December Celebrated Mexican Holidays
November 8, 2008

Holidays in November and December: November 1&2: Día de los Muertos is an important Mexican holiday that merges Pre-Columbian beliefs and modern Catholicism. Europe's All Saints' Day and the Aztec worship of the dead contribute to these two days that honor Mexico's dead. November 20: Mexican Revolution Day. This official Mexican holiday celebrates the Mexican Revolution of 1910. December 12: Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, or the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, is celebrated with a feast honouring Mexico's patron saint. December 16: Las Posadas celebrates Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem with candlelight processions that end at various nativity scenes. I've seen one of these groups sporting very large crosses walking up Juarez. Las Posadas continues through to January 6. Historically, children receive their gifts on January the 6th. December 25: Navidad, Mexico celebrates the Christmas holiday. Arrives without snow. My wonderful maid, Maria, told me that December 25th celebrations are for the adults and January 6 celebrations are more for the children. The sun is shining here again today and the humidity is about non-existent for Playa. Our temps have definitely dropped about 10C and it is definitely better for sleeping. The ocean is crystal clear again & hurricane season was pretty uneventful for us here this year...another winter is fast approaching! Take that with a grain of sand if you are a Canadian. Have a great weekend!

Why Playa del Carmen? Big Finish.
November 1, 2008

Then, like a miracle, he opens his eyes. He’s not dead. He is not there, but he is not dead. His expression hasn’t changed. His mouth is still open and his eyes are blank. I don’t know if he knows who I am. I put my hand on his knee and I say, “Dad you just passed out, but you’re OK”. Nothing. He has no facial expression change and shows no sign of comprehension. His face is beyond pale and has turned a gray colour. But, the doctor gets him up and with our help we walk him to the front of the plane where no one is sitting. The doc hooks him up to fluids & there happens to be a respiratory tech on board and he assists in getting Dad set up on the oxygen tank. They are worried as they do not have a very big tank and we are an hour and a half away from Toronto. And then Dad starts to come back to us and he starts to talk and figure out where he is. The doctor says, “I feel your father has just had a mini-stroke.” They meet us at the plane with a stretcher and take him by ambulance to the nearest hospital. I meet them there with all of our luggage in a cab. Szuzi catches the connecting flight back to Calgary and I give her a list of numbers to call. Family, friends and my work. They check him out but his heart is good and he’s not dying right now. Nothing wrong. Next! He was never diagnosed as to what happened that day and it was not his only experience of that kind. I’m putting my money on a mini-stroke. I’m definitely not putting my money on our health care system. The last time this happened was this past July when my Dad was insisting that he wanted to go visit his Mom. And in case you haven’t guessed, Grama’s been eating Phily Light up in the clouds for over 2 decades now. Nothing wrong my ass. When it was all over, I ask, “So Dad still want to move to Mexico?” “Yes I do!” I guess you just can’t keep an old cowboy down. Last night we handed out Hallowe’en candy to the cutest little mummies, princesses and witches you ever saw. I’m glad he was here and so were those little kids. And so (to answer your question Buddy) that’s how we ended up on the Seashores of Old Mexico…nothin’ like a hurtin’ country song. PS My Dad says to say, “Hi.”

