We have returned to sea level (well, 20 ft above sea level)!

Breathing better in sunny, hot (did I say hot? Really hot!) Tulum, Mexico. For those not familiar with the local geography, we are on the Caribbean Coat of Mexico, about two hours south of Cancun. To assure our friends, we are nowhere close to the recent tragedy in Mexico City, but our heart and prayers go out to those affected by the recent earthquake and hurricanes. Hurricanes have hit Tulum in the past, and we hope not to experience one.

After safely arriving in Tulum, we quickly settled into our home for the next three months. Unpacking, food shopping, and getting organized took a day, and then we were off to our happy place on the beach. Mike, our eldest son who lives with his wife Gaby and daughter Mia here in Tulum are helping us in getting settled in.

So, we rented a lovely house on the outskirts of Tulum- a 30 minute walk or five minute drive from the downtown and 15 minutes to the beach. The house is located in a gated complex with six other homes, a common pool (we might be the only renters currently, as we are the only ones using the pool), and two resident dogs. A caretaker maintains the grounds and pool. Nice!!!! Checked in with the developers of the condo we bought here and construction has started. They anticipate it will be ready for occupancy the end of next year! Looking forward to being higher up to take advantage of the breezes from the beach and less mosquitoes and icky crawling bugs.

Went grocery shopping our first day and have been cooking and barbecuing. Went out last night for dinner (ran out of food, shopping again today after the beach) at a local fish restaurant where we both had a wonderful Fish filet cooked with vegetables in a sour orange sauce wrapped in a banana leaf! Delicious! (Did I mention dinner for the two of us totaled $20 US ?)

You might ask how we get around? Well, Mike gave us his Vespa to use and we plan to purchase bikes in the near future. Since the Vespa is not automatic, you guessed it...Nathan drives and the "control freak" sits behind and grits her teeth! I bet we are a sight- two baby boomers traveling on a Vespa! (See pics!)
Went to visit Spanish Language School yesterday to learn more and think we may wait until after our trip to Far East to attend, thinking we may lose what we learned while away. So, over the next 2 1/2 months, will spend our time helping out at Mike's hostel, enjoying our granddaughter Mia, and entertaining visitors (Maya, our friend from Israel is coming next week, and Eitan and Arik are coming for an early Thanksgiving mid-November). Thought I would be bored doing nothing but daily chores, cooking, reading, and computer work really keeps us occupied! I highly recommend it! A toast.... to pajamas 'till noon!