Dog House

And, some pictures of the dogs adjusting to their new home... although, Vina has stayed here twice before, with Lydia and Mike in Feb 2005 for a week and with us in March 2005 for a week before we took her back. And Bella lived over at La Sirena for the first few months of her life. And Cejas was roaming up here when I came down to get him to take him back (which is another story for another time!) So, Missy is the only true newcomer, but she doesn't seem to notice!

And, a picture of Missy and Vina together at the beach. This is proof that prayers are still being answered! What a difference from four months ago, when I thought that I was going to have to find Solavina a new home because she was going after Missy. After consulting with the doggy shrink though, all has worked out. But - that's another whole blog for another whole time!

Turtle Power!

Have to include some turtle shots. Thanks to Cheryl/Turdle for cleaning two of them up... sorry about the murkiness of the others.

Full Moon over Half Moon Bay

There is an almost full moon tonight and the Autumnal Equinox occurs on Sunday at 5:51 EDT, 4:41 here (maybe I will still be up for it!) I would love to be at Chichen Itza for this one!

And just some pictures from the past week. The bird is an osprey that we are enjoying watching dive from the top of our building straight down into Half Moon Bay. It rained all day today, so here is our view in the rain too.

Beach Mutts pics

Here are some pictures of the dogs at the beach. I just learned how to resize them to make them easier and faster to upload! YEAH!!!

Missy, Cejas, Bella, Solavina and their new friend, Boxhito/Chico/Lalo, who is a real sweetheart and who needs a home... Lydia??? :)

More pictures from Mahahual

For whatever reason, I can only attach five pictures to an entry... so here are some more pictures from our trip to Mahahual.

Mahahual

I'm settling into life in Akumal. Neither of us can remember what day of the week it is, and have to look at our watches to find out. Forget about the date! And now, I can barely remember what we did a week ago...

Sunday we just hung out around the condo. Monday we took Bella up to CEA to see Paul, but he wasn't back from his trip yet. Cejas had to tag along, so we took the two of them with us for lunch at Turtle Bay Cafe. Jennifer and Dani were just coming back from taking their dogs to the beach, so it was a big doggy reunion at the bakery! Cejas and Colonel have called a truce and no one's table was upset! Bella and Daisy remembered each other but Bella wasn't allowed to run around with her just yet... after she gets more used to being here. Jessie curled up in the corner right behind us, and Jersey came over for some loving. Dozer and Kikitun, Dani's dogs, came over to Cejas and greeted him back. After a delicious lunch, we went back to the condo and then to the pool.

On Tuesday, Bob and I made a delivery of 300 pounds of dog food to Mahahual. This is where Dean made landfall and it is the area that has had the most devastation and destruction. We had never been to Mahahual, but had seen pictures and read about it and knew that it was a beautiful, tiny, little beachfront town. A cruise ship pier had been built there a couple of years ago and the cruise ships were coming in to port there on a regular basis. The town was supposed to be growing. It was supposed to be the next hot spot. There had been a big feature article on it in the Sunday Chronicle back in SF in August. We had planned on going there during our stay here - but not like this.

We left Akumal about 9:00 with Bella and Missy with us, while Cejas and Solavina stayed in the condo. Bella got to go because she barks a lot when we aren't home and we didn't want her barking and annoying people all day. Missy got to go just because she is cute!

We loaded up the bags of dog food - four in the back of the truck and three on the floor in the back seat, so it was more evenly distributed and we weren't dragging our behind!

Our first stop was the San Francisco grocery store in Tulum to get some groceries for the caretaker at our friend Whitney's house in Mahahual. I got a bunch of food - mangoes, bananas, limes, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, rice, beans, tortillas, oranges, cheese, apples - for about $50. I told Bob that we needed to come back to this store to do our grocery shopping.

The drive to Mahahual is pretty easy. Straight down 307 and then turn left onto the road for Mahahual. We headed down the road and soon were in our familiar travel mode. It seemed like a long time since we had been on our big driving adventure, and then at the same time, it seemed like it was just yesterday that we were getting in the car each day for a long drive. It had been a week almost since we had arrived in Akumal.

