The Ducksoup Blogs

This blog post will highlight the 2nd half of Don & Sharon’s visit!

The week began with wonderful weather!

Don and I went into Chixculub to drop off and pick up laundry, sour oranges from Jose’s mercado and water, so we took the opportunity to wander through the square and down to the pier. There’s a new sign commemorating the Chixculub Meteor that is reputed to have ended the dinosaurs reign.

After dropping in at Gaby’s to make a hair appointment for Elaine and talking to the ladies at Licoria Lef about the absence of Sisi Triple Sec, we headed back to Uaymitun!

Much to our surprise, guests were awaiting us on our patio!

Later that day, Raymond & Pam and Bob & Pat came out to the beach for a late lunch and cards! Elaine made delicious lasagna and salad… Pam brought some yummy salsa and Pat made her famous Carlota!

I would bring news of winners and losers, but it’s too sad a tale to tell!

The next day was a relax by the pool day! We went to supper at Tecnohotel in San Benito a few kilometers east on the Coast Road.

Time for a “road trip”! So off we went to Hacienda Sotuta de Peon, about 85 Km from Uaymitun to the south of Mérida.

Sotuta de Peon is unique in that it allows you to understand what a henequen hacienda of the late 1800’s looked like. It also allows one to view the process and machinery used to turn henequen into rope. Oh… and then there’s the cenote!

For a more complete understanding of what Henequen meant to the Yucatán economy and life, there’s a good description on Wikipedia: Henequen industry in Yucatán

Our route home took us back through Tekit de Regil and San Pedro Chimay to the Periferico. We stopped at Hermana República near Xcanatún for a late lunch… great local cuisine and craft beer!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into life in Uaymitun and the surrounding area! There’s just so much to do and see… we never tire of exploring!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

No, not London and Paris, but Progreso and Mérida!

This blog marks the arrival of our first guests of the winter, Elaine’s sister Sharon and her husband Don. Don has never been here before, so it’ll be fun showing him what makes this place so special!

Tuesday! Tuesday’s are WestJet days.

It was great to bring them out to Uaymarima before sunset! We relaxed, visited and had some delicious Enchilada Chicken Stew that had been simmering in the crockpot all day.

Being the loving, caring brother-in-law that I am, I made sure Sharon was welcomed back before retiring for the night!

Wednesday! FACES in the afternoon.

Thursday! Progreso and the Malecón.

Friday! Pool day.

It was a whole day of basically doing nothing apart from laying by the pool and Don & Sharon had wonderful massages on the patio with no photos allowed 🙂 !

Saturday! Was a visit to Mérida.

Bob & Pat invited us to visit their house so Don could experience what a house in Mérida could be like. Then on to dinner and exploring Centro!

That highlights Don & Sharon’s first few days in Uaymitun, Chicxulub, Progreso and Mérida! I hope you’ve enjoyed the sights with us!

Next blog will capture visits to Sotuta de Peon and Mayapan!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

Apparently there’s a large underground movement of Bunco fans everywhere, including a chapter in Mérida!

From that trusted online source, Wikipedia…

bun·co

 A swindle in which an unsuspecting person is cheated; a confidence game

Or perhaps it’s…

bun·co

A parlour game generally played with twelve or more players, divided into groups of four, trying to score points while taking turns rolling four dice.

In any case, Pat invited Elaine to come into Mérida for a wild evening
of bunco… or perhaps only two hours dependent upon the level of buncoing going on!

Bob and I avoided the debauchery by stolling on the Paseo de Montejo!

Every country or culture places more value on certain items than others!

After a great afternoon at Faces, we went for dinner with Mat & Terri!

And now for the Breaking News everyone has been asking for!

To celebrate our great victory, we allowed Raymond and Elaine to take us out to dinner at the Loncheria Carolina in the square in Chicxulub!

Apparently there has been either an growth in the local funds for tourist signage or there’s been an increase in incidents… not sure which!

Sunday, Jan 27th dawned…

It was the most violent storm we’ve seen in our 7 winters here! The winds lasted all day and through the night!

We were fortunate! We lost power for ~3 hours and our Internet and Cell service was interrupted for about a day and a half. We had some flooding in our upstairs bedrooms where the force of the wind and rain pushed water through our patio doors.

Some people in Progreso lost power for 4 days! There was damage and flooding all along the coast from Dzilam de Bravo in the east to Chiburna in the west. Gaby said that they thought it was a hurricane at her house near Mérida, about 20Km inland!

It was quite a storm!

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning all about Bunco and more!

The next blog will include the arrival of our first guests of the season, Elaine’s sister Sharon and her husband Don!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

Now that we’re settled in at the beach and our trips to Mérida and Progreso are less frequent, we can enjoy taking in some of our favourite activities!

On one of our Mérida shopping trips, we met up with Bob & Pat at Altabrisa Mall for lunch!

We’re fortunate to have booked a table for four at FACES for the Wednesday afternoon Jam Session for the whole season!

