- Starting the new year with my first cavern dive. On the first of January I went diving in Dos Ojos - a cenote like an underwater cathedral. Stalactites and stalagmites everywhere, the divers' bubbles creating a mirror ceiling, a surface stop in a bat cave. What an amazing start. So much better than nursing a hangover in bed.
- Picking up a hitchhiker on my way to Bacalar: Jamie, a writer and editor from NYC who gave up her permanent job for freelance work and travelling through Latin and South America for a few months. I'm so glad I met her! We had a nice conversation on that three hour drive and actually met again for dinner on the next day. She gave me a tiny baby kitten owned by one of her friends from the hostel. Its mum had been sleeping on the chair next to me during our entire meal. On our walk back we stopped at the eco beach and sat down on a little footbridge by the lake. The night sky was amazing. I showed Jamie different planets and constellations.
- The lagoon at Lake Bacalar. It's supposed to have seven colours and it's even more gorgeous than the sea as soon as the sun comes out. I spent a few hours sitting in one of those bamboo huts, looking out over the water, drawing, listening to music, drying my clothes after a swim. I also loved the Mango y Chile restaurant in Bacalar. I had a yummy Maya Burger and a smoothie.
- Spending an evening with Emilio, a dive guide in Playa del Carmen. He picked me up and we walked to a bar in the neighbourhood where we had beer with lime and salt. He walked me home as well because that's how it's done in Mexico, eh? What a gentle kisser. Divers are good people, seriously. Latino divers even more. We met again the next morning during my cavern dive in Chac Mool. By the way, I loved Nicholas, the Argentinian who runs CenoteExperience. Easy-going and fun - in multiple languages! Too bad I had to go diving with a German that day.
- My last meal in Playa: a delicious salad at Peace&Bowl. Such a cute little vegan restaurant nestled into a corner of a backyard right next to a pool.
- Doing absolutely nothing in Cancùn except enjoying my last rays of sunshine in the rooftop pool, sipping on a cocktail. Getting dinner in a quiet garden nearby (summer rolls and vegan Ceviche). Giving another girl a ride on my way to the airport because she was afraid to walk to the bus station alone in the middle of the night.
- Coming home after 30 hours at airports and on planes. Doing the one thing I had been looking forward to most: cleaning my face. Plucking my eyebrows. Applying a face mask.
- Singing along to Joan Armatrading's The Weakness in Me.
- Rapunzel Ayurveda porridge with blueberries and pecans.
- An evening on Manu's sofa. Just hanging out, talking. Very relaxed.
- Boxing with Konsti. He was my trainer for a trial session at Boxwerk. I'm kinda tempted to start training there but then again... this will be SO hard. I've already got sore muscles from shadow boxing alone. And I'd be so distracted with that blonde, blue-eyed war machine around.
- Banana nice cream with passion fruit or cacao nibs, pecans and some crumbled buckwheat cookies. We're talking Ben&Jerry's-level good here. Roasted peanuts make it delicious, too. It's probably the reason why I'm not able to lose weight on a vegan diet, eh?
- A bunch of picture-perfect white lilies on my kitchen table followed by nineteen red tulips. Desperately longing for spring. I'm so glad the ice crust on the streets is almost gone and the snow has started to melt.
- A theatre visit with my students. The play was in Bavarian and pretty funny. I had brought along Andre on a whim because we had a leftover ticket. Long story short: a student caught us making out in the back row. We got a drink afterwards and ended up at his place. What a great evening. I don't know what it is but I feel super comfortable around Andre. Even though he calls me Schätzchen.
- Doing ten sun salutations on Monday morning before going to work. Lighting a candle, watching the sunrise, suffering through the stiffness.
- Meeting Baha at a Lebanese restaurant. We didn't even finish most answers or explanations because we kept hopping from topic to topic, always following new thoughts and ideas.
- Cleaning, reorganising and decluttering my kitchen and bathroom! Even though I have a hoarding problem in my cellar now. I need to get rid of all that stuff.
- Open air ice-skating at Prinzregentenstadion in the evening. Pretty chill activity for Saturday night (quite literally - it was freezing). Warming up with Vietnamese Bun and lychee mojitos at Thao. Good choice.
- The insane wardrobe in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I would have loved to be a costume or set designer for those episodes they spent at Steiner Resort. It's such an aesthetically pleasing show.
- Katelyn Ohashi's gymnastics performance made me tear up because it gives me so much joy. There is also a little video about the end of her professional career which was pretty moving.
- The emergence of the plunger. What a weird and unlikely object I keep seeing people walking around with. First it was Susie in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (btw that show's title is way too long) fell in love with hers and then my pupils started showing up with it at school to play some mysterious game with it. New trend object?
- Lychees. The perfect lustrous shade of pink on the inside of their crunchy shells. A spiky texture on the outside. Especially their perfectly smooth, dark brown, oblong pits. Beautiful as they are though - I don't even like their taste very much.
- Sleeping for 14 hours which actually has a visual effect on my face - I look so much better and well-rested. Dreaming about hitchhiking, badass women and Andre, laughing at me for worrying about the police following us in the car for driving uphill in reverse gear.
- Cancelling a date because I already knew it would have been boring. I only agreed to it because I had no better options that evening but honestly? Reading a graphic novel and going to bed late is a pretty good alternative. I'm not that desperate.
- The return to the pool. Going swimming for the first time in months. I kinda missed it. Muscle memory.
- Andre. Simply for being so very affectionate,caring, touchy. There is always a hand on my shoulder, a little kiss here and there, a joke on his lips. He even put cream on my hands and face when he noticed my dry skin. Being treated like that feels so good and yet it's something I'm clearly missing in my life. It's also the reason why I do stupid things like going without enough sleep on a Thursday night or changing my mind, getting off the train one stop after him and taking a taxi to surprise him by showing up early.
jan 7 2019 ∞
feb 2 2019 +