Cozumel April 20th, 2009 - Day 3

Well, today started early AGAIN!  We're up before most of the resort is even technically open and it's due to Haylie being asleep at 8 and up in the morning like her normal routine.  It isn't bad, just means we're quite the morning couple.

We decided that today would be our go into town day.  We spent the morning at the resort but we didn't really do anything.  Haylie has been quite grumpy and her meltdowns seem to be more sudden and far more over the top.  Maybe it's because she is the only infant at the resort this week.  Hard to say.  At least all the grandparent aged guests seem to find her endearing. LOL

We caught a cab into San Miguel, the town on the island.  The price has gone up, though and what was a 50 peso cab ride last year is now 80 pesos.  Considering I can and have run from the resort to the center of town, that seems a steep price.  It was also interesting to see what we were willing to accept in terms of transporting our daughter that we would never consider at home.  No car seat, we didn't bring ours, and no seat belt in the cab.  Fortunately the road is fairly deserted and there's honestly little chance of getting into an accident.  Still, I did find the premise interesting.

We packed a backpack to carry her in.  It is very interesting and quite tree hugger of me.  I asked Colleen to find one for us on Craigslist before we left because the Bjorn is now too small, or she's too big.  I just knew that I'd want to be able to keep her in something where I could have both hands free.  It worked reasonably well as we walked around town.  The major difference this year was now the barkers tried to get "family" to come in and shop instead of "mister" or "lady."  I honestly found it quite endearing.  Little about the town has changed, not that I'd really expected it.  The one significant difference seems to be a major upgrade to the pier.  They've started a lot of work and the completed portions make it look very polished.  Beyond that, San Miguel is still a town fed by tourism and the money they bring.  The preferred currency is still the US Dollar and the exchange rates tend to be horrible.  That's only a problem in that I don't carry large amounts of US cash, I prefer to use my ATM card to get local currency.  I still get change back from some of the vendors in USD, which they don't realize means they've lost some profit.  Oh well.

We tried dinner tonight at the other sit down restaurant, hoping that the outdoor setting and the higher attendance would keep us from another meltdown.  No such luck.  Haylie got really uptight about 45 minutes into dinner and we wound up leaving early yet again.  Not sure how we'll address that challenge, but we better find something.  It has Colleen quite uptight and now questioning the nature of bringing Haylie on this vacation.  In bed by 9 again.  Tomorrow will be the beach and her first taste of sand and the ocean.  It should be interesting.

Cheers!