Travels in the times of the Covid - Week 4

Monday Nov 23

Routines things again today - Spanish study, laundry, groceries, lunch at El Fogon - we have taken to sharing meals now as their portions are enormous! We noticed that there were quite a few more tourists today.

I reported the sink problem but no-one has been by yet but we did receive a surprise electricity invoice from the rental agency for $7000 pesos (payable in cash)  and the month isn't even over yet.  We have requested that they provide an invoice from the electricity provider that shows actual usage as we have been really careful not to overuse the power which we know is very expensive.

Tuesday Nov 24

Tried to go to the gym but it was reserved all morning and early afternoon so I did a few walking laps at the track. Connor had a full day today with four online classes to attend. 

The concierge from the rental agency dropped by today to explain that the electricity invoice was an estimate based on the last renter's usage and said he would forward the actual bill when it came. Also, a repairman came to fix the sink - hooray!

Jordan and I rode down to the beach for lunch at La Tarraya where the beach was not as busy as it was on the weekend but the sand was quite eroded from the crashing waves. 

Chicken fajitas/rice, salad and tortillas

We had to go to the bank which tends to be less busy in the evenings so we added a trip to the ice cream place as well!!

Wednesday Nov 25

It was a beautiful sunny morning so after dropping off some laundry at a new lavendaria, Jordan and I took a walk on 5th Ave to see how the construction was progressing. There were a lot of workers but not too much change and a strange patchwork of finished and unfinished spots. 

I had made a reservation for the gym for 11am but when I went to sign in, the gatekeeper told me he had already given the key to someone else. Mildly annoyed but not wanting it to spoil my day, Connor and I went for a few laps at the track.

Completed my 10th day of Spanish study. 

Some of the vocab is starting to stick but it is hard!

After a giant burger and smoothies lunch at Loco Joe's, I went to pick up the laundry and in keeping with the tone of the week, I realized that I had been automatically charged the express service rate (almost double) and not the regular rate which would have sufficed. It seems that we got 'gringoed'. If I had known, I would have taken the bloody sheets which I needed to be washed and returned on the same day!! Mad at myself for not asking the price in advance but just won't go back to that place. The clothes were at least clean and nicely folded. 

Played games and just had a lazy TV evening. 

Kings Cribbage on the patio

Last of the wine trio

Thursday Nov 26

Beautiful morning for a walk north on 5th Ave. It is US Thanksgiving and there seemed to be many tourists out and about for breakfast. We walked for almost an hour and on our way back along 10th Ave, we discovered a Panaderia (bakery) with the most fabulous variety of bread, sandwiches and treats.  We had to do a double-take when she announced that the price for our 4 pieces was only $50 pesos ($3.30 CAD) - we have been paying almost that for one item downtown!

Ham/cheese 'johaldra' (mostly eaten before I thought to take the pic!!), chocolate donut, plain and chocolate croissant.

Connor had classes and assignments all afternoon so he ate at home. Continuing on with the yummy day, Jordan and I  had lunch at a tiny local place called Birria and had the consome (soup) which was so flavourful. Definitely going back to try the tacos doradas (golden grilled tacos with chunks of the birria meat).

All this and 2 juices for $170 pesos/$11 CAD

Friday Nov 27

Woke up early but skipped the morning walk. Took Connor for lunch at Los Hijos tostaderia before he had his English midterm exam with a 2.5-hour timeframe!

Shrimp with sweet/spicy sauce

Connor's ahi tuna burger was amazing!

Spicy shrimp ceviche tostada

While Connor revised a little, Jordan and I rode down to the beach at 38th and 42nd - both were very eroded. 

I was exhausted that evening and went to bed around 10 pm while the boys, feeling adventurous, went out for a late-night stroll on 5th Ave around 11 pm. They reported that it was noticeably empty other than the club areas. 

Saturday Nov 28

Beach day! Rode to Playacar Beach hoping for a deeper sand area but found the erosion to be quite severe on that side too. We found a spot to enjoy for a while, then walked to La Tarraya for lunch. The beach at Fundadores had lots of space so we set up and enjoyed some time in the waves.

Playacar ruins

One thing that never lets us down is lunch at La Tarraya!

Deep fried whole fish and a mango margarita.

Weird to look at but delicious!

Sunday Nov 29

What can I say? It literally rained ALL day, hard! So glad we got out to the beach on Saturday. We played games and listened to music only braving the elements with our umbrellas to get a quick bite at Pik Nik not too far from home.