Sorry for the delay in posting, but we were busy enjoying our company during February. This post will highlight a real potpourri of things we did and saw!
One thing we get here are truly great sunrises and sunsets!
Sunrise over Casa Bora Bora up the beach!Sunset over Casa Costanera down the beach!
Every so often, Panchita’s grand-daughter, Valeria or Valle (sounds like Bali) comes to visit! Elaine had found a cute outfit for Valle in Merida!
Panchita holding Valle with her daughter-in-law!
Sometimes it was pool time!
Elaine’s sister Sharon enjoying the pool!
There was a manly trip to the Liverpool Mall in Merida!
Figure skating at the rink in the Liverpool Mall, Merida!Four manly men, Mat, Doug, George and Rick enjoying a Carl’s Jr burger!
Bill, our nephew and erstwhile chef, prepared a great rib & chicken dinner for us!
The chef with dueling grills!A ribs and chicken feast!
One of our favourite restaurants on the Malecon in Progreso is Henequene’s… good Yucatecan food and a great view of the beach and pier! It’s a ritual that all visitor’s get their picture taken with the Henequene Gecko!
Rick and SharonSisters!
On one of our trips into Progreso, we stopped on the road to see the waterfowl that congregate!
A large gathering of American White Pelicans! Flamingos on the other side of the road but too far away to photograph!
The day before Valentine’s Day, Doug and Janine MacDonald arrived, escaping from the snows of Parry Sound, ON!
Arrival at Gate A in Merida!What a fitting backdrop… Dos Equis cervesa!
Our next visit to Progreso included a stop in the Marcado downtown.
Leon’s Taco Stand in the Progreso Mercado!Going wild with Taco de Poc Chuc at Leon’s with mystery sauces!
Valentine’s Day took us to a great Italian restaurant, Elio al Mare, on the beach just outside of downtown Progreso. Elio himself is Italian, so he is bilingual… Italian and Spanish! 🙂
Selena & Bill celebrating Valentine’s Day in Mexico! Unforgettable!Janine, Doug, Rick, Sharon and Elaine!George, Val, Terri and Mat!
As I mentioned at the start, the sunsets can be very good here!
Waiting for sunset on the beach… a rough life for sure!TaDa!The sunset ladies!
Sadly, Rick and Sharon’s time with us came to an end and we saw them off on the bus at the Altabrisa Mall! They were heading to a resort near Playa del Carmen for a week and then to a timeshare in Cancun!
Waiting for the bus in the ADO bus terminal at Altabrisa Mall, Merida.Nice bus! No chickens or goats allowed!A last goodbye!
Well that’s all for this blog… what this space for our next post which highlight the Mangrove tour at San Crisanto.
While January was fairly quiet, February is our month for guests!
In order to get a better rate on our car rental, as per plan, we dropped our car off at the airport and spent the night at the Luz en Yucatan in Merida.
Santa Lucia Park… our favourite!Fabulous lunch at “apoala”!
The next day, we picked it back up again and headed back to Uaymitun, picking up provisions at the Walmart preparing for Elaine’s sister Sharon and husband Rick to arrive that night.
Rick and Sharon through the gate at the Merida Airport.The requisite photo in the lobby of the Merida Airport!
The next day was a beautiful one for them to wake up to; Elaine prepared one of my favourite chicken dishes for dinner! Yumm!
Morning view at Uaymitun!Chicken in Mushroom gravy… Yumm!
Tuesday nights is Rib Night at the La Casa del Faro… a good fill was had by all!
All you can eat Ribs at the Faro!… and Rick proved it was ALL YOU CAN EAT! 🙂
We toured downtown Progreso and went for an amble along the new boardwalk under the pier.
On the Progreso Pier Boardwalk next to the Malecon.Apparently it proved a bit much for poor Rick! 🙂The sisters enjoying a Chocolate Monkey in honour of Deb!
On the Thursday night, Val’s son Bill and fiance Selena arrived!!!
Hola! mi sobrino!Bill and Selena venturing into the Gulf… queue the Jaws music!!!
On the Sunday, we all enjoyed brunch at Soma in Chelem!
Enjoying a fabulous brunch at…… Soma!
After a great brunch, we all headed into Merida for the afternoon! One of the must-do experiences is ride the buses in Merida, so we parked in the Sam’s Club parking lot and grabbed the bus downtown for 7 pesos each! 🙂
Visiting the sites of Merida never grows old!
Waiting for the bus!Intrepid world travelers!Posing in Hidalgo ParkIn the open atrium of the Governer’s Palace.Even after many visits… still in awe of the murals and …… and the stories of the Maya they represent!Looking East along Calle 61Shopping in the Plaza Grande on a Sunday afternoon!Everyone is getting ready for Valentine’s Day!Enjoying a Buggy Ride from the Plaza Grande along the Paseo de Montejo…… with a brief stop at Patria Monument!
