Food Musings

A Winnipeg blog about the joy of preparing food for loved ones and the shared joy that travel & dining brings to life.

Trip Report Day Thirteen-Family Dinner

April9

We enjoyed this beautiful sunrise without lifting our butts out of our chairs. This is luxury in my mind.

After coffee we grabbed a cab to Island Church at Jax. D and the guys play tennis everyday except Sunday. We really enjoy getting together with this community at Jax. And what a setting to induce an attitude of worship and gratitude!

Afterwards, we met Kelly and Lorraine and we all converged at X Bulu Ha to help Sue and Donna move. They treated us to breakfast at Alexa & Giovanni’s which was considerate and lovely of them.

We grabbed another cab home, picked up Karen and then we all walked to Chedrui. When we cabbed it home, as our arms were full of groceries, we dropped D en route as the rib man (not Tito) was set up in front of the “White House”.

Do you recognize any members of my extended family? From the far left in a clockwise motion are my Sister in Law Lorraine, my brother Kelly (who is a twin), our friend Karen who was staying with us, my husband Doug, our friend Donna and lastly, my baby sister Sue.
This is a clip when Karen and I exchanged places.

Later that evening we had a couple of kilos of ribs, spaghetti alfredo and creamy mashed potatoes. We fed seven with leftovers! It was lovely to invite my family over to a “bring a dish” supper. Lorraine & Kelly brought appetizers, Sue and Donna assembled a salad and Karen, D and I provided the rest of the feast.

Sunset through the kitchen window screen.

We had an absolutely wonderful time and decided that dishes could wait until morning.

Kath’s quote: “In this family, we laugh loudly, love deeply, and eat well”. -unknown

Love never fails.

Trip Report Day Twelve-Fuego del Mar

April6

Even though D had been on the island, less then 12 hours, he was off to meet his tennis buddies. His friendship with this group of locals, ex-pats and travelers, is a blessing to me because it is a primary reason why he is anxious to return each year, instead of exploring another destination.

We were both up early. My primary goal was to sit quietly to greet the sun and be grateful for this lovely and familiar place. When I left the balcony to refill my cup of coffee, there was this blast of light from our bedroom. I hadn’t realized until then that the sun rose in our south facing bedroom window.

D was pooped after his first tennis in a number of months, so while he replenished, I went downstairs to reacquaint with the neighbours from last year and meet some new ones too.

This is our place from the waterline. We have the entire second floor including that wonderful wrap around deck. In fact we rarely gravitate to the north end of that space, as there is no shade and it gets bloody hot!

I love the Caribbean side of the island. The breeze and the waves are always lovely. And even though I am not much of a beachcomber these days, the picking is excellent!

One of our neighbours waded into the water everyday to do some fishing. I had always been told not to enter the ocean on that side. but he seemed confident to do so.

We were off to Piacere Beach Club but I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the instructions and our cab took us a bit too far south. But it was serendipitous because upon arrival on the road adjacent, a handsome Mexican says “Hey, I know you. You’re Canadian, right?” Wasn’t I supposed to avoid these situations? Just then I realized that it was our friend Jacob that we met at El Patio but hadn’t seen in years. We ran into each in Centro days later and I still didn’t recognize him out of context.

Piacere is a quieter Beach Club for those who like to read, nap and swim without distraction. We met lovely people there including my friend Karen and our server Adrian who we met last year at Amazona.

This is us.

We were home in time for showers and sunset.

That evening we were out to dinner with our dear friends Jan and Bruce. We had never dined at Fuego del Mar before, even though it is a favourite of theirs and many other island friends. The food was fabulous and I would loved to have shared all the details with you except that it was so dark, that none of my pics were recognizable, except for this sole image of our shared dessert. I know that Bruce raved about the octopus and D had had a Vera Cruz fish. Jan and I each order the same dish and although I remember that it was over the top tasty, I can only recall that it was adorned with asparagus. Some Food Writer I am!

After dinner it was home to read in our enormous bed.

Kath’s quote: “In the company of friends, every meal becomes a feast.”-unknown

Love never fails.

Trip Report Day Eleven-Moving Day

April5

Pastel sunrise.

My last sunrise from the malecon.

I went home to finished getting organized for my move.

But taking advantage of still being in Centro, I walked to Hortencias to pick up dresses.

When Karen and I met up, she was hungry for lunch and the very first place we came to was Au Naturel where she loved the tacos.

My lunch was a banana milkshake!

With some sustenance, we dragged my suitcase across Centro to Karen’s hotel where she grabbed her suitcase and we hailed a cab to take us mid island for the rest of our stay.

We gave our friends the Primary bedroom the year prior so it was our turn this year.

We paid our lovely cab cab driver a double fare to carry our suitcases up the stairs to our apartment.

You can see why this room was so attractive. This corner (with the windows thrown open) became my writing spot. But we didn’t linger as we need provisions for our fridge and larder, so we went exploring.

Luckily we found a little tienda that had everything we required. I also wanted to purchase a couple of Isla Brewing Beers for Doug’s arrival. When we stopped there and I ordered them, they arrived in a coffee cup with a lid on them. I wanted them in a can and they indignantly indicated that they had been serving them in that manner for the past few months. Even though I try to stay up to date on the food and beverage happenings on Isla, I did not know that there were no longer off sale of Isla Brewing products. They begrudgingly refunded my money.

Later that day I was walking to the ferry, when a couple of kind travelers offered me a ride in the golf cart. Why don’t tourists do this more often, I wondered? I was on time to meet my beloved husband, as I offered him a welcome “Sol”.

Rudy who D knew when they worked together in Canada, was leaving the next morning and so D and I joined Lorraine, Kelly, Donna, Carol and Rudy for supper La Lomitas. D and I shared chiles relleno and papas frites and we took home a supper for Karen. I can’t believe I forgot to take a food picture! I guess I was too distracted by my handsome husband. We grabbed a cab with D’s luggage and ended the evening with wine on the deck, under the stars.

Kath’s quote: “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” —Charles Dickens

Love never fails.

Trip Report Day Ten-Last Day in Centro

April3

I almost missed the sunrise!

Sister Sue enjoying the pool.

We spent the day at Karen’s pool. The water temp was perfect and it was so refreshing.

I loved the terra cotta figures adorning the pool’s edge

Karen graciously treated us to to tacos foe lunch in her lovely garden setting. With three orders for three people, we had food for days!

This was the view from Karen’s front door!

That afternoon’s Happy Hour was my last with with Penny and Donna. They, along with Jan, Speed and Cheryl were so welcoming to the “compound”.

Karen and I met when we were both Hospitality and Tourism trainers in our home province. We both grew up in the restaurant business.

We had dinner at Muelle 7 where the sunset was breathtaking.

The drinks and food were wonderful, but the real star of the show was the setting. Read all about the delicious details here: https://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-2024-restaurants-features-muelle-7/

That night our friends Fredy and Ana were celebrating the anniversary of their restaurant. I dropped by to wish them well. Unfortunately, most people were leaving but I had a quick catch up visit with Jackie. Another sidebar: Jackie and I are from the same city. We met, when she discovered my blog and fell in love with the posts regarding Isla Mujeres. She booked her first trip to the island almost immediately and stays for longer and longer stretches of time when she can..

I walked home and got some packing done. No, I wasn’t leaving the island. I was moving mid island as my husband would finally arrive!

Kath’s quote: “The sun has gone to bed and so must I.”– The Sound of Music

Love never fails.

Trip Report Day Nine-A surprise meeting

April2

My morning walk did not disappoint. These are the sunsets that I remember from my years of stays on the island. I didn’t dare turn away from the water’s edge, in case I might miss something!

But if you didn’t already know this, Isla Mujeres is washed with vibrant colour wherever you look.

And perhaps you know this too…I love vibrant colour, especially turquoise!

I had previously visited el meraki a year earlier. They had just opened their beautiful space. Even though I didn’t have a chance to sample their fare, good friends of mine raved about it! And then, I heard that they had to close for an extended period of time and had recently reopened.

I was really looking forward to meeting Andrea from el meraki. She had created an amazing space. A funny thing happened while we were checking out the sights.

We were up on the second floor with this view to the south.

All of a sudden, I heard someone calling my name. It was my brother who had just stepped out of his apartment, across the way! He was fetching something off of his balcony. What are the chances?

Our breakfast was absolutely delicious, right down to this glass of sparkling beet juice! If you are interested in knowing more, please check out my website: https://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-2024-restaurant-feature-el-meraki/

We walked home the long way so that Karen could order dresses from Hortencia’s. I was so energized by my great breakfast. that when I went home, I posted 3 restaurant features that day!

My reward for my hard work was a cocktail that I invented-brandy and mango juice over ice! My apartment didn’t have a balcony, just a walkway. But I am inclined to make the best of everything and still found a way to enjoy the space.

In all my visits to the island, I had never tasted Lobster Pizza but that night when we had dinner at Pizza Rock, I did! If you want to eat where the locals eat, check them out: https://foodmusings.ca/uncategorized/isla-mujeres-2024-restaurant-features-pizza-rock/

After dinner I was home in time to visit my neighbour friends for a nightcap. I started Anthony Bordain’s Kitchen Confidential that evening. Night night.

Kath’s quote: The definition of meraki:-“When you love doing something, anything, so much that you put something of yourself in it.”-author unknown

:Love never fails.

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