Playa del Carmen for the day.

This would be a long day with a lot of walking, so we rented Maggie a scooter, which worked out perfectly! She can really manuever that thing....!















Ingrid found a Buddha she liked at the Blue Parrot....











We stopped several times - this was for lunch at a place called FAH - the only place we have had a very poor meal and lousy service ever in Playa. Nice spot, tho, with good people watching..........









We had dessert at a lovely beachfront hotel called the Mosquito Beach.....great fruit drinks and 2 little complimentary plates of tiny cookies!!! We then went for appies to the Petit Paris, owned by an excentric Belgian called Jimmy, and finally to Bip Bip for the best meal of the day. For all the pics, click on this link  - or copy and paste into your browser:
picasaweb.google.com/daphneandmiki/PlayadelCarmenwithIngridandMaggie

local cemetary

En route to the Jungle Spa, we went through the local Mayan cemetary. Each gravesite has a little casa and special plants and figures symbolizing the person who died.














They are each very different and unique....














All are carefully tended on a regular basis......















A recent burial site. The ground is solid limestone, so actually burying someone is too difficult, so the house is built around the coffin. On Nov. 2nd, the Day of the Dead, all the graves are covered with the person's favourite foods, drink, trinkets and flowers, so that when their spirit appears at midnight, they will be welcomed and know they are loved.

The Jungle Market...

One of the most fun things to do in Puerto Morelos is go the Jungle Market. The market itself has wonderful food, crafts, jewellry, clothing and hand made things for sale. Then there is a performance by the Mayan women which demonstrates the life of the Mayans.


The women dance several dances....all significant in the culture. This is the goddess Ixchel - goddess of the moon.









The dances are very beautiful, and the women dancing are also the very talented Mayan massage healers, and having a massage at the Jungle Spa is not to be missed.











Some of the dances have some very amazing footwork, all carried out in white high heels, beautifully decorated.














During the final pole dance, the audience is encouraged to join in, so Ingrid joined the group and participated in what is a very spiritual, moving dance.

more entertaining.......

We all went for lunch at La Panza Es Primera - a great local beachfront place!!!!

We had Stan, Lety, Ingrid and Maggie over for a big burgers and caesar salad barby!

In Cancun the other day we ate lunch at a seafood restaurant in Market 28 and had great meals!

Ingrid had a seafood soup that had a whole crab in it and whole shrimp, as well as several other kinds of very fresh fish!

social week...

After a long sleep in Christmas day, we got together at Sharon and Les's for a drink - but it turned out to be yet another Christmas dinner......oh my, the diet starts soon.









Lots of fun visiting our dear friends and celebrating the season. Nice that Maggie and Ingrid have gotten to see so many different friends homes while they are here.







Kids birthday parties in Mexico are a BIG deal - this family has blocked off the road, set up tables and chairs and is getting ready for the fun near our house.








At the bookstore on Boxing Day, there were fire jugglers on the street - always a fun thing, accommpanied by a bongo drum!

The circus is coming.....!

 Christmas morning and just as we are pouring our champagne and fresh squeezed orange juice, a siren sounds on the street - and here come the circus wagons, advertising the circus!

Here are some tigers.....

This one had a bull, a pony and a zebra.....go figure!!

A big white horse and a tiny brown pony......

More tigers.......






Oh - and then Valorie dropped by in her Christmas outfit, with one of her dogs, also suitably attired.....!!!


Below Valorie is a sleeping, lazy tiger, a wagon full of llamas, another one full of monkeys, and finally the last wagon with camels, of all things......!!!  Just another day in the neighbourhood.....!

A very special Christmas eve...part 2

Back inside the house, Chara set up her keyboard and played both Mexican and English music the entire night. We sang, we danced, we drank, and we laughed.









Lety had provided Christmas carol sheets, so all the familiar songs were sung, sometimes in both languages, as there was a nice mix of anglo and Mexican friends.








The coffee table was full of munchies....remember, we had just eated a big dinner....and there was lots of fruit and beverages.







And then just after midnight, Stan poured everyone a glass of sparkling cider with which we toasted Christmas and each other and sang a rousing version of Feliz Navidad. The meal laid out was amazing...turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, potatoe salad, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce, french bread, turkey dressing - oh, and another big bowl of Daf's caesar salad! Then there was the dessert table, but my camera battery had packed it in by that time - dark chocolate cakes (from Ingrid and Maggie), a beautiful birthday cake for Ray, whose birthday it was, and lots of fresh pineapple and tangerines. Around 1:30 we finally rolled down the street, put Maggie and Ingrid in a cab for home, and walked home amid all the many neighbourhood festivites and fireworks. A wonderful night!

A very special Christmas Eve.....part 1

We were invited to Lety and Stan's, 2 streets over from our house, to a traditional Mexican Christmas eve midnight dinner. There were 15 friends and neighbours, and after we all arrived, each person lit a candle and did the Posada - we went to the first house and after singing our song asking to be let in, were refused, as is the custom (no room at the inn).






Happily, the second house welcomed us, so we all put out our candles and were treated with a very special drink.








This is the famous "ponche", a traditional fruit punch which is cooked all night and served warm to family and friends. It contains dozens of kinds of fruits and spices and is just delicious!!!







Then we went back to Lety's and everyone had a turn (including 3 little kids from next door) at smashing the pinata!!! We all scrambled to grab candies and treats, but the 3 kids definitely cleaned up, as they came prepared with bags......they had done this before....:-)

Happy Birthday Jo!

Christmas eve was also Joanne's birthday, owner with Rob of the Alma Libre Bookstore where we help out for 3 days a week. Ray and Sue had a group of friends over to celebrate her special day!







A wonderful birthday dinner with chicken wrapped in proscutto, meat balls, roast potatoes, giant shrimp, a wonderful mushroom dish, pasta with a tomatoe sauce, and Daf's caesar salad!






Followed by one of Diane's (Mama's Bakery) amazing cakes, which unfortunately we were unable to stay for, as we were late for our second party of the evening......!!!

life in the hood.....

Mariposa checked out my pork/zuccini pasta the other night and decided she LIKES it....................











On the way through the neighbourhood, here is a young boy taking his horse home. People tether their horses wherever there is good grass, whether it be on a median, on the side of the road or in a field.




One of our best local fruit and veggie markets is Chulim, and on this Christmas eve day, they had the biggest speakers I have ever seen set up and had live music playing to entertain the shoppers - and the whole neighbourhood.





These guys were great - playing excellent Mexican music all day - we could hear it at our house several blocks away. Feliz Navidad!! Oh - and all the markets were giving away a 2011 calendar and a plastic bowl to all customers!