Bye for now....! Fond farewells and critters....

Lauren's week here in PM has flown by, so we went out with Laura for a final last supper at Casa de Pescador on the town square. See you in the fall, Lauren, unless you can swing coming to BC this summer on your motorcycle..... :-)









Critters....when we drove out the Cenote Road yesterday we stopped for water at the only tienda on the road and were greeted by a flock of sheep......!













Now that Mariposa has a new home, Botas can come into the house and onto our back patio. He has decided that he likes the idea of lying on a chaise and chewing on his ball.









In fact, he likes to drink out of the pool too, and we feel that this kind of environment will continue to gentle and train him to be a better dog. Other than chasing cats and cars (and bikes, and motorcyles and people, if they are too close to our house....) he is smart, loyal, loving and fun and he will make someone a wonderful full time house pet one day.

A local sausage factory.

The other recommendation for a place on Cenote Road (which of course has many wonderful cenotes on it) is this place, Embutidos del Camino.....a sausage making factory, of all things.












Here is the list of different types of sausage they make, so we bought a few of 6 different types of sausage - will report back as we sample them.













The building and property is amazing and an older, very well dressed gentleman (the owner) greeted us, seated us here to wait on this lovely courtyard while they packaged our order, and toddled off into the last doorway.









This great prehistoric fellow skittered along the tiles on his hind feet and then up into a tree that grows right up through the roof.

Leona Vicario

This nearby town is named after a sister of the Mexican revolution, who helped the rebels finally achieve independence in 1821, and married Andres Quintana Roo, who was also a major player in the revolution. In 11 years of coming to PM, we had never driven the 30 km along the Cenote Road to the end. Not sure what the population is, smaller than PM, but every road in Leona Vicario is beautifully paved, putting PM to shame with our 3 foot deep potholes.

Town square (zocolo) is like most local towns - centre for basketball, social outings and social gatherings. 

We could not for the life of us find even one restaurant...???.....so followed the local action to this place...the local chicken grill!

This one guy was doing all the cooking, and because the grill closed, the chicken cooked in no time. There had to be 10 of us waiting for chicken, very patiently, as the Mexicans know how to do, but boy, was it worth it!!! Sorry, Guadalupe, we may have to drive to Leona Vicario from now on for our grilled chicken....it is wonderful!!!

Chak Tun Che

On Tuesday, we headed out to find 2 places on the Cenote Road which had been recommended. One is called Chak Tun Che, a newly forming restaurant on property owned by a local doctor. No menu - just ask for what you want and they will order and cook it for you!!  This is a woodworking shop where a master furniture maker turns out amazing things - all out of found lumber, no trees cut.







Inside the main building and restaurant area, the decor is amazing - check out the bar with bottles inlaid...and lit up.












The other side of the room has a gift area with more wonderful wood carvings.











Lovely wooden bowls and mortars and pestals are also for sale, as well as beautiful drums.

The outdoor grill and wood fired oven area. 

This young woman is the baker, turning out lots of whole grain natural bread to sell at our local grocery store in PM. We bought a loaf there and it is delicious. That huge  ball behind her is the oven.

The property has paths that wind through lovely jungle gardens, waterways and natural streams. 

this is the exterior of the main building....a work of art in itself......

These amazing tables are all crafted out of ends of lumber from all the hardwood trees which grow in the area. Amazing inlays and designs. 

This is the building beside the windmill, which, in addition to the solar panels on the property, supply all the electrical needs of the place. 

The solar panels are on the roof and on the ground of this palapa, and inside it is a  ladder down to a natural cenote.......!!!!!  This is an amazing place and we are going to plan a dinner there as soon as the budget allows. 

condo views

Monday we dropped over to Mick and Bev's condo for a longer visit with Sara. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed the lovely ocean breezes and nice snacks.










Views from the balcony onto the beach beside the Amar Inn....really lovely part of the beach.













Then we all went upstairs to see the rooftop deck and admire the views from there, which were awesome.













Views from the rooftop....great place for some tables and chairs and a great sunrise or sunset.

beach music

Sunday Peter Pope Jones, who is one of the guitarists for the Men in Blues, put together a great little band to perform at Manta, the beach bar. Randall on lead guitar and Cathy and partner on mouth organs were joined by a drummer for a great sound.













Our little gang - Lauren, Laura, Miki and Linda - joined Mary, Patti and Emily and enjoyed margaritas and even a burger grilled to perfection before we had to head back to work at the bookstore.











Beach bar is always changing hands, but they serve up really good drinks and when the grill is cooking on Sundays, great barbeque too.










Sara, far right, is visiting Puerto Morelos for the first time and staying with Mick and Bev. She spent most of the winter with our friend Les from Nanaimo in San Miguel Allende, and is now on her way back to Duncan to go back to work.