Happy Monday everybody. Today, I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to White Chocolate. Be sure her to wish her one as well.

In the land of beaches and sunshine, they take beach vending very seriously. I mean it. Everyday is a turf war for dibs on hawking wares to the gringos. The beach is littered with signs of this struggle for power. And the vendors are merciless. They definitely don’t train to be merciful here. Look at what happens if you cross into “Las Mujeres de la Muerte” territory:

There are heads on pikes everywhere. The very scariest of these lady vendors carry a severed head with them as a warning to other vendors. The warning is a clear one. It says: “Mess with me and I’ll delicately braid your hair and put beads in it, right after I remove it from your still twitching corpse and post it for my enemies to see.” Serious.

Yesterday, we had a few hours of sunlight and warm breezes before the sun took off early and left us in the cold. Rather than crawling back to the room with our shivering tails between our legs, we put some pants on and hiked over to our local shopping mall. Hey, there’s a Chile’s. And we’ve been eating at this fancy Italian place this week. Silly us.

Mexico is a crazy place. Or, rather, Cancun is a crazy place. I mean, no where else in the world do you walk into a store and they offer you a shot of tequila.

This whole place is surreal. I still can’t wrap my head around it. It is almost like an amusement park. Complete with pirate ship.

It is just T&A, liquor, and weird Americanized everything. For example, I haven’t come in contact with a single Mexican person that doesn’t speak to me, after the appropriate greeting in Spanish, in English. Not that I’m not grateful. My Spanish vocabulary is limited to random things, like asking for a straw for Pancake Land’s Coca Cola. I’m just saying that it is a very weird sensation. I mean there’s a Hooter’s less than a block from my hotel. The culmination of the three main themes here. Granted, they do have a giant bobble head out front.

The most surreal part is that sensation of still being at home. Does that ever happen to you when you travel? It doesn’t really feel like you left home. It happens to me all the time.

Oh! Oh! There’s a guy with a Goonies shirt. Awesome.

Anyways, life is surreal. That was the point I was ambling toward. Well, I’ve probably rambled enough for one day. I’m going to go get P.L. and hit the beach before the sun cuts out early. More soon. ~SC