Why Playa del Carmen? Part deux
October 31, 2008

Of all the juke joints in all the world how’d we end up in Playa? We track down the hotel doctor and get him up to see Dad. Dad shows him the medicine from the pharmacy and the doc starts to laugh. “Well the first thing you might want to do is stop taking this stuff!” My Dad, unable to speak Spanish, thought he delivered his message quite effectively at the pharmacy. Who needs to know Espanola! He bragged about how he communicated so well through sign language and gesturing. (Something I have become very adept at myself. We could open up a mime theatre here.) Unfortunately, when all other synonyms failed him he finally said to the girl behind the counter, “I’ve got the shits!” They all cracked up and she gave him a laxative for constipation. And a very effective one at that. To quote one of my father’s favourite sayings, “He could shit through the eye of a needle at 50 paces”. Step one, get off the meds and start on the Gatorade right away to fix the old electrolyte imbalance. Poor guy. Gets worse. Canadian government decides it is time to evacuate the Canadians down this way as they are forecasting another hurricane headed straight toward us again. We all have to leave on one of those international planes with the huge middle section of seats. We’re all separated and are seated on opposite sides of the plane. Earphones are on and we’re watching a Batman movie. Lucky us. I think I hear somebody say my name. “Brenda”. Must be another Brenda nearby. “Brenda”. I faintly hear it again overtop of the loud movie sound effects blasting in my ears. Then I hear, “Buuuuuutch!” My Dad’s name. I yank out my earphones and try to stand up and turn to see across the plane where my parents are sitting. I see my Mom standing up facing me, with her worried, strained expression staring at my Dad. He is unconscious with his mouth gaping open and his head bobbing to the motion of the plane. “Help, I need help!” she screams. I have to jump over the honeymooners seated beside me and the entire middle row of people. All deaf people as they are watching the movie. I’m sure I spilled something on somebody. Sorry! I somehow scramble over top of the food trays & make my way over there about the same time as the steward does. He’s yelling at my Dad to wake up. I don’t know what to do when I get there as I think he is dead. I am afraid to touch him to make it real. I am frozen. My friend Szuz runs around the front of the plane and she comes up behind me and I just hug her. The steward pleads loudly,“Is there a doctor on the plane?” Just like in a movie. Only this is real life. Miraculously, a doctor from St. Catharines, stands up and says, ”I’m a doctor”. He rushes over. My Dad is still unconscious. The steward has started CPR. I can’t watch. To be continued……Happy Hallowe’en.

Why Playa del Carmen?
October 29, 2008

Of all the juke joints in all the world how’d we end up in Playa? Conversation kinda went like this...“I wanna take Spanish lessons!” B makes a bold declaration to her Dad in Niagara Falls. She’s calling from Calgary, one of their ritual ‘Hey how ya doing?’ weekly phone calls. “Why?” he asks. “Well it is has always been in Paul’s retirement plan to move to Mexico and since we have both vacationed there for a number of years, it just seems like a smart thing to do.” “I’d move there in a heartbeat,” he spits out. “You would?” B is shocked at her Dad’s even bolder statement. (Especially considering he has never even been to Mexico.) “Don’t you think maybe you should at least visit first and see what you think Dad?” Hence a vacation is born. So there we are my parents, my dear friend (my driving to Mexico in my Jeep partner) Szuzu-a–BooSzu-a-(wait for it)….Bear, and me. We have perfected our nicknames over the years. And for the record she is definitely an excellent driver, definitely and not a coincidence I chose her as my driving partner. I only colour my hair blonde. Anyway, we’re having a great time at the Gran Porto Real and then that nasty, cranky Wilma decides to come and join us there for 4 days. So we’re in the bomb shelter at the Royal Porto Real with 600 other people. But we’ve got our bottle of vodka from our room and they have V-8. Now in hard times we call that a Caesar. Life is OK. We have power from their generator and find the staff showers in the basement. They even set up an exercise program for us. It’s called pick up the squeegee and help us get this water off the floor and into the bathroom floor drain. Helps work the kinks out of your back from “sleeping” on the cozy marble floor. Slowest moving hurricane on record and it sat over Cozumel for 4 days. If I knew I would have brought in another bottle from the room. But at that point I was a hurricane rookster. Live and learn. When we get out the banks are closed for a week with no cash left in the instabanks, no electricity yet in town, windows blown in, pools full of sand and I mean full completely displacing all water, injured & dead animals up & down the beach, new 3 foot deep streams of water pouring in from downtown back in the ocean, coconut trees strewn everywhere, streets missing as in no interlocking bricks left, general chaos. Like nothing I had ever seen in my innocent little Canadian life. To top it off my Dad is ill. And he is passing ill now and getting worse. He is so weak he can hardly walk. Water is pouring out of him from the wrong end. No pesos left as we tipped the last all out to the poor hardworking staff in the shelter, no electricity available to use Visa, no money in instabanks. We are all getting increasingly worried about Dad. To be continued…..

