Margaritaville

After the “poo incident,” we got through the hustle and bustle of the airport. Once we had our bags and were through customs, we stepped outside to be greeted with oppressive humidity. It felt like someone sucked the air right out of my lungs.

Of course, as soon as we were out there, we were bombarded with taxi drivers trying to get us to ride with them. We already had a driver arranged through our condo, so we walked along the crowd, looking for the sign he told us he’d have. Unfortunately, we didn’t see him during our first pass-through, so we had to turn around and go back the other way–making us even MORE attractive to the other drivers, since we probably looked confused.

After a few minutes of arguing with the dudes, we finally saw the sign and Carlos came to the rescue, and we loaded up and were on our way to Playa del Carmen. Over the last couple of weeks, we debated about whether we should rent a car or hire a driver. Although I don’t think the drive was as complicated as some people made it seem, we don’t regret hiring the driver. It was a lot easier to just get in and not worry about having to find our way.

We were soon dropped off at the front door of our condo hotel, and upon picking up keys, we let ourselves in. My mom, who arrived Tuesday, was out on an excursion with the group, so we made ourselves at home. We decided to take a walk down to Mega, the grocery store in Playa. We picked up some beer, chips, and salsa, and headed back to the condo to meet my mom.

Once we were all in the same place, my mom walked us over to my cousin’s condo to meet up with her and her soon-to-be husband. Kelly decided to come to dinner with us, and we walked to a little Mexican place that had been recommended to us by several people (our taxi driver and Kelly included). The menu didn’t have English translations, so Kelly helped us along, and our waitress answered a few questions as best she could. We ordered a variety of dishes to share, and everything was great. The highlight of the meal, however, was the margaritas. BEST.MARGARITAS.EVER.

Nora was so great at dinner. She was in the best mood, happily people watching and playing while we ate. We were all sweating our butts off, so I was especially impressed by her demeanor.

My mom taught her how to give high-fives, which was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

We took our time at dinner, so by the time we were done, it was pretty late and we were all exhausted after a looooong day of travel. We headed back to the condo to go to bed to rest up for our first full day in Playa.