The Ducksoup Blogs

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2026 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will continue to highlight the goings on after the Family Christmas visit!

After our trip into Mérida with Doug & Janine, we had a restful day at the beach house. The following morning we did a day trip to a favourite site… Hacienda Yaxcopoil!

Interspersed between some relax days, we did a couple of other short day trips.

Taking advantage of the good weather, we headed into Progreso to amble on the Malecón.

The following day, we took a drive east on the coast as far as San Crisanto and then returned to Telchac Puerto for lunch!

We popped into Progreso for banking and were able to have a short visit with a special friend…

On Doug & Janine’s final day, we took a short drive to visit a few of the local villages. Our first foray was into Flamboyanes, which reminded me of why not to go visit there. Not a pretty village, and other than exploring two new multilane streets/roads to nowhere, it was disappointing.

However, next was San Ignacio, which is much more appealing. Pretty central avenue and flowering shrubs… leading to the Hacienda San Ignacio. The church remains, as does the main residence which appears to have been converted into a Boy Scout enclave.

Leaving San Ignacio, we found our way over to the village of Dzidzilché, which I hadn’t visited before. There’s an attractive square and the grounds of another abandoned hacienda.

What we found very interesting is that this Ceiba tree, which is held as sacred by the Maya, appears to have been blown over presumably in a severe storm but was then supported by a hastily constructed stone pillar!

On the way out of town, we noticed a small woodworking shop, Máak-Ché. We stopped and started looking at the wares… the lady of the house called the woodworker over to help! Janine was able to purchase an nice item to take back to family!

Before we knew it, Doug & Janine’s time in Uaymitun drew to a close…

Our niece Julie’s birthday was on February 4th, and we were able to celebrate that with her and husband Curtis at a local Chelem restaurant. We’d never stopped before and were perhaps put off by it’s humble appearance.

Well, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food available… all freshly cooked to order! Yumm!

As I mentioned earlier in the previous post, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans“!

We had received the news that Elaine’s Mom wasn’t well back in December, however, she was going to go back to her senior’s residence after a stay in the hospital. Based upon the situation then, we came down to Uaymitun and the family celebrated Christmas here, as I noted in Blog Post #1 of this season.

However, as time moved on, her situation declined and we made an emergency trip back home on Sunday, February 15th. We arrived late Sunday night and were able to spend some time with her that night and the next morning. She passed early in the morning of February 17th.

Well, with sad hearts, I’ll close out this Winter’s 3rd blog!

Love to all,

Cheers!

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2026 Winter in Uaymitun!

There’s an old adage, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans“. This turned out to be true for our January and February this year. My apologies for the blog gap, but my original plan for publishing has changed due to much more important events.

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This blog post will highlight the goings on after the Family Christmas visit!

I almost titled this post “Winter in Uaymitun”, as the local forecasters have all agreed that the month of January in the Yucatán is going on to the record as the coldest month in 20 years. Now, as my readers are mostly going to cry foul given the weather in many places in Ontario, I will say “cold” is relative!

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As I started out Uaymitun 2025- Blog Post #2 with “Traditions!”, I’m going to do the same this year, but with a twist.

Merriam-Webster says that a tradition is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior.

Every family has their own traditions that are most apparent during special family times. For us, Christmas includes our traditional Snowman Count, where all the grandkids (and now a great-granddaughter) hunt through our house and now our apartment counting how many Snowmen Nana has placed throughout!

So this year was very different as we celebrated Christmas in Uaymitun! So many of the Traditions were either enjoyed before we came down or will be renewed next year. Nana, Kerry and Kristy did, however, have Stockings stuffed with Christmas gifts for Jack, Ben, Madyn and Daryn.

Over the 17 years since our first trip to the area, we’ve been able to spend quality and quantity of time with my sister Val and husband George here!

So, in the spirit of traditions, I’m going to focus on our Anniversary Dinners with Val & George over the years!