I napped a bit on the way down - it's a pretty boring ride. Jungle and jungle and jungle. We went through Felipe Carillo Puerta again and didn't get lost this time. More driving and I was looking at a Mexican road map. I told Bob that we should be coming up on the turn soon, so we started watching for road signs.

Bob saw a pretty major road that went off to the left and asked me if that was it? How would I know? I've never been here either! But, we hadn't seen any signs, so I told him to keep driving and if we came to the next town on the map, then we would know that we had gone too far. Sure enough, in about ten minutes, we came to the little town... so hung a u-ey and went back. On this side of the road, there was a sign that showed where to turn for Mahahual. We could see the sign from the other side of the road laying at the side, crumpled up like a wad of paper. And it was a BIG sign!

We headed down that road and it was more of the same - only now, jungle was ripped apart and toppled. Road signs were bent and twisted. There were road crews laying out new telephone cable and poles.

We traveled down that road for about half an hour and then saw a lighthouse on the left. Whitney had told me that her house was 11 km from the lighthouse, so I was happy to have recognized the landmark! It's kind of hard to miss though... It's tall and white. It looked like there had never even been a storm, let a lone a hurricane.

As we rounded the bend after the lighthouse, the full impact of the devastation began to hit. Buildings were toppled over. Some buildings had the fronts of them, that faced the water, just ripped right off. There was a public restroom that had been pitched over onto its side, and the toilet seats now looked like picture frames on a wall. In the second picture, the building on he left is the restroom and the wall that you see used to be the floor. The houses of the local Mexicans and Mayans were just gone. Some of them still had some sticks standing and had put a tarp over the hole that had been the roof. A lot of them had pitched tents. There were lots of people busy everywhere, cleaning, rebuilding. I couldn't bear to take any pictures of them or of any of the people. It seemed too disrespectful and imposing on their dignity.

We kept driving down the road and were now looking for the Travel In to drop off the dog food. The beach had washed out and the road was now literally just a foot or so from the surf. The whole town looked like something out of a war zone. Not that I have ever been in one, but from pictures and movies...

The road was in terrible condition. Huge ruts and holes, so it was very slow going. Plus, we didn't know where we were going! Luckily, there is only one road that runs through Mahahual - people say that they roll it out when the cruise ships come in and then roll it back up when they leave. We saw one little guy sitting at his folding table, selling tacky tourist T-shirst, like the next cruise ship was going to come in at any minute. The pier is gone - just some chunks of concrete remain.

We kept following the road and passed Margarita del Sol, which looked like a funky little resort. Finally, on the right, we saw a big red building - the Travel In. It didn't look open and it didn't look like anyone was around. I went up to the door and knocked and heard a woman calling out from up above. I went out onto the driveway and told her that I had the delivery of dog food and she came down to meet us.

Her name is Uma (I think - if not, it is now!) and she came out and introduced herself and I told her who we were and that we were delivering the food from Steve and NACER and Locogringo. There were three or four dogs that came running down with her, and they were all running around our car and yapping and barking at our dogs. It seemed like there were about ten dogs though, from the amount of running and barking and how fast they were moving! One of the dogs, a little border collie looking mix, kept jumping up on the driver's door, so we now have a nice little doggy detailing souvenir from her. Her name as Cienda and she had been found at a hancienda in Campeche. She as mostly black with a white blaze and chest and paws. Cute dog. There was another little sheltie looking dog, mostly white, with rust ears and spots on her, named Julie. And there was a pit looking boy, unneutered, who had a big black eye patch around his right eye, and the rest was white with some black ticking and dappling. His name was Pirata and he was really cute!

A young hippie guy named Gunner came out and we unloaded all of the dog food without letting any dogs out of the car and without Cienda getting into it. We asked Uma if she knew where Whitney's house was - we were worried that we had already passed it because houses down this way don't have house numbers. They put bottles on tree limbs or other creative markers so you can find them. Our house is the one that is down the dirt path that is beside the tree limb with three soda bottles and a tire hung on it...really, this is how they address things!

She knew the house by its old name - Whitney had just bought it a few months earlier - so we headed off for it. She gave us some good landmarks to look for - the Maya Palmas hotel/resort. We passed that and it looks like a really cool place to stay. It's all built to resemble ruins. One of the buildings even looks like a miniature Castillo from Chichen Itza.

