Bike tour of Puerto Aventuras

Today was cloudy (again!) and we have been trying to take advantage of those days to run errands so that we are not out in the blazing sunshine.  We headed in to Playa to see if we could do something with our internet stick, which operates really slowly, but nothing is available to make it better.  We appear to be faced with the lesser of two evils; the internet stick that works on the 3G network and has a strong signal but is slow or a wireless service that has intermittent signal strength but is faster when it is running well but is not a secure connection.  We will persevere…  We called into the bank and met another very pleasant English-speaking lady who helped us change our PIN number for our bank cards.  It sounds very basic but when all of the instructions are in Spanish, we thought it best to seek out some help.  When the account was opened an alert was also set up so that we would be advised by text message of any withdrawals (debit/ABM) of 1,000 pesos or more.  We withdrew 1,000 MXN to test the cards and sure enough, the text message arrived advising of the cash withdrawal and included the remaining balance in the account.  Pretty cool eh?  Our trip also included a visit to a dentist’s office to find out the cost of some work for a friend.  We also enquired about some general services for us and it turned out that paying 100% of the cost here for services was far cheaper than the amount we pay in Canada for the portion not covered by insurance.  As an example, Malcolm’s recent 6-month check-up and hygienist recently cost us ~$90 for the portion not covered by Blue Cross.  In contrast, a consultation and cleaning would total ~$64 here.  A panoramic X-ray would only be $17.

After lunch I decided to bike over to the new local supermarket ‘Chedraui’ which is on the other side of the highway from our community.  I thought that I would take a few photos as I rode back to show you our immediate area.

It is a gated community so entry is either by way of electronic card to lift the barrier or by discussion with the ‘guard’ who will take note of who you are and where you are going.

the 'main road' after going through the entrance gate

... leads to a dolphin enclosure with restaurants and shops around the perimeter



there are sea lions and manatei as well



and beyond that is the main marina

it's hard to see but our condo is the one with the thatched 'palapa' on the roof above the boat with the yellow hull

I was out cycling for just over an hour; the first few minutes were a little shaky - the Bacini Bike dragged me down the stairs from the third floor as it did not fit in the elevator!

Adios for now and let's hope the sun comes back tomorrow.  I can't cope when the temperature plummets to 22C.... it means I have to start making cocktails to stay warm...