Another glorious start to the day in paradise.

D cleaned up from the previous evening and rewarded himself by taking in another tennis game with D.

I enjoyed my leftovers from Olivia’s for breakfast. We often over order at dinner so that we can stretch a second meal out of the first one. The swarma was even better the second day.

With every walk into Centro, I find another image that I just have to record.

We walked to Playa Norte and enjoyed a great lunch at the Green Demon Beach Club.

We had a pretty walk from the beach to Hortenzia’s to pick up a couple of little things.

We love all the colours to see on the island from the businesses to the transportation.

We arrived “home” just in time for D to head back out again with Boo and the Frenchman to visit the Isla Brewing Company. Boo is the General Manager of a craft brewery in Winnipeg and often visits other breweries when on holidays.

So left on my own, all I had to was read, nap in the hammock and be mesmerized by the blues of the sea.

We cabbed it to Barlitoes for drinks and  a spectacular sunset

and then to Chilitoes for a fabulous paella to share.

Our progressive dinner continued to Bastos for their Hamburgera Especiale with two orders of our favourite hand-cut fries.

We were home for glasses of wine under the stars. Another reason we love Luna d’ Miel is the privacy it affords us. We spoke in whispers even though we did not need to.

Kath’s quote: Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”-M.F. K. Fisher

Love never fails.

Sorry, there was no sunrise that morning to share a pic. Since I have thousands of Isla sunrise pics, I could have probably just posted an old pic and you would never have known the difference, right?

I always take a photo of Lolo Lorena’s when we walk by.

We had a lovely lazy morning on the patio at Luna and then we walked to the colonias to see if Sesso Loco was open for lunch. When it was not open, we had lunch at Kash Kuken. I had always wanted to go but never managed it. D had Poc Chuc and I ribs with white tortillas and all the trimmings. Delish.

We cabbed back to Luna d Miel to get ready for a family birthday party that evening. It was a good excuse to get our apartment tidied up.

We collected and arranged furniture to seat 12 on our patio. SIL S and J brought a basket of snacks including Hawkins cheesies which were a big hit. Sister #3 made guacamole and Australian D1 brought pico de gallo. I put out cheese and crackers and SIL L brought the taco chips and voila we had a party!

Boo and Australian D1 bought the guys birthday hats and balloons which made our little place fun and festive. Boo had rented a golf cart and Australian D2 took trips back and forth to Centro so nobody had to walk.

The sunset from the cart was glorious! We assembled at El Patio under the supervision of Jacob. He brought us to go-cups as we ended up almost chugging our drinks.

We had dinner all together in the very back palapa at Olivia’s. My D thought that prices were more reasonable that previous visits.

Brother #3 had the Beef Kabob,

SIL L the Moussakka,

me the Swarma (could only ate half),

and SIL’s Sis had short ribs.

I don’t remember who had this dish but it looked fantastic! Everyone was pleased with their choices. We enjoyed Olivia’s great staff. It was so lovely to sit next to Australian D1 and D2. We had a wonderful visit.

We were home for a glass of wine under the stars and then off to dream land.

Kath’s quote: “Mexican, Mediterranean, Italian, sushi, I love it all. Put it on a plate, and as long as I know what it is, I will eat it.”-Camren Bicondova

Love never fails.

D tried to connect with another D for tennis but ex pats had claimed the courts (even if they don’t show up) Mon, Wed and Friday from 9-12. Who wants to play in the hot afternoon? My D was miffed and very disappointed. While he was away, I did some writing.

It turned out to be a very lazy day for me, reading and napping in the lawn chair and hammock. D finished his first book.

D and I enjoyed our own Happy Hour and then walked to Green Verde for dinner (read more about it in this link).

Afterwards we hopped into a cab and joined the gang to meet more family at the ferry-more “D”s all the way from Australia! We all headed to Asia Caribe for drinks and D and D badly needed some food. We were home for a wine night- cap, under the stars.

The next morning we slept in as there was no sunrise. D went off to try to play tennis again after yesterday’s plans were stifled by locals reserving the court. I had a bit of sun the day prior so I laid low that day.

When D returned we both were very lazy until we ventured to La Joya to visit D and V. It was so beautiful there except that the management wouldn’t let D serve us the wine that we brought. That was a disappointment and kind of miffed us all.

We took a taxi straight to El Patio where we enjoyed an excellent dinner after which Boo and the Frenchman joined us for drinks. We met members of our entourage at Nash’s for the Jets game. We were able to hail down our PEI friends who we missed seeing the evening of our arrival.

We visited more family at Xontolo and then I came home in a cab to read in bed and D stayed with them for more drinks.

Kath’s quote: “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”-Jane Howard

Love never fails.

This was the day that the other half of my family arrived on the island. Unfortunately, as I wrote in my journal that day, Sister #3, Brother #3 and his wife were already two hours late. 

So instead of heading to the ferry dock we changed our plan and went to church instead.

We took in an 8 am church service at Guadalope Church across from Mango. We almost tried the church café but opted instead for Mango.

D couldn’t resist the pablano chilies.

I had Mango quesadillas. They were stuffed with potato, bacon, onion and cheese. I could only eat two triangles and took the rest home.

We have enjoyed watching the growth of Mango over the years. When we first started going, we would stand in line down the sidewalk to get into their little seating area. D orders the same thing, each and every time we visit.

I enjoyed a nap in the hammock and then a long stare at the ocean’s blues and then we were off to the ferry.

It was a busy day in town.

We met our DIL’s parents D and V who we also expected that day and then on the very next ferry my siblings and a new friend Rena arrived.

We walked Sister #3 and Rena to their Air BnB which I was very impressed with. Check out this gorgeous kitchen!

Mango Margs and Fish Tacos at Bally Hoo were in order-a long standing tradition for many of us.

Later that same day, we met Matteo at his fabulous pizza restaurant-Pizza and A…More. Check out the adventure with this link. Pizza and A …More.

Kath’s quote: “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity”.-Voltaire

Love never fails

Day 1 February 23

We typically stay in the little apartment style unit at Luna D’Miel with it’s separate kitchen/living/dining area, bathroom and bedroom. But the year previous when we were making arrangements for the current year, we were informed by Mario that Isabel the owner might be renovating and adding a second floor. If this was going to happen we wouldn’t have access to the special apartment unit.

So we stayed in Unit One which felt kind of like a second honeymoon as the first time D came with me to the island, we occupied that room.

We love everything about Luna d’Miel. To be right on the ocean side of the island is splendid: always a breeze, staring at the crashing waves and privacy.

But we love the street side of the apartments too. There is a natural canopy of trees which protects us from light rain showers and offers some coolness to the hottest part of the day. There once was a time when we could see the sunset in all its glory from our lawn chairs in front of Unit 1. Now trees and bushes on the south end of the airport strip have obstructed our view so we have to walk a couple of spots to the north to get a good vantage.

I had a reasonable sleep but D did not.

We were up with the sunrise and saw its first light from our bed.

We walk into Centro for a small grocery shop and then to Bally Hoo for breakfast since we missed meeting friends there when we were so late the evening prior.

D thought that there were too many peppers in his western omelet and I thought that there was too much raw garlic in my Spanish omelet. 

But the view was wonderful and once again we felt like we were home. I took a cab back to Luna with a small grocery bag. D waited for our youngest daughter and her husband to arrive on the ferry.

In mean time he bought a ¼ chicken for us to have as a snack since neither of us really ate our omelets.

Boo and the Frenchman joined us at Luna to sit in the sun and get caught up. Then they headed home (Xbulu Ha) for naps and showers.

Just like that….it looked like rain.

We all met later for dinner at Lola Valentina’s (see bog post here) including one of my SILs and her sister. We had a lovely evening with them and the food was amazing.

Kath’s quote: “I believe in the Ocean curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves wiping away worries. I believe in seashells bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand, grounding my soul.”-Mystic Mermaid

Love never fails.