3er. MUNDIALITO de Futbol

La Quinta Magazine hosted the 3rd annual Little World Futbol Tournament at Mamitas Beach this last weekend June 21st and 22nd, under beautiful blue skies and next to an even more beautiful blue Caribbean Sea.

A total of 16 countries signed up for the weekend event. Teams were present from Uruguay, Italy, Israel, Mexico, USA, Holland, France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, England, Canada, Switzerland, Cuba, Germany and Chile.

The teams were made up of primarily people who are all living here in Playa. Most but not all of them played on the team of their national origin. I saw lots of familiar faces on many of the teams and I never realized how good these people that I pass on the street each day, really are at futbol. I also did not realize how seriously most of them take the game. Soccer or futbol as it is called here, is a really big deal in most of the world except the US and in Playa it is no different. Several of these matches nearly came to blows. Cursing, spitting and kicking sand were the norm in many of the matches. Uruguay, Italy and Argentina in particular all brought far too much testosterone to the beach. My Spanish and Italian vocabulary of filthy names quadrupled over the weekend. I can’t wait to use them. I don’t think I’ll try them on any of the people I learned them from however.

Team USA made a respectable showing but was never a threat. To anyone. They played hard and deserve credit for even going out on the sand but alas they were doomed from the get go. With three consecutive losses to Israel, Argentina and England, the USA was eliminated without scoring a single goal. I’m sure they’ll regroup for next year and do much better.

I hope Argentina and Uruguay enter the tournament again next year. Not because I want to see them play but because their female rooting sections had some of the best looking and scantily clad South American beauties to be found. Some of the players had a difficult time keeping their minds and eyes focused on the game. I even found myself distracted once.

Team France had some pretty good players and one excellent one but the one match I watched between them and Uruguay turned into a rout after a 1 to 1 tie part way through the second period turned into a 7 to 1 loss after the French goalie completely crumbled. By the time the match was finished so was he.

Team Canada had a young lady on their team who actually played very well. I think the really hard core teams had a hard time deciding how to handle her or maybe I should say not handle her. She was the only one who did not seem to be bumped, tripped grabbed and kicked. Even the mangler’s from Uruguay and Argentina cut her some slack.

Although I didn’t see the final match for the local championship, I understand it was played between Italy and Israel with the Italians coming out on top here in Playa only to find the true Italian national team was eliminated at about the same time by Spain in the Euro 2008 competition in Germany.

All in all it was a great two days of fun for the locals with wonderful weather both days. I’m sure next year will bring even more teams to the beach.

Catch Of The Day

Mrs. Princess and I went shopping the other day at Walmart (yes we have a Walmart) and as we passed through the seafood department I noticed some big pieces of fish laid out on ice that looked strangely familiar to me but somehow out of place here in Playa del Carmen. Upon closer inspection and reading the sign stuck in the ice I realized I was looking at Alaskan halibut. Being from the Pacific Northwest and great lovers of halibut, Mrs. Princess and I agreed that because it was just such a rare find we would have to purchase some no matter the cost. The halibut pieces were big boneless skinless filets and still frozen. There were a couple of pieces up front that had thawed out and I gave them the old sniff test. Mrs. Princess who wasn’t about to trust my nose gave them the once over herself. “Buy it” she then hastily commanded while pointing at some of the frozen pieces.


Back in Oregon we would pay anywhere from $7.00 a pound to as much as $15.00 per pound for halibut that was practically caught in our own backyard. Well, if there was halibut from Alaska in Playa, we were going to have some and that was that, cost be damned.


I approached the fishmonger and mentally prepared myself for the culinary sacrifices we would need to make in the coming days for the opportunity this rare treat was going to provide us that night however, nothing could have prepared me for the answer I received from the fishmonger. Our conversation was in Spanish so it always takes my mind a few extra seconds to process even simple Spanish conversation. I was promptly informed that the price of the Alaskan halibut was 48 pesos. My mind became a jumbled mass as it tried desperately to decipher what my ears had just heard. “Forty eight pesos” I blurted out. “Why…that’s ridiculous!” I said, which it was, although I only said it because my brain was still trying to figure out how much “cuarenta y ocho pesos” actually was. Once I got my arms around the 48 peso price tag the next step was to find out just how much halibut I would get for 48 pesos which is the US equivalent of about $4.50.

I knew that this was where I was going to get sucker punched and find that 48 pesos was going to buy me a piece of halibut slightly smaller in size than a US one dollar bill. Okay here goes “How much halibut do I get for 48 pesos?” “One kilo” replied the fishmonger. Luckily Mrs. Princess was standing behind me and grabbed me as I stumbled backwards nearly overturning the seafood display table behind me.

