The winter kitchen

The back patio with the palapa we had built last year had a double sink in it (just to the right of the pole) but we were always gerry-rigging the barbeque on boards and wishing on really hot days that we didn't have to cook in the house at all.









So Raul (who built our walls, palapa and wonderful pool) and Ramon came today to start our our outdoor kitchen. The idea is to install a cement counter top the same height as the sink. First they drilled holes into the wall for the rebar.






Then they built the walls on either end with the "skinny" blocks, and set the formwork on the top for the counter, and underneath for the storage shelf.







Last step today was to mix and pour the concrete (mixed on the road and carried in by the bucket load). These guys always amaze us at how strong they are. They started at 8, left at 5 and will be back at 8 am to put the cement finish over the blocks and remove the form work. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, but since it is under the palapa, it will be fine.

Pool day

Miki has now finished painting the back patio deck in a soft terra cotta colour. Finally we can unwrap the pool and start filling it.
When we left in April, we drained the pool completely, and left it covered in plywood panels, set on a slope to allow for water run off, and then covered those panels with 2 heavy duty tarps. This is how it looked when we got here - a couple of rips in the outer tarp, but the inner one was fine, with no water entering the empty pool in our absence.






The plywood panels under the tarps.











This much slope was enough to keep the water from rainfall running off the panels and down the drain, rather than into the pool.






There were several pesky cockroaches who had taken up residence, but after a good sweep and scrub with a little bleach water, it was pristine and ready to fill.

Another new face....

This little girl was on her way to be euthanised.....oh dear. She belonged to someone who became too sick to look after her, so got passed on to several homes where there were other animals and she freaked. She is an adult, spayed, and otherwise healthy.







Someone suggested she just be put out in the jungle, so she was out there for 3 days before our friends Diane and Jill found her again, injured, dehydrated and starving.  Her name in Spanish was "my bitch" so we have renamed her Mariposa, since she has flitted about a lot lately and has the colouring of a monarch butterfly.





Jill took her for a few days, but has another street cat and they didn't get along. So we agreed to foster her while a good permanent home is found. She has been a loved house cat, so loves to sleep on the furniture, take her baths wherever she likes, and has now enjoyed canned cat food for the first time.




She is very sweet, very mellow, and very affectionate, and has no interest in even going outside. She likes to sleep lots, get cuddles and eat, and that is so easy for us. We hope a good full time home is found for her, but in the meantime, we are enjoying having her in our home.

Grey Cup!

OK, the other thing that was happening Sunday was the Grey Cup. I know, BC wasn't in it, dammit, but we went to root for the western team, Saskatchewan. The PG Sandbox sports bar in Playa has the game on every year, so we were back again!








Didn't see even one sign of Montreal fans - it was an audience of a sea of green - shirts, faces, hats and flags.








There were Canadian flags everywhere, and we had a great time cheering with friends Stan and Norma from PM.








We stayed until we had to leave for the Sunday eve jazz concert and were disappointed to learn later that Montreal won - again!!!! Still part of a wonderful day and weekend.

Jazz Festival!

So the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival was as wonderful as other years. There has been a jazz festival in Playa del Carmen for many years, but this organizing group has been doing them since -07, so this is the 4th.

This first band is Aguamala, a large amazing band.




 I know seeing pics of bands on a big stage is not like seeing it live, with 12,000 other devoted jazz fans, but sitting in the powdery white sand for these evenings of free jazz is beyond wonderful. Second band of the night was the amazing George Duke, below. Then John McLaughlin, which we don't have a still pic of for some reason and finally The Manhatten Transfer - WOW!!!  So if you would like to see all the pics, including some videos of the music, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/daphneandmiki/RivieraMayaJazzFestival2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeQ__6IyrmMEQ#

Posada Mariposa

A charming light on a stair landing at the hotel. Lots of nice little touches like this throughout the place, and it was only 2 blocks from the beachfront resort, Mamitas, where the Jazz concerts were held.









Our bedroom - and the suite had a nice big bathroom, too.









The main room - full kitchen, living area with either an additional bed or couch area.








Our breakfast restaurant, right across the street from our hotel. Great food and great staff.

Playa del Carmen

We got to Playa and met Lee for an extended lunch........so great to see her again.








This is our hotel on 5th Avenue. Been here since '99 and is a lovely place.


















The balcony where we had morning coffee and nightcaps after returning from the Jazz Festival concerts.






The courtyard and main lobby area. So many little hotels like this one in Playa where there is sometimes just a doorway on the street and then it opens up into a magical space once you go inside.