{"id":147,"date":"2013-07-22T16:58:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T16:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/donniemeals.net\/?p=147"},"modified":"2018-12-12T16:59:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T16:59:03","slug":"the-collectivo-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/2013\/07\/22\/the-collectivo-days\/","title":{"rendered":"The Collectivo Days"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 39 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

16\/7 \u2013 The one-eye-open thrill ride to the airport went off without a hitch and was soon followed by a nap in place of what would normally be known as sleep.\u00a0 At 8 we got back up and took Chacha to the car doctor, across the main highway to old Puerto Morelos.\u00a0 After exchanging keys and numbers we got a lift into the main square by the pier and had a respectable breakfast of Huevos Rancheros.\u00a0 Sharon has suckered me in to this \u201cFind the country\u2019s best huevos rancheros\u201d saga, even though there are plenty of other Mexican breakfast items I prefer.\u00a0 Still, tasty morning chow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We found a cab and made it back to the now Chacha-less house for nap #2.\u00a0 Around 11, I awoke to some foreign ring tone of a faintly familiar Mexican folk dance tune.\u00a0 It was our \u201cMexico \u2013 local calls only\u201d cell phone, provided by the house and on the other end was Ricardo\u2019s help guy.\u00a0 It appears we have both power steering problem (which is why we took her in in the first place) and a serious transmission leak.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re gonna need more Pesos, hombre,\u201d he retorted.\u00a0 Evidently they need parts in Cancun and we won\u2019t have a car for at least a day.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m not writing this to freak out critical family members, (you know who you are and the rest of you shouldn\u2019t point.\u00a0 It\u2019s rude).\u00a0 All is fine is Las Mealsland.\u00a0 It\u2019s just part of the adventure.\u00a0 In fact not having the car resulted in Sharon getting in no less than 15 hours of sleep today and I managed to NOT polish off the rest of the tequila.\u00a0 But I have experienced excessive computer time along with catching a number of classic movies in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17\/7 \u2013 Ok, no car. Lets sleep most of the day!\u00a0 Lord knows we need it.\u00a0 Otherwise it\u2019s cab day.\u00a0 We walked down the dirt road to the nearest taxi stand.\u00a0 Took it into the main square in P.Mo. (that\u2019s Puerto Morelos in rap speak).\u00a0 Hung out at Habinero\u2019s street bar; supposedly the bar the Americans hang at.\u00a0 Evidently it\u2019s the Americans that can\u2019t hold their alcohol place.\u00a0 I was embarrassed to be the whitefly on the wall.\u00a0 We scooted away after a couple of rounds to the zocalo and discovered a small but respectable city party.\u00a0 Arts, crafts, pre-recorded authentic Mexican music.\u00a0 We found better entertainment watching a pick-up game of soccer behind the p.a.\u00a0 Oh well, still entertaining for some gringos with no wheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18\/7 \u2013 Groundhogs day.  No car.  Let\u2019s take a nap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19\/7 \u2013 Ok, this no car thing is\u2026 like having no car.\u00a0 (From point \u201cA\u201c).\u00a0 It\u2019s time we took travel matters into our own hands.\u00a0 We cabbed down to the square, took a \u201ccollectivo\u201d (public \u201ccheap\u201d bus) to \u201cLa Colonia\u201d, (Old P.M.), which is 3 km away (Point \u201cB\u201c), caught another collectivo to Cancun and found that we had no idea where we were.\u00a0 We were in Cancun centro,\u00a0 (Point \u201cC\u201d) not the hotel zone.\u00a0 That my friends, is a good thing.\u00a0 So what is the plan?\u00a0 Hop on another bus.\u00a0 Brilliant!!\u00a0Don\u2019t know where we went.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know where we are.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know nada, (Point \u201cD\u201d). However, it\u2019s a cheap ride to see parts of Cancun that most people probably would not \/ should not visit.\u00a0 We did.\u00a0 Not freaking out (again).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*** Special Activity ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get a blank piece of paper and a pencil.\u00a0 From this point on, do not lift your pencil. Place a dot one inch from the bottom and one inch from the right side.\u00a0 That\u2019s point \u201cA\u201d, our house.\u00a0 Draw a half inch squiggly line from the dot towards the bottom of the page.