I quickly regained my composure and ran the math. At 48 pesos per kilo I would be paying just a few pennies over $2.00 a pound for boneless skinless Alaskan halibut filets. Suddenly I heard myself blurting to the fishmonger “We’ll take everything you’ve got.” The fishmonger nodded appreciatively if not somewhat surprisedly and opened the large door to the freezer just behind him. Just inside was a large unopened box about 4 feet square and 4 feet high. He pried the lid from the box exposing what appeared to me at the time to be all of the frozen halibut that could have come out of Alaska in the last sixty days. I told Mrs. Princess to stay with the fishmonger and to keep a close eye on him. I didn’t want to take any chance of messing this up. She asked where I thought I was going and I said “Over to the appliance department to look at freezers!”

Over in the freezer department I found that I would need to purchase at least two very large freezers to hold all the halibut that we were going to buy. Suddenly, the old brain came out of shock and began functioning partially again which is about as much as I can ask of it even on a good day. I could hear it whispering to me “Mike, your losing it. Go back to the fish counter, buy some halibut and go home and have a nice dinner with Ima Princess.” Dejectedly but with the satisfaction that the day was not totally lost, I proceeded back to the counter and explained to Mrs. Princess and the kindly fishmonger that we would not, after all be buying all of the beautiful, boneless, skinless, flash frozen, Alaskan halibut filets that Walmart had to offer. Strangely enough they both took it rather well.

After loading up with three or four large packages of halibut we headed home with our catch of the day. For the next three days, we would eat halibut at night and I would go back to Walmart early the next morning to buy even more packages of halibut. The first two days went well but on the third, the fishmonger's freezer was bare. No more beautiful, boneless, skinless, flash frozen, Alaskan halibut filets. Knowing that I still had a goodly supply at home in the freezer made me happy and knowing that Walmart didn’t have any more for me to buy and bring home made Mrs. Princess happy. I guess it was a win, win. I didn’t tell Mrs. Princess that the fishmonger told me they would have more soon.

Needless to say we’ve been eating a lot of halibut prepared in a number of different ways and I’m going to share with you the absolute easiest way to prepare this delicious fish. It’s also one of our favorite ways to eat it. I know some of you may be a little skeptical of some of the things I have just told you however, this recipe is 100% legit. You can easily make this entire recipe in less than ten minutes. I would never ask anyone to ruin a good piece of halibut. Here is what you need and what you do:





There are only 4 ingredients needed for this preparation. The first two ,

Juice of 1 lemon or lime (we only get limes down here)
4 or 5 tablespoons of butter.


STEP 1

Squeeze the lemon or lime juice into a small glass dish. Stick the butter in with the lime juice and heat in the microwave until the butter melts, 20 or 30 seconds. This should be more than plenty for two people.


Now the fun part:


STEP 2


Pour a 2 liter bottle of 7UP or Sprite into a large saucepan. Put it on the stove and bring it to a simmer.


Cut the beautiful, boneless, skinless, flash frozen but now thawed, Alaskan halibut filets into small bite-sized pieces about 1 to 1 ½ inches square.



Bring the 7UP or Sprite to a boil, add the halibut pieces to the pan and wait until they start to float. This will only take a very short time. A minute or two will be sufficient. Maybe three if you are really cooking a large quantity. If you overcook the halibut it will be very dry and you will not enjoy it nearly as much.



Drain the halibut and you’re ready to go. Make sure everything else is ready because the halibut should be eaten as soon as it is finished cooking. Dip one piece into the lemon butter, then put it into your mouth and the rest is pretty self explanatory.



This is so good that I recommend that you allow at least 8 ounces of halibut for each person. If you don’t eat it all at one sitting, put the leftovers in a Ziploc with a little of the lemon butter, refrigerate overnight and you’ll have some incredibly delicious, chilled lemon flavored halibut snacks the next day.


You can also use any other firm fleshed white fish like monkfish or wahoo but we think halibut is the best.


Buen provecho!!!

Tragedy On The Oregon Coast

Every once in a while there are things that do not happen in Playa that are still noteworthy. This is one of them. After reading this terrible Associated Press report about this incredibly sad incident in Charleston Oregon, I felt compelled to share it with you on my blog space. Being from Oregon, I know that this was a highly unusual and random cruel act perpetuated by by two young, deranged youths (probably from out of state). All I can say is when you read this, you'd better have your Kleenex handy.

First reported by Associated Press, Friday June 13th, 2008

Men fillet Charlie the Tuna statue in Oregon
What began as a prank ended with a

sort of chain-saw massacre

Lisa Campbell and her mother, Mel Campbell, look over the pieces of Charlie the Tuna on June 6 behind a fire station in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, Ore. - It turns out the fate of Charlie the Tuna of Charleston, Ore., was sorry indeed.

The 8-foot Monterey cypress sculpture that used to greet visitors to the coastal fishing town was filleted by two young men who stole it as a prank and then, panicked
they would be found out, took chain saws to it.
Not that Charlie would have lasted much longer anyway, the town learned, what with the way bugs and rot had hollowed out his innards.

The statue stood beside the South Slough Bridge into Charleston until Mark Santos and Marvin Terry Jr. swiped it last month.

"We had planned to wait a little while and then leave Charlie in a random place in town where he could be returned unharmed," they said in an apology letter published in The World of Coos Bay.
But someone tipped off sheriff's deputies, who started nosing around. Santos and Terry rushed to their hiding place and tried to move Charlie. But the statue wouldn't fit in their truck.

"We decided to chop him up so we could move him," they said. "This was not pre-planned."
Deputies caught them in the act and charged them with theft and criminal mischief.

Mel Campbell of the merchants association had painted Charlie many times over the years — he was in blue with an orange hat, after the StarKist ads' Charlie.

Santos has paid her a visit, and Campbell is asking for leniency.

"This was just a terrible, dumb, stupid prank that went absolutely wrong," she said.

A wake is planned Saturday at the town's visitors center. The Wild Women of Charleston and the Tuna Guys will offer musical moments. The remains are to be burned and buried at the center.
Mourners are invited to share stories about Charlie, and tuna recipes.

Brick Road To La Playa

It looks as though one of Playa Del Carmen’s most well known streets is about to get an extreme and much needed facelift. The 150 yard stretch of Calle 28 between 1st Avenue north and the beach that leads to Playa’s two most sought after and overcrowded beach clubs “Mamitas” and “Kool” is finally having brick pavers installed. The brick blocks that have been stacked on pallets at the corner of First Avenue for the last six or seven weeks are now being laid to rest in their new home.

The days of ankle and axle breaking on this ever popular, massively rutted path to the beach may soon be a thing of the past. I’m sure more people and drinks have slipped, slopped, dripped and dropped along this short stretch of road than anywhere else in Playa. Once the paving is done the overimbibed will no longer be able to use road conditions as an excuse for their stumbles and tumbles.


On a busy day, of which there are many, there can be hundreds of people at any given time walking to or from the beach on 28th from dawn until well after dusk. The bricks are currently being laid beginning at 1st Avenue and heading toward the beach. I’ve got a hunch there may only be 1 block paved for the time being. Construction is scheduled to begin on a new condo project on the north side of the street with lots of heavy equipment coming and going. This may delay the last 100 yard stretch for a while. We’ll see. In the meantime maybe we could come up with a new name for the street. It certainly deserves one. There is absolutely no doubt that this 150 yard stretch of road provides the best place for people watching anywhere in Playa del Carmen, maybe even the world!
I’ll post some more pictures of the progress or the lack thereof in the coming days.

It seems that all of the work on 28th street may have gone for naught. The newly brick blocked street has been almost entirely taken over by motorized vehicles instead of foot traffic. The foot traffic is still there but oh my..... what a mess. Maybe the powers that be will put some restrictions on vehicle traffic. It seems a shame to have this newly rennovated street completely over run by cars trucks and even busses. We'll see.

World Kiteboard Competition In Playa

The first PKRA (Professional Kite Riders Association) event of 2008 was held in Playa for the fist time from March 5th through March 9th at Mamita’s Beach. The best kiteboarders in the world were on hand and they put on a great show. A variety of wind and weather conditions made each day a little different. I made it down for a couple of hours each day and I can tell you, these young people are amazing! Both freestyle acrobatics and course racing were on the schedule and front row seating was available to everyone on the beach.

The first day provided warm weather and light but consistent winds that averaged between 10 and 14 knots. These winds were not strong enough for a freestyle event but were good enough for a triangular race course event that began at 2:45 p.m. with an average race time of 15 to 20 minutes per race.

The second day provided enough wind for the freestyle competition to be held and possibly the most noteworthy item was that the 14 year old women’s world champion Gisela Pulido from Spain was disqualified when her kite became entangled with another rider’s kite. This 14 year old young lady cannot be more than 80 pounds soaking wet and believe me she was soaking wet all the time.

Day three brought a lot more wind than day two, averaging between 20 to 25 knots. The wind, along with an unusually strong current made it tricky for the riders to stay upwind. The riders would launch out from the beach but would end up having to come ashore after a couple of minutes and run back up the beach with their kites being controlled in one hand and carrying their board in the other. Some of the women had some help from some of the men riders but the entire ordeal looked absolutely exhausting. The high wind and the rough seas provided many a rough spill for a lot of the riders. I was surprised that a few even got back on their boards.

Day four was spent waiting for the wind to arrive. When it did, it was not suitable for competition because it was blowing offshore instead of onshore and thereby made it difficult for the competition to be held close to the beach because of what they call wind shadows caused by buildings and trees close to the beach. Competition was called off at 4 p.m. and the course racing event finale was scheduled for early Sunday.

