La crucecita town

The nearest town from our resort is La Crucecita. It was roughly a 20 minute taxi ride to town for 45 pesos each way. We went to town twice to walk around, shop, and to eat lunch. We ran out of sunscreen (packing two is never enough) so we had to go to town to buy it. Our resort was charging $29 for sunscreen!!! I better start packing more when I go on beach vacations. 

La Crucecita is really small. You can't get lost because every street leads back to the main square in front of the church.

The town has a lot of hotels, restaurants, ice cream shops, and souvenir shops. Walking around was really safe except for the jewellery vendors who will do anything to get your attention.."hey, I was your waiter from your resort, do you want to come inside my store?". I usually just smile and walk away.

My favourite (of course) were the ice cream shops! It was so hot that I needed ice cream all the time.

Mexican sunset

Our resort was expansive and there were a lot of places to explore. I loved that we had a lot of space to roam around in. 

Just before going to dinner, we decided to walk around to try to catch the sunset. We walked and walked until we discovered a cliff. It was a little scary to walk on a very small piece of land. I was mildly freaking out so I walked very slowly and watched my step so I don't plunge down the cliff.

The view and sunset more than compensated for my fear. Not to mention the seeing the tallest cactus ever!! It was beautiful!

What I ate: La Crucecita Restaurant

We visited the town of La Crucecita twice during our stay in Huatulco (more on the town later). During our visits, we ended up having lunch there. Our resort restaurants had a lot of varities of food but I always make it a mission to leave the resort and try the local food outside as it is always different. And more authentic.

It was fun to walk around and see the various restaurants the town has to offer. This restaurant was located on the street where I took pictures with the bougainvillea.
 
We ordered too much food because the menu looked amazing. And we didn't realize until we ordered our mains that the restaurant had a weekend special for carnitas. We had to order a few to try and it was delicious!

Travel reading Part II

Like I mentioned before, I get a lot of reading done when I'm on vacation. Beach vacations are the best time for reading. While your tanning or lounging on the beach, open a book, and keep on reading. I saw a lot more people reading this time in Mexico. 

1. Looking for Alaska - being young and fearless!
2. Girl on the train - reminded me so much of "Gone Girl". Love the twist in this book.
3. The Look of Love - light and fluffy read.
4. Morning Glory - made me re-watch Sleepless in Seattle after reading this book.

What book(s) have you read lately? Any recommendations?

*images via google*

Bougainvillea

While walking around the town of La Crucecita, we stumbled upon this street not knowing we would find a house full of  bouganvillea's. For a person who grew up in a tropical county, this was heaven for me! I love exploring without a map, you never know what you will find...

Birthday in Mexico

Like I mentioned before, I like to spend my birthday's abroad. And this time, I got lucky enough to once again leave the country to celebrate my birthday in Huatulco, Mexico. Getting older sucks but my pain is lessened when I'm in a warmer climate, eating a nice meal, and drinking wine.

I woke up on my birthday with the sun shinning! What else can I ask for?

We spent the whole day at the beach. I was so happy to finally not wear socks and 10 million layers of clothing. 

For dinner, we booked a reservation at El Mexicano. It was one of the a la carte restaurants in our resort. I was so excited for our meal!

I had avocado with shrimp ceviche for my appetizer and main course was grilled fish (forgot to take a picture of it).

Well, after the main course, I was feeling ill and a barely ate a piece of the chocolate cake that was in front of me. And trust me, I LOVE desserts and I always eat my birthday cake. We left the restaurant and went back to our room.

Half an hour later, I projectile vomited my dinner. I blame the ceviche!!

Overall, I had a really amazing day! and now, I won't ever forget my eventful birthday dinner in Mexico. 

Huatulco, Mexico

It was time to escape the snow and bitter cold weather. I didn't want to spend my birthday bundled up in layers of clothing and still freezing so off we go to Huatulco, Mexico. Initially, we thought about going to Panama or Dominican Republic but after looking at weather reports and seeing rain, I started looking at Mexico. I've been to Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo before but I wanted to see a different part of Mexico. Huatulco is in the state of Oaxaca on the Pacific coast. As much as I love the Caribbean, I have also fallen in love with the Pacific Ocean. The weather called for a lot of sunshine and I was sold! 

I had a great time!! I enjoyed the food, the beach, and our resort was beautiful full of wildlife and various flora & fauna. 

A vacation was just what I needed to get a break from my regular routine.  I just felt relaxed and got a lot of exercise from walking around our resort. It was fantastic! 

I'll take a little break from my posting about my Japan trip while I write about my experiences in Huatulco. 

Japanese bidet

Let's get personal and talk about bidets. Toilets are taken seriously in Japan and I don't get why it's not a worldwide phenomenon. I will admit that I was intimidated by it at first. I didn't know how to operate all the buttons and I was afraid I would press the wrong one but thankfully there is always an English translation and the pictures help.

I really want one now especially during winter when you can heat the seat so your butt will never touch the cold seat (major plus!!). 

I got so spoiled in Japan that I wanted to purchase one when I got home. 

Nagoya Castle Garden

I love walking around the castle grounds. It was so quiet and I enjoyed photographing everything. My favourite is the first picture with the lady on the bike. A lot of people bike in Japan especially the older generation. I guess that's the key to their health! 

I also loved the river view from the castle. Everything looks so tranquil.