This year we’re missing having Val & George here, but it was fitting that we were able to have our Anniversary dinner with niece Julie and husband Curtis!

As I switch streams of consciousness, I’ll highlight a few things from after the family left…

There’s always our first visit with Gaby in Chicxulub!

And a picture for Kerry, who was bemoaning missing a visit by a few local gatitos!

We spent a very quiet New Year’s Eve… didn’t even stay up to the see the giant Globe drop in NYC Times Square! However, our New Year’s Day morning…

A couple of days later, we went to FACES for the music! The first band was late in coming (car trouble) and really didn’t catch the fancy of the patrons.

They were followed by Las Paradigmas, who were always the stage band for the old Jam Sessions. They were great, but the response from everyone convinced Jim & Elke to cancel the Saturday sessions and add a second Steak Night on Fridays.

The weather hasn’t been too favorable for beach sitting at sunset, but we did manage to catch one nice one!

Several times, over the past few years, we have met up with Canadian cyclists, Steve and Dodie. This year, they are crisscrossing the Yucatán again and making a stopover in Progreso. We met up with them and showed them the sights of “downtown” Chicxulub.

The following day, it was time to head to the airport to pick up Doug & Janine. It’s been an eventful year for them, so they were glad to be coming for 2 weeks of rest and relaxation.

We planned to keep their visit pretty low key and relaxing, but we did manage some outings…

We went to the Wednesday market at Crocodiles…

… and then went to FACES for the afternoon music!

We were quite surprised to find that much of the beach at the eastern end of the Malecón has been washed away during recent storms.

The next day, after dropping off our laundry, we did a walkabout in Chicxulub.

The next day, after a restful morning, we headed into Mérida in the afternoon and parked at Sta Lucia Parque.

Topping off our walkabout we toured the Plaza Grande

Unfortunately, the front of the Cathedral is being renovated, so it wasn’t lit up in the evening.

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 2nd blog here and pick up where we left off in the 3rd!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2026 Winter in Uaymitun!

Hola from Uaymitun! This is a first for us as we’re spending Christmas here! We have been joined for the week of Christmas by Kerry, Bryan, Jack & Ben and Kristy, Andy, Madyn & Daryn! What a special treat!

Please excuse my tardiness, but I have determined this winter to cut down on the number of blog posts in an effort to reduce duplication of things from previous years and focus on fewer happenings and places! Of course, having said that, this first post is likely to be lengthy due to Christmas!

It was a bit surreal to close up the apartment in mid-December, but we left Sarnia on Dec 14th and spent the night in Wellesley with Kerry, Bryan and the boys. Don and Sharon came over for a dinner with the family.

The next day, Don and Sharon drove us from Wellesley to Toronto Pearson Airport! Many thanks to their help in getting us to the airport hotel … we enjoyed some refreshments in Moxie’s restaurant in the hotel with them before they headed home.

After they left for home, we relaxed and had a great dinner at Moxie’s!

As usual, it was an early morning wakeup call… repack a few things… catch the shuttle and off to the airport.

Getting our luggage checked and getting through security was really good, as we took our bags to the Premier check-in and then used our Nexus!

When we arrived at the gate, our plane wasn’t there, but fortunately they updated us that it was being towed over!

We were delayed about 1/2 hour but then we were off to Mérida!

After a smooth landing and taxi to the gate, we slowly made our way to Immigration. I say slowly, as I currently have some hip/leg issues that are likely due to some osteoarthritis and sciatica. We were quickly through our passport check and then on to wait for our luggage.

As usual, it was slow in coming, but all arrived safely and in one piece. Then on to Customs… we filled out the Customs form from the airplane, but they weren’t interested. The “Nothing to Declare” path was closed and everyone had to take their luggage through the X-Ray scanner. That was a painful ordeal, as there wasn’t any help in lugging the luggage into the machine! All was well and we met up with Miguel from Yucatán Vacation Rentals who helped us with our luggage.