The weather deteriorated on day 5 and the sun failed to come out for the first time during the competition. Light, early morning winds gave way to northerly breezes around 10 am and the course racing and the freestyle events were concluded. I really don’t know how it all wrapped up or what the final standings were but I’m told there was $40,000 in prize money to be awarded so I’m sure it was important to the competitors. I just enjoyed the show.

There was another kiteboard competition in Playa a couple of years ago but it was not a World Kitebord event. I enjoyed watching it as well but it didn’t compare t this years event. Even though I know absolutely nothing about this sport it was captivating to watch up close. The riders, the international competition, the camaraderie and enthusiasm of young people engaged in a relatively new sport, the staging area where riders and kites all mix together and even the crowds that gathered to watch made this a really memorable experience for me. The pictures can tell the story of this event much better than I can. I hope they all come back next year and do it again! In the meantime, I'm going to buy a better camera.

Mahi Mahi, Mangos And Marinade

Our son Matt was down recently for a vacation so he and I decided to do a little fishing. For one reason or another, we ended up in Akumal to begin our trip. We had been in Akumal the day before and had talked with Chino, who would be our guide and arranged to go out the next morning at 9 am. Since Chino lives in Playa del Carmen, I suggested that we would just pick him up at 8 am at his house the next day and we would ride down together.

We arrived in Akumal on schedule, picked up a few snacks and headed to the boat. The bay here in Akumal is something to behold on a calm morning. We walked along the bay for about 15 minutes while Chino and our skipper prepared the boat and the equipment. Chino carefully attached steel leaders and fresh bait to each of the four rods we would be using. He also hand sharpened all of the hooks we would need for the day. The boat itself, called a lancha down here, was a small open boat with an equally small canvas cover to provide some shade. The boat was equipped with a 40 horse outboard which proved to be more than adequate. The lancha was spotlessly clean and obviously well maintained. Nonetheless I was pleased to see lifejackets readily accessible all around.

We had agreed to pay $120.00 for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the lancha would be lost, the lancha would be lost. Whoops! Sorry! Too many Gilligans Island reruns. We did in fact however agree to pay $120.00 for a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

Actually the bay was perfectly calm as we slowly motored out and Chino pointed out a few small sea turtles as we headed for open water. We ended up only 3 to 4 miles offshore and within easy sight of land and bobbing along comfortably in 2 to 3 foot swells by that time. There were a few other boats within a mile or two of us but no one seemed to be getting much action. Chino let out our lines and we sat back to enjoy the scenery. After about twenty minutes Matt and I both saw an incredibly fast moving streak of water crossing behind our boat about 30 yards out. The next moment found one of the four rod tips dipping forcefully towards the water and we had a fish on! When fishing for mahi mahi, the bait is actually pulled along the surface of the water in full view of the occupants of the boat. If you are watching carefully, you can often see your fish approach and strike. Matt was first in line for a chance to catch something and after about 30 minutes, Chino hauled aboard a beautiful 20 pound or so mahi mahi much to our delight. After putting out our lines again we had another fish on in fairly short order and this time it was my turn with nearly identical results as the first fish.

We trolled around another hour or so without any more action but Chino did spot two absolutely huge sea turtles which he motored slowly over for us to see. I truly thought as we approached that we were looking at two overturned boats. I had no idea they could grow so large. Unfortunately I did not get my camera in time to get pictures.

Back in Akumal Bay, Chino filleted our fish, packed them in ice and sent us home with enough mahi mahi for eight or nine meals (with guests). We grilled some of our fresh mahi mahi on the barbecue that evening after marinating it for about 30 minutes in the following:

2 large cloves of chopped garlic
1/3 cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons of basalmic vinegar
¼ cup of fresh lime juice
¼ cup of orange juice

Mince the garlic, add the other ingredients, mix thoroughly and add the fish. I wouldn’t marinate the fish for more than 30 minutes as the marinade will overpower the fish.

This marinade is great with grilled chicken breasts as well and you can add a minced jalapeño or two if you want it spicy. You can also marinate the chicken for a couple of hours if you like.

I also made a very quick and easy mango avocado salsa for the fish:

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 jalapeño chili finely chopped
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 avocado diced

Mix all the ingredients except the avocado and refrigerate. Add the avocado just before serving. This is a very good and simple salsa.

We had a great fishing trip with great results and the price to me was very reasonable. Chino did a great job. If you would like to go out with him, I’m sure I can get you in touch.

What Is A "Vulcanizadora" Anyway?

