Day One in Coco


Cereal for breakfast. Sure it doesn’t sound like much in the way of excitement, but considering our morning diet for the last few years has consisted of either bran flakes or oatmeal for breakfast…we really were looking forward to something simple. A month now of dining out for breakfast has now been put on pause with some instant coffee and medley of cornflakes, puffed rice, and other unrecognizable starchy elements all enriched with sugar. As for milk, I am still not sure if I purchased milk or something else.

I swear i bought something similar in Europe last year. We thought we were buying a litre of milk, but it turned out to be some liquidy yogurt-like substance in the fridge right next to the milk. I see the container today and it does say leche, but with a bunch of other words I cant get a translation for. It doesn’t smell off, but Melanie was not impressed with the milky white chunks that filled her bowl. It wasn’t pretty in the coffee either. Task #1 today, get some good milk.

We finished up and wandered around the immediate area. We found a mini grocery store a 3 minute walk away, that had everything we had bought the day before a 30 minute walk away. We also found a few better priced coffee shops and restaurants, but with signs in the windows suggesting they were either on vacation or not back until December 1st. This really is off season. I wouldn’t want to be here in September!

With a bit of blue sky, we wandered down to the beach. Yesterday was a bit grey and dark, so with a full day to explore we strolled the dark sand to get a good feel for this place too. Playa del Coco has some nice wide expanses of beach. We are almost in November now, and being a Saturday there were only a few dozen bodies on the entire stretch. That included the boogie boarders and surfers in the nearby waves. I wonder what kind of craziness ensues come high season and the holidays.

We stopped for a beverage and shared the tiniest plate of fancy nachos we have seen. Sorry no pictures, we ate this tiny plate with forks before we realized we should have documented the meal. This was a partial lunch stop, also a break from the sun. We were not in an kind of rush today, so why not stop and enjoy watching the waves and surfers. We wrapped up and headed back for new supplies of uncurdled milk and a dip in the pool afterwards. We have 4 more days of this. We will need to find something more exciting than strolling the beach each day.

We did see karaoke was happening tonight, and we were told at 8PM. One of us really likes to sing, and the menu didnt look too bad, so that was our plan for the evening. A sunset stroll would start the night, but no sunset tonight due to thick clouds rolling in. A brief happy hour drink at Coconutz Sports Bar, because their kitchen was closed…and the menu was a bit thin. Finally a meal at Latin Beach, with one more beverage to nurse while waiting for 8PM to roll around. The food not bad. Communication must have been a little poor, because when we heard 8PM last night…tonight it was a 9PM start for karaoke. Melanie’s heart sunk. We have not been good at squeezing in those mid day siestas, and today probably would have been good for that. It was 7:30, and it felt like we were done for the night.

I coaxed Melanie through to 8:05, with the hope the DJ might start the show a little sooner. We had seen people come in, sit down, eat, drink and leave. We were hoping the place might fill up with costumed individuals, but the girls dress in 80s era neon skin tight dresses with their parts all hanging out were not sticking around. Just as we were ready to pack it in and pay the bill, an old family friend of Melanie’s parents pops in to say hi.

Tim. He sat down, chatted for a moment an then invited us across the street to where he was hanging out with a few friends watching a band. Apparently a place he goes almost every weekend, with the same group of folks. We cleared up the bill and joined him across the street. This place was much more lively and being as Tim knew the band leader…if Melanie wanted to get up and sing, she could.

3 songs later, she was up. Bad Moon Rising. The band finished up their night at 9PM so the DJs could roll in their equipment and get the Halloween party going until the wee hours of the morning. With the band done, we could actually talk with the others at the table. One lady originally from Queens, splitting time between here and Connecticut. Another from Port Hardy that moved down here just over 20 years ago. A bit more banter and the bouncers were moving in to clear empty tables to make way for a bigger dance floor. Kids these days want to party.

Tim was kind enough to offer us a ride back. He chased the prostitutes off the back his golf cart and we piled on. He threw the cart into reverse and it slowly backed into traffic, which thankfully stopped for us, and whipped around onto the dark road we were down. It turns out his place is literally within a stones throw of our front door. A 5 minute wild golf cart ride and we were home.

A somewhat random connection that ended up being so close. We need more of those.

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