Post 15 (11/17/25) MONDAY (LAST FULL WEEK IN PARADISE)

I slept in after a long night Sunday for the closing of Pride Week. My day started with a walk over to Therapy cafe. I ordered the healthy bowl again, but she didn't have any fruit, so she offered me a green smoothie and a "toastie". I accepted and got interesting results. The smoothie tasted like grass, and was a bit bitter, but I heard Dr. Dean Edell's voice ringing in my ear, "Bitter is better" (as far as health is concerned). I later asked her what was in it, and she explained: broccoli, parsnip, and green apple. The toastie choices were ham or salami, so I opted for salami. This is something I don't really make for myself nor order out, so a bit of a departure for me. It was actually pretty good. And the trick she employs? Italian herbs in generous supply. It made it really special and tasty. A tasty toastie, imagine that. It's evident by the signage that this cafe is called Therapy because they also offer massage. I asked who did the massages, and it turned out to be Peggy. In fact, she used to work for the cruise lines. So I proposed we get down to it. It was 12:04 and she had one coming in at 1pm, so I proposed a half hour, which she accepted. Her massage studio was above the cafe, so up we went. It turned out to be a pretty simple rub-down, but it was pleasant and comfortable. Plus she is really sweet, so I enjoy her company.

I came back to the hotel to do my laundry in the coin-up machine at the hotel. It went smoothly and was quite easy. I ran into Hamsa, as his desk and massage rooms are adjacent to the laundry room. We booked a massage for Friday, this time a more serious, therapeutic one for 80 minutes. While my laundry was underway I went upstairs to blog the pizza experience. Once the laundry was ready, I went back down to find a guy putting clothes into the washing machine. He turned out to be an Italian guy named Luciano. He was sweet and fun, and we chatted for a while as I folded my laundry.

When the evening arrived, I strolled over to Yumbo. I recalled previously seeing a man disappear in the area of this steakhouse called El Toro II, and for some reason it stuck with me. It was also the reference point I used to meet up with Alex on Sunday, due to its bright red lit sign on a tall pillar. So I decided to go for it, for lack of a better plan. It was fairly authentic Spanish style cuisine, though I didn't want to eat much. I settled on garlic prawns with garlic bread, and the prawns turned out to be delicious.

Here are my sizzling prawns. When I mentioned to Ramón (over chat during dinner) that I got camarones, he corrected me that they are actually gambas. When I asked him the difference, he said size mainly. So I guess they use the term camarones for what we would call bay shrimp. Anything bigger, which we usually call a prawn, they use the word gamba. Anyway, whatever you call them, these are the ones I got on a sizzling platter like fajitas:

On the way there I had noticed the popular Paris Bakery just below El Toro II, a place decked out in bright pink. Everything in the case looked so delicious, I just couldn't resist. I had already decided I wasn't going to go to any bars that night, and didn't want to sit at another cafe, so I ended up taking a few things to go: a dessert/snack for now, and a slice of mocha cake for the morning (I didn't want to have a cake with coffee in it in the evening, which could disrupt my sleep). 

I went back to the hotel to enjoy the treats and do a little work. I'm sorry to not have taken pictures, but I had a simple swirl of merengue, and this chocolate bomb that ended up being filled with marshmallow, and was delicious! I spent some time writing the blog entry for Saturday and uploading all the pics and videos (which was a long one, much work, and a bit frustrating given the weak internet here). After a bit of YouTube, I called it a night fairly early.