As we went down the road, it got curvier and more windy and it got worse and worse condition wise. Now we were both beginning to think that we might get stuck or something... but we plugged on. The road left the beach and went off to the west, into the mangroves. There was such an awful stench coming from them that I almost gagged. The smell of decay mixed with gasoline and oil from the tide... the water was an ugly reddish brown. We rolled the windows back up and turned on the AC.

We passed a house that had a sign that said KM 10.5, so I told Bob that we were half a KM from Whitney's. Small problem, our car doesn't register KMs and neither of us have a clue as to how far one would be! We finally came to a house on the left that was the same color as the one in the pictures that Whitney had sent to me. We pulled into that driveway and I got out and called and looked around for the caretaker, but there was no one there. I went up and looked in a window but the house didn't look at all like the one in Whitney's picture - and as I turned around, I saw another house next door, through the trees. So, we turned around and drove next door and there in the front driveway was the birdbath that had been so prominantly displayed in Whitney's picture. We pulled in and the caretaker's wife, Rosario came over. I told her that we were friends of Whitney's and had some groceries for her and she called a teenage boy that was out fishing to come over. Good looking kid and very shy and polite. We gave him the bags of groceries and he took them into the house. They were so happy and overjoyed! Rosario just kept telling me gracias, gracias, gracias. There was a little brindle and white puppy there that looked like a greyhound/beagle, who was a little skitterish. Her name was Paloma, but she wouldn't let me pet her. We gave them the BIG bag of dog food and it was larger than either of them, so Bob had to carry it into the house for them. They have two dogs, and Whitney has a beach dog that hangs out at her house, so those dogs will be fed for quite a while. Everyone wonders why we are taking dog food down when there are so many other things that the peopl e of the area need, but a dog that is fed is less likely to get aggressive over food, or to start guarding food. A fed dog is not going to be wandering around looking for food, so there is less chance of ticks, diseases, etc. And a dog that is fed won't be fighting with other dogs, so less chance of illnesses being transmitted, or infections from dog fights, etc. Plus, the people there have so much to worry about and no money, so this is one thing that can be taken off of their plate. The boy, whose name is Saul, brought over his bucket of fish to show us, and he was very proud but humble at the same time. He and Rosario offered us some fish and we thanked them and told them no. I'm glad that they will be eating well for at least a week or so. The fish looked good and were pretty large. I think they were grouper, but don't ask me. I can only identify Nemo and Flounder and Chloe from Disney movies.

We finished our delivery and Rosario asked if we wanted to see the house and wanted the key. I thanked her and told her no, that we would wait to see it with Whitney when she is here next month. We got back into the car and headed back to Mahahual.

The road out seemed to go much faster than it did on the way in, but that's how it always goes. We kind of knew where we were now and how the road conditions were and where it went. As we came to the end of town, just south of the lighthouse, we saw a little palapa bar that Bob had noticed on the way in. It was open, so we stopped there for lunch. I had mole poblano chile enchilada and Bob had chuleta (pork chop) with salsa verde and we both had a Modelo beer in a can. $10. This was the BEST food that I have ever eaten! We couldn't believe the cost! We had Bella and Missy at the table with us, but they kept getting tangled up and we were really hungry and wanted to eat, so we put them back in the car. It was overcast and we had hit some rain on the way down, so it was on the cool side. I finished eating before Bob and left him at the table to explore the beach. I found some cool shells, and got some pictures. I saw a little black fish swimming at the edge of the water, and then a crab doing his sideways shuffle. There were lots of shells washed up that had survived the hurricane and were still in one piece. I marveled to myself that nature and life goes on... I looked at the town and the buildings some more and thought to myself that perhaps Nature had just saved this little town's life. The charm would be intact now, and not ruined and Disneyized by the cruise ship industry.