Let There Be Light!
October 27, 2008

(dedicated to Buddy, because of you a blog is reborn) Last Saturday I bravely made plans to go to Bad Boys, a little palapa bar located on the beach featuring some of our local musical talent. You may wonder why this would involve courage, living here on the Caribbean Ocean. Well we have had a month of rain here in Playa. I have never seen so much rain in my entire life. I even talked to a local who said he had never seen so much rain either. We’re talking buckets day in and day out falling from the sky. And each droplet of rain contains 5 mosquitoes piggy- backing their way into Playa for a nice light snack. The only good thing is I never have to wash my Jeep. Which admittedly, I only do the day before my husband’s arrival to Playa anyway. But nonetheless, it has been clean for an entire month now. The only other good thing is I never have to water my plants. A chance for another day of life on my roof top. And the only other, other good thing is it is nice & cool for great sleeping weather. Being a native Calgarian girl for the past several years, I had become used to those cold mountain air nights for sleeping as opposed to those hot, sticky Ontario summer nights. OK maybe rain isn’t all that bad but come on…we get the point we live in the tropics. Anyhoo we fearlessly head out to Bad Boys, my parents, their good friends from Paamul and little old me. And miraculously, upon this very day, a rather large yellow ball appears in the sky. Now I know I recognize it, but it takes a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the blinding light, before we can make it out. You guessed it…here come the pasty tourists. The beach is packed, the Mariachis are playing, the margaritas are cold, and the little Mayan ladies appear selling their bracelets. Life is good. The clocks even fall back so we can gain an hour to enjoy the first day of sunshine in a month. Wow! It was all fun and games until that nasty black cloud rolled in, then invited 5 friends and rained all over our first day back at the beach. But what’s a little rain after a couple of margaritas? So we kick off our flip flops and run back to the clean Jeep in the pouring rain. I resemble Alice Cooper a little more than I’d like, but I don’t care. I have my to-go cocktail, the HC Monterrey Restaurant (serving the best arrechera in Playa) is open for service and has a great waterproof roof. Moral of the Story: Buddy you are absolutely right! If all I have to complain about is a little rain, things must be pretty darn good down here in paradise. Life is good! Thanks for reminding me. (In case you can't see me I'm smiling...big)

Crazy Paamulians!!
March 6, 2008

Last night I attended my second annual Paamul party put on by Paamul residents / veterans Heidi & Phil. Every year they host a different dress-up theme and this year it was "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves!" For those of you not familiar with Paamul, it is a little ocean side haven located between Xcaret and Puerto Adventuras on the way to Tulum. It began as a simple RV park several years back and has since evolved into a diversely imaginative palapa’d neighbourhood for many Canadian & American snow birds sprinkled with a few die-hard full-timers. You can find everything from the overnight tenters to concrete houses built under palapas. Like nothing we’ve ever seen in Canada that’s for sure! There is a pool, seaside restaurant, small hotel, cabanas & a dive shop that hosts many snorkeling tours on the coral reef just steps from the shore. It really is a sight to see! And Paamulians know how to have fun! From weekly crab races to volleyball to karaoke & dances on Friday nights they’re keeping busy. And last night’s party was no exception! All kinds of entertainment consisting of a harp player, a magician & 3 different bands followed by DJ music & a dance. All entertainment was provided by Paamul residents! And the food…as always it was delicious and plentiful. Even yours truly was up on stage singing with my folks (The 3 B’s) and I also won the “Best Dressed Gypsy” Award. Whew hew! I was just happy they didn’t pick me for the “Best Tramp” Award. Can’t wait for next year’s 50’s Sock Hop. Don’t know where I’m gonna find a poodle skirt in Mexico. Maybe I’ll just rent a poodle and carry him down by my skirt. Tricky…

We're counting on you!
February 8, 2008

We would like to encourage and invite you to join beach therapy vacations at the annual non-profit cat & dog VIDAS Sterilization Clinic that is held in the Riviera Maya once each summer. Many participants plan their holiday time to the Riviera Maya around the event and the August 2007 four-day clinic was a great success. But we’re hoping to make 2008 an even greater success story with more helping hands and donations. This year we’re hoping to entice a larger number of volunteers as the clinic becomes busier with each succession. Local sponsoring restaurants provide meals each day and transportation is provided whenever possible. The return of personal well-being is immeasurable. Education is still needed in many parts of Mexico, as many of the measures used for animal control are very inhumane and barbaric. At the clinics, veterinary education is provided for the local Mexican children in the form of games, handouts and brief seminars. Raising awareness and changing ideals are some of the prime goals of the clinics and each year we see change slowly taking hold. So this year if the Riviera Maya is in your scope for a vacation destination, perhaps you could add to your holiday experience by helping out the local feline & canine population. Mexico provides so much joy for its many visitors; it is nice to be able to give some back. For more information please contact us at volunteerprograms@beachtherapyvacations.com. We believe in making the world a more beautiful, happier & healthier place and strive to do so every day. Go out and get yourself a really great day!