\u00a0 That\u2019s the 1km dirt road to the house.\u00a0 From there, draw a straight line 1\u00bd inches to the left.\u00a0 That\u2019s the road to the federal highway, (Point \u201cB\u201c,Later you can throw in a couple of doodles of crocodiles; small ones).\u00a0Now, draw a straight line to one inch from the top of the paper, then a gently curved line, two inches to the left.\u00a0 You are now at Point \u201cC\u201d, downtownCancun.\u00a0 Ok, with a firm grip on your pencil, allow your hand to go into a convulsive fit.\u00a0 That\u2019s the route to point \u201cD\u201d.\u00a0 Do all that again in reverse order and you will find home.\u00a0 Now throw in the little crocodiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20\/7 \u2013 The collectivo thing is a nice cheap adventure.\u00a0 So we did it all again except went the opposite way on the federal highway towards Playa del Carmen, that is, AFTER we stopped in again at el mechanico.\u00a0 All he could say was \u201cLunes!\u201d (Monday).\u00a0 Sharon & I, as a couple, are soooooo patient.\u00a0 Individually, there could have been blood.\u00a0 Off to Playa del Carmen.\u00a0 The collectivo basically drops you off conveniently near the hot spot of 5th avenue, with only a short walk past some stores and Edwardo, the \u201cI got what you want gringo\u201d dealer.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t mention it earlier, 5th ave. in Playa del Carmen is a people watcher\u2019s paradise.\u00a0This is where the sublime and the \u201cW.T.F.?\u201d merge.\u00a0 Lovely, bronzed muses mix with hair-braided Honey Boo-boos.\u00a0 Eye candy meets eye infection.\u00a0 We took it all in while we sipped 2 for 1 margaritas and snacked, listened to the house band at Karen\u2019s.\u00a0 The house band was one of those \u201cauthentic\u201d Peruvian pan flute groups, complete with drum machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21\/7 \u2013 I got a message that our dear friend Cecillio was now in town, or at least in Playa del Carmen.\u00a0 So today started off much like yesterday.\u00a0 We met him at a grocery store on the outskirts of Playa.\u00a0While waiting , we were entertained by a security guard chasing a kid that stole a bottle of tequila, (I could tell it was a kid because it wasn\u2019t a tequila worth stealing.\u00a0 I\u2018m just sayin\u2018).\u00a0 Cecillio picked us up and we went to his daughter Arianna\u2019s house, know as the \u201cHouse of the PregnantOne\u201d.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how she does it (rhetorical, not literal) but I haven ever seen her NOT pregnant.\u00a0 She\u2019s getting ready to have her second child but the woman must gestate for 36 months.\u00a0 However, to her credit, she makes a mean Bistec Ranchero and sizzling green hot sauce.\u00a0 The four of us snacked and Cecillio and I sipped a few mescals.\u00a0 Soon after Rachel (daughter # 2) and her husband Giancarlo (Canadian with a Paul Shaffer haircut.\u00a0 Paul is also Canandian but \u2026 I just felt the need to point that out).\u00a0 Secret plans were made and before we knew it, the entire clan with a couple of kids thrown in, ventured off to\u2026 to\u2026um, a beach with no name.\u00a0Some day soon, corporate Mexico will come along and destroy this beautiful\u00a0combination of spring fed, cool cenote water that flows into the Caribbean, but, thankfully, not yet.\u00a0 We sat in the cooler fresh water for a couple of hours and sipped on cups of beer that Cecillio kept from ever running dry. Giancarlo\u2019s perfect English and Rachel\u2019s charming twist on English made for delightful conversation.\u00a0 Next time folks, this is a \u201cmust visit\u201d beach; slightly challenging to get to but worth the journey.\u00a0 Plans were made for the entire gang to BBQ Mexican style at our house this Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22\/7 \u2013 Sharon and I are determined to stay home, listen to the waves and hope for the sound of the \u201cLatin ring tone\u201d, which should be Ricardo \u2013 \u201cEl Mechanico\u201d, calling us to tell us Chacha is ready to come home.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to make breakfast and wait.\u00a0 It\u2019s day 8 of no car and day 33 of no Bruno.<\/p>\n

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16\/7 \u2013 The one-eye-open thrill ride to the airport went off without a hitch and was soon followed by a nap in place of what would normally be known as sleep.\u00a0 At 8 we got back up and took Chacha to the car doctor, across the main highway to old Continue Reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donniemeals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}