In this month I returned to Playa Del Carmen for beach, sports and general fun, headed to Monterrey one of few places I had not been in Mexico and of course Christmas dinners and NYE. Good to be back in Mexico even with the rising prices and poor exchange rate on the canadian and us dollars.
But first I had to escape the Florida Everglades and get out of the USA on JetBlue, an economical and surprisingly good experience. Perhaps because there were only 38 passengers.
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| Michael Bay Movie shot |
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| Another Michael Bay shot |
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| Everglades |
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| Living right by the water with the Crocs |
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| So much wild life! |
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| In to Miami concrete jungle |
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| Fort Lauderdale Airport |
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| Nice spot |
Like Christmas being on a flight 20% full...Incredible. I love how the pilots always make fun of the capacity situation. Literally they always laugh and have some good jokes for it.
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| Miami so good in concept |
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These bad boys made it all
the way from Turkiye! |
Only 1.5 hrs to get to my home away from home, well, Cancun then another 1hr on the bus thinking how Spain is so much better in a lot of ways especially now Mexico is basically the same price on most things...And way more even getting from the airport to; Barcelona centre $3, Cancun centre $6-8.
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Definitely less developed
for now... |
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Always wanted to know
landing speed...not that fast
235 km/hr actually. |
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| Yeah...ADO bus fun |
Back to a familiar place shifted one unit over in to Ski's spot.
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| May need to move this artwork |
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| My life in bags |
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| Good set up |
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| Everything out of storage |
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| Vball net, cooler, tools, etc |
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| I'm happy |
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| Bike back in action |
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| Karaoke music! |
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Another bike back in action
after getting the gas to ignite
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| Take a break |
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Back to the live music scene at Zenzi
My buddy Alex's band Electrodealers |
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And now with Leandro in the
Band! Not really, hahaha. |
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| Tough night for this guy |
Let's get to the beach.
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| Back to steaks at Chedraui |
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| Like 1 lbs for $15 with guac. |
A little late night at The Roof which was supposed to be a quiet drink and then this happened...
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Crazy, running in to Chris
from my Oiler game days in
Edmonton |
Nice quiet birthday with Leandro and Tania that turned louder when we met up with others much later.
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| USD is too expensive to give this year. Oh mom. |
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| Party time? |
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| Good food, Good friends |
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| Tasty tasty. Thanks buddy! |
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la fina made from chic peas
Love it! |
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| And a few drinks |
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| And a small hang over, but not too bad |
A few days in Monterrey. Having never been there and always hearing I had to go, especially for the beef, it was time to go based on a loose invite from my friend Luz and her family. Not my usual MO to travel around Mexico by plane and without my motorbike, but always good to try something new. Thanks for the invite and hospitality De La Rose's.
Sneaky Side Story: Deciding to mess with Luz a little as she loves a good laugh, at least that's what they say about people from Monterrey, I played the ear infection angle telling her I had to cancel my flight to Monterrey as the Doc said I couldn't fly. Truth was I did go to the Doc, but he said I was good to fly as it was a minor infection. When I told her I wasn't coming the best part was that she couldn't understand that I could still play volley ball even though I couldn't fly. Hahaha...wtf?
So, left apartment like 830am in the rain, arrived early at the airport then arrived in Monterrey like 2pm, took a bus to the centre station in traffic and finally an uber to arrive around 5pm trying to keep Luz at her house while on my way. And managed to buy some wine and chocolates in route too. Definitely an experience.
Shaky arrival...We both freaked out and were shaking when we saw each other. Plus I shocked the hell out of everyone! So worth it, hahaha!
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| bad news ear infection |
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| Of course it's raining... |
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Not going to lie, didn't sleep
well the night before. |
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Check out the duck bill muzzles
on that lady's dogs. |
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Outdoor boarding is cool until it's raining, haha
And of course we are lined up... |
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| Chau Quintaroo |
So...now we have made it to "people that don't even use headphones" as a whole family was watching 3 different movies on 3 different devices, no headphones...wtf?
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Didn't even realise I would
fly across the Gulf of Mexico |
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| Polarised glass like xray vision |
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| I had heard it was slightly industrial here |
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More outdoor. Summer heat
would be interesting |
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| And a long walk too |
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This is different, lounge style
bus seats with leg rest |
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Do to his size I had to lean
forward like this the whole way |
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| beyond traffic, thank god Ubers are prepaid. |
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| Hey buddy "peace sign and #1"? |
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| Nice backyard at their city home. |
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Nice meal in a small town by
their ranch. |
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| No lock on the Ranch |
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| Outstanding spot, like a little resort |
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| Definitely enough space for a guest |
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| A games room! |
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These are hills the size of my
FOOT! |
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| Heading back to the city |
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| Some local foods |
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| Mountain surrounded town |
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Family watching the Mexican football final
and her sister literally kissing the screen on
certain players as her mom had too many
she had to be helped to bed. Monterrey! |
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Weird...went to an Argentina
restaurant for Monterrey meat? |
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| Twins...and we are both wearing the pants, yikes! |
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| Luz turned in to a cat! |
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| Adios! |
Back in Playa to connect with my great friends that have cared for me and welcomed my into their homes over the last years. Thank you y Les quiero.
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| Returned from Europe, Lalo and Clau |
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| Santa? |
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| Well crafted breads by Leo |
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| Tania, Clau |
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| Look at the spread |
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| The whole gang and some parents too |
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| Everyone is a guitar player |
At Lalo and Clau's for a pre-Christmas dinner then Frank Sinatra with guitars...good idea?
At Tania's family for Christmas dinner. Thank you so much for the invite.
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| Another great spread! |
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| Wish I could eat all night |
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| Love you mom |
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| Roaming around Quinta during the holidays |
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| Chris and Lalo with Caiman live music behind |
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My friend Karina doing a
curtain show. |
Quick open mic at Buzos inspired by singing El Clasico "Free Fallin" a few times over Christmas.
New start with next door Mariachi band to play me towards 2024...
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| Take a few years off |
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| Ready for the night |
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| But first a stop at Xupha |
Bad Luck Side Story: Decided to try some nude sun tanning with a friend at Xupha beach during the afternoon before going to Lalo and Clau's for NYE festivities. Went in to the water for a minute and felt some rocks with my toes then a sword went through the bottom of my foot to the bone! Sting Ray Party! Limped with help 500m to get to the only restaurant at Xupha, got some treatment from a doctor on vacation including a shot for the pain. Bill was $120 CAD which the restaurant accepted on the doctor's behalf...unreal scamming the injured. Leo came and got my motorbike and got back to home to have a few mezcals.
Initially an 8 out of 10 pain then down to a 3 the rest of the night with the assistance of 400 Conejos mezcal. NYE was pretty good considering. Let's leave 2023 behind now.
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| Looks better |
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| Thanks Leo |
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| Thanks again Leo |
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| deep and I hope clean |
Aracarribeans!
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| Arabic themed NYE |
Other Stuff
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Helping Alex get a horribly
loud muffler |
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| This fan needs a clean |
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| Electric scooter |
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