It's only money!! While you cannot always control what happens, you can control your reactions, so we decided to walk away from our housing mistake, take the financial loss of deposit and rent and moved into a new place belonging to Chris, our original landlord. It is much nicer and quieter with a slightly longer walk to school and stores and located within the beautiful gated community of Playacar.  Wayak Condominiums - 2nd floor. Living space. Inviting pool. Jordan also found us 3 used bikes on the Playa Facebook marketplace for around $250 for all three including new seats, baskets and tune ups!

Our friends Shari, Debbie and Tom are visiting from San Pedro and Shari generously invited us to be her guest for the day at the Playacar Palace resort they were staying at. Given the frantic nature of our time here so far, spending the day at 5-star all inclusive was a wonderful way to enjoy what Playa will ultimately have to offer us. Swim up bar. Relaxing and hydrating. Stunning views. Soft sand and waist deep water. Say cheese and cheers. Schools out ... ... time to make friends and play. Finishing the day with supper at the Japanese a la carte restaurant.

The 5:45 AM alarm came with a jolt following a hot, sticky and loud night. Connor was a trooper though, and, after the 13 minute walk to the gates of Escuela Maestro Manuel Acosta (EMMA) school, he gave a nervous smile as he waved goodbye. He was beaming at the 2 PM pickup so that was a relief!

Time has not been on our side and this has prompted some rushed decision making. We visited two schools and with Connor's enthusiastic approval, we registered him at EMMA school armed only with information about school fees and uniform costs. The extra financial gulps came when we got the lists of school supplies which included a lab coat, guitar and accessories, scientific calculator, USB stick and art supplies among many others, the pricey required textbook list, digital resource fees, insurance fees etc. To be fair the school has small class sizes and offers many of the things we wanted available to him including extracurriculars such as swimming and tae kwon do. Some of the supplies. Rather more disheartening is our rush decision to secure a 6-month rental close to the new school in the 3 days before school started. We only visited 3 places very briefly and chose the one with a pool. Upon moving in we learned some very hard lessons. Looks can be...

After spending the night in the Toronto Carlingview Hotel, we took the 7.15 AM shuttle to the Air Canada terminal for our 10 AM flight.  We were very pleased with how smooth and on time everything went including entry at the Cancun Airport. No questions, all luggage accounted for, no red light on the random button press at customs, and a driver waiting at the airport. Within the hour we arrived at our apartment at Calle 14 Norte Bis and were greeted by Chris our helpful Air BnB host. Living room and courtyard. We grabbed a few basics from the local Mega grocery store, which is huge with great choice and prices. Full-size store with everything only a 3-minute walk. After a restful sleep and lazy morning, we took an exploratory walk south discovering the beach and 5th Avenue, which has a mix of traditional and ultra modern. We experienced the throngs of tourists, enthusiastic vendors and had a chance to practice some Spanish with our server at the Chiltepin Marisqu...