Fuzz head

No, not because of a hangover, but I somehow managed to avoid that last week, somehow...

I took out the braids in my hair. And I am a big fuzz ball. I know, tourist thing to do, but I like getting my hair braided when I am on vacation in warmer climates.

And really, it had a purpose, because it kept my hair tamed when I was snorkling in the ocean.

It kind of sucks being back from vacation, but in other ways it is really nice. My own bed, which is queen sized rather than double. Seeing the cats. Not having to slather on sunscreen lest I burn my hide off (yes, very white girl here!)

But it was great to get away.

So the scoop:

Got up Friday the 15th - at 3am. It was -12 according to bank in downtown St. Paul. Get to the airport, on the plane. Slept some, read, etc. My friend (the one that arranged the trip for our group) cried when we landed because she was so happy to be on vacation. Customs, ride to hotel... rooms are not going to be ready for a couple of hours. So we went to the bar and had some beverages - because, of course, it was an all-inclusive resort! Met some people at the bar that we ended up hanging out with and doing stuff with all week...

So the seven of us got rooms all next to each other, which was great, even if they were on the 2nd floor. Dinner that evening in the Mexican restaurant, then off to bed.

Saturday - a day by the pool/ocean. It was funny watching one of the staff trying to recruit folks to go "stretch by the pool." My friend Kathy told him - "There is absolutely nothing that you can say or do to get me out of this lounge chair.... I am on vacation, and you might as well just walk away now." We had dinner at the Cuban resturant that night

Sunday - we decided to rent a Jeep, and explore some of the island when there were no cruize ships there. Looked at the San Gervais ruins. Tasted some Tequilla. Looked at the ocean on the Carribean side of the island. Had a couple of drinks at bars along the way. Got back 6-ish and then got ready to have dinner in town.

Monday - out again in the Jeep, since it was a 24-hour rental. A bit more traffic, and I'm glad that I got some practice driving the day before, since it was a little scarier. After we turned in the Jeep, we did some shopping in town. This is the day I got my hair braided. I got a really cool calla lilly vase. We got my dad a belt buckle as a present, but Eric really annoyed me because he would not let me bargain for it.... No kidding - he slapped me in the rear when I tried to make a counter offer. I was so relieved to have the Jeep dropped off, and a little irked because of the shopping, so when we got back I had a few too many beverages. I guess I poured myself into bed at about 7. I guess the phone rang to see if we wanted to go to dinner, but I don't remember it... I woke up around 3am, brushed my teeth, drank a bottle of water, and crawled back into bed. Suprisingly, I was not hung over in the morning.

Tuesday - three of us went to Chakkunab, which is a national park. A day of relaxing on the beach and snorkeling along the reefs there. Some really cool fish there. We had dinner in the Italian restaurant that night.

Wednesday - I went horseback riding in the morning with Betsy. Eric, Betsy and I caught the ferry to Playa del Carmen in the afternoon, where we did some more shopping. And when the same thing started to happen with the barganing, I took Eric aside and told him to quit it. Okay, so I yelled at him in front of the salesperson.... then we stepped aside to talk. When I told him that he was supposed to bargain, he said "Well, then I don't want to shop". Betsy had a bit of a chat with him, told him it was a game for the salespeople, and that if he liked something, he was supposed to hand it to me, and walk away. It worked! We got back around 8pm, had some dinner in the buffet, and watched the lunar eclipse.

Thursday - One of the folks we had met on Friday, had won a boat ride so we all piled onto this fabulous boat for a cruise up the coast up the island with a stop for snorkeling at an off-shore reef. REALLY cool fish there! Relaxing by the pool in the afternoon, and dinner again in the Mexican restaurant. Complaining about how we had to leave the next day.

Friday - *sniff* packing, and meeting in the lobby at 9:30 am to take a taxi to the airport. We upgraded to first class, so it was a little more bearable to go home, but still kind of sad.

It was fun, and relaxing, and gluttonous.... I bit the bullet and stepped on the scale this morning and was up about 10 pounds.

So, *thud* welcome back to reality.

Exercize and diet will commence...... tomorrow.

~a