For whatever reason, the traffic around the Departure/Arrival lanes was unbelievable and the whole parking lot was full! Very weird!

After a stop at Soriana in Progreso to pick up a few items for the house, we arrived in our Winter Home!

Once we had done a bit of unpacking and retrieving some items from our totes, we had Gourmet meal of Grilled Cheese and Ham Sandwiches!

By the time we were ready to sit and relax for a bit, we were able to enjoy our patio and listen to the waves!

This is what we’d been waiting for, for a long time! Morning coffee on the patio!

As the Christmas week was coming quickly, I needed to start my beach raking!

Later that day, we made our first trip into Progreso to pick up a few specific items and check out the changes from the previous season!

Last year, one of the biggest changes since last year is the new Chedraui store in Progreso Centro. This year it’s the opening of a new Walmart on the road between Chicxulub and Progreso!

Christmas Week Day 1 – Arrival and Settling in!

Off to the airport we went… always enjoying moments of excitement on the Periferico and the busy highway leading into the airport!

After the normal “too long” a wait, the family poured out of the arrivals door and hugs all around. We loaded all the luggage an people into the 2 vehicles and off we went to the beach house!

The family did some settling in and exploring and then we were off to Chicxulub for a Yucatecan style outdoor meal, when the heavens opened up and a downpour flooded the streets! So, a quick pivot to Plan “B” and we went to the Viejo Bar for supper instead.

Christmas Week Day 2 – Relax in the Sun!

This was a “glad to be out of the cold and in the heat” kind of day.

Kerry and Kristy joined me for a quick trip into Chicxulub.

We were “treated” to some musical renditions of Christmas tunes from a local lady with a drum on a stick for accompaniment. She also had a cute puppy on her bike!

… and we also met a local perro who could have been Kali’s cousin!

Our evening meal was yummy lasagna!

Christmas Week Day 3 – Christmas Day!

Christmas Day in Uaymitun… a long awaited happening! Certainly different to Christmas Day back home but unique and memorable!

We had booked Christmas Dinner at FACES so we didn’t have to cook a turkey like at home.

Christmas Dinner at FACES was fabulous… Roast Turkey and Dressing, Ham, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Green Bean Casserole! Everyone took home leftovers!

Christmas Week Day 4 – Boxing Day!

After the festivities of Christmas Day, the next day was a chill day at the beach with a rescheduled dinner at Loncheria La Carolina in Chicxulub!

After mucho, mucho yummy items, it was time for a walkabout the square in Chicxulub!

Christmas Week Day 5 – Mérida here we come!

Most of the day was spent relaxing at the beach…

…but late afternoon we tumbled into both vehicles and headed into Mérida! We parked in the lot at Sta Lucia Parque and started our adventure! We were able to flag down 2 horse-drawn carriages and off they went!

The Powell/Fraser family in one…

The carriages went up C. 60, across and down the Paseo de Montejo past all the stately home!

Then it was a casual walk down C. 60 towards the Grand Plaza and the Cathedral.

One objective of our trip into Mérida was dinner at Amaro, were we were greeted by Victor and the other waiters!

Our dinner was finished off by another display of creativity by Victor with the making of Cafe Mayas! Here he was doing the prepwork… unfortunately, my video of the pour wasn’t captured correctly!

After a wonderful dinner, we strolled down to the square and did some exploring!

Churros were enjoyed by all… then we strolled back up C. 60 to Sta Lucia Parque.

Christmas Week Day 6 – Fishing and Dining

The next day, Bryan had arranged for a fishing excursion for Andy, Jack and Ben on the lagoon south of Yucalpeten and Chelem. After quite an early morning start, they met up with their guide, a retiree from Calgary, at one of the local marinas and off they went!

The afternoon was spent by the guys recovering from their fishing adventure!

Late afternoon, those who felt up to it heading into Progreso for a quick browse on the Malecón and then dinner at one of our favs, Elio al Mare.

