|
|
Mayan Coronas
Lockdown Mexico |
13.0.7.6.9 | |
 |
Today was not only Monday, but also the start of a new Mayan week, the number had reset back to one. However, the sequence of 20 named days rolled on to Muluk, a day that represented by both fire and water. The word muluk itself means an "offering" so it was a good day to give thanks. But to be honest not a day goes by where we don't feel grateful for what we have.
We got up early (for us) at around 8am and went for a walk along the beach in the direction of the Mayan ruins. There weren't many other people about. It was so peaceful.
In the distance we could see El Castillo perched on the side of the cliff. It looked more impressive from this perspective, its dramatic location never more obvious. We were too far away to get a real good look though, so we continued our stroll as far as we could.
We reached a shipwreck at the far end of the beach. It wasn't Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl but a modern fibre glass boat. It's graffiti strewn body looked sad. We wondered what was its tragic story. The prize went to Julie for coming up with a Columbian drug runner intercepted by the Mexican coastguard during a hurricane!
The Mayan pyramid had now disappeared around the next cove and our beach had run out. We had no choice but to head backto our hotel.
Our plan for today was very similar to yesterday, to do as little as possible, whilst meeting as little people as possible! Which, judging by how quiet the beach was, seemed to be an easy task.
Our only essential need was to eat. So when we returned to Kai Hotel we went straight to the restuarant for breakfast.
The faux reclaimed themed furniture continued as the dining table and chairs were made from the same salt scrubbed age washed wood as our villa. It was the perect style for a beachfront resort.
I scoured the breakfast menu and was excited when I saw chilaquiles but I was quickly disappointed when it arrived. It was all very neatly presented and the salsa pasilla (chilli tomato sauce) was nice but it just wasn't as good as Casa Agape's green tomatillo version.
Julie was also disappointed with her breakfast, so much she sent it back! There was nothing wrong with it, only that the smoked salmon bagel was also full of hard boiled egg. An ingredient on her detestable list!
The staff were lovely. The waitress, who was blind in one eye, apologised, then someone more senior came back with a freshly made smoked salmon bagel, (not just scraping off the offending ingredient) again apologising profusely, and then management arrived to apologise, agreeing that there was no mention of egg on the menu and that it will be addressed.
Having finished breakfast we thought sbout what to do next, Whilst we weighed up our options a police patrol swooped across the beach, some on foot, others in the back of a pick-up truck, all carrying massive big machine guns.
We weren't too sure if they were looking for Columbian drug runners or escorting the public off the beach. We hadn't heard any news about Mexico going into a full lockdown. It was a little disconcerting to say the least.
The restaurant had a lounge area, with comfy looking "beanbag" chairs. The sort you sink into and struggle to get back out of with yor dignity intact. Even so we imagined ourselves chilling out there later in the day, sipping margaritas. "That's got my name on it" I said.
It was then we realised, with the exception of staff, the resort was empty. Since we arrived we hadn't seen another guest. We wondered if we had the place to oursleves!
We decided not to go too far and flopped onto the nearest lounger on the beach. A member of staff helped us put up the sail above our day bed for some shade from the sun and brought us two ice cold beers to cool us down.
We didn't move from there for the next three hours until it was time for lunch.
We stayed at Kai Hotel, partly because we didn't want to leave the resort but also the bar and restaurant of Villa Pescadores looked like it had closed.
By now a few more guests at our hotel had emerged, not many, just a young couple and a family with a small child. Perhaps they were just arriving today.
Lunch was nice. I again went for a veggie burrito, which of course wasn't a burrito at all, but was a fresh tasting Mexicanesque salad wrapped in a tortilla. It did the trick for a light lunch.
We retired to our patio with a bottle of fizz where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
I spent most of it on my phone after a travel update from the UK Foreign Office popped up on my facebook feed. It said "If you live in the UK and are currently travelling abroad you are strongly advised to return now."
Julie was a little worried that "now" meant "NOW" but we were still sticking to our plan of flying home tomorrow. It was our only option really. Although we weren't too sure what we were returning to, as I read that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had just announced a full UK wide lockdown. From today all non-essential businesses had been ordered to close. People should stay at home. The only exceptions were to shop for essential goods, go to work if you can't work from home and to have a maximum of one hour of excercise.
Overwhelmed with the whole situation we decided it was a good time for an afternoon nap. Our room had already been cleaned and bed made but before we could climb into bed we had to remove all but one of the five layers of cushions and pillows laid neatly in order of size. It seemed a shame to mess it all up!
Supper was the only reason we left our villa and Kai excelled themselves, especially for Julie's dish of marinated king prawns on a bed of mash potato. She absolutely wolfed it down! I also thoroughly enjoyed my bowl of fettucine pasta with a subtle chilli tomato sauce. Excellent standard.
We were the only guests at the restaurant and we had the undivided attention of all the staff. It was a lovely feeling to have our own private dining experience!
The sun had now dropped and there was a purple tone to the sky. We stayed out for a while. Tonight was our last evening in Mexico and as we watched the boats bob in the sea we thought about the adventure of the last two weeks. It was certainly a trip to remember!
"Do you remember dear when we had to run for the Mexican border"
Once it got dark we returned to our villa and drew the curtains on the day and settled in for the night.
I returned to the BBC news and checked the latest data on the coronavirus. The UK death toll had risen to 335. The weekend before we left the UK, (8th March) Italy only had 366 deaths, now they seem to be spiralling out of control with Spain following closely behind.
The stats seem to indicate that Germany and the USA were either being very resilient (as they had much less deaths per cases) or they were a time-bomb waiting to happen. It was all very depressing.
To aleviate the negative vibes we watched Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Always good for a laugh! It proved to be a wonderful distraction.
Next day >