Got a flat tire on the Jeep the other day. Not totally flat, just a nail and a steady leak. Actually found a Goodyear store out near the highway after a relatively short search time. Although they informed me they could not repair the tire for safety purposes (I had never heard this before), they would certainly enjoy replacing it with a new one for me. I opted for some air in the tire and a further search for a Vulcanizadora (tire patch repairman). After driving the obligatory time required for searching for new things, people or places, I spotted a large, worn out tractor tire with the word “Vulcanizadora” sloppily hand painted around its circumference in large white letters.

The Vulcanizadoras shop was nothing more than a rundown space located between two other equally ramshackle and non-descript buildings. Pulling into the slip, I observed my ersatz tire technician and what I assumed to be his girlfriend in a somewhat sensual embrace. Neither of them seemed to be overly concerned or pleased about my arrival.

Although I was parked only a few feet away from them, they paid no attention to me whatsoever. As I waited patiently in my car for some form of recognition, their embraces became more arduous and passionate. Feeling uncomfortable as well as somewhat embarrassed but not willing to go in search of another Vulcanizadora, I decided to wait them out. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity for me to read my Jeep owners manual while waiting. After five or ten minutes of titillating reading about tire pressures, roof racks and engine capacities, I suddenly felt my car shaking up and down. Okay, get your minds out of the gutter, it was not the Vulcanizadora and his girlfriend although at first, I too wondered. It was the Vulcanizadora and his trusty jack.

Having spotted the leaky tire, he set upon its repair with great vigor, not bothering to consult with me before he began. Using his pneumatic air hammer to remove my lug nuts and tire with one hand and chomping down a sandwich of some sort with the other, he quickly removed the tire and carried it to his workbench, continuing to eat as he worked. I was never able to determine whether the one hand repair job was an effort to impress me, or merely an act of efficiency or multitasking. Not being all that familiar with efficiency or multitasking here, I chose instead to believe it was primarily to demonstrate to his girlfriend that he could change a tire and eat at the same time. Expanding on this theorem, one could assume that he could eat and do other things at the same time as well. The girlfriend did not seem unduly impressed and I noticed she began to apply some additional makeup as he finished up the repair.

The entire repair from start to finish not counting waiting time took only five minutes and cost 50 pesos. There was also no worrisome mention by the Vulcanizadora of any safety factors to consider like I received at the Goodyear store. I liked that. The overall experience was not exactly like Les Schwab Tires back home but not bad for here in Playa and oddly enough, on the whole, rather pleasant. As I backed out of the driveway, the Vulcanizidora grabbed another sandwich in one hand and placed his other arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. She smiled seductively at him and he winked at me and nodded as I drove away.

By the way, Vulcanizadora is now one of my favorite Spanish words and I say it aloud whenever I see it written, especially when I am eating and “Cupcake”, my wife, is with me. However, for some reason, “Vulcanizadora” just doesn’t do the same thing for her that it does for me!

Hurricane Dean, Heard But Not Really Seen

In our latest weather news, hurricane “Dean” passed by about 150 miles to the south of Playa on Tuesday August 21st leaving us with nothing more than high winds and waves and a little rain. In Playa, everything was back to normal in less than 24 hours.
Dean gave the residents and authorities in Playa a good opportunity to see what we all learned from our two female guests “Emily” and “Wilma” in 2005. In general, everything went very calmly and smoothly. Plywood sales were brisk, many businesses remained open until Monday afternoon and the streets were filled with people going about their business as usual until the early evening when a pre-announced curfew when into effect.
For our part, we purchased a Sinaloa style grilled chicken on the corner of CTM and Ave. 30 for Monday’s dinner complete with marinated onions, Mexican rice and a huge stack of fresh corn tortillas. We ate late and played Yahtzee until 10 pm when we decided it was time to turn in. Everything was still very quiet although we had some interesting thunder and lightning which we always enjoy.
Around midnight the wind picked up enough to wake me up and from 2 am to about 6 am it was howling pretty good. It was light enough to see by 6:15 or so and by 8 I was able to go outside. By 9:30 Cupcake was at a doctors appointment on Ave 15.

The waves were pretty large after the storm passed and access to the beach was restricted due to the size and the strong currents but since most businesses remained closed on Tuesday everyone headed to the beach to look at the waves and have lunch.
Our office reopened on Wednesday morning at 9 am and we had two different clients in looking for property before 10 am. “Dean” turned out just to be a break from the routine and of course we are all thankful for that.

Washers?

We have a new Sunday afternoon pastime in Playa that we use to fill in some of our spare time. It’s called Washers. From my limited background investigation, Washers, like many other of our favorite pastimes was created by accident when Jim Bob and Cooter Cratchett of Racoon Flats Tennessee were rebuilding their uncle Leroy’s truck in the front yard and accidentally dropped a few engine nuts and bolts down a rabbit hole underneath the truck. As the story goes, the truck or at least what’s left of it, is still sitting in the front yard surrounded by holes full of uncle Leroy’s truck parts and the entire Cratchett family, except of course for uncle Leroy gather every Sunday to toss in a few more truck parts.