Then we got back in the care and were about to head for home when I noticed the bag of soap! Whitney had asked if we could deliver a bag of soap to the house, and Alvar had Raul bring the soap over the day before... I told Bob we had to go back and deliver it. He didn't want to but I finally convinced him that we had come all this way, it was stupid to take it back with us. So back to Whitney's we went, going a lot faster on the road now that it was our third time. We gave the soap to Rosario, whom I was calling Paloma, which was the dog's name, but she didn't seem to notice, mind or care. As I was going back to the car, I glanced over at Whitney's house and spotted her beach dog, Phantomo, on the porch! I had asked about him and Rosario had told me that he had been there in the morning. He is a cute dog, blonde, but has ears like Cejas. Actually, he looks like a blonde Cejas! Then back in the car and back up the road. We left Mahahual and went to the Pemex station to fill up for the ride back to Akumal. There were two little dogs there - one a white hound mix with tan ears and markings and the other a tan and white Jack Russell mix. Both were very cute and friendly and came over for pats and spent most of the time shoving and crowding the other one out so that they could get all of the attention. I asked the girl in the store if they lived at the station and she told me that they belonged to one of the workers and he brought them in to work each day with him. They looked pretty healthy and neither seemed to be pregnant, so I figured that they are being taken care of. It was tempting to pick them up tho...

We got back to Akumal about 6:00. Neither of us was hungry after our sumptious meal that afternoon, and we had eaten kind of late, so we both just had some snacks, a glass of wine and watched the waves and the sun set. We fed the dogs and then we all cuddled up for the night.

Mahahual was the saddest place that I have ever seen in my life. The Red Cross is taking donations, and Locogringo has coordinated a donation effort as well. If any of you are interested in making a donation, and need some info, let me know. That little town will never be the same (which might not be a bad thing!) but the people there are going to need help for quite a while.

Back to the Beach! (9-15-07)

On Saturday, we decided to take the dogs to the beach.

Two reasons.

One, the maid was getting a little offended that we didn't want or need her to clean our condo. The maids here take great pride in their work, and if you don't want them to clean every day, they take that as an insult. We had told Alvar, our property manager, that we only wanted maid service two or three days a week, but I'm not sure that that ever registered. Anyway, we decided to clear out of the condo and head to Akumal Playa to spend a couple of hours.

We parked at the far end of the parking lot and took the dogs over to the beach. Cejas was so excited and Bella was trembling with anticipation. Solavina looked a little hesitant. Missy was right beside me...

We found a spot on the beach underneath some palm trees, in front of Budha Spa Gardens. Bob went and rented two beach lounge chairs from the nice young attendant, and we set up camp.

I took the dogs down to the water, and the first thing that Bella did was to run in and bury herself in water up to her neck. She laid down at the surf line and just stayed there. Missy was running in and out of the water, but wouldn't go in the water above where it came to her arm/leg pits. Cejas avoided the water at all costs. Solavina ran into the water and started swimming, harness, leash and all.

Cejas ran and ran and then he ran some more on the beach - full out, legs stretched as far as they could stretch and then tucked like a heron's underneath him on the way out... He was so happy and so full of glee, doing his best imitation of a greyhound! Missy kept running back and forth between me and Bella. I had Vina on her leash but she went into the water and started swimming around and then seemed to remember, "I don't have to do this any more!"

We relaxed on the chaises and Bob went over to the Lol Ha to get us some nice cold cervezas Montejos. We sipped them and watched the bay and the ocean and the waves and thought to ourselves how ugly the place is.

After a while, Bob and I got hungry, so we took the dogs and our bags over to the snackbar patio and tied the dogs up to chairs so they wouldn't get in the way of the waiters or revert to beach mode. I had the sopa de dia, which was gazpacho, my favorite! I also had a Caprese salad - YUM!! The dogs all settled under the table and pretty much slept.

We went back to the condo and then got ready for the Independence Day party at LBV. That was a lot of fun, if no pictures to attach, and we got to see a lot of good friends there.

A Week in the Life of an Akumal Adventurer

I can't use Akumal Beach Bum - it's already been taken! ;) xo

We arrived on Wednesday and spent the remaining part of that day getting settled in, getting the dogs acclimated, and relaxing. It was good to spend the night in our OWN bed! And it is a comfy bed, with a pillow top mattress. I would like to take one back to the States, but they won't take them on a plane and it's too big for the roof rack on the car for all that way.

Thursday was shopping and happy hour at Lol Ha (last post). Friday was some unpacking, more of getting the dogs used to where they are, and then Locals Happy Hour at Lol Ha. We saw a lot of friends there and made some new ones.

