Clouds Give Way to Reveal the Mayan Stars

"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." ~ Rumi

Yesterday was another cool and overcast day. We started our morning same as yesterday: sleeping in (windowless dungeon-style), followed by coffee and puzzle time while listening to some music. As you may have seen in the pictures, the puzzle was a gift from Bug's sister, Moran, for Christmas. There are 365 solutions, one for every day, so we are attempting to do the puzzle each morning. It's not easy; although Moran says her school students seem to have no problem coming up with multiple solutions. Children are sharp.

After spending some time setting up the blog yesterday and cleaning up around the studio, we stepped outside to enjoy the following wonderful view of the sea, and I jumped in despite it being pretty cold, but it was refreshing. Bug dare not.

When we stepped outside, we saw our friends from last night. We all admitted that a wonderful time was had by all (except for a few hangovers). Honestly, the conversations we had with our new found friends were really great; some of the best we've had with new acquaintances.

Since we had woken up late (due to the late night and windowless box we are sleeping in), we decided that hanging around was enough, and we decided to venture out for lunch. We got ready and headed down to La Buena Vida, a popular restaurant/bar/playground/pool with views of the water. It's a popular spot for tourists and locals alike.

We can never decide how to order like normal humans because we always want to try everything, so we ordered four things, justifying it by saying that we would finish the rest of it later. We had calamari and guacamole for appetizers, followed up with tuna tartare and mango shrimp aguachiles as mains. It was all pretty good, and we were happy with the food, the view, and the people-watching, as this is the busiest we had ever seen La Buena Vida.

After we had completely stuffed ourselves, we headed back to the studio, but first stopped at the Midway Store to buy some provisions for the evening.

When we got back Bug started to read her book on the couch, and I did some work. After a little bit of that, I pushed Bug to come outside with me and sit on the beach. However, we were both aware that our friends from the previous night were outside with their new guests and we didn't feel like socializing. Somehow I convinced Bug that we would be able to get past them with minimal chitchat so we could head to the beach and sit on the chairs and take in the views.

Bug's initial reservations were correct, we did have to stop and chat with the neighbors, however after a few minutes, I think they took the hint and let us pass without paying the toll.

As we sat on the beach, the day turned into night, the clouds started to clear, and this is when the true magic happened: our first evening with clear skies that let the bright stars and reflective waters of the Caribbean come to life in true brilliance.

As we sat there in wonderment of the landscape that stretched out before us, I decided to grab a few drinks. On my way back I ran into Roger, who was now alone, as the rest of his party had retired since many of them had a long travel day. Roger is just so wonderful. He's a funny and kind man, with great stories and we truly enjoy all the words that come out of his mouth. Together we took dozens of pictures of the stars and sharing stories until Bug finally pointed out the orange moon rising low on the horizon. What a sight! As it rose, it only became more beautiful.

We chatted for a while about all sorts of topics. Somehow Bug and Roger got to talking about soccer. I introduced Roger to ChatGPT, which may have blew his mind. (Insert other interesting topics here).

After Roger retired, we decided to go up on the roof of the building to view the bay from above. We love this place because at times like this, it feels like we are the only people around, with the entire bay and the stars to ourselves. I think that's why we tend to stay up later here and thus wake up later. It feels rural and personal.

We also got a chance to revel in our newfound status as an engaged couple, so we reflected on our relationship to date, and plans for the future, and made some promises to each other up there on that roof. We also tried to take some cute pictures 😄