That’s all for now!
Love to all and wishes for a speedy recovery to son-in-law Matt!
This blog post simply shows more of every day living in Uaymitun
When one wakes up to this…
Morning Coffee View!
… it’s hard to miss this! Although, of course, we miss family and friends!
Our house… photo courtesy of neighbour Lucy Tranter!
One Sunday morning, a group of the local Canadians all went to the neighbouring town of Chelem to have brekkie at a new restaurant.
Brekkie at SOMA in Chelem!
The next day, Val and George and us drove along the coast the other way and had lunch at a La Picuda, a small restaurant in Telchac Puerto, well-known for seafood! After lunch we strolled out the pier and enjoyed the view!
La Picuna, Telchac Puerto3 orders of shrimp… 1 of chicken, por favor!On the Telchac Puerto PierCormorant perch!Making use of the Kissing Chairs!Telchac shorelineThe old Telchac customs buildingAh… Lolo’s… not Lola’s as found in Sarnia!One last glimpse of the pier!
The following day, we had some showers but at the end of the day, the Mayan Rain God, Chaac, must have been sorry for disrupting our day so gave us a beautiful rainbow!
The wind and rains were starting…… turning into a lovely rainbow!
Well, we were mistaken! The next day, although starting sunny, soon turned into a deluge of biblical dimensions. We had 4-6 inches of rain pooling on our patio and driveway. All our upper floor skylights flooded various parts of the bedrooms. Our back door flooded into the kitchen. We were glad all the floors are tile, so it wasn’t too hard to clean up! 🙂
Checking for animals lining up two by two!Where’s our boat!
Mid-afternoon, Mat & Terri rescued us and we went into the Altabrisa Mall to escape the heavy rains… it wasn’t raining in Merida! We stopped at a traditional Mexican spot… the Dairy Queen!
Nothing like a Banana Split at the DQ in the City Center Mall!
At the end of the week, Dave and I were feeling adventuresome, so we went into Progreso and had lunch at the Chinese restaurant there. We also had a look at a new place that cooks whole chickens with a wood-burning oven! Yumm… will definitely go back and get one of them one day!
The lighthouse in Progreso!La Comida China in ProgresoTwo items + rice + beverage = 70 pesos!Lookout Swiss Chalet!
That’s all for this blog post! Next one will show Sharon & Rick’s arrival and their first week here!
This Blog Post highlights our very first Murder Mystery!
Manny and Regretta enroute to the Murder Mystery!
In addition to us, the other suspects were:
Boomer Collins and Peggy Dennis, NFLD
Dave and Diane Barnhardt, Sarnia, ON
Rod and Berri Peters, Crofton, BC
To give you a hint of the storyline:
Diego Dumas (Boomer)
Diego, the mayor of Fortunado, owns the largest car dealership in town and has always been very active in politics. Diego is a flashy dresser who brags loudly about all his accomplishments and relies heavily on all his acquaintances to further his goals in life. Diego is married to Olivia and they have a daughter Salma, who has become a famous movie star.
Olivia Dumas (Peggy)
Olivia Dumas is an outrageously opinionated and super-active woman who is the coordinator of most of the social events of Fortunado. She has wild ideas and knows how to market them. She keeps everyone on their toes keeping up with her and fighting for her attention, especially her husband, whose success depends on her. Olivia has promoted her daughter’s acting career since her birth, and she and Salma are very close.
Adan Martinis (Dave)
Adan is the owner and manager of Caliente Club, the local nightclub, which has won the “City Hotspot” award for the last five years. Adan is an insufferable flirt, always accommodating the ladies. He started out as a bartender at 21, and is now verifiably nocturnal. Adan is married to Diego’s sister, Regretta, and they have an adopted daughter, Maria.
Regretta Martinis (Elaine)
Regretta, Adan’s wife and Diego’s sister, is the messenger of gloom and doom. Her negative attitude and lack of self-confidence is a result of her husband’s consistent infidelity. When she is not admonishing against some evil, she is in a dead-silent mode. In this mode, she is so somber that making direct eye contact with her almost seems cruel. Even her upbeat, vivacious, adopted daughter, Maria, cannot brighten her spirits!
Sophia (Diane)
Sophia is a partner and owner with Maria in the Fortunado Beauty Salon. Because of her hair-styling occupation, she is privy to a lot of confidential information, though most of it does not remain confidential once it reaches her. Most are shocked by the reach of her knowledge and the people she has dirt on, and Sophia has used this “dirt” and her photography skills more than once to her advantage. Sophia is in love with Nico, who only has eyes for Maria.
Padre Paul (Rod)
Padre is the parish priest who has resided in Fortunado for 25 years. He is both a spiritual advisor and friend to all. In Church, he’s everyone’s confidante and many secrets are locked in his care. Outside of Church, he’s a great dancer who loves to party and imbibe with all his friends. No fiesta is complete without Padre!
