…for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Ecclesiastes 9:4
I’ve been sicker than a dog, and I ain’t lion. But when I woke up this morning I could sense that I was heading in the right direction. MUCH better than the last couple of days.
I made myself a cup of coffee and ate a bit of my yogurt. Then I packed a small bag (my trunks, my sudoku puzzle book, and an extra shirt) and trekked out towards the resort where the kids are waiting for me. Three kilometres south of my place. But the morning temperature was ideal, the sun not yet high enough in the sky to get at me over the tops of the jungle that lined both sides of the narrow road. When I got to the resort gates the gateman nodded at me and said Hola. I just walked right in. Alex and Max and Tim were waiting for me. We headed into the breakfast room and sat down at a table. Max was happy to show me the buffet and all the individual stations where one could order ‘custom’ options. A crepe filled with nutella for him, one filled with peanut butter and banana for me. A few maraschino cherries to make it look nice. A pound of bacon on the side for each of us. Now THAT’S how you start your day here in Mexico.
After breakfast we headed up to the room to change into our swimsuits. Then down to the pool where Alex and Max had reserved 4 loungers earlier (much earlier) this morning. And then off to the pool. Nothing better than for Max to be ‘thrown’ around in the pool — and he always comes up with a big smile on his face, ready for another throw. When the aerobics instructor woman started up her disco music and led the aerobics ladies (that’s what they were, all ladies) in various aerobics/dance moves, Max was in there like a dirty shirt. Not just dancing, but singing along enthusiastically with Pharrell Williams’s song “Happy”.
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
By the time the sun had worked its way through the #50 sunscreen I’d slathered on my nose it was time for lunch. Lots of choices. Max’s favourite was the bacon-wrapped hotdogs. My favourite, too.
After lunch Max and I headed up to the room. Max showed me all the things Santa brought to Mexico for him. One gift was a ‘Scavenger Hunt’ card game. I think we played that for at least an hour — not according to any ‘Scavenger Hunt’ rules, but rather by some new rules that Max had made up.
Alex came to get us when it was time for an afternoon ice cream and espresso coffee. Lovely. And then off to the beach, where not only had Max collected quite an assortment of seashells, but now he invented a game which made use of all the seaweed that the waves had brought in to shore. The guy has creativity to match his energy. And he’s ALWAYS got a big smile on his face. By now my horrible cold was but a distant memory. It was no match for all the fun I was having.
At around 5:00 it was time for me to take the walk back to my apartment. We arranged that the kids would come to my place tomorrow and spend the day at MY part of town. The road back home was a bit busier with traffic than had been in the morning. But in about 30 minutes I was back at my apartment.
I wandered around town for a while. I ‘found’ the big new grocery store that my Airbnb host had mentioned in her email. Pretty nice. It has a little deli and a sushi bar and a ceviche bar and a crepe bar — and some Czech beers and Mendoza malbecs. I could manage living here for a couple of months.
Later in the evening I ventured out again, this time down the OTHER direction. I ended up eating some delicious pork tacos at a small restaurant down the street from my place.
Back in my room, I wasted some time scanning the ‘internet TV’ options on the television. Mostly Fox News and YouTube. Eventually those 90-second clips in between spinning ‘busy’ cursors got a bit tiresome and I showered and sat down and wrote my journal for today. And now I’m caught up.