This blog is all about the long awaited visit by our daughter, Kerry, her husband, Bryan, and our grandsons, Jack and Ben!
We have hoped for many years that some of our children and grandchildren could come to visit us in Uaymitun!
Last year was a great treat as Kerry and Kristy surprised Elaine with their visit!
This year, Kerry, Bryan, Jack and Ben have come to see us in Uaymitun!!!
The long run to hug Nana!
They’re here!Requisite pic in front of the Dos Equis sign at the Mérida Airport!
It was an evening arrival after a long, long trip from Toronto to Washington to Houston to Mérida, but everyone was happy to finally be here!
Their first day in Uaymitun wasn’t an idle one! We had to wait at the house until almost Noon for our 6-person SUV to be delivered! Then it was off to Telchac Puerto for lunch and then a tour of Xcambo!
Ben and Nana walking the beach!A dip in the pool!Bryan and Ben testing out the hammocks!Ben realizing his great goal …… of a trip to the roof…… Jack came up too!
For our first ‘outing’ with the family, we decided to have lunch at Tarraya in Telchac Puerto and then visit Xcambo!
Poolside at Tarraya!Jack and Ben enjoying a dip in the pool while our lunch was being prepared!Margaritas!I caught Kerry with first bite of her Fish Tacos!Jack and Ben posed with Captain Tarraya…… and a more usual state!We made a short trip into the town…… to walk on the pier!
After lunch we drove back to visit the Mayan ruins at Xcambo!
Climbing the Temple of the Cross!Tolsons on every level!The East Wing leading to the Temple of Sacrifices!Nana and her boys!Inspecting the stuccoes!The boys were eager to find iguanas…… and we sure did!We even saw two sunning themselves on the ticket office wall!We stopped at another small ruin site as we drove out the driveway.Jack and Nana selfie time!Shark Attack on the way home!Jack and Ben playing ‘football’ with Jesus and Mauricio, sons of Miguel and Maria!
On Day 2 of their stay, we were up early, grabbed a light breakfast and heading to the town of Chocholá, 20 minutes drive south-west of Mérida, to visit the San Ignacio Cenote!
Welcome to Chocholá!Down the steep stairs into the San Ignacio Cenote!It was as magical as ever!Bryan and Ben exploring!Kerry and Jack swimming!Family photo!With Jack and Ben!Kerry and I!Back up the stairs to dry off…… and to have some lunch!One of the best Sopa de Lima around!To cap off the day… we stopped for ice cream in Chicxulub on our way home!
We’ve had a busy, fun two days with the family! The next blog will highlight our fishing trip on Gaby’s boat!
This blog is about us enjoying a breather between our touring exploits!
While we love touring the local, and not so local, sights… the reality is we have lots of days to just enjoy being here and doing normal stuff!
This year, Val & George’s grandson, Brad, and granddaughter, Rachel, came for a two week visit! We were fortunate to be able to spend some time with them too!
Dinner at Crabster on the Malécon in Progreso!Yummy Cappuccino Maya!The Malécon was full of bikes that night ready for the Mérida Triathlon the next day!
Doug & Janine’s visit was drawing to a close!
Relaxing on the beach…… enjoying one last sunset!Sunrise at Uaymarima!Requisiite photos by the pool…… and at Gate A at the airport!
It was a great visit and we were able to see new sights and visit new places!
Please excuse a couple more nature pics!
Loved the clouds to the East…… and to the South!
We enjoyed another Wednesday Jam Session at FACES in Progreso!
Great music from talented ex-pat musicians!Your truly dancing up a storm with Terri!You can call me Duck!
Both Brad and Rachel turn 25 this year and decided to celebrate by visiting Oma and Opa in Uaymitun! We all celebrated their birthdays at dinner at Hacienda Xcanatun near Mérida!
The Ceiba tree at Xcanatun!Rachel and OpaOma and BradAuntie Elaine and Uncle Doug¡Feliz cumpleaños!
Sometimes we just like to ‘Get out of Dodge’! We have enjoyed dining at Oliva Kitchen and Oliva Enoteca in Centro Mérida and have wanted to try out their new location, Oliva Patio, near City Center Mall.
Oliva Patio in the Victory Platz in MéridaVery nice interior…… with a nice patio too!Just waiting for our lunch to arrive…… yumm, yumm, yumm! Goat cheese ravioli with homemade tomato sauce!And what would lunch be without a Cappuccino Maya!
A couple of daily living pics and we’ll call it a day!
The chef making her Feta Burgers!A haircut at Gaby’s in Chicxulub!
That’s it for this blog post… Kerry, Bryan, Jack & Ben arrive next blog!
This blog concludes our road trip to the Loltún Caves and other sites south of Mérida!
We enjoyed our stay at The Pickled Onion very much and I thought I’d include a few more pictures to highlight what a great place it was! If you click on the link above, you’ll see their website!
Our casita “Noh Och Nah”Doug & Janine’s casita “Kip Cho Nah”Janine thought to take a pic of the inside too!At the parking lot near the road.A beautiful path leading to the gardensThere are plenty of benches…… to stop and enjoy the view!At the back of the property there’s a gazebo…… overlooking the rock gardens!Everywhere you look… beautiful flowers!Janine caught a bee about to land!There’s a great pool… a tad coolish… which we enjoyed upon arrival…… and for a quiet read in the morning!A delicious breakfast was served…… in the open air patio!
The owner and proprietor, Valerie Pickles, was there to greet us upon arrival and spent time with us the next morning during our breakfast! She is a wonderful lady and a great host! The service was attentive and the food was outstanding!
After breakfast, we checked out and retraced our steps along the Puuc Route to the market town of Oxkutzcab. This part of the Yucatán is well-known as the Fruit Belt, with large groves of citrus fruit everywhere!
The Mercado Municipal caters largely to retailers and restaurants as they sell fruit by the crate. Inside the building, it’s a typical local market selling most anything including lots of fruit and vegetables!
After circling the square, we pulled into the first place marked as ‘public parking’ only to find it was full of trucks loading and unloading produce for the market! We parked anyways!
Oxkutzcab Mercado Municipal
The Catholic church as seen from the market square!
We walked through the crowded outside market, which was full of bicycle carts that would deliver your crates of goods back to your car if you wished!
Then we toured the inside stalls and picked up some fruits and veggies!
For lunch, we sought out the Restaurante Rex Cafe at the corner of Calle 49 and Calle 62, on the recommendation of Valerie at the Pickled Onion!
Restaurante Rex Cafe
They have a very broad International menu, including Yucatecan, Mexican, American, Thai and other dishes!
I had the best Mongolian Beef ever!
Elaine and Janine shared quesadillasDoug had the fried rice!
I had to include pictures as the dishes were quite unexpected in a small town in the Yucatán! When we questioned the waiter, he told us that the owner was an American from Oregon who now lives in Oxkutzcab and owns a couple of restaurants! Very interesting! A great lunch!
After lunch, we heading north out of Oxkutzcab to the historic town of Mani to see the Church and Convent of San Miguel. Apart from being an interesting Catholic building, there was a significant event here that altered Mayan history. With help from Wikipedia…
Maní has been continuously occupied for approximately 4000 years. In the postclassic Mesoamerican era it was home to the Tutul-Xiu Maya dynasty, which moved their capital here from Uxmal in the 13th century. The Xiu were the dominant power in the western Yucatán after the fall of Mayapan in 1441. Maní served as the main religious center in honor of the deity Kukulcan (Cukulcan, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl) for the Maya with an annual chic kaban festival until 1341.
With the arrival of the Spanish the Xiu of Maní allied themselves with the Spanish and assisted in the conquest of the rest of the peninsula.
On July 12, 1562, Friar Diego de Landa, who held the office of inquisitor before the Monastery of San Miguel Arcángel, held an auto de fe Inquisitional cerermony in Maní, burning a number of Maya hieroglyphic books and a reported 5000 idols, saying that they were “works of the devil”. The number of books burned is disputed. Landa claimed only burning 27. This act and numerous incidents of torture at the monastery were used to speed the mass adoption of Roman Catholicism throughout the region.
This Maya Book Burning event and Friar Landa’s later apology and attempt to recreate the writings are portrayed in the Maya Murals that adorn the walls of the Governor’s Palace on the Gran Plaza in Centro Mérida.
A new sign marks the small city of ManiThe Church and Convent of San Miguel
A beautiful atrium within the church groundsAn internal staircase and statueA door to a door to a doorA tranquil garden
After wandering through the church grounds and planning to return home, I wanted to head towards Tipikal and then to the main highway North to Mérida. My trusty GPS laid out our route and before I knew it, we were heading, not to Tipikal, but towards Dzán and hidden peril!
First a definition: “In the middle of nowhere”
Pronoun: a place that is remote, uninteresting, or nondescript. “a stretch of road between nowhere and nowhere”
This definitely fits the bill!
While driving between Dzán and Ticul, in the middle of nowhere, we happened upon a teeny, weeny bit of road debris!
The culprit!
We were very fortunate that more damage or injury didn’t occur, but that pointy bit took a large chuck of rubber out of the driver’s side front tire and we quickly pulled over to examine the damage and our very flat tire!
While Doug and I attempted to jack up the car, the girls were busy flagging people to slow down and go around! Several slowed and asked if we were OK… several sped past with little reduction of speed!
Then, a couple of local men stopped and with a much better jack were able to assist us in changing to our spare tire! After their labours, I wanted to thank them with some money, but they declined… in essence, when translated, they said “Today we help you, tomorrow you would help us”! There are wonderful people here in the Yucatán.
Without any further incident, we returned home to Uaymarima in time to take in a great sunset!
This blog continues our road trip to the Loltún Caves and other sites south of Mérida!
Once we had left the Loltún Caves, we continued on the wonderfully narrow Puuc Route to the Mayan ruins at Labna and then past Sayil, Xlapak and Kabah on our way to The Pickled Onion in Santa Elena.
Here’s a short description of the ruins at Labna, again courtesy of Wikipedia, …
Labna (or Labná in Spanish orthography) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site and ceremonial center of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Puuc Hills region of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is situated to the south of the large Maya site of Uxmal, in the southwest of the present-day state of Yucatán, Mexico. It was incorporated with Uxmal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
The site is a comparatively small and compact one. Among its notable structures is a large two-storey ‘palace’ (“El Palacio”), which is one of the longest contiguous structures in the Puuc region at approximately 120 m (393.7 ft) in length. From the palace, a ceremonial road (sacbe) extends to an elaborately decorated gateway arch (“El Arco”). This structure is 3 m (9.8 ft) wide and 6 m high, with well-reserved bas-reliefs. The arch is not an entrance to the city, but rather is a passageway between public areas. Next to this gateway stands “El Mirador”, a pyramid-like structure surmounted by a temple. Also on the site is the Temple of the Columns.
The structural design and motifs of the site’s buildings are in the Maya architecture regional style known as Puuc. This makes extensive use of well-cut stone forming patterns and depictions, including masks of the long-nosed rain-god Chaac.
The site was built in the Late and Terminal Classic era. A date corresponding to AD 862 is inscribed in the palace.
It’s a nice shaded walk from the Labna parking lot…… past the ticket office and out to the main site.There’s a small building as you enter the site…… that contains several examples of recovered carvings!The large two-storey ‘palace’ (“El Palacio”), is one of the longest contiguous structures in the Puuc region being 120 m in length and having 57 bedrooms on its two levels.Wondering why they would plant an orange tree so close to their house! 🙂More of the same very long structure!Very intricate carvings…… wherever you look!The “El Mirador” or ‘lookout’…… is perched atop an unrestored moundLabna’s most famous feature……an elaborately decorated gateway arch “El Arco”…… is joined to the palace by a ceremonial road (sacbe)!The surrounding stone walls contain many wonderful carvings!In another part of the site one finds…… some more residential buildings with vaulted ceilings…… well preserved doorways…… and evidence of an upper floor!
Labna is not one of the largest Mayan sites in the Yucatán, but we’d always wanted to visit it to see some of the highlights we’d only seen in other folks pictures or magazines! It was well worth the trip!
