The Big Surprise..................

So the big reason for the secrecy around leaving Puerto Morelos and heading to Canada was where we were going.......to Toronto en route to BC in order to attend a surprise 60th Birthday celebration for Miki's brother Carl and sister in law Alice. They were surprised first by the fact of the party, and then we called them and sang to them on a speaker phone as if we were in Mexico.....and then walked through the door.

Here is the happy couple with their amazing cake - Alice on one side and Carl on the other.....!

The whole family and closest friends attended and blew them away.....

Carl points out the fact that his golfer is in a sand trap....a familiar place.......

There is that great Carl laugh that everyone knows and loves.......

A hug shared between them........................

the rest of these pics are of the room full of family and friends, near and dear......

Adios Puerto Morelos!

Rob and Joanne are on their way to Canada......in their RV! We wish them a safe trip and look forward to following them on Google Maps..............adios, amigos - see you on the west coast this summer!










So we left on separate days, so Miki drove Daf to the bus (behind her) in our little tracker, and the ADO bus took her to the airport in Cancun.











Delta Airlines loaded up and off we went to Atlanta..................










One last look at that lovely Caribbean sea..........















It really is quite amazing from the air......................










and then Daf spent the night in the Atlanta airport (don't ask) and we met up in the Detroit airport. Shuttle took us to Windsor, where we stayed at the Travelodge on the water right across from the City of Detroit.










Walked out for dinner and enjoyed the waterway gardens and views............








And from our hotel room window, there is Detroit.......!! The poor Red Wings lost their game that night, and surprisingly, most of Windsor cheers for Detroit, so there were some sad faces. Had dinner at a nearby pub and enjoyed great views of the water. Next morning we took a cab to the Via Rail station and arrived in Toronto at Union Station where neice Carolyn met us and took us back to her house and on to the surprise party for Carl and Alice.

Taffy......

Sharon and Les have a new baby......a baby dachsund named Taffy! One of our last nights in PM we went for dinner to La Playita, then headed to their house to meet the baby.











He is the sweetest little muffin and bright as a button.....has already learned to do his business in the right place and has never had an accident in the house.











He is Daddy's boy................













but Mummy loves him too...........................













Altogether they make a lovely family, don't they.....!


Adios, mi amigos............see you in November!!!!!

Diane's Good Luck Dinner

A group of us got together at L'Oazis restaurant to honour the many years Diane has owned and run Mama's Bakery, now closed, and to wish her well on enhancing the Animal Rescue program in Puerto Morelos and other adventures!








We started outside for drinks, enjoying the breeze off the sea...................










and then moved to this beautifully decorated table which owner Martine set up for us. Martine, Flavio and Victor served us a wonderful 3 course dinner.












Everyone chatted around the tables, talked about how long they had known Diane, and got to know each other.










Unfortunately, Diane had been in bed with a severe sinus infection all week, so was never far from her box of Puffs.......but that nice bottle of wine from Patty and Em might help her feel better!











Patty and Miki chat about life in PM













Mary and Diane discuss the state of the world













And the wonderful chocolate flan even came with candles at the end of the meal! We all wish Diane much success in her new ventures!

Lazy beach days.....

This weekend in Puerto Morelos is one of the big fishing tournaments. Lots of extra people, cars and boats in town.











Was sitting at a favourite beachside bar having a chaya refresco, and noticing what a beautiful paint job had been done on the centre boat on the beach.












Suddenly 6 guys show up, lay some pipes under the boat, and with a few good grunts, launch it into the water. I am told an artist came from Cancun to do the artwork, so I wish I had gotten a close up of it - an amazing fish just before the name.








the view from our balcony at Los Viajeros.......that street goes one block and then you are at the beach......so nice to have a nice one hour beach walk every morning......












Ok, so I love taking pics of the beach and this amazing water.....soon enough we will be gone and have to live 6 months without this view........

Botas and music.......

Botas at his favourite place - the beach! So we have tried for another year to find him a wonderful furever home, with no success. He is part of the family, but sadly cannot come back to Canada....can you imagine what the cats would have to say......?????

He loves to be with us wherever we go - including in the car......if you are going, I am coming with you.....!!!!

Sometimes (between house cats) he gets to play on the back patio, chase his ball and chew his kong - and he loves to lie on the chaise.......

Sometimes he even gets to come in the house, and no matter it is 34 degrees, he has to sit right up against us. So this summer, as our time to return to Canada fast approaches, we have taken dear Botas to Summer Camp for the next 6 months in the jungle....

This is his new home at Calle 9 in the Urbana, or the jungle area behind our housing area. Carlos is a great guy who is a dog trainer and he also boards dogs while people are away. He used to live right across the street from us, so we got to know him as a neighbour too. He lives on a couple of walled acres with lots of forest, open spaces and several dogs, which will help Botas become better socialized with other dogs. 

We took him out last Thursday, with his bed, his toys, his bowl, and fond farewells, but got to go back again today for a family visit....he is doing well with the other dogs and learning new things. It was hard to leave him, but we know he will be well loved and we look forward to having him home again when we return in the fall.

Daf works on the blog in the condo........

And last night we went out with Linda and Anna to have supper and listen to some music at the Cantina Habernaro.

Mark Mulligan was performing one of his last shows in PM this season, with help from his friends Susan and Sam. It was a great show - we were all up dancing most of the night. See you in the fall, Mark!