Chapter 10

Sun Sand and Sightseeing

It's now Tuesday the 16th April. Asia has been here since Sunday, Rose and Ted flew in with her, they are staying in Escala while we are away and Gail is going to spoil them rotten we have arranged for a driver to be on stand-by to take them anywhere they wish as we have given Taylor the time off Christian has located the perfect, private getaway for us so no security needed

Christian has found and rented an absolutely fabulous original colonial style villa in Mexico that was built in 1820 and best of all it's well off the beaten track 4 bedrooms private pool, balcony's, roof top terrace etc. Housekeeper and gardener/driver supplied, now Christian being Christian got their details and had Welsh do the necessary we fly out after breakfast today,

Yesterday was spent in a whirl as we shopped till we literally dropped, Christian's debit card got a real good work out boy can that girl shop I think it's nurture not nature Mia must have been teaching her all the tricks, little scraps of silk that cost $1000's a pair of shoes for every outfit, I treat myself to a few absolutely gorgeous one piece's but my absolute favourite of all the things I got was a Tie-Strap Maxi Dress in white so clean and crisp just absolutely gorgeous.

We make our way out to Boeing Field to meet the plane it's a cool crisp spring morning in Seattle the temperature as we take off is 42 F Asia is pretty blasé about travelling by private plane where as I am still blown away by how hassle free and luxurious it is, but in a way she has grown up with some of this life style where as I haven't yet experienced it for more than seven months in total, the though of which reinforces the innate sadness that surrounds this trip it's so I can get to know my seventeen year old daughter better I think as a hollow giggle sob escapes me.

we have a smooth flight with a gorgeous meal consisting of Lobster in a crisp potato shell with a cobaiba sauce and red pepper sphere, after lunch Asia and I take a little nap so that when we land after an almost 6 hours flight, hopefully we will not be too tired.

When we step off the plane in the late afternoon its beautiful and sunny the temperature is a balmy 82 F and the forecast is for nothing but beautiful wall to wall sunshine for the next ten days, bliss.

The villa was about a forty minuet drive from the airport, can I just say not the most relaxing drive I have every taken. We arrived at the villa still in one piece then we meet our housekeeper who introduces herself, telling us just to call her Abelinda she said her last name is way to complicated to pronounce, of course Christian made sure to call her Miss Abelinda she just creased up with laughter with that as she had to be seventy five if she was a day but whatever makes fifty happy

After a stroll around the country side near the villa we return for a meal our housekeeper has decided to serve on the rooftop terrace which is just an absolute dream of a space I think this may be the most utilised space of the villa during our stay here it overlooks the old town and has Mexican paver tiles inset with blues and patterns,with handmade terra-cotta pots planted with Mexican feather grass and a scrolled wrought iron railing entwined with bougainvillea, this evening the terrace is lit by tea lights dotted on just about every available space, the terrace comprises intimate and cosy seating areas consisting of matching wrought iron dining chairs and table, with love seats in crevices in the walls all with soft padded cushions covered with a vibrant blue woven cloth with a traditional Aztec pattern and hand-woven Mexican blankets with a diamond shape in red, orange, and yellow that seems to vibrate on the contrasting blue background, folded on the side ready for use to ward off the cool night air if required.

The most wonderful assortment of tasting plates of every type of Mexican dish you could wish for is waiting for us dishes like Ceviche de mar which is ceviche of prawns, pollack, diced tomato, onion, avocado, coriander and lime, Quesadillas, corn tortillas folded around melted cheese with mushroom , Pollo consisting ofavocado mash, chicken, lettuce, chilli chipotle cream, onion, radish, crumbly cheese and coriander, Sopa de tortilla made with fried corn tortilla strips in a spicy tomato broth, avocado, cream and fried chilli, Pancita which isslow cooked pork belly marinated in chilli árbol and habanero, served with guacamole, coriander and sliced cabbage pasilla rings and Camarones al mojo de ajo which aregarlicky griddled prawns with chilli chipotle, coriander and avocado mash and they were just my favourites they were at least another eight dishes to choose from Abelinda said if we didn't like any of them just to let her know and she would remove them from the menu for the duration of our stay, then its off to bed it has been a long and happily tiring day

Wedensday17th April

Today we have a really early start as we are going on an Excursion to the Sian Ka'an biosphere which is about four hours away by car so Christian has chartered a small plane for us as there is just a landing strip really not an airport at our destination so our own plane is too big, the tourist blurb has me so excited at the prospect of what we will see today

"The Sian Ka'an biosphere stretches for 4,500sq km along the coast of Quintana Roo and is made up of savannah, mangroves, tropical forest and beautiful barrier reef skirting one edge. The reserve is home to jaguar, puma, ocelot, monkeys, turtles, pecaries and a huge variety of land and aquatic birds"

Doesn't it sound just divine as we board this tiny little plane which has just 5 seats it a Beech 58 Baron, no flight attendant and 1 pilot I think to myself good job none of us are afraid of flying it's not a long flight not much over an hour or so and totally uneventful I'm pleased to say

We have a wonderful day with our own private tour guide we experience so much I know it will live with us all for a very long time and as an additional surprise Christian has arranged for us to stay in a luxury villa overnight so we can visit Tulum tomorrow, The archaeological site of Tulum is situated on a cliff top. Overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

The fortified civilisation has ramparts still remaining; you pass through a narrow gate in the walls to enter the compound. The walls were built several metres thick and between 3-5 metres tall to protect the outer three sides of Tulum. The restored buildings are Toltec in influence with features such as serpent columns at the temple's entrance of El Castillo, the watch tower; and diving relief figures above the doors of the Templo del Dios Descendente and El Palacio.

After a leisurely morning taking in the history of this beautiful and serene place we descend the cliff path Christian almost having an apoplectic fit "be careful" "go slowly" "take your time" eventually we all make it to the bottom intact including Christian's heart, we spend a lovely few hours just us lying on the sand talking, wading in the lovely clear warm water at the edge and all to soon it's time to make our way to the plane to go back to our villa outside of Merida we arrive back in time for our evening meal, which I ask Abelinda to serve it on the rooftop terrace we sit down to a lovely meal of Pancita which is washed down with a delightful light local beer and we finish with an assortment of local fruits

Friday 19th April Good Friday

After a lazy morning we go to watch the passion play in the nearby town, the town is quite busy which makes Christian think about the decision to go without security this trip, I ask him please we will all hold hand with Asia between us you know like a normal family would and any hint of trouble we are straight out of there please and finally he relaxes slightly when he takes in the situation around us and realises it's just other family's and holiday makers marking the religious side of Easter. Once the procession has passed we make our way back to the villa to read and swim

Saturday 20th April

We all agree just to have a lazy day at the villa hanging around the pool and reading as well as some talking, I can tell Christian is itching to go fire up his laptop and see what is going on in the world of acquisitions and mergers' so I motion to him go just go, you will just get more and more antsy till you check in which earns me a kiss on the cheek and a "laters"

Once Christian is out of ear shot Asia turns to me and asks the question