Saturday we took the dogs to the beach, which will be a separate post. Then happy hour again. You're in Akumal, you gotta be happy and you need to celebrate and let people know! Saturday night we went up to La Buena Vida for the Fiesta de Dia de Independencia. Lots of fun and lots of tequila! We saw Jen and Bart and Scott and Dani and Marcia and her dogs, Lacey and Alux, and a lot of other friends. I went back to the condo and got Solavina and took her up to the party with us, and she got to see her former caretaker, Heather. Lots of people were happy to see Vina and she just settled down in her spot under the bar like she had never left.

I always have a flag out at home in SF, so I had to have one out here for IndependenceDay.

Sunday, mas de mismo. Kind of a low key day, hanging out at the condo, and spending some time at the pool. The beach is still under repair, and we can't wait for that to reopen. We stopped at LBV for a beer in the afternoon, after we discovered that we aren't able to buy beer after 2 pm. Bob sat and talked with Falcone, one of our maintenance guys, and I sat on the stairs to LBV watching a wild life show at the garbage bodega. There were about 7 coatamundi there, including about 5 babies/young ones, a family of raccoons, and about seven our eight tabby striped kittens. It was amazing to watch the three species interacting together and frolicking and playing together. No fighting, no mishaps. They all just scavenged for food, and when one found some, the rest all gathered around and they shared. The Middle East could learn a lot from these cute, furry creatures. No camera with me, so I'll have to return for fotos. Hope that hey wear their best outfits for school picture day!

On Monday, we went over to Que Onda to pick up seven 25KG bags of dog food for delivery to Mahahual the next day. They were so heavy, I could barely lift them. Please don't ask me to do the math for how much they weigh in US measures. A LOT! We loaded the bags into the car and drove them over to our condo complex and stored them overnight in the bodega there.

Monday night was the night that Perre discovered that we were in town. She showed up around 6:00 pm and I had to put a leash on her and walk her home. She has been getting aggressive with other dogs that live here, and she went after another woman's cat that travels down here from Dallas. Plus, she comes around at odd hours and barks and disturbs residents and guests while they are sleeping. And her owner has made it pretty clear to me that he doesn't like it when she stays over here with us. I love the dog to pieces, but she has to learn that she can't be coming over here. So, every time she shows up - at 6 in the morning and at 6 at night, like clockwork - I have been just taking her home - no food, no affection, no attention, just discipline and commands. Once she is at her home, I cuddle her and hug her and give her lots of love. I left a bag of dog food there for her so I feed her there too, but I'm going to stop doing this because I don't want her to have the association between food and me. It breaks my heart not to be able to hug her and pet her and have her cuddle up on the sofa with me. I love her as one of my own dogs. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that they would all get along, so that is another concern.

It still hasn't sunk in yet that we are HERE for a while! It still seems like vacation to me, not living... even though the dogs are here. They are having a great time and they have all adjusted well. We (Bob) had some concerns about having the four dogs in our condo, but it is not crowded at all. Usually, Missy is on the futon beside me. Bella is on the bed. Solavina has found the coolest space on the tile floor, beneath a ceiling fan, either in the living room or dining area. She has also taken a spot on the built-in sofa in the corner. Cejas just stays on one of the two dogs beds that are here - one at the edge of the dininr/living areas, and the other in the bedroom. I think we easily have room for four more dogs!

We went to Turtle Bay Cafe on Monday and met up with Jennifer and Dani and their dogs. We had taken Bella and Cejas with us - Missy and Solavina were at home. I took Bella over to the CEA to see Paul, but he hadn't returned from his trip yet. Paul is the man who originally adopted Bella and who had the pleasure of training her. Fun. We sat and talked with Jen and Dani and Bart... and the dogs just all hung out together. Another reunion where the dogs outnumbered the people! Jen's four dogs were there - Jessie, Jersey, Colonel and Daisy. Colonel and Cejas got along and didn't have a fight underneath a table and upset everyone's breakfast onto their laps, like they did when Cejas still lived down here a few years ago. Dani had her two dogs there, Dozer and Kikitun. And my two - Cejas and Bella. Eight dogs, five people. Daisy has learned to order bacon for herself. When any of the wait staff tries to come out of the kitchen, she blocks their path and growls at them until they give her bacon. She's so cute though, that it's adorable!

Tuesday we went to Mahahual to deliver the dog food.

La Primera Dia

Our day started bright and early, as Cejas had taken no time to revert to beach dog mode. Up when the sun comes up - that's about 5:30 AM here now! He was wimpering and whining, and I was worried that he was scared... so I got up, put a T-shirt on over my tank top, and put his leash on him and took him outside. He did his business and then all he seemed to want to do was to run around the property. Not this early in the morning! People have better ways to be awakened than by the sound of me yelling "Cejas! Here! NOW!!!" which is about the only way to get him to come to me when he is on one of his independent binges.

We went back to the condo, carefully staying close to the walls because the tile isn't as dangerous there (???) and I managed to get a few more minutes of sleep on the futon. But then the sun was coming up and the dawn was beautiful, with the clouds streaked with yellow, peach and pink, like someone had wiped flowers through them. So I watched the sun come up - and it was bright! and just enjoyed the quiet and the view. It was Thursday and the workers soon started arriving to repair the beach and the sea walls that had been washed out in the hurricane. I spent some time updating the blog and sending some emails and then Bob got up and made some coffee and we sat in our chairs, enjoying our view and had our coffee.

We needed to go up to Playa del Carmen to get groceries and a couple of things for the condo, so we got ready and left for there. We put Bella and Missy in the bedroom so that Bella wouldn't spend the entire time barking at every worker that sneezed. Solavina seemed to be fine, and Cejas just stayed huddled on one of his safe spot dog beds.

On the way to Playa we stopped at Turtle Bay Cafe. Bart was there but Jennifer was still in the States, not back until Friday. Manana! We sat and had a smoothie with Bart and told him some of our adventures on the way down, and he shared some of his from when he drove down with Jessie and Jersey the dogs a couple of years ago... and then we were off to Playa.

We went to Chedraui because it is our favorite place. This is the Mexican version of a WalMart Super Center. They have everything. Almost. Except the one thing that you really need. Subject to change, depending on what you really need. If you really need it, they inevitably won't have it, no one will understand what you are trying to explain or talk about and you will end up forgetting that you ever needed it until the next time that you are there and find it, because by now you don't need it. Think of toilet paper roll holders, paper towel holders, window blinds, Rubbermaid drawer containers for storage...

We had made a list and split up so that we could shop faster. Or, in my case, so Bob couldn't see what I was putting in the cart! I ended up getting six small area rugs, to use as paving for Mr. Cejas on the tile floor. Two of them are small imitation blue oriental rugs, two are red imitation oriental rugs and two are on the larger size red rugs with PIRATE skull and cross bones on them. I tell Bob that they remind me of Redbeard and that we can give them to him when Cejas gets used to the floor in a day or so.

After Chedraui, we stopped at the Modelorama to get a case of Montejo beer. Then it was back to the condo. We took our purchases inside, and I laid out the rugs for Senor. He was a happy boy. He was so happy that he didn't even notice that two of his paws were on the tile and two were on the rugs. I had read someswhere that some dogs are afraid of the shine, but I think in his case, it is the slipperiness. But once he is used to it, he's ok. Like I said, exact same floors at home and he walks on them all the time.

By this time we were a bit hungry so we headed up to the Lol Ha snack bar for happy hour and a bite to eat. We took Cejas with us, so he could visit everyone. A lot of people were there that remembered the eventful night when I was trying so hard to capture him (here it is for this post - another story for another time!) and a lot of people were there that had heard about it. We spend some time talking to Charlene, the manager of the Super Chomak, and some friends that she had met that had just gotten married on the beach in front of the Lol Ha restaurant. They have two dogs, both rescues - a yellow lab named Sadie and a Bichon named Bert. They were admiring Cejas' lovely turtle bandana that was a gift from his Aunt Helen in Las Vegas and I told them that we were selling them for fundraisers to pay for Tucker's surgery, and then the whole long story of Tucker and the puppy mill. They wanted to get two bandanas, so I made plans to meet them the next morning and deliver them. I have since been carrying all of the bandanas with me so that I can sell them on the spot.

