Cantina Habernero Fundraiser

This was the night to celebrate Ed and raise funds for his wonderful family, Nataly, Jessily and Jeremy!

There was an amazing crowd of townsfolk, live entertainment, a silent auction with almost 40 items to bid on, and a full moon, to boot, to shine on this gathering of love and support!

The crowd was a real mixed bag - Naty's family, of course, many locals and their families, ex pats who spend the winter here, some who live here full time, tourists, and friends from all over the Mayan Riviera.









The police obliged by blocking off the street to traffic, allowing tables and chairs to spread the length of the block on either side of the bar. A huge balloon banner was strung across the street.








There were at least 5 sets of musicians, all of whom donated their time and talents to entertaining the crowd and sending rousing music up to Ed! And what a variety - Mark Mulligan, our own Jimmy Buffet, Don, a ringer for Johnny Cash, Vertigo, Ed's house band, whose idea this whole fundraiser was, and many others.











Ed was in attendance on the bar - a great pic of him sitting on his urn of ashes. Ed, you are sorely missed - you were one of the town's great characters, and one of its strongest contributors. Rest in Peace, Ed Hoffman, knowing that Puerto Morelos is taking care of your family.

Tuesday Taco night...!

Abbey and Tiff opened their delightful courtyard again this week for a splendid evening of great food and good company! The inner courtyard was full of happy diners enjoying a variety of dishes such as tacos and burritos.











Hungry diners line up for the feast.....refreshcos were pineapple, grape and apple juices, but stay tuned for next week - the straw poll determined beer and wine would be nice for next week!












Cristo and his team outdid themselves - that huge handmade tortilla made one burritom filled with bean sauce, 3 kinds of meat, lettuce, salsa and a cream sauce on top.....I can't believe I ate the whole thing!!!!








The party spread out onto the street, with the occasional street dog in attendance, just in case something dropped....! It was a lovely meal and for us a chance to chat to Abbey, Tiff and a number of our bookstore customers under an almost full moon!

Dinner out in the 'hood!

First visit to a new restaurant in our Colonia area - La Papa y Cafe.  Unique in that they make wonderful potatoe dishes - seldom seen here. We had the arrachara (marinated steak) with herb mashed potatoes covered in cheese and baked, and a salad for $11. The appetizer was a warm flavourful bowl of black beans and chips. We had chaya water, a mixture of chaya, lime and fresh water - yummy!






The decor is nice - soft peach and burgundy walls with art on the walls, GOLD plastic table clothes, and an entire staff of women - grandma, mama, daughter, aunt, cousin and sister!!!

The back courtyard area was lovely - maybe for tables as they get busier and stay open later....?

A huge banana tree was the focal point of the back courtyard!  Great food, nice people and certainly we will be back - it is only 3 blocks from home!

Genesis staff in Ek Balam

The staff at Genesis are a wonderful collection of local Mayan folks, like Marco, who helps water the plants, clean the pool, cleans the grounds, etc.

Here is Lee in the main lodge lounge area, with the little in house library behind her.

Sometimes even guests offer to help out, like this  New Zealander, who was a whiz with computers and helped sort out some software glitches.....!~

Pedro, Martina and Modesto are all working at preparing and serving meals to guests. 

Mercedes is part of the housekeeping staff, and does a fine job keeping rooms clean and comfortable. Genesis is a very special place with very special people!

Genesis resort at Ek Balam

Miki just got back from a week at Genesis, an ecoresort owned by our friend Lee - the same one Maggie and Ingrid just spent 2 days at last week. This is part of the courtyard area. 

Another area of the courtyard, leading into the main lodge, where guests eat, relax, check their emails or enjoy a drink. 

This is the pool area, and the water for this gorgeous area is from a cenote, crystal clear and beautiful.













Breakfast and dinner are served daily from this kitchen - that's Pedro, Lee's right hand - and includes wonderful egg dishes, pancakes, fresh fruit, and amazing 4 course vegetarian dinners.








The main lodge room where meals are served, and you can relax in a comfy chair and read a book, have a drink, or just gaze at the lovely courtyard.










Two of the rooms, Birdhouse (above) and Yuya. Each room at Genesis is special and unique, with lovely architectural features and strong attention to the environment.


Miki really enjoyed her time there - long days, great guests, and wonderful food - but is happy to be home again in PM.

Tres Reyes celebrations

Our party started out with this happy group, with Stan being the photographer. Lety set a beautiful table and Oscar brought a huge Rosca for us to share. Hot chocolate was served with the bread.

Chris, Alain, and Lety's neighbour and 3 kids arrived with yet another Rosca de Reyes..!!

The Rosca was wonderful - light fluffy bread, with dried fruit on top and sugared stripes. 

Inside were 4 little figures - Joseph, Mary, the star and baby JC. We will all gather at our house on Feb. 2 for the Candalaria - the candle celebration - and have a final celebration of the season!

Ek Balam, day 2

Ingrid and Miki went off to see the Ek Balam ruins on Wed. morning. It is a much smaller site than Chichen Itza, but one with wonderful carvings and sculptures unique to this ruin alone.






They climbed the main pyramid, and this is the view from the top - over the jungle all the way to Chichen Itza!!!!!

Last night in Mexico and we had a lovely dinner on the patio. It has been lovely having our friends here for this month - and we all look forward to a Mexican night when we get home when we can share all our pics and remember all the fun times we had. Bon Voyage, dear Ingrid and Maggie!