Año Nuevo IIKX

I've been off the radar for a couple of weeks now. Vacationing with Mary Claire, Laura, and Daphne in the Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula. As you can see, we were very enthusiastic about the new year in Chichinitza! Playa del Carmen was beautiful, though pretty chaotic. Stayed in the dirtiest (but very fun!) hostel (Urban Hostel: hostelz.com) while we were there. Tulum, a small city close to Playa, was by far my favorite part of the trip... We stayed at this place called Papaya Playa, no papayas to be found there BTW, with swinging mattress beds and more mattresses on the beach for straight up lounging. I was finally able to ride a bicycle and was suuuuper stoked on this! I rode a cruiser all the way to the ruins and back and worked up a much needed sweat. The fish tacos were by FAR the best things I have eaten on this trip. We met some adorable Argentinian boys there and I could actually understand them which blows my mind! We then took the rental car to the Mayan ruins of the city of Chichinitza and I got to walk around the giant Pelote field. Pelote is the Mayan religious ball game where either the loser or the winner (archeologists still don't know for sure) were sacrificed at the end. I imagine this sport as a spectator would be even more enthralling than that Chivas game I went to.
I caught a plane to the Pacific coast in Puerto Vallarta and kicked it for two days. Nothing too exciting happened there. I was grumpy from all of the traveling from Yucatan the first night and got pretty aggro on the street vendors the first night. The second night I met the only other girls staying in my hostel and we got along really well. A Canadian, a girlie from Chi-Town, and a Kiwi. We snuck in to a resort in the marina and chillaxed at the fancy pool. The only good thing I liked about Vallarta was the art galleries there. Amazing artists everywhere there. And I happened to be there the night of their weekly art walk. I wanted to buy so many thing but traveling for 4 months with a backpack is risky for the art, so I resisted. The art scene is the only reason to go there. It is great. Everything else there blows. Seriously.
Now I am in my own little beach house in Sayulita, Nayarit for the next three weeks and I think it is going to be amazing! The Canadian lady is here with me and is great company. She introduced me to another girl from her home town who lives here now and I already have networked myself in to a meditation circle on the beach tomorrow morning, a Mayan calender seminar/discussion group offered ever Wednesday, someone to rent me a surf board for a good price (the waves are supposed to get huge this week!), and someone to take me on a hike through some of the jungle trails around here. The town is so cute, the people are super relaxed, and my house is BALLERIFFIC...this is the view from my hill-side balcony. I don't think I will be bored here. I have The Art of War to read in Spanish (thanks Paquito!), Janine (O Canada) is showing me some good yoga moves to practice on my roof. Surfing is going to be great and there are a variety of breaks to try out around here. My landlord for the month is great, a bit motherly but in a New Yorker way, and she is also very helpful (she lives below me). She told me about a hospital in the town next to ours I will check in to to see if there is any way I can work (free? paid? Hells yea I'd stay here if I had an income!). I also heard about this alternative African medicine clinic nearby that will be interesting to check into. I have the life right now! This is perfect. Estoy satisfecha. I feel sorry for my shivering buddies holed up at Mojos. Mexicans have the right idea.