It felt good to finally make it here after missing one ferry and having to spend what should have been our first night on the Island in Playa Del Carmen.
When we finally did arrive we went right to the house that a friend had lined up for me. It was a beautiful house, with a cool roof top deck and swimming pool, but I was really concerned about it's security. I was aware that I was probably being paranoid but in view of the fact that it was my personal safety and entire worldly possessions that were at risk, I decided to err on the side of caution and move to the apartment of an American friend who will be in the States for the next three weeks. This place feels much safer. It's small and in a gated complex with bars at the windows and doors. I have a very small room mate - a little gecko who spends most of his time being yellow as this is the color of the walls. Miguel has told me that gecko's are great to have around because they kill roaches (enough said I'm completely sold). I tried to photograph my little security guard but he was too small and far away. After one night in the new apartment Dad and I headed over to Playa Del Carmen to spend his last night with Allie. We had dinner at El Cuervo Del Chango (the Cave of the Monkey) which is one of my favorite restaurants in Playa. We split a bottle of wine and ate fish. Dad liked this meal best in Mexico. We went to bed pretty early. Dad left on the morning of the 13th. We had breakfast in a cafe on the beach and talked for an hour or so and then Allie and I said goodbye to him at the bus station. I watched my Dad leave with mixed emotions. I'd really had a good close time with him during our trip, but having a parent around in Cozumel was making me feel like a child, if that makes sense and I needed to be on my own so I could get to the business of settling in.
I think when I first arrived here I had a bit of an emotional crash. I was physically and mentally drained and arriving at a house that felt unsafe made me feel very exposed. I think I'd been so busy building up to leaving and then throughout the entirety of our trip I'd not had a chance to really process what I was doing. My first day here felt a bit like crashing into a brick wall. What am I doing, how am I going to cope without my friends in New York who've all kind of become like a little family to me. I know myself enough by now to know that exhaustion does not have the best affect on my ability to rationalize!!!
SO I decided to spend a few days in Playa with Allie relaxing. It was good not to have to cope with sleeping in an apartment on my own. We also went to the beach and met up with our other friend from New Jersey, Sofia and hr boyfriend. Sofia was a great calming influence because she's gone through the whole process of working as an instructor down here. She's also made me confident that if it does not work out for me here in Cozumel I could always get a job in Playa (in fact I'm pretty sure she could actually help me get a foot in the door in a shop in Playa through her contacts. I also met Allie and Han's friends Patrick and Katie who were really nice.
I had the most AWESOME pedicure in the world from a guy called Robin at Spa-Itza. He spent about 1 1/2 hours making sure that there was not a trace of dry skin on my feet. My feet are now baby soft.
I'm still forming some views on what I think it might be like living here. Its going to take some time to get used to the cultural differences. I'm realizing how important many of the things I'd taken for granted in New Jersey actually were to me.
Oh I also bought a bike so I don't have to drive everywhere.
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