Realizing our day was quickly running away on us, we continued along the Puuc Route past the other Mayan sites of Xlapak, Sayel and Kabah to the village of Santa Elena and our stop for the night, The Pickled Onion!
Welcome to The Pickled Onion…Getting ready for a great meal with Mango Daiquiris…All of our dinners…… had great presentation…… and superb flavours!… and a beautiful moon to light our way back to our rooms for the night!
What a great way to complete this first adventure along the Puuc Route!
That’s it for this blog post… we will continue with our trip home… including more pictures of The Pickled Onion and visits to Oxkutzcab and Mani and our fateful meeting with road debris… all on the next blog!
One of our ‘bucket list’ items for our winters in Uaymitun was to visit the Loltún Caves, so we planned an overnight trip to do so!
But before we head south to our adventure in the caves, just a few items of interest!
As I mentioned back in Post #2, Val and I had skipped into Mérida to purchase tickets to Programa 1 of this season’s OSY Symphony! On Sunday, Jan 28th, we attended the concert… thumbs up from all!
The Symphony Orchestra of Yucatan opens its season with a brilliant program of Russian music: The Great Russian Easter, overture created in memory of Mussorgsky and Borodin, who with the composer Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov were part of the Group of 5 nationalist authors. Also, the famous Spanish Capricho , inspired by the composer’s trips to Cádiz will captivate us with the multiple solos of violin, flute, clarinet, cello and harp. Finally, we can enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 , which describes landscapes and winter dreams.
The lovely Teatro Peón Contreras…… with its spectacular chandelier!We had a great time with Doug & Janine…… and George & Val… pictures courtesy of Raymondo!We had lunch at La Tratto in Santa Lucia Park… I am ready!
During one of our recent jaunts into Progreso, Elaine and Janine visited the Mercado de Artensanias… while Doug and I had other ideas!
Lunch at Comida China on Calle 80 in Progreso!And we lived to tell the tale!We caught up with the girls having Coco Shrimp in Crabster on the Malécon… and a Cappuccino Maya!A relaxing bench in the Progreso main plaza!
Usually we have 2-3 times during our stay where the low tides are really low and our off-shore sandbars appear!
Low… Low tide!
Now… on to the Loltún Caves! Hopefully I won’t overwhelm you with too many photos, but I’ve trimmed my chosen ones from a cast of hundreds! In any case, the pictures won’t do justice to the beauty of the caves!
Courtesy of the YucatanToday.com website, a description of the caves…
Its name is derived from two Maya words, LOL (flower) and TUN (stone). Located in the hilly Puuc region, 110 km. southeast of Mérida, these are the largest caves on the peninsula. They are also the ones that are the most studied. Evidence has been found here of human contact going back 7,000 years. Mammoth, bison, feline and deer bones have been found in the caves, along with fresco paintings on the walls.
The entrance to the caves is down……down……down! Our trusty guide was a local Mayan gentleman named Pablo!A magnificent banyan tree sending roots down!This photo and the next show some…… ancient Mayan pictographs on the stone face!And now into the caves… no more captions as a picture is worth a 1,000 words!
Ok… one caption… look close and you’ll see some friendly bats!A Toltec statue found in the cave!
The final chamber before climbing back to the surface.
More Mayan pictographs
Doug and Janine capturing the moment!With our great English speaking guide, Pablo!The Lion… needs to be seen to be believed! 🙂The steps up to the surface!Looking back down the steps!Back near the entrance and the baños were found some recovered stone pillars (stella)!Beautiful flowers on the grounds!One intrepid traveller from BC!
Our trip to the Grutas de Loltún was memorable and very worth the drive!
That’s it for this blog post… we continue our southern trip with Labna, our overnight at the Pickled Onion and then Oxkutzcab on the next blog!
One of the places that Doug & Janine had not visited on previous visits was Izamal, known as “The Yellow City”!
We left after a quick breakfast to ensure we arrived before it got too hot… taking the back roads and highways to see the sites!
Our route took us to Telchac Puerto, south to Motul, then east through Suma and Teya to Tepekan and then south again to Izamal.
About half way from Motul to Suma there’s a small village (name unknown) where we stopped for a stretch and to take some pictures of an old hacienda.