Christmas Week Day 7 – Final day

On the last day, a van full of family headed west along to coast… stopping at the Natural Thangs market in Chelem and then venturing into ‘no-mans’ land all the way to Chuburna to visit the beach there!

After an afternoon touring the Malecón, with better shopping luck this time… it was time for a final dinner together!

What better, low key, fun place than Pizza Paradiso in San Bruno!

Christmas Week Day 7+ – Homeward Bound

The week sure has flown by in a hurry! Before we knew it, the Mexican Train dominoes were put away… the luggage was packed… and it was off to Mérida Airport to drop off the 2nd vehicle and to ensure everyone was checked in and safely ready to fly back to Toronto.

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 1st blog for now! It was a memorable 2 weeks for us!

The next one will highlight reunions with family and friends and another special day for us!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight our final 2-1/2 weeks in Uaymitun and Mérida!

I’ll start out this blog with some more beach pics…

We had another visit with Bob & Pat in Mérida to take in the Guelaguetza Festival otherwise known as the Oaxaca Food Fair!

As our time ran down, we made sure to check off a couple more things from our Bucket List.

One surprise for us was our little cat, Gatito, from last year and a few times this year is no longer “Gatito” but “Gatita” and she is going to be a Mama! Wow!

This was not a normal winter season for us, with January being mostly a month of rest and recovery. February and into March was very busy with visits from Don & Sharon, Bill & Selena, Rog & Sandy, Afie and Dave & Deb. It was good to spend time with Raymond & Pamela, Bob & Pat and neighbours Dave & Jeanette. We also treasured our time with Val & George and Julie & Curtis.

And then, almost suddenly, it was time to pack up and leave the beach!

It’s also bitter/sweet to say farewell to Miguel, Maria and the boys!

After saying our goodbyes, it was off to Mérida!

We dropped the car off to Yucatán Vacations at the Fiesta Americana Hotel, and then checked into our favourite spot, Luz en Yucatán for 3 nights!

As the weather was very hot, 38-40c, we waited until early evening to go for dinner at Amaro!

On our way back to the Luz, we came upon another wedding…

After a light lunch at La Tratto, we just had to go check out Babe’s Noodles & Bar across the street!

For our last dinner, we went to Chaya Maya for Yucatecan style food

Homeward bound!

Our plans for the travel home that morning changed due to impending terrible weather. Don & Sharon picked us up from the airport and we went straight to Wellesley to give a quick hug to Kerry and the boys… then it was off to Sarnia through snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice pellets and then heavy rain.

We were very thankful to be home safely!

Well, this will close out this Winter’s 8th and final blog! As always, we’re looking forward to return for another Winter in Uaymitun in 2026!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

My apologies for the tardiness of this post!

This penultimate blog post will highlight the visit of long time friends Dave & Deb! Oh, and Afie… and not to forget Kent & Arlene… and their friends Fred & Diane! A busy time one might say!

Our good friends Dave & Deb have been coming to visit frequently since our very first stay in Uaymitun! They returned again this year for a 2 week visit!

The next day was a relax day…

Long time friend of Val’s, Afie, was also down for a visit with Val and George and they dropped over to see Dave & Deb! As the El Norte was blowing that day, we set up on our “front patio”.

That evening, we went for dinner at the Viejo Bar in Chicxulub and a bit of music!

And speaking of another somewhat close… actually too close… friend, Boris…

… and our feathered friends who are glad to a fisherman on the beach!

And on other “special” friend… remember the Uaymitun Shuffle in the Gulf.

We did have the whole gang over for a Meet-and-Greet one afternoon!

We were able to spend time with some of our Canadian friends from down here too!

The next day was a planned trip into Mérida to visit Bob & Pat, play some dominoes and go out for dinner.

Unfortunately, Pat was a bit under the weather and they couldn’t join us for dinner at one of our favourite places, Amaro!