Mrs. Princess, also known as “Cupcake” and I were introduced to the game a short time back by some really nice folks in Paamul who have made a weekly tradition of the game for awhile now. It’s an easy game for just about anyone to learn and to play. Although the game has been somewhat refined over the years it is really just a variation of the Cratchett’s front yard game and we have elevated its stature even a little more now by referring to it as a “sport” rather than a “game”. Additionally, we all like to think that there is a tremendous amount of skill and strategy involved but my personal experience has found that luck and stupidity usually carry the day. In all fairness, I must say that my good friend, Pepe “Listen To Me!!” Rahill, is probably the most skilled player amongst our group at this time. Pepe seems to be keenly aware of this as well and does a magnificent job of being his own personal promoter. With his boundless energy he does a marvelous and endless job of telling anyone within listening range of his elevated expertise and prowess at the “sport”. Pepe generally arrives a little early on game day for light snacks, sandwiches and beverages that have been prepared, packaged and hauled up to our third floor terrace in coolers by his sweet wife Marisol for his convenience. Resting comfortably in his custom folding beach chair which his dear wife Marisol has carried up for him, he prepares his game plan and strategy for the upcoming match. His pre game battle cries and colorful taunts to his opponents are legendary and serve to both intimidate and enrage his opponents and also help to keep the entertainment value at a fever pitch. Otherwise we might all be napping between games. Typical taunts are “Suit up!”, “Prepare to die!” and “I’m going to crush you like a bug!” If we are heading into a playoff round, all of these could be used at once on an opponent with a maniacal laugh thrown in at the end. Really scary stuff.

In all fairness though I must say Pepe has a softer side as well. He is not always only willing but in fact feels obligated to take on the role of trainer and coach for the seemingly less skilled players (which would be the rest of us) and seems to have an endless repertoire of advice regarding playing stance, washer trajectory and scoring tactics. We’re sure lucky to have him around to improve our game. Otherwise we might all be lousy players. His charming wife Marisol is particularly lucky to have him as a full time live in life coach. She has the patience of a saint.

I think it would be safe to say that we play Washers in the most beautiful setting that the game has ever been played in. Our big rooftop solarium overlooks Coco Beach, the Caribbean Sea and the island of Cozumel. A wooden pergola for shade and a constant sea breeze keep us comfortable on even the hottest of afternoons. Lawn chairs and coolers filled with snacks and beverages (beer) keep the contestants happy while waiting for their next match. The game involves any number of two person teams who seem to play an innumerable number of other two member teams in order to eventually arrive at what is called the “playoffs” where everybody plays some more. Keeping track of the players brackets is probably the hardest part of the entire ordeal, I mean game. Fortunately we have Pepe’s intelligent, sweet and sometimes clothespin clad wife Marisol to keep the games moving. You’ll have to come play if you want to get in on the clothespin action.

And maybe what keeps the whole thing going is, we play for money. Well, not really money, but pesos, which are sort of like money but different. They are used in Mexico to buy things but they’re not really like real money. We all use them down here and they seem to work pretty well for both gringos and locals alike. Did I mention they are not like real money though. For some reason pesos and Monopoly money remind me of the same thing. Anyway, it’s a ten peso entry fee and ten pesos a game to the losing team each time they lose. Of course the winning team picks up 10 pesos each time they win or so I’ve been told. At the end of the day and if you’re on Pepe’s team you might split forty or fifty pesos with him which would be enough to buy two beers downtown or three from the little store on the corner. Not bad for an afternoons work but hardly enough to survive on.
If you’re ever in town and want to join us on a Sunday afternoon just come on over. You’ll find us up on the roof. We start at 2 pm sharp and you have to be on time to play. It takes two people to form a team so bring a friend, some pesos and something to drink. Pepe will do all the rest for you.

Waves, Wahoo And Wasabi

The fishing season is heating up in Playa and Cupcake’s sister who was visiting from Oregon wanted to see what it was all about. After a couple days of delay for one reason or another, she and I made it out on the last day of her vacation.