The main haciendaThe machine room where the henequen is processed…… have a distinct architecture!A horse of another colour!
Once we’d arrived in town and parked on the plaza, we visited the Hotel San Miguel Arcangel for a pit stop and cappuccinos!
A new sign on the plaza… similar to many other towns.The patio in the Hotel San Miguel Arcangel
Once refreshed, we toured the Convento de San Antonio de Padua!
A long walk up many stairs!Bells and more bells!October 13 1795!Just loved the cloud formations!A gorgeous wooden entrance to the church!A very elaborate nave!Looking out to the courtyardAn interior atriumA corridor of the conventAnother view of the facade of the convent!
Once we’d finished our tour of the convent, it’s always fun to take a horse-drawn buggy ride through the streets of Izamal!
Buggy rides anyone?Why yes, thank you!Us too! Us too!A street scene in Izamal! Yellow buildings abound!The back of the main pyramid while on our tour!A Mayan hut!Capilla de los Remedios
At the end of our buggy ride through the streets of Izamal for about a 1/2 hour, we had our drivers drop us off at our favourite restaurant, Kinich!
Restaurante Kinich, El Sabor de Izamal!Very yummy food… as always!
While we were dining, the heaven’s opened in a torrential downpour for about 1/2 an hour! Luckily for us, it stopped and we were able to walk a block down the street to the entrance for the Kinich Kakmó Pyramid.
The entrance way up to the pyramid!Doug taking a picture of Janine taking a picture of Doug….After the first flight of stone stairs, you cross a large plain to the actual pyramid!Looking back down the stairs towards the conventZooming in on the conventAt the top of the first flight of stairs on the pyramidA happy couple on the pyramid!Many of the buildings here…… have a very Moorish look to them…… including the Peace Arch.
As we finished our tour of Izamal, the weather started to turn again, so we took the fast way home by the Cancun-Merida highway!
That’s it for this blog post… visits to Loltun Caves, Labna and Oxkutzcab are queued up for the next blogs!
With apologies to Steve & Dodie, whom we met in my last post, I have blatantly plagiarized his blog title for my post about our trip to Xcambo!
But before our trip to Xcambo… a couple of just living in Uaymitun memories.
For the last couple of years the Uaymitun Flamingo Viewing site has been closed due to severe deterioration! There must have been an influx of funding as it’s back open again and the tower has been fixed!
The view from the renovated Viewing Stand at the Uaymitun Flamingo site.Doug & Janine at the Flamingo site.
At a recent Wednesday afternoon Jam Session at FACES in Progreso, our beach neighbour, Greg Smith and his friend, Les Kadar, visiting from Cambridge, ON joined the regulars for a few songs! Very good!
Les on the keyboard and Greg in the back on bass guitar!
Hard to believe, but here we are in our 6th winter here in Uaymitun and we’ve never visited the Mayan ruins at Xcambo, which is about a 20 minute drive from our beach house!
Borrowing from Wikipedia…
Xcambó (X’Cambó) is an archaeological site that is located in the municipality of Dzemul in the Mexican state of Yucatán . It is considered by experts as one of the largest salt deposits on the north coast of the peninsula, with large buildings. It sits on the humid forest of the swamp , just 2 kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico , in the north of the peninsula , approximately 40 km northeast of the city of Merida , capital of the state of Yucatan .
The pre-Columbian city of Xcambó has been defined as a port that was important for the commercial and saline development of its time, mainly during the early classical period.
In the site there is a platform called the Temple of the Cross , a stepped base with a cross on its top. Also another basement in whose upper part is the denominated the Temple of the Sacrifices , as well as a certain number of burials that when discovered were found with offerings rich in foreign ceramics (polychromes of Guatemala and female figurines of the island of Jaina).
It’s definitely one of the smaller sites around, but really hasn’t been largely excavated. Still it was a great site for a quiet visit in the morning!
Once you’ve paid the admission fee, there’s dirt road entrance to the site.As frequently happened, a Catholic Chapel was built on the Mayan ruin.A quiet stroll through the ruins.One needs to fire up the imagination to visualize what it must have once been!Appears to have been a well or a storage placeOne is free to climb here…… and here!The Temple of the CrossElaine, Doug and JanineA view of the east wing with the Temple of Sacrifices in the distanceThere are several partially maintained stuccoes….… on the Temple of SacrificesA view from the Temple of SacrificesProof that the Mayans were a vertically challenged people!Xcambo Security Guard!A recently discovered Mayan Throne!Just love the trees here in the Yucatan!
After our tour, we made a short trip into Motul and then back to Telchac Puerto for dinner at Tarraya!
Cattle crossing on the way to Telchac Puerto!
Afterward, with the help of a waitress at the restaurant we found a new Mercado on the plaza in downtown Telchac!
That’s it for this blog post… visits to Izamal, Loltun Caves, Labna and Oxkutzcab are queued up for the next blogs!
Sorry for the delay in publishing this, but I hope to catch up soon!
This blog is all about enjoying living here in Uaymitun and spending time with family and friends!
We count ourselves very fortunate to be able to spend about 1/3 of the year with my sister and her husband down here in Uaymitun!
Val and Elaine enjoying their first Mayan Kiss of the season! (Kahlua + Xtabentun)George carving up our delicious Pollo Papaya de Coco dinner!
Given the nice weather, we try to go for walks as often as we can! The other day, while walking the Coast Road, I captured a few pictures of the beautiful surroundings!
The famous “Parrot House” where Bonnie & Ken live.Many of the beach houses have…… gorgeous bougainvillea displays!Boomer and Peg’s house… now up for rent! 🙁Palm adorned driveways!Our personal favourite… Uaymarima! 🙂
The other morning, while walking towards the Flamingo Stand, I met a couple of cyclists from Victoria, BC. At that point, they were on a their 15th day of a cycle tour from Cancun. Steve & Dodie have a very interesting story to tell of their multitudes of world wide cycle tours! Have a look on his blog site… Steve Miller/Grampies Tours … their latest is “Road to Ruins!”
Steve & Dodie on the Coast Road near Uaymitun!
One of our pastimes down here, once the sun sets at 5:30, is to play cards… like Hearts and Euchre, with Mat & Terri next door! Ever since Bob & Betty’s visit a couple of years ago, one of our favourite card game is “Hand & Foot”!
In preparation for a rematch with Pam & Raymond, Elaine and I sought out some tartas de lima from a local establishment called T-Bar in Mérida. Our usual branch was all out but one of the servers recommended that we go to another store closet to Centro as they usually have them!
T-Bar where they have delicious treats!Raymond about to enjoy!Someone made me include this pic showing Raymond and Elaine’s great victory over Pam and I! So sad!
One never knows what the day may bring, living here in Uaymitun!
Our valedor, Miguel, brought us some fresh coconut!Mat captured this everyday occurrence here on the beach!
This past Tuesday, we greeted Doug & Janine, back for their 3rd visit to Uaymitun!
They’re here! They’re here!Requisite picture with the Dos Equis sign at the airport!The weather cooperated and let us enjoy…… a sunset on the beach!Off for a walk on the beach!Toes in the Gulf!A beach walk past Ed & Jo’s place from last year!
That’s it for this blog post… visits to Xcambó and Izamal are queued up for the next blogs!
It always takes a little time to get settled into living here in Uaymitun, but after two weeks now the hectic pace is slowing down!
This blog is all about revisiting old haunts and renewing acquaintances!
I was enjoying the view the other day and managed to capture these pics…
Seabirds in flight!A local valedor tending his nets just off shore!
Last year, Maria created a special meal for us, so this year I asked her to show us how to make her delicious tomato sauce!
Maria working her magic…… but I should have requested ‘suave’ instead of ‘medio’! (mild not medium) 🙂
One of our favourite outings down here is to attend the “Jam Session” at Faces on Wednesdays… this was our first visit of the season with Mat & Terri, Val & George and some friends!
FACES in Progreso; aka Jim & Elke’s PlaceThe band was rocking!A sign of the times!Saying hi to favourite band members!That evening we relaxed with Mat & Terri on their patio next door!
One of our favourite lunch spots is Terraya in Telchac Puerto, about a 1/2 an hour’s drive east along the coast!
Terraya in Telchac PuertoA great Koi pond… but not so many KoiCheers!My lunch fav… Pollo Maya!
On the way back, we stopped by the pier in Telchac Puerto…
They have a new sign!Grand Marina Kinuh!
On our next shopping trip into Mérida we revisited the Liverpool Mall.
Skating at Liverpool Mall
When the Norté winds are blowing on the beach… we can socialize out front!
George, Val, Elaine, Terri and Mat!
Another beautiful sunset in Uaymitun!
George and Val heading home into the sunset!
I was unable to purchase the Symphony tickets online as I’d hoped, so early the next morning, Val and I went into Mérida to the José Peón Contreras Teatro and managed to be first in line for tickets!
We got tickets!
We were meeting up with Bob & Pat after their Spanish lessons and we had some time to kill, so we had to go to CaféLaHabana and treat ourselves…
… to a Cappucino Maya! That’s Xtabentun hiding at the bottom!
Then we went back to a park bench near the theatre to people watch until we met up with Bob & Pat.
A great place to people watch!
Bob & Pat had done us a great service by walking over to Pacsadeli and grabbing two highly desired treasures…
… green relish!
Over the years, we’ve become very attached to the little village of Chicxulub. So, for any who might say it’s just a little…
Given the bitter cold of December and the late snows, we are very happy to return to Uaymitun for the rest of the winter!
Once again, we’ll get to spend quality time with my sister, Val, and her husband, George, who are just 6 houses down the beach!
Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!
-doug and elaine
As many of you have been living through the latest Polar Vortex, you can well appreciate our desire to head south to the warmth!
Our “Before” picture…… and our “After”!
After a fun evening celebrating New Year’s Eve with Don & Michelle, Lulu & Calvin, Dave & Deb and Roy & Donna, we closed up the house early on New Year’s Day and after a visit with Kerry & Bryan and the boys, headed towards a Toronto airport hotel.
All checked in with our many bags!A view of balmy Pearson International Airport from our hotel!
The next morning, after playing Gate Change Tag three times, our plane finally pulled up to our departure gate.
WestJet 2792… heading to Merida!
We had a good flight to Mérida and were fortunate enough to have gone online and print off our Immigration Forms before leaving… so we didn’t have to do them in the line when we arrived! Three of our bags came out right away, but we had to wait about 20 minutes for our 4th to arrive! 🙁
Then we pushed the red light / green light and got red, so they checked all our bags! Oh well!
Our rental car was waiting for us, so we headed for our beach house, Uaymarima in Uaymitun!
Our Yucatán Vacation Rentals car was awaiting us!
Our friends, Mat & Terri, had us over for dinner when we arrived, which was great!
There aren’t many things nicer than waking up our first morning and having our first coffee on the patio overlooking the Gulf!
Our first sunrise of the season!Down to the beach…… toes into the Gulf…… pure enjoyment!
The next three days were full of trips to town for supplies and such, but here’s a few of my favourite pictures of non-shopping times!
Interesting clouds just at sunrise… both out back…… and out front!Looking West on the beach… not too much seaweed yet!A view from the roof of the house!We have hammocks this year!On one of our trips into Mérida we visited the famous…… Costco Cenote! 🙂
On one of our trips to Mérida, we visited with Gaby & Billy, our house owners at their new house. After heavy duty grocery shopping, we were forced to stop for a light lunch of soup and lettuce wraps at PF Chang’s in the Altabrisa Mall!
Things are looking promising for the winter according to Elaine’s fortune cookie!
On Sunday afternoon, we made our first trip into Progreso to walk on the Malecón. We met up with Val & George and Mat & Terri for a beverage on the beach!
Val & GeorgeMy first Marquesita!Elaine’s first Mango Margarita!
We have been fortunate over the last few years to be able to celebrate our anniversary down here… and usually with Val & George!
This year we were able to celebrate our 46th anniversary at Hacienda Xcanatun near Mérida with Val & George and Mat & Terri!
The grand entrance to Hacienda Xcanatun…… the beautiful grounds…… their Christmas Tree is still in place!Val & GeorgeMat & TerriThe “love of my life” and I!Happy Anniversary!
