Roommates in Playa

My in-laws are here living with me in Playa del Carmen, México for seventeen days!!! That’s a long time. Lucky for me, they are really great people. Also lucky for me, the weather has cooled down a bit. It has been boiling and I don’t wear a lot of clothing to stay cool. You can’t walk around the apartment all nakers while the in-laws are around!

So many activities!

I want to show them all the things! However, we are all retired and on a budget. Sigh. That means no crazy amusement parks with underground lazy rivers, no spectacular shows with people doing acrobatics, no renting a car, and no fancy-fancy restaurants. Actually, I’m fine with all of that. Most everything I want to show them is free or nearly so and cooking at home is where it is at.

The issue I have is that I’m not allowed to get them killed. I can’t force them on a crazy long walk with no water such that I overheat them and give them heart attacks. Or twisted ankles, twinged backs, knocked heads. Sidewalks here are dangerous! I also can’t drown them, get them lost, or poison them somehow. It’s hard to keep these delicate bodies alive!

Thus far, I have taken them to the Playacar Mayan Ruins. I had this entire plan of slowly walking them down there via 5th Ave. It’s a really great people watching experience, and no cars makes it fairly safe to travel. The plan was to go visit the ruins and take a taxi back. I could not get those stubborn peeps into a taxi! I ended up making them walk eight kilometers! Sorry, In-Laws!

Let’s go swimming!

I also took them to the ocean, which has been absolutely beautiful. Okay, maybe a bit wavy and cloudy, but still really pretty. One time we went, it was all calm as we got in, but you could see there was a huge storm coming. We were playing around in the water when suddenly, this huge wave hits us. My father-in-law went completely under. Luckily, he came up smiling!

My new friends from Playa invited all of us to their condo for a pool party. You have to take a taxi or a colectivo van to get there. Could I convince my in-laws to take a colectivo? Challenge accepted! Turns out it was very easy. We fit everyone into the crowded van and made it there in no time at all. It was pretty fun, actually.

Everyone got along really well. We had picked up some tamales to bring with us and they were delicious. We had also brought some pink prickly pears for margaritas. Off with the skins, blend inner fruit in a blender, and use a strainer to remove the seeds. Unfortunately, we were so excited about finding the pink fruits that we totally forgot to bring the tequila and orange liquor to go with it. We ended up mixing the bright pink liquid with rum and sangria. It worked out.

Too much cheese

My new friends live closer to nature than I do, so I was pretty thrilled to see all the iguanas, dragonflies, and these weird birds that looked a bit like really skinny sage grouse. After playing in the pool for a bit, we went back inside for cards and snacks. I ate way too much cheese and way too many gluten-free brownies! They were so good! But my guts were a mess for the rest of the night. Worth it?

Lessons learned: I rented this two-bedroom apartment for six months. I could have saved a lot of money by renting a studio or one-bedroom and paying for a hotel room for my in-laws. Of course, it is much easier to plan outings and have communal meals when everyone is under one roof, but I’m on a budget. I’m still glad that they are here.

We have plans to visit Tulum Mayan Ruins and the islands of Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. I have to make sure to give them a break in between major walking events or they will never come visit me again! Adventures aren’t as much fun when you are in pain. Here’s to ‘No Dying!’!