I didn’t grab pics, but Dave had the Lasagna and Deb the Tuna Ceviche.

A few more odds and sods of pics…

Another trip into Mérida… this time for a concert at the Teatro Armando Manzanero!

We had a great time with Dave and Deb but it had to come to an end…

The next morning, it was off to the airport!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 7th blog for now! The next one will highlight our remaining days!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight Valentine’s in Uaymitun and a reuniting of the Sibs!

In previous years, we have celebrated Valentine’s Day in many locales down here! This year, we went to Almadía in Progreso!

A short walk along the Malecón brought us to a rather famous local house that has been renovated and turned into a restaurant.

The next day, it was off to the airport to pick up brother Roger and wife Sandy!

Good friends of ours, Paul & Kari Richer, were celebrating several birthdays at a big bash at their place near Km 13. Rog & Sandy went for dinner and a visit with Val & George that evening!

One of R & S’s bucket list things was another afternoon at FACES… so Matt & Terri arranged a table for us all!

A couple of days later, we heading for a walk on the Malecón.

In a previous blog, I mentioned the raised road for truck traffic on C. 82… well this is a block away from the pier and with this slope, it will block C. 75 (aka C. 25) near where the Yucatan Vacation Rentals office is.

For R & S’s last night with us, us Sibs all went into Mérida to La Tratto in Santa Lucia Parque for dinner.

After dinner, we went for stroll down C. 60 to the Gran Plaza

Courtesy of family friend Kent Wong, we have a reprise to our Progreso Jacket pic from several years ago!

The next morning, before Rog & Sandy left to visit Julie and Curtis in Chelem, we grabbed another Sibs photo for posterity!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 6th blog for now! The next one will highlight visits by more friends!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight spending time with family and friends.

The simple life!

We view our time in Uaymitun not as vacation but as just living in our winter home! So for quite a bit of our time, life passes in a quiet routine. However, when family and friends are around, we try to enjoy all the area has to offer.

So after our great trip to Uxmal and a stay at the Pickled Onion, on our way home we stopped for a Lupper at our favourite Pub, Hermana República!

One of our must do’s for visitors is a stroll along the Progreso Malecón. In years gone by… dating back to our very first visit in 2009, again in 2012 and our first winter here in 2013… a favourite watering hole was Los Henequenes.

All gone now and being replaced by a very new, large, upscale restaurant Bacalauh which is not quite open yet!

One thing that hasn’t changed is the monument…

A great addition to the Malecón is a Santa Clara Ice Cream store!

The next morning, there was a very low tide and many, many pelicans and other shorebirds took advantage of a safe spot to rest!

The their last evening with us, Don & Sharon asked to go to Elio’s for supper!

The next day was travel home day for Don & Sharon…

While Don & Sharon were down, there was an overlap with a visit by nephew Bill and wife Selena, who were staying with Val!

It was also an opportunity to recreate our Beach Bud pic from many previous times togther in Uaymitun!

The next day, Bob & Pat came out from Mérida for a visit and a much anticipated jaunt up the coast to Pizza Paradiso!

A few pics from our daily lives…

I also need to highlight a brilliant example of corporate planning…

One last entry for this blog… Wednesday, February 12, 2025 would have been Trish’s 51st birthday!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 5th blog for now! The next one will highlight a special day, more arrivals and a birthday!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight our first visitors of the season, Elaine’s sister Sharon and husband Don!

But first, a couple of everyday pics!

Now on to our visitors and their arrival in Mérida… for years it was WS 2792 but in the middle of the year they changed the flight number, just cuz!

The next morning, it was time for chores and a reward!

After lunch, Don went with me into Chicxulub for a few errands.

The next day was a relax day for Don & Sharon and a sunset on the beach.

We were joined on the beach by our neighbours for most of the month, a family from Poland.

After a great sunset, we decided to head into Progreso for dinner at Crabster and a walk on the Malecón.