Helping Hurricane Dean Victims
January 31, 2008

Hola All Y'all from Playa del Carmen, What an awesome year we had in 2007! We are changing the future of San Isidro, our adopted village which was pummelled by the eye of Hurricane Dean. Thanks to your donation $$, clothes and toys we are giving hope back to a village which was left with none. To date we have helped purchase supplies to rebuild a family's home; purchased mattresses & school books for kids; and donated clothes, toys & toothbrushes from a Calgary dentist. I love my clients! The smiles on their faces say it all and we at beach therapy vacations along with our clients, families & friends have been proud to be a part of this success story. We could not have done this without the tireless efforts of our good friends Patti & Danny. They have personally taken it upon themselves to adopt this village and specifically focus on helping 3 families personal needs. But we still need your help! Every little bit helps as only $100 pesos is needed to purchase the books for one child and we have 120 left to go! We have already purchased enough supplies for 180 lucky children. The next endeavour they would like to undertake is to purchase food seeds to help this village become self-reliant by growing their own food. We are already planting the seeds of knowledge in the young minds of the children with their new school books and now we would like to begin focusing on their continued nourishment. In Mexico a few dollars can still go a long way. For more information please contact us at volunteerprograms@beachtherapyvacations.com. Happy 2008!

Feliz Navidad!
December 17, 2007

Here I sit sipping a hot cup of coffee with eggnog! Mmmmm delicious...Out the window I can see the giant evergreen tree topped with peaks of snow sitting on a white snow covered ground. OK I'm not in Playa I'm back in Calgary for Christmas. I love Christmas! It's my favourite time of year and this year I was fortunate enough to be able to decorate my parents' palapa in Paamul (about 15 minutes from Playa) and my sister's home in Calgary. Both look just as festive. I got in a few Christmas carols with Dad and his guitar before I left and life is good! Now I get to spend some time with my Calgary family & friends. I hope you all have a very happy holiday season with you and yours. It doesn't get any better than this. It's what life is all about. Thank-you to all of my clients from Christmas past, present & future. I send you all smiles and happiness from my heart. All you gotta do is catch it. Feliz Navidad, Prospero Ano y Felicidades.

Wearing the Pants in Playa!
November 28, 2007

Now normally the only people you will see wearing anything more than a tank top, shorts or skirt is a local. I've seen the locals in fur-lined winter coats and knee-high boots and I'm thinkin', \"Ya gotta be kiddin’ me!\" But they seem comfortable enough and aren't sweating as I am in the habit of doing since I have moved here. However, last night I actually wore pants and a hoodie with my tank top underneath! And this is in spite of my impending pre-menopausal onslaught of my own personal internal tropical heat waves. My husband says I'm turning Mexican on him. He's back in the -8 C snow flurries in Calgary right now. I heard there were 400 fender benders yesterday caused by the first heavy snowfall of the season. Wow! And I thought the drivers here were bad. Oh wait... they are. Maybe we have more in common than I realize. Paul may wear the pants in Calgary, but I'm wearing them here baby! Ya'll go and have yourself a great day! Pre-menopausal or not!

Where Did The Last 2 Months Go?
November 14, 2007

Still summer here in Playa. Well actually according to local standards it is winter, but according to Canadians I just spoke with yesterday, it is summer. They looked at me like I was a little crazy. I am Canadian after all. You'd think they might have taken this into account. The snowbirds are returning slowly and the Canadian & American license plates are increasing. I love seeing those Alberty plates. Makes me feel at home. My Dad returning has also upped the anny. We got to check out the Hospiten first hand for 2 nights. Looks like a hotel room more than a hospital room with service to match. Even the food was pretty tasty as I helped him out with his chicken breast. He didn't even have to pay a cent out of his pocket as his insurance paid the hospital direct. Evidently, it is up to the insurance company if they will pay the hospital direct or not. We were lucky and my Dad is better and back to playing his guitar and singing out in 'ol Paamul. The construction on his palapa continues...another day in paradise. Oh and we saved 3 more kitties from the streets. Found loving homes for all of them. One little girl needed surgery for a fractured hip and we had her spayed at the same time. Figure we just saved the streets about 100 more baby kittens. We're saving Playa one cat at a time...I love my job! Go get yourself a great day!!

Red Sky at Night
September 15, 2007

Independence Day tomorrow but all the fireworks are going on right now. Loud explosions of neon pink, green, red, blue and white shriek through the night air followed by billowing smoke that trails off into the Caribbean. Loud speakers announce, "Viva Mexico, viva Mexico, viva Mexico!" It\'s a perfect night for a celebration. Pockets of laughter, cars playing loud happy music, and decorations of red, green & white. Mexican pride is everywhere.

I sit on my rooftop beside my 2 cats stretched out on the cool tile floor and watch the brilliant sky come to life as the wind whips my tangled hair about my face. I am home. And it\'s breath taking. Because for me, truer words could not be spoken. Mexico is my independence.

Viva Mexico!

Ode to Dee
August 31, 2007

I think she may be a little peeved because the letter “B” comes before “D” (hey I’m not her mother – I didn’t pick her name). Meaning my name, Bee, always comes before hers. Strictly talking in the alphabetical sense here. Let’s face it, it sucks to be her. So I have compromised and I always put her picture first. Except for when I don’t use pictures or her picture or her picture first. Of course at these times, she is just completely hosed. She is also usually the heroine loser featured in my Playa Plog adventures (it could happen) as opposed to just being the loser loser, a post I proudly uphold. So it sucks to be me too. I call that even Steven.

Moral of the story. It’s great to have a Canadian friend in Playa who loves cats & is a tourist dropout like me. Maybe I should think about writing a play. Tourist Cats. Ya’ll go get yourselves a good day!

Driving Miss Szuzi
July 20, 2007

Eight days on the road and we made it home tonight. Which is amazing since we got our directions from a guy in a Subway in Montana. I believe in being prepared for these things. And Wow! They’re not joking everything in Texas is big. It took a while to drive across that state. And nothing could have prepared us for the multi-talented dancing deer. They’re everywhere! The States is littered with ‘em. We definitely don’t have that particular specie of deer in Canada. We just have the stand there and eat variety that throw up their white flag tail and take off when spooked. But hey, don’t take my word for it, just read the signs – they’re everywhere along the highways. Pictures of the dancing deer. Unfortunately, we never caught any actually doing the can can on film. Allusive little buggars.

Moral of the story. Always have your camera poised & ready when driving to Mexico! Szuzi actually saw mating cows, pooping dogs, pooping horses, a turtle & a snake on the road. It was exhilarating. Szuzi is definitely an excellent driver. Definitely. You gotta be quick to catch those dancing deer though. Ya’ll have a good day!

Bobbie
June 26, 2007

Our first adoptee. She wandered up onto Dee’s balcony and found the food. A tiny, scruffy bag of bones, all legs sporting a recently chopped off tail. She looks to be about 8 weeks old and is an absolutely beautiful gray tabby with leopard dots all over her cream and peach coloured belly. She was obviously starving so I immediately brought her in and fed her canned food. Little did I know that Dee had met her the night before and fed her already. Coincidentally (or not) across town, a friend of Dee’s (also a Calgarian) had a dream that she was holding a little gray kitten. Our match was made. Lucky Bobbie (now named Karma) has a new Mommy to cuddle with and will not have to endure a lifetime of having litter after litter until her early death. Lucky Mommy has someone to love in Playa. Since Dee & I run a cat rescue program here in Playa, for us this is absolutely freakishly exciting. One down.

Construction
June 25, 2007

Construction struction what’s your function? It’s right up there with I have to go through pain to be beautiful. And my personal fav nobody said life was gonna be easy. Who comes up with this crap? And more poignantly, why on earth do we listen? Maybe because we have an inert desire to beautify everything around us. To live in beauty and to be beautiful ourselves in an attempt to become a part of it. Like the barbequed moth. If only for a second... Last night I foiled Dee’s hair and I must say, damn she looks good. I hope this doesn’t mean she’s gonna spontaneously combust today. Now we’re onto pedicures (Dee’s contribution to our beauty fest) and then next week we’re headed to Calgary. Whew hoo! Haven’t been home in a while. Dee’s first Stampede as she’s not a native. If you’re at Coyote’s for Parade Day look us up and say “Hey!” We’ll be wearing beach therapy vacations t’s & a huge smile! I’m driving my SUV back here with my ol’ pal Ovaltine (Szuzi). Talk about an adventure! I have the need for Alberta plates here to feel more at home. Meanwhile only 2 more days of construction to endure at the new condo and I’m outta here. Wish me luck!

