We’ve been in Playa del Carmen (PDC) for almost a week now, and it’s beginning to feel a lot like … Christmas … um, I mean home. The apartment search hasn’t gone as well as we had hoped. The only place we found that was in our price range and available wouldn’t allow cats. 
Displaced persons from Cancun and Cozumel probably grabbed up all the apartments right after the hurricane.
We are currently renting a studio condo unit for 4 weeks (or less if we find an apartment sooner). It’s pricier and smaller than what we want, but it’s a block from the beach, has a kitchen, 2 balconies with hammock, all the filtered water we can drink, and most importantly — free wireless high-speed internet. See our photo album for pictures.
Having a kitchen allows us to cook our own meals (and chill our own beer), which makes it seem more like real life rather than just a vacation. We went grocery shopping to stock our new kitchen. The grocery stores are pretty much the same as back home, except for one thing that freaked Libby out. Mexicans don’t refrigerate eggs. Considering how many egg dishes Libby has already eaten in Mexico without getting sick, we decided to do as the Mexicans do and buy the eggs. Research on the internet shows that fresh eggs can last 10-14 days without refrigeration. We saw chickens a few blocks north of our condo, so there’s a good chance our eggs are fresh. Check out this link for an interesting egg experiment.
Can You Really Store Fresh Eggs a Year or More Without Refrigeration?
The nightlife in PDC is great, but gets pricey after awhile. Still, talking to locals is one of the best ways to find an apartment, so we’re considering it a research expense. We’ve met so many interesting people down here already. Wednesday night, we met two members of a heavy metal band from Austin, Texas, Closed Hand Promise. They were really cool. If you like metal, check them out here.
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Tonight, we are going back to one of our old haunts — The Blue Parrot Bar. It’s right on the beach and has swings instead of bar stools. The dance floor blew away in the hurricane, but an update on their website says that it should be back in just a few more days.
Tomorrow, we will venture out of PDC and go snorkelling in a cenote at Tankah Bay. A cenote is a fresh-water filled sinkhole, and the Yucatan Peninsula is full of them. We’ll try to hit as many of them as we can. It’s a rough life.
We’re going out to take some more photos of PDC now, but you can check out what we have already in our Photo Gallery.
good to see this update. have fun swilling, swinging and snorkeling. we miss you guys.
Research expense…is that tax deductible?