Dos.

It would be redundant to breakdown our daily activities while we were away. Every day looked like this. We considered going on excursions. We talked about the possibility of rotating around the three different resorts we had access to as patrons of Hotel Casa Ticul, but we so very much enjoyed the atmosphere at Las Palapas, we continued to turn-up there like clockwork at 10am for the duration of our trip. 

We read. We napped. We sipped drinks. We bobbed in the waves. 

You can go ahead and tell me there's no enhanced protection in SPF over 50, but skin cancer isn't a joke people. Either is sunburn. And, if you were as pale (pasty) as I am, would you risk it? I didn't think so. 

Late afternoons, we strolled back to the hotel for a shower and costume change before spending the remainder of our waking hours walking down 5th Avenue. 

5th Avenue is the "Magnificent Mile" of Playa Del Carmen. You'll find shopping, restaurants, bars and art galleries along its length. Most of the buildings are open air and numerous four-legged customers accompany their two-legged counter-parts in and around downtown. 

There is a good amount of green space in the area. And, many of the trees lining the street are flowering varieties, providing beautiful views from all directions. 

We did our best to seek out authentic restaurants amidst the multitude of pizza and pasta haunts that were obviously aimed at catering to the typical tourist family. I ate two varieties of cactus, lots of plantains, goat cheese tomales and oaxaca cheese.  

We indulged once with Tex-Mex. And, after daily pit-stops, we can order gelato and truffles in perfectly seamless Spanish.  

A gratuitous photo of Michael, because I like looking at him and because so many of the photos we came home with are ones he took of me; a contrast to the ordinary. 

Pattern: Butterick 6655, View A c. 1970

Again, my final product looks exactly as the envelop leads the sewer to believe. I'm short enough, I was able to sew the tunic length halter and have it pass as a dress, comparable to the intended length in view B. My fabric, a sheer border print, required complete underlining. But, the simplicity of the construction made this simple. I reversed the border print from its intended positioning in order to better use the full piece I had available, and I love the way it turned out. 

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