We arranged our trip the night before with Kike and José for 7 o’clock the next morning. Kike keeps his boat just a couple hundred yards up the beach from our house. It’s a typical small fishing boat or lancha, nothing fancy but adequate for a short 4 hour trip. The seats however are hard and unforgiving and there is not much protection from the high waves we experienced. As a result we finished the day a little sore and wet but more than happy with our results.
Cost of the trip was $150 US for four hours. This included some snacks, pop, beer and water, bait, four fishing rods, a skipper and a mate. Everything was on time and we were on the water by 7:10 am. We were looking for dorado (mahi mahi), wahoo and maybe even a marlin or sailfish. I was most interested in the dorado and wahoo for my refrigerator and dinner table. While Kike pointed the boat north towards Xcalacoco, José prepared the 4 rods with fresh bait. Three rods were set up with bait that simply skimmed the surface of the water from 30 to 60 meters behind the boat. These were intended for dorado which are surface feeders and travel in schools. Dorado can swim more than 50 miles per hour and can often be seen approaching at very high speed as they attack the bait. It’s pretty exciting to see, especially if it’s your bait! The fourth rod was set up with a downrigger in hopes of finding a wahoo or two deeper down. Wahoo are solitary fish and are also capable of reaching speeds of over 50 miles per hour. Wahoo and dorado are not only two of the fastest fish in the Caribbean but two of the best tasting as well.

While we were trolling around about two miles offshore in big 6 to 7 foot swells, I noticed a large log with branches drifting about 75 yards away. I casually mentioned it to Kike who immediately headed towards the drifting wood. As we approached the driftwood, Kike and José started talking excitedly in Spanish. Suddenly two, three or maybe all four of our fishing rods were arching towards the water. In the confusion, we came up empty on all but one of our rods but still managed to bring in one dorado. After getting all of our gear under control and back in the water again, we drifted through the same area again and picked up two more dorado at the same time. With three dorado now on board, we went back one final time and pulled in a wahoo from the deeper water. We were more than content with our catch by this time but still trolled for another hour without results before finally pulling in our lines. Kike brought the boat in close to shore and we enjoyed the scenery and shoreline from just a couple of hundred yards out as we covered the 4 mile stretch back to Playa.

While we did not catch a marlin or sailfish, we did see a large sailfish being caught from a larger boat in the area. We watched the last five or ten minutes of the battle complete with the obligatory aerial display provided by the sailfish before it was hoisted aboard.
Back on Coco Beach, José and Kike filleted our catch on the beach. We left them one whole dorado and half of the wahoo and still went home with a dozen or more dinners. Unfortunately Trish, and her friend Margie had to get to the airport in the afternoon and didn’t get to stay for dinner. I have a feeling they’ll be back. After taking them to the airport, Cupcake and I had a quick and simple dinner of fresh wahoo filets with wasabi mayonnaise, white rice and tossed salad. It was great! Wahoo is awesome! Here’s how we did the fish:


1 nice, thick wahoo filet per person
Johnny’s seasoning salt or other
Fresh lime juice
Purple onion coarsely chopped
Butter
Parsley
Make a tin foil pan from aluminum foil. Rub surface with a little salad oil to keep fish from sticking
Place fish filets skin side down on oiled tin foil
Sprinkle filets with Johnny’s
Squeeze a little lime juice on each filet
Put a little of the diced purple onion and parsley on each filet
Top each filet with a couple of slices of butter
Bake the fish uncovered in the oven for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees until just cooked
The wasabi mayonnaise is simple and tasty with the fish. Just mix the desired amount of wasabi paste with mayonnaise until you get the flavor you like. A squeeze or two of fresh lime juice never hurts.

Tulum Or Not Tulum

Tulum or not Tulum. That is the question.
For a growing number of dreamers and investors, Tulum is rapidly becoming the place to do both. While Playa del Carmen and Puerto Aventuras to the north continue to grow at incredible rates, Tulum seems to be just getting into full stride.

Nowadays the Tulum ruins are no longer the only attraction in town although they certainly remain the most well known feature with busloads of visitors arriving daily to view the only major Mayan ruins located directly on the coast of Quintana Roo. However there is more to attract tourists to the area than just Mayan archeology. A growing number of new, small, eco friendly hotels continue to squeeze in among the older, more established hotels along this incredibly beautiful stretch of the Mayan coastline allowing vistors of all types and means to enjoy this still relatively unspoiled piece of Caribbean Paradise. The city of Tulum is actually in the process of rebuilding and expanding itself in anticipation of its future growth.

Indeed, Tulum appears poised to become the next major Mexican vacation destination spot between Cancun and Belize and although the beach front has already been spoken for or has already become exorbitantly expensive for all but a wealthy few, investors of more moderate means are finding excellent opportunities in the purchase of land.

One hectare parcels (just a little more than two acres) of titled land are not only available but in some cases have already been sold and resold at ever increasing prices. While some investors are purchasing property for the long term, others are looking to make a more modest profit and selling off after only a year or so. These hectares of land are destined to become the future location for New Tulum and will eventually be divided into smaller parcels and sold off or developed in a combination of commercial and residential endeavors. Grid maps showing street names and locations are already available allowing investors to get an idea of just what the future holds for the area.

While the general infrastructure of this area may still be a few years away, the value of the land will continue to increase in anticipation of the inevitable future growth. The continued promise of an international airport located on the Coba road west of Tulum remains unconfirmed but will have little bearing on the desirability or growth of the Tulum area.

Tulum may be an excellent opportunity for young investors since they can invest now and wait while the area develops over the next decade or more. Additionally, the entry level price of the land may give younger, first time investors an affordable real estate foothold in the Mexican Caribbean. Prices today and I do mean today start around $150,000 US per hectare. Let’s see where they are next year.

If you don’t want to take a chance on next years prices, let me know and we’ll secure your land today. To email me, click the "Contact Us" tab on the right side of this page.

Weathering Wilma

Just three months after hurricane Emily, hurricane Wilma followed her little sister to Playa del Carmen and the surrounding area on October 21st. While Emily was impressive enough, she was only an overnight guest. Wilma, not to be outdone by her sibling, arrived with luggage and camping equipment and enough destructive force to realign the scenery from Akumal to Cancun and consume the island of Cozumel as an appetizer on her way in. She pounded the area for forty-eight hours before packing up and leaving for Florida.

 During her stay and after her departure, news reports were grim, generally stating that Playa del Carmen was a place of the past, virtually removed from the map and that basic services would not be available for months and the town would need to be completely rebuilt.

 I am pleased to relay that the reports of Playa del Carmen’s demise were greatly exaggerated. As Wilmahightailed it out of town on Sunday, crews were already out in force clearing roadways and downed power lines. Gasoline, which we were told would not be available for an indefinite period of time was available at most of the Pemex stations in Playa on Monday afternoon. Electrical power which was precautionarily turned off by the Municipality on Friday morning at 4am was restored to portions of Playacar, central downtown and 5^th Avenue on Monday evening. Our own home on the north end of town by Coco Beach had power restored at 3:50pm on Tuesday along with gas and water. Restaurants and shops that were not operating by Monday continued to open their doors during the following days. A stroll along 5^th Avenue on Thursday morning found shopkeepers ready, willing and able. Again as with Emily, the resiliency of the Mexican people proved to be quite amazing. Another noteworthy item is that the “red tape” of rebuilding in the US does not seem to apply in Mexico. “If it’s broke, fix it!” seems to be the motto. While we who live here often complain about the crude infrastructure of electricity, gas, water and sewer installations, it also appears that these systems are considerably easier to repair and restore than what we are accustomed to back home.

 

Beaches for the most part are now substantially enhanced. Beachfront hotels indeed have more coral sand than they know what to do with. Shovels and wheelbarrows are busy removing three to four feet of sand from some of the ground floor units. In the area around Coco Beach, the three most popular beach clubs, Mamitas, El Tukan, and Zubul Reef Club are down but not out. Crews are actively removing the rubble and no doubt will have things up and running in the near future. In the meantime, the few remaining tourists can be found lounging comfortably on the beach appearing not to notice the activity of the work crews surrounding them.

Restoration of services was of course of primary concern but it now appears the larger problem may not be lack of services but lack of tourism. Unfortunately, the airport in Cancun which did sustain damage has had its hands full just getting people out of the area who have been stranded since last Thursday. No incoming passengers are allowed at this time. The planes fly in empty and fly out full. Information regarding airport operations is still sketchy but it appears that the control tower was damaged and planes coming in and out need to use visual systems rather than automatic systems to land and take off. This does not please the airlines I’m sure. Also there is no jet fuel available at this time so planes coming in need to have enough fuel onboard to fly out again. Earlier in the week, I had heard that passengers were required to leave luggage behind temporarily due to weight and the temporary absence of electronic security scanning equipment. I don’t know if this was actually the case or not.

The local community depends almost entirely on tourism as it drives not only the lodging and restaurant industry but almost every other aspect of commerce as well in the area. Even a temporary downturn in visitors can have a significant impact on the majority of the local community who rely solely on the income derived from tourism to eat, buy clothing and pay rent and utilities. These ongoing expenses can only be defrayed by tourism dollars.

Structural damage in Playa was largely limited to broken glass and water damage. The use of concrete and steel in the construction process here appears to protect the structural integrity of all buildings in general. Palapa roofs are easily destroyed but are also easily replaced. Many were damaged but many are still intact. Several of the larger commercial buildings out near the highway with sheet metal roofs will need to replace them as well.

A visit to Sam’s Club on Wednesday resulted in US rib eye steaks, fresh pork tenderloin, cheese and other items necessary to replenish our refrigerator. Fresh caught fish was being sold on the street from ice chest coolers mounted on the three wheeled bicycles for 30 pesos per kilo (less than three dollars for 2 ¼ pounds). We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant “Chicago” on Thursday night where we visited with the owners and our friends, Peter and Dahlia.  A temporary ban on the sale of alcohol was lifted on Friday much to the delight of many.

What Playa really needs now is you! When you get here, you will find Playa ready and waiting. See you soon!