Bella Rodriguez (Berri)
Bella is a dance instructor who dances to a different beat than most people. Definitely eccentric, she is a free-spirit who does whatever she feels like, regardless of what others may think. When people disapprove of her erratic behavior, this only entices Bella to go a bit overboard every chance she gets. Her son, Nico, is aspiring to be a professional baseball player.
Manny Mariachi (Doug)
Manny is a fishing tour guide by day and a Mariachi singer by night and wk-ends. Though music is his talent and love, it doesn’t take care of his growing family. Manny is a popular entertainer at Adan’s Caliente Club. Laid-back and a bit on the lazy side, Manny enjoys visiting with everyone he encounters. Therefore, Manny knows everybody in town.
I’m not going to say who the dastardly murderer was, but here’s a few shots from the fun!
Manny and Regretta enjoying Uaycoco Margaritas!
Padre Paul and Bella appear to have a very close relationship!!!
Adan is schmoozing with Bella…
… and with Olivia…… and with Sophia…… poor Regretta!Manny is ready to sing at the drop of an innuendo!Diego is ready to promise anything for a few votes!A great time was had by all!
It was a fun evening… special thanks to Boomer and Peggy for opening their house and providing special margaritas and a great meal!
I hope this blog will give a “Slice of LIfe” glimpse into our lives in Uaymitun this winter!
We are finding this time that we’re much more comfortable in knowing that we can live in Uaymitun, but make it seem ‘familiar’. We know where to get things that make our menus more like home!
When we knew that Panchita’s family were coming out to visit one Sunday, Elaine made brownies for them all… they were very happy! 🙂
Making brownies for Panchita’s ninos!
Each morning and each evening, the sunrise and sunsets are usually beautiful and memorable!
Just catching some rays of the setting sun!The soft glow as another beautiful day ends!
One morning, tres caballeros rode by up the beach!
Los Tres Amigos!
Last year, we enjoyed stepping out at the Yakunah to great music (at least great to us) performed by local expats. This year, there’s been some ownership changes, so the jam sessions are next door at “Jim and Elke’s Place”.
Jim and Elke’s Place!The Band!Val, George, Terri and Elaine… Mat, Janice and Paula were there too!
One of our favourite haunts is La Casa del Faro in Chicxulub, where there are great “Happy Hour” margarita’s and pina coladas in the afternoon and fabulous ribs and fish and chips in the evenings.
Chicxulub Pier from the patio of La Casa del Faro!
The other day, we went into Progreso to get a few things and snapped a few shots of the downtown.
Looking from the main square in Progreso down towards the beach!Elaine in the Progreso square!The Church on the SquareAt the corner of the Malecon with a view of the Progreso Pier in the background!
Last Thursday, we went into Merida with Mat and Terri and Mat’s sister, Janice, and cousin, Paula. We parked near Santa Lucia Park and walked down almost to the Cathedral enjoying the sights and sounds of Merida. This included a short (haha!) stop at a new Tequilleria on the square.
Janice, Elaine, Paula and Terri getting ‘samples’ at the Tequilleria!Mat patiently awaiting the sampling to finish!
After a great meal at La Chaya Maya, we crossed the street back into Santa Lucia Park to catch the end of the Thursday night music show. A great time was had by all!
Music in the Santa Lucia Park!
I hope you’ve enjoyed a glimpse of life here in wonderful, warm Uaymitun!
Next Blog post will provide highlights of our very first Murder Mystery!
Who dunnit? Was it that vagabond Manny or maybe the long suffering Regretta?
Here we are entering our third week in Uaymitun, so I’d thought I’d post some highlights of our first week back at the Beach!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Sunday morning broke beautifully sunny and warm. After another nice brekkie, we met with Bill Mack, our owner, who then drove us out to Blueway Car Rental at the airport to pick up our car.
It was a wonderful feeling driving around the Periferico (ring-road around Merida) heading back to Uaymitun. We had aspersions of stopping at the Bodega and picking up provisions, but we high-tailed straight out to Uaymarima, our Beach House.
As we drove in, Panchita saw us and she and Luis helped us get our luggage into the house. Hugs all around!
We said Hi to Ray and Pam next door, who had been back for several weeks!
While the weather had been really nice when we arrived, by mid-afternoon El Norte was in full swing!!! Cool temperatures (relatively) and high winds of 50-60 kph with gusts to 70! It stayed with us for several days!
Enjoying our sun trap out front, during El Norte!The view from our master bedroom balcony during El Norte!Uaymarima, our Beach House, from the beach!The sun broke through for a bit late that afternoon!
We stopped in and said Hi to Mat and Terri on our way back into Progreso to the Bodega Aurrera for groceries. Dave and Diane graciously had invited us over for dinner that night, so we didn’t have to worry about what to cook!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
We found a couple of welcome additions and changes to the Beach House!