We had another evening out at FACES on Thursday night with Mat & Terri for Steak Night!

Bob & Pat asked us to come into Mérida for dinner at their place (great burgers, Bob) and to take in Noche de Jazz!

Santa Ana Park, which is only a 5 minute walk from their house, has frequent concerts and fairs throughout the year. This is our 2nd or 3rd visit to Noche de Jazz!

In addition to Noche de Jazz, all month long there has been a Oaxacan Artisan Show and Food Fair in the park.

For those who are curious… more than you’ll ever want or need to know about Chapulines can be found here!

The next morning, we Cabify’d (like Uber) to the Slow Food Market!

It was our first visit to the Slow Food Market and we’re glad to have finally made it there. It was enjoyable to see it, but most of what we’d typically purchase there, is available every other Thursday at the Muelle Market in Chicxulub since many of the vendors do both venues!

The other day, while enroute into Chicxulub, we saw a couple of cars stopped beside the wetlands outside of town.

On our way out of downtown Chicxulub, we stopped for water and I went two doors down to a small vendor “El Sabor de Michoacan”, where a young fellow, Juan Carlos, was diligently chopping meat for tacos and tortas! Turns out he, his wife (Daniella) and mother (Alicia) all speak English!

We had a good discussion of the differences between Yucatecan and Michoacan cooking… it’s all in the spices! We sampled… yumm!

That afternoon, the winds started strengthening out of the NW… it was the tail-end of the storm that hit Southern Ontario and Quebec. The next day was a strong El Norté that blew and blew all day!

That night was the eclipse of the ” super blood wolf moon“, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to take it in here!

One other outcome of the combination of full moon and the lowest tides was the reappearance of our sandbar(s).

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little sample of the sights, sounds and tastes of being here! Next blog, we’ll be enjoying a bit of Mérida and immortalizing a dramatic victory by Pam and Doug at “Hand & Foot”!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

As always, it takes a couple of weeks to get unpacked and truly settle in. There are items from various stores in Chicxulub, Progreso and Mérida that we’ll need for our 3 month stay! Once that rush is over, we can take more time to relax and just enjoy being here!

Over the past few years, we’ve celebrated our Wedding Anniversary with dinner at La Hacienda Xcanatun near Mérida with George & Val!

However, this year, with George recuperating at home, we just didn’t feel right going there… “El próximo año, Jorge”!

It’s always good to be able to relax and get back into the swing of things in Uaymitun!

We had a fun evening for our Anniversary with Raymond & Pam; dinner at Leña y Mar on the Malecon in Progreso and then we let Pam win at 5 Crowns!

The Sunday after our arrival, Bob & Pat from Courtney, BC and Mérida, dropped out to the Beach for the afternoon!

It’s always interesting to see what’s changed around town after 9 months of being away! Chicxulub is no exception!

The old Bamboo Beach, which had part of its roof collapse a couple of years ago, is totally demolished. A couple of gentlemen passing the day across the street said that another restaurant is going to be built there.

The Restaurant los Tiburones has moved across the street into the old Mama Mia pizza place and the old building has also been reduced to rubble.

La Casa del Faro, one of our early haunts in Chicxculub, looks to have closed for good!

There’s a new restaurant beside the pier called VistaMar, which we’ll be checking out soon on a nice sunny, calm day!

And not just one Abarrotes Dunosusa but two!

Our next will include trips to PF Chang’s (yum!), La Noche de Jazz in Mérida and a visit to the Slow Food Market!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

Dear family and friends… welcome to our Uaymitun 2019 Blog!

Although we were having an pretty mild lead up to the New Year, we are very happy to return to Uaymitun for the rest of the winter!

Unfortunately, due to health issues, we will not be able to spend quality time this winter with my sister, Val, and her husband, George, who rent just 6 houses down the beach. We are missing them already!

I hope you’ll enjoy our blog posts this winter… it really helps us feel connected to all, even though we are afar!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

-doug and elaine

The early part of winter in Sarnia wasn’t terribly cold or snowy!

As we were flying WestJet from Toronto to Mérida on January 1st, a Tuesday of course, we spent the night at the Toronto Airport Hilton. Sharon & Don were good to us and gave us a lift to the hotel from Kitchener!

We met up with our friends, Mat & Terri, and had a great dinner at The Keg!

After a short night at the hotel, we arrived at the airport with lots of time, we thought! It appeared that everyone wanted to fly on Jan 1st!!! What a zoo! It was so busy, I didn’t even have time to grab a picture of our plane before we were in the air heading to warmer climes!

Due to a logistical snag, Mat & Terri’s ride to their beach front condo didn’t materialize and the condo wasn’t ready for them until the next day. The agent put us two couples up overnight at the Hotel Ibis Styles beside the Liverpool Mall, in Mérida.

The Liverpool Mall was still decorated for Christmas, as the Mexican Christmas timeline doesn’t end until January 6th!

As we were being met by the agent around 2PM the next day, we took time to go to the Mall for Mat’s new Telcel SIM card and to Costco!

Later that day, safely installed into Mat & Terri’s condo, we found time to relax!

Thursday afternoon at 2ish, we arrived at Uaymarima! It was so nice to be back! Miguel & Maria met us with smiles and hugs and helped us get our stuff into the house!

Over the next few days, we unpacked and settled in!

As our first week at Uaymarima comes to a close, we also revisited a couple of our favourite haunts!

That’s it for our first blog of 2019…

Cheers!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine

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Welcome to our Uaymitun 2018 Blog!

This will my final post of the season! I hope you’ve enjoyed a glimpse into life here this winter!

As our time here dwindles, we always try to spend some time with family and friends before we all return home!

We have had a few card games in the evening…

However, we also played Hand & Foot with Rod & Berri and us guys won with a history-making last hand or foot, as the case may be!

We enjoyed our Wednesday afternoon Jam Sessions at Faces… and finally went to Steak Night there too!  Best steaks ever!

It’s always great being able to spend time with my sister Val and husband George while we’re down here!

We had another very low tide a short while ago!

We had a great day on March 11th!  After a visit and dinner at Bob & Pats’s, we enjoyed the Mérida Big Band event, at Teatro Peón Contreras.  Val & George and Mat, Terri and Rosann joined us!

Here’s a few random pics from our last few days!

Finally, the time has come to leave the beach and our house, Uaymarima!

After a couple of very warm days in Mérida, if you can count 39C as being warm, it was finally time to say farewell and head for home!

Well, that’s it for this season! Proximo año!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

Welcome to our Uaymitun 2018 Blog!

Our first few days were busy days… trying to provide a real glimpse into our part of the Yucatan for Kerry, Bryan and the boys!

The next trip was to see the Flamingos at  Celestún!  Given the number of  previous visits to Celestún and pictures I’ve taken of the flamingos, I’ll try to minimize the number of pink pictures I include in this blog!

Courtesy of Fodor’s…

Celestún is the point of entry to the Reserva de la Biósfera Ría Celestún, a 146,000-acre wildlife reserve with extensive mangrove forests and one of the largest colonies of flamingos in North America. Clouds of the pink birds soar above the estuary all year, but the best months for seeing them in abundance are November through March. This is also the fourth-largest wintering ground for ducks of the Gulf-coast region, and more than 365 other species of birds, plus a large sea-turtle population, make their home here. 

On the return leg of the cruise, we always stop and see the Cenote Baldiosera and have a walk… but before our stop, the boat driver always gives us a thrilling entrance into the mangrove swamp!

 

On our way home from Celestún, we decided to drop into Mérida for a late lunch or early supper (Lupper)!  We parked at Santa Lucia park and then walked down to Amaro!

What a wonderful day!

The final two days of their stay were relax days!

Usually, I take a ‘good-bye’ photo of our guests standing by the pool!  But as we left for the airport at 3:30AM, it would have been a very dark pic with everyone’s eyes still closed! 🙂

Their flight left Mérida basically on time… their flight from Houston to Dallas was delayed an hour, but still ok… but their flight from Dallas to Toronto was delayed 7 hours, which meant they got to enjoy DFW airport for about 10 hours!!!  They finally made it home around 4:30AM the next day!

The next blog will include some highlights of the last few weeks of our stay here in Uaymitun!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!

Welcome to our Uaymitun 2018 Blog!

The owner of our beach house, Gaby, graciously offered to have her local pilot, Juan, take us out fishing in her 31′ Grady-White fishing boat!

Our destination was out at the far end of the Progreso Pier… so here’s a short description of the very, very long pier in Progreso courtesy of the “Amusing Planet” website!

The port city of Progreso, in the Mexican state of Yucatán, boasts of the longest pier in the world. Built with reinforced concrete, the pier juts out into the Gulf of Mexico for a distance of 6.5 km, and looks more like a bridge to some distant land. The unusually long length is necessary to allow large ships to dock since the Yucatán coast is very shallow. The limestone shelf that forms the Yucatán Peninsula falls away at such a shallow angle that it is literally kilometers before the water is deep enough to accommodate cargo vessels. Passengers disembark at the end of the long pier, and then take a free shuttle or a taxi cab to the shore and into town.

The pier was originally 2,100 meters long and was constructed between 1937 and 1941, replacing a wooden pier that was built in the beginning of the last century. In 1988, an additional 4,000 meters was added to its length increasing the pier’s cargo and container vessels handling capacity.

We waited to find a day that would be calmer than most and set up our fishing trip with Gaby!  Kerry and I both took a dose of Dramamine to help counteract our propensity for motion sickness!

We made the drive to the Altacranes Marina in Yucalpeten and met up with Juan and his helper Nico!

It was a great fishing trip… We kept some of the catch, which Bryan cooked up for supper, we gave some to Juan for Gaby and some went to Miguel and Maria!

It was a fun day and neither Kerry nor I had to puke over the side!

The next blog will highlight a trip to Celestun to see the Flamingos!

Cheers from Uaymitun, MX!