Do you know the difference between gelati and gelato? In Winnipeg most of the little shops that serve Italian ice cream have gelati in their names and then many years ago, Eva’s Gelato opened almost at the corner of our street.  The owners, as opposed to having of an Italian heritage were from Argentina and so I concluded that gelato was a Spanish version of gelati.  Perhaps I was even guilty of having perpetrated that Winnipeg rumour. In those days, Eva’s was a a narrow little store front with not much room for more than the freezer and a hard-working employee.  The frozen treat was scooped from a big white plastic pail into a weeny brightly coloured bowl with a “Barbie-doll” sized spoon.  My eyes were always pulled to those translucent bowls but I was a sugar-cone fan from a way back and so even though my eyes wanted one thing, my tummy desired another.

Now, of course I know that gelati is simