Our Second Week in Paradise!

This week started with a trip to Cancun mainly 

to see what was available as we had a friend willing

 to drive us in and bring the larger items we were 

looking for  back if we decided to purchase them.

The ADO bus service is a superior service - comfortable seat, you get to watch a move - sometime with English subtitles but mostly not and there is a bathroom on board. Last  year that was very important to me.

The fountain was working as we passed.

I just had to take  photos of these beautiful poinsettias in Home Depot - I had no idea they came in so many different colours and shades - there are even variegated ones!

We didn't purchase much but made a list for our 

return trip later in the week. They were having

       their Black Friday weekend and the line ups were long - we were in line over half an hour. 

 After our shopping spree we took a taxi to our favourite

 sports bar just a short distance from the Home Depot. Our contractor Carlos and his wife introduced us to 

this delicious eatery "La Taberna"

I had Chicken Alfredo and Allan had Lasagna 

Not really sure why this horse was tied up here on the street in Puerto Morelos but I thought it was worthy of a photo.

Our good friend Abraham had to do some shopping in Cancun later in the week so we accepted his invite and tagged along.

This is the older Telebodega Store, 

they sell furniture and appliances.

Paintings on the wall across the street from Telebodega 

Abraham took us to an authentic Mexican restaurant, this one was cafeteria style set up and the food was again delicious. Mexican people sure do know how to cook.  I thought the ornamental displays above the doorway were unique.

How do you choose your meal when there is so much on the menu that it takes up 4 chalk boards 

We like travelling with Abraham, there is always lots of chatting and good humour. This man loves his food especially  el Campero's deep fried chicken. This tiny little eatery is located in a town between Cancun and Puerto Morelos, its name is Alfredo Bonfil. In the years that we have been travelling back and forth from Puerto Morelos to Cancun never did we know there was another town along the way.

Seating inside is limited however there are some picnic tables outside but most of their customers come to the window, order their meal and pay from there and take it away.

Tub after tub of chicken keeps coming in from the kitchen. It sits only a short time until the tub is empty and another immediately replaces the last one.

You can see how small this place is for such a 

huge clientele - in the photo a fellow is 

waving as I took the photo - friendly community.

 For service you squeak the chicken. LOL

Our shopping day in Cancun was successful, a lot of fun and we learned of another community quite close. We even came home bringing a whole chicken for dinner.

Allan found another job.

Water and sewage services are still being installed. 

This is on the main street leaving the Colonia side

to the the main highway. Lots of detours need to be taken for traffic to move in and out of the community.

We stop often for lunch at the Red Chair restaurant (this is the name used by us and many locals)  but is really called "el Sazon Jarocho".

Not only are the food and drinks good but it is 

also a great spot to just sit and people watch.

This dinner plate my friends is one of those served at 

Cantina Habaneros on the Port side of Puerto Morelos.

 We went out with friends to celebrate the American Thanksgiving. Here you see turkey (dark meat for me), cranberries, potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, carrots and zucchini, along with the best darned stuffing I have ever eaten! They also served dinner rolls. OMG what a delicious meal and it ended with pumpkin pie!

At one end of  our dinner table are Ron ?? from British Columbia, Allan and Joanne??? from Manitoba.

At the opposite end are Gaston and Louise Begin and me.

A perfect dinner was topped off with a mariachi band. It was a evening enjoyed by all.

Saturday we took some time off and went to the beach

for most of the day. How nice it is to walk on 

the sand with the waves washing up on your feet. You don't realize how much you miss it until you come back.

This is not high season yet so the beach 

looks bare for a Saturday.

The ocean was very calm, there were no 

waves crashing the reef - an unusual sight.

Sea moss on some rocks

A school of sardines along shore

One of the few photos that can be taken 

near or at the nude beach club 

https://www.desire-experience.com/ 

Pelicans fishing for sardines

This was the first day this season for the Market at My Paradise Beach Bar. Many vendors (the sign says 40+) get together here ever two weeks for their Saturday Market.

Allan bought some German cake - 

it was so good that night for dessert.

There were vendors selling everything from clothing, jewellery,  artistic designs, paintings, food

and even honey and honey products.

Another fantastic week in Paradise, so until

 my next blog post do take care, hasta luego!

Back to Puerto Morelos for more time at Casa Pura Vida -

There will be two phases to our Winter Get A Way this winter season- the first from November 13th to December 21st, home for Christmas then back to Puerto Morelos again for the second phase from January 3rd to March 8th. 