Beautiful, illuminated wall decorations on the patio…
… and a charcoal grill! Yippee!
We went into La Casa del Faro, next the Chixculub Pier and enjoyed a feast of Ron’s ribs for supper!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Our 42nd Wedding Anniversary… what a great locale to experience it!
Terri and Mat surprised us with an anniversary gift… a pinata! We’ll surprise Panchita and her family next Sunday with it!
Our Anniversary Winnie-the-Pooh Pinata!
We had a wonderful Anniversary dinner at Hacienda Xcanatun with Mat and Terri.
Anniversary cake at Hacienda Xcanatun!
After dinner, the timing was just right, so we drove into Merida to the Airport to meet George and Val!
Val and George arriving at Merida Airport! Surprise!!!
Thursday, January 9. 2014
George and Val came out their beach house, Paraiso, just 6 houses down from us on the Wednesday and we welcomed them with dinner at our place that night!
Casa Paraiso from the beach!Mexican Lasagna and Caesar Salad! Yumm!!
Friday, January 10, 2014
The four of us went into Chixculub to the Faro for Happy Hour and to enjoy the view!
La Casa del Faro, Chixculub
Saturday, January 11, 2014
The El Norte had finally passed and today was my first dip in the Gulf and in our pool! Wonderful!
Finally… in the Gulf and now in the pool!
That afternoon, Ron at the Faro was celebrating their 1st Anniversary of being open, so we all went for a Buffet Dinner and some free Tequila shooters!
Afternoon view of the Chixculub Pier!The BEFORE TEQUILA picture of mi hermana!Even live music for the occasion!
Sunday, January 12, 2014.
The morning was picture perfect!
A view to remember!
Panchita had invited her family out for the day, so they came by to show us her little granddaughter (6 months old)!
Panchita and her granddaughter, Valeria!Elaine’s turn!Most of the family!Mira and her boyfriend were too late for the previous picture!
With her son Luis’ help we strung up the Winnie the Pooh pinata, that Mat and Terri had given us, for her family! How were we to know that we had to fill it with candy first!!! In any case a good time was had by all!
The whole family took turns at the pinata!Little Jose! …… even Panchita and Valeria!
So ended our first week back in Uaymitun and what a great week it was!
It’ll be pretty quiet for the next 2 weeks, until Rick and Sharon arrive and then 2 weeks later Doug and Janine! If something noteworthy comes up, we’ll post it… otherwise, we’ll be just living and enjoying the surroundings in Uaymitun!
After our breakfast, we strolled up to the corner of Calle 55 and 60 to Santa Lucia Park, which is undergoing a renaissance! A lot of stores have moved in, along with a new Oaxacan-Fusion restaurant. On Sunday’s there’s a craft market, where Elaine picked up some trinkets for our little girly girls back home.
Elaine picked up a new Mexican top in Santa Lucia Park!
A short stroll down Calle 60 brought us back to the Plaza Grande!
Merida Cathedral
Sunday’s brings the many arts & crafts and food vendors into the main square!
Street vendors at the Cathedral.
Thinking of Don Tolson… a Churro vendor!More vendors…The view north up Calle 60 towards our hotel.The Christmas Tree in the Governor’s Mansion.Loving being back in Merida!
We started walking up the Paseo de Montejo, where many of the old mansions still exist, but got tired and took a cab to the downtown Walmart to take an inventory of things we could get to take out to the beach! Pretty exciting day!
That evening, we strolled down the street to the Santa Lucia Park and enjoyed a wonderful al fresco meal under the stars at La Tratto! A great ending to the day!
Our arrival at Uaymarima will come in the next blog!
Elaine and I are back at our winter beach house until early April and enjoying it immensely.
We arrived into Merida via Houston and Toronto early in the morning of Sunday, January 5th. It would have been earlier, but our United flight from Houston to Merida was delayed 2-1/2 hours due to a missing 1st Office in the flight crew.
We had hoped to stay in the Luz en Yucatan, as per usual, but they were full, so we stayed at the Hotel MedioMundo just a few blocks away. This short blog gives you a feel for this hotel…
Hotel MedioMundo, Calle 55 #533 x 64 y 66, MeridaEnjoying morning coffee outside of our room!Nice comfortable King size bed! Yippee!The upper hall way in the morning sun!Looking across the atrium to the sun terrace.One could lounge quite comfortably here… for about 10 minutes in the heat! 🙂View of the atrium pool from the upper terrace.The atrium pool.View of the pool area from the top of the stairs.The pool area is set up for breakfast each day!Ready for brekkie!Beautiful flowers everywhere!
After a delicious continental breakfast, we toured the Plaza Grande with the Cathedral and just enjoyed a day Merida… but that’s for the next blog post!
