Miki, Maggie and Ingrid on a road trip

all photos by Mike

They left Monday and first stop was the historical town of Valladolid...and lunch at the Marquis hotel, of course......











Next day was Chichen Itza - that is Ingrid in the pink hat - and Miki pushed Maggie all over the grounds in a wheelchair, as mobility is a problem for her. Chichen is huge and a lot of walking for anyone.










The main pyramid....stunning, of course, and happily now not covered in tourists, since they have prohibited people from climbing it.












Ingrid at Genesis, a wonderful eco resort owned by our friend Lee. They had wonderful vegetarian meals, great sleeps in beautiful rooms and thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful place.

The Men in Blues!

New Year's Eve was great fun, but New Year's Day eve was a blast - the Men in Blues had their first concert of the year in the courtyard of David Lau's.....the boys were hot, the music was cool, and the place was packed with devoted fans.












Our table for 12 ended up with 14 - everyone had an awesome time. We ate, we drank, we danced, and so enjoyed the Men and their music.











Valorie did such an amazing job getting the place ready - table clothes, party favours, all the waiters running their buns off - and even Miki and Sharon pitched in to help before the doors opened.










The Men play now every Wednesday and Saturday nights here, so for our visitors who are on their way - you will have a great time rocking to the blues here in Puerto Morelos.!!!

New years day

Saturday we worked at the Bookstore....and town was very quiet until about noon, as people recoverd from their New Year's Eve festivities......













the beach was beautiful........

















The promenade was calm and lovely.......everyone resting up for tonight....:-)

New Years Eve

New Years Eve started out at the Ixchel Beach Bar....

It was breezy, but warm and clear with a million stars above. 

The bonfire was well under way, and by midnight the bar would be packed with revellers. 

Next stop was L'Oazis - one of our favourite restaurants, owned by Martine, a lovely French Canadian woman.  These pics are out of order - Picasa is being stubborn today.....!

We went from the Beach Bar to Maggie and Ingrid's condo for a glass of champagne - what a great way to welcome the new year.

Dinner was wonderful - everyone had amazing meals and lots of laughs. 

Last stop was Amber and Josh's house party - lots of great munchies, drinks, a pinata, and fabulous dancing music. We welcomed in 2011 at midnight with more champagne and were home by 2 am. A wonderful night with  wonderful friends!!!

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.