Dwayne came with us to Sudbury on Sunday November 12th, our flight out on Monday morning was scheduled for 6:00 am which meant we had to stay at a hotel overnight. He dropped us off at the airport at 4:30 am Monday morning and took our vehicle back home. 

As always our vacations are somewhat eventful, this one started with Allan hitting and killing a small deer  just outside of Manitowaning, before the dump road, on our way to Sudbury. We didn't have the time for Allan and Dwayne to take the deer home and deal with it so Dwayne called a friend who came to the scene, picked up the deer and took it to his place to process it. We are certainly happy that it didn't go to waste.

The original plan for Sunday afternoon was for the 3 of us to meet Clinton's family for dinner at Boston Pizza in Sudbury. As plans go, they often change and so was the case with this one - Jeromy decided to go to North Bay to his college dorm to pick up some items he had left there at the beginning of  the teacher's strike. Who would have guessed it would have gone on so long. He stopped at our hotel, picked up Dwayne and they went on to North Bay. Allan and I met with Clinton and his kids for dinner and had a very nice time with them.

This is Logan, Jed  and I - gotta appreciate brotherly love 😁

 Allan, Logan and Clinton

 Ava, Brooklyn and I

This year we are in Puerto Morelos earlier than ever before and loving it.

Our first stop was at Ole's for dinner and mega cervezas - good to the very last drop and our favourite place to stop, have a cold drink and visit with friends.

The municipality is installing water and sewage lines in parts of  the town. It is great to see these much needed upgrades being done.

If you are looking for a good meal in the Colonia you have to stop at Chilpayas their food is excellent and the staff are friendly and accomodating
.

I had shrimps and Allan had the fish fillet

Just look at the size of the fillet!

 This was under construction last year when were here - it has underground  parking and the above floors are for a shopping mall. We are no doubt interested to see the finished project.

 This is the Municipal Palace -it is right across the corner from the new upcoming shopping centre

 Much to our surprise just 3 doors up from our Casa they have located a Medical Centre with Cuban doctors. We haven't had need for medical facilities yet but if we do it is very close by.

This is the upgrade to the front of our Casa, new paint and  new gates. We love the colour, (Dwayne's suggestion), it is very bright and cheery. A big change from the dowdy orange and green we had before.

Allan is always keeping himself busy with things to do,

like trimming trees along with other things.

The hardware stores have stools for the customers to sit while they are waited on

and when you are finished there is always someone waiting to take your place on the stool. You have to love it here.

Another good restaurant here is the Pescaderia Las Cabrillas - the name is only on the menu - no name outside on or near the building. 

This hammock is right beside the cashier's desk - and it was used while we were there. Gotta love this town.

Allan ordered fish as usual and he was able to choose the fish he wanted cooked.

We don't know much about the different types of fish here so when in doubt follow the chef's recommendation. 

Wow! When you ask for fish you get fish.

Shrimps - my favourite always.

This is a market of stuff and more stuff open day and night in a vacant lot that seems to be used for this purpose.

It amazes me how you can have 2 flat tires on your vehicle  and just walk away so it seems, This truck has lots of garbage in the back and it is just sitting on the side of the road. You gotta love this town.

The BBQ is getting lots of use again this season - it is too hot to cook inside and we all love the BBQ flavour don't we?

This is the neatest I have seen yet this year - A camo painted truck with a thatch roof, is it the Mexican version of the 1960's hippy volkswagon van?

How practical is this! Oh darn, it is not what it appears - it is a toilet for sale not for use.

I washed our key lanyards and hung them to dry - Allan said it looked like I had washed my thongs. LOL

We had much done to house this year, the contractor Carlos is finishing up some minor things and this is his worker "Salvador" - no one here wears steel toed work boots - just  makes me cringe at times.

The days have been hot to our standards - up to 33 degrees and more. The neighbourhood dogs are out looking for water, this one at the Church fountain. Although the fountain is not flowing this dog did find a bit of water at its base.

We like shopping at the local markets, the produce is fresh, you only purchase the amount you want and the staff are always friendly and aim to please the customer.

We went to the Port one evening and had dinner at Richard's Bistro. They have good meals and good service.

We were adventurous and tried a different beer with our dinner, "Modelo Negro". I was just that good  we had seconds but not good enough to sway us from our favourites - Sol for Allan and Tecate Light for me.

This ends our first week -   it has gone by so quickly!