We had a great time at happy hour and many of the women ooohed and cooed over Cejas, which of course, he totally enjoyed. The next night was a party for Mary Henderson's birthday, so we knew we would be back for that. We haven't missed her birthday once in the four years that we have known her.

After Happy Hour ended, we went back to the condo and I was soon fast asleep, with my beach mutts gathered around. They seem to really like their new home and have had no trouble adjusting. They have taken over the sofas, and the bed, so they must feel at home.

Home, Home on the Beach...

Where the beach dogs and Sherwood will play...

As we headed down the road leading into Akumal, I turned the AC off and lowered the windows. Bella and Solavina had their pointy little noses at the windows, sniff sniff sniffing and looking very excited. Cejas was standing up in the back and looking a little worried. Missy was sitting in the back, looking at me with her funny little smiley face, wondering what all the fuss was about?

We passed the library on the left and the parking lot on the right. Drove past the Super Chomak - a first for us. It is usually our first stop in Akumal, to pick up the essentials, like beer, limes and grapes for the iguanas. Bob paused at the Arch so I could get a picture and then was making fun of me for having tears in my eyes. I felt like Miss America... so happy I could cry. We wound around the bend and saw Cueva del Pescador on the left and Turtle Bay Cafe beyond, and then the Dive Shop on the right, with CEA behind it. I was asking the dogs if they remembered and I'm sure that they did. The three beach mutts were all sniffing the air, and at one point, Bella started whining in an excited, little high-pitched voice. We went around the curve at Las Casitas, where the road is washed out from all of the rain, and then past the tennis courts and entered onto the main stretch into North Akumal. As we drove along, passing all of the beautiful villas, we noticed that there had not been too much damage from the hurricane. Some of the trees looked a little worse for wear, but the houses all looked the same... no damage. Then we got to La Buena Vida. It looked like a war zone. Sand was washed up into the middle of the road, which was narrowed to just the left hand/south lane. Bricks were stacked up alongside the road. Debris and furniture were strewn and piled everywhere. Piles of sand lined the road on both sides, with bricks, rocks and coral piled in it. The new road that Jamie had just put in after Wilma was washed out, and all that remained was a gutted lane of sand, and a bunch of pavers piled up next to it. But La Buena Vida was open, with the Mexican flag flying out front, in preparation for the Independence Day party on Saturday night, and workers were out with wheelbarrows, taking sand from here to there, and others were getting bricks and pavers sorted and stacked neatly. We passed that and continued down the road to our condo. The road was bumpy, with lots of holes from the storms, but not as bad as we have seen it in other years. Some of the buildings still had boards over the windows, and the store that used to house the internet cafe that had become a real estate office was boarded up and looks to be closed for good. (will check on that later for Cheryl) We meandered the remaining part of the road and got to our condo. I took Cejas and Bella and Bob took Solavina and Missy gets to go everywhere without a leash because she will just never leave my side, and we went to the condo. Small problem - TILE! Cejas wouldn't walk up the landing to the stairs, so we had to coax him. He got onto the concrete and then wouldn't budge. I went and put the girls in the room, while Bob held onto Cejas, and then I had to carry him, all 52 pounds of Doberman fighting machine, into the condo. But - TILE there too! I carried him in and put him on the bed - safe spot, and we rushed back to the car and got all of the dog blankets and beach towels that we could find, and returned to the condo and put them down for him in little pathways, from the bedroom to the dining room to the kitchen to the living room. Thank goodness we aren't in the Dynasty mansion or I don't know what the poor dog would do? Probably have his own little doggy mansion out back... anyway, we don't need to worry about that today.

Bob brought up what we would need for the night, and the dog beds and the dog bowls. Then he got back in the car and went to Super Chomak and got some dog food for the kids. We fed them, had a beer in our chairs overlooking the bay, watched the beautiful peach and pink clouds of the sunset. The dogs all made themselves right at home, and Solavina went over to the window and looked out to survey her domain. I swear that she remembers being here. We both fell asleep in our wooden beach chairs that are the most comfortable chairs on earth. At some point, Bob got up and went into the bedroom to sleep, but I ended up sleeping on the futon in the living room, with the dogs all cuddled up with me, next to me or on the floor below me. We all dreamt of our first day in Akumal, tomorrow. Or, as we say here, manana.