Moral of the story. Although necessary, construction can be loud, annoying & dirty. Coincidentally, this can also be applied to Stampede Week, Dee (while attempting to foil her as she is singing and bopping to Keith Urban), and moths when they fly into the bug zapper thing. Life at times is like one big construction site with Keith Urban singing to your friend as she stampedes a moth into a flame. Ya’ll have a great day!

Chicken Pizza
June 17, 2007

No we’re not talking about Mexican pizza, we’re referring to the ruins that neither Dee nor I have been to, Chichen Itza. Yes it’s finally out, we’re tourist losers. OK she’s lived here for over 6 years so she beats me in the loser tourist category I’m thinkin’. But, I have been to Coba & Tulum. No 3-hour bus ride involved & there was a tropical storm going on so there was no beach action per se (unless you’re into sand constantly being thrown into your mouth), so a boyfriend I was here with rented a car and we drove there. I bought a chic knee-length black garbage bag from a jungle man for 25 pesos, called it a raincoat and we struck out. Coba involves a little hike into the jungle and it is still possible to climb to the top of the big stair thingie. Bring a big fly swatter or bug spray. There really are a lot of old rocks there for your viewing pleasure and they are quite cool. We don’t have these back in Canada so you’ll have to come here and see them for yourself. Maybe you could take pictures to show Dee & I.

Moral of the story: We know nothing about Chicken Pizza except it tastes good when it has that BBQ sauce on it. If I weren’t a Spanish drop out, I’d order one for delivery. Y’all have a good Father’s Day today!

On with the show titled, “Mo Murders!”
June 14, 2007

Mo, referring to my one-eyed, limping (because he had a broken leg and now has pins in it), half-chewed off foot (what’s a few toes?) 6-month-old kitty, Mojito. One of the “3 amigos” brothers who found me when I moved to Playa. The food left on the balcony by my sister helped.

This morning I’m doing the dishes and I hear a cat growling so I go to see who it is. It's Mo growling at Bud (my imported 15 lb. Canadian 8 year old kitty) because he's got something he doesn't want Bud to have. I can't see what it is yet so I move in for a closer look, thinking it's a moth. It's just then that he tightens his bite on it and moves under the table and he's heading to my bedroom. I’m freaking out cause I don’t want this creature in my bed. He leaves behind a tail on the floor.

Only this tail is alive and it's jumping all over the place and Bud is fascinated by it but he won't touch it and he just keeps looking at me like, "What the hell is it Mom?" I tell him we're not in Kansas anymore. The tail is freaking us both out. It took quite a while for it to die too. So I open the screen door and shoo Mo outside with his tailless gecko that is still alive flailing in his mouth. He does the cat torture thing to it until the poor little guy finally has a heart attack or gets molested to death or something. Anyway, it’s not moving.

The dead tail is still sitting on the floor by the door. But now the gecko's tailless corpse is sitting on the balcony and I look up and the tail is missing and Mo is back in looking for it. Where did it go? This is freakishly exciting come to think of it. The other day he brought us in a cockroach that was kicking and screaming all over the place. No wait… I think that was me. Mo is definitely an excellent hunter. Definitely. Of course, our heroine (my Canadian ally & friend Dee) used her lightening rod instincts, grabbed her shoe and beat the living crap out of the big old cockroach. I just screamed.

Moral of the story: If you ever need a cockroach hunter call Mo, an exterminator call Dee, a horror flick extra call me. Y’all have a good day!

Sweet Elizabeth
June 7, 2007

Last night I was out at a local sports bar on 5th Ave with a friend visiting from Calgary, Canada. Shockingly, he wanted to watch a hockey game (Go Flames Go!) that was on. I know this is already freakishly exciting. And not that I wasn’t totally enthralled with the game in progress, but I found myself engaged in conversation with anyone who wandered into my personal space. Pretty much covered the entire radius of the bar, but what can I say I’m a friendly girl. Anyway, this is how I met Elizabeth, our server for the evening. I told her about our new business adventures and she gave me a coin, which I am never supposed to spend. This was a gift of the heart and meant to bring us good fortune and attract s#!*loads of money to us. Elizabeth, I promise to never spend my coin and I thank you for your sweet thoughtfulness. One of my favorite things I love about Mexico is the Mexican spirit. Thanks Elizabeth. Mucho Gusto.