Off to a flying start!

We have arrived in Puerto Aventuras where we will stay for just over 4 weeks.  Our mission: lots of R&R, top up our vitamin D levels, venture out on a few day trips and sort a few things out in the condo. Our condo is ~70kms south of Cancun airport with the nearest town being Playa del Carmen, a 15 minute drive north of here.  Last weekend in Calgary we had lots of snow and it was       -29ᵒC when I went to work on Monday...

…and by Thursday we were +30ᵒC with a view of the marina and glorious sunshine!

We had a great flight down; Westjet kindly shipped Malcolm’s bicycle for free and the flight was on time.  The guys working the X-ray machine at security in both Calgary and Cancun airports were amused with our hand luggage that included a 4-slice toaster (we can only find 2-slice ones here) and a cappuccino machine.  We have been running a dehumidifier on a timer since we left in November and the condo felt good when we arrived – none of the musty smell that we had in the past because of the high levels of humidity and it means that we can leave bed linen and clothes out without them being affected by mildew.  One of the first things that we noticed was that the large tree at end of our yard had lost some of its leaves compared to when we saw it in November, so I guess the trees do realize that it is winter even if it is 30ᵒC.  It has developed some large sacks which I’m guessing contain seeds (or new leaves) and we have affectionately nicknamed it the “bollock” tree (for our dear friends in Canada, this is a quaint English term that you may not understand…J).

We have had a busy couple of first days; on Friday we set up a bank account and received exceptional service in the process.  The lady that we saw was specifically assigned to look after foreigners, spoke excellent English and was most efficient in what she had to do.  We left with debit cards in our hands, instructions on how to set up internet banking and all the details that we needed to send a wire transfer.  We also purchased a mobile internet stick which we are still trying to work with but seems to be okay for now (alternative is a wireless service that seemed a bit slow the last time we came).  On Saturday we went into Playa to buy a bicycle for me so that we can keep active while we are here.  I left with a lilac ‘Bacini Bike’ for the grand total of 1,200 pesos (~$100).  After struggling to get it into the hire car, we did manage to bring it home.  We also came across a nice indoor/outdoor couch set and decided to buy it for our living room…. the only problem was that someone (a.k.a.me) had forgotten to phone MasterCard to let them know we were travelling and our credit card purchased was declined.  We had to drive back here, phone MasterCard then head back into town to make the purchase which worked fine the second time around.  Luckily we have time to spare…
Malcolm completed a 'quality control' check for couch comfort and he approved it:

Bob & Carol, some friends from Calgary that we got to know through motorcycling and coincidentally own a condo nearby, called in Saturday evening to see how things were going.  A couple of cervezas later I made an impromptu curry and we had supper together followed by a few cappuccinos...