The next day was Saturday and “Jam Session” at FACES! We met up with Mat & Terri and had a great afternoon and evening!

One of the “must do’s” for Sharon & Don’s trip was a visit to Uxmal. We booked a night at The Pickled Onion in Santa Elena so we could head to Uxmal in the morning.

We’ve been coming to the The Pickled Onion for many years and it didn’t disappoint. However, longtime owner and ex-Pat Brit/Canadian, Valerie Pickles has finally retired. The new proprietor is Amy Jo Fischer.

We enjoyed a light lunch before heading to the pool!

Another great dinner at the Pickled Onion… Azteca Sopa, Pollo Pibil and other yummy plates.

We had a great brekkie on the patio and then it was on to Uxmal!

The group of pictures above are from the poorly named “Nunnery”!

Since our last visit, the area in front of the “House of the Doves” has been cleared and restored and several other Stelae have been discovered.

We had a great visit to a fabulous place… should be on the “bucket list” of every visitor to the Yucatan!

We finished off our road trip with a light lunch at the restaurant at the Lodge at Uxmal.

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 4th blog for now! The next one will highlight family going and coming!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight reconnecting with family and friends!

Towards the end of last season, while in Progreso Centro visiting with Sylvia and Diego at Yucatán Vacation Rentals, we took a few pics of the construction on Calle 82, which leads from the Progreso pier out to the highway to Mérida!

The construction project was to elevate the growing transport traffic above Calle 82. It looked a long was from completion!

In the 9 months since we left, they have finished all the supporting structures from the pier to the highway, approximately 2Km. The road bed is complete and they are finishing the approach for trucks coming from Mérida!

In the meantime, all the truck traffic coming to the pier has been diverted east along the Costera, then north toward the Gulf on Calle 48 (which is now 1 way and causing problems for people getting out of the city) and then along Calle 29, which has been rename Calle 79 for clarity’s sake, to the pier.

Continuing on the theme from the last blog post… another tradition…

The weather was still cooperating and we were able to enjoy the outdoors every day!

It was a wonderful day, so onwards for another tradition… lunch at La Picuda in Telchac Puerto with Val & George!

Then it was time to browse the local vendors and a walk out the pier!

As we walked out the pier, it became obvious that when “new” has replaced “old” it isn’t always a good thing!

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case, in the eye of the patron!

Another tradition has been Steak Night at Faces on a Thursday evening! Jim cooks up fabulous steaks and ribs… yumm!

In case you’re getting tired of “traditions”, here’s another activity that is frequent, enjoyable and memorable!

From time to time, Gaby arranges for the CocoMen to come and gather all the ripe coconuts from our trees! It’s a practice that ensures our safety… a coco on the noggin is not fun… and provides them with a product to sell for the coconut meat and its juice! Win-Win!

With nothing more than a sharp, hooked knife… a bit of a sling… and bare feet… up they went and the cocos came down!

Later that week we had a long awaited sleep-over with Bob & Pat at Casa Lili in Mérida! It was so nice to visit, as they were in Arizona last winter!

After getting settled and having a great catch-up time, Bob & I went on a walkabout to find some Churros!

Once we were back home, Bob fired up his Weber grill (not envious at all) and had delicious burgers and salad for dinner!

Two years ago, Bob had a constant battle with flowers and leaves from the trees overhanging their pool… this year is a bit better so far!

The Paseo de Montejo is only a few minutes walk from Casa Lili and is a frequent destination for a walk in the evening. The next night, while on a walk, Bob sent me a pic of a wedding party stopping by one of the Marquesita vendors found on the Paseo!

The next day, we thanked Bob & Pat for a great stay and headed home. After picking up a few things at Chedraui and Costco, we made a special stop at the new Mary Brown’s Chicken on the highway to Progreso!

Home again… the winds were still a blowin’ so we had early evening coffees on the front porch!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 3rd blog for now! The next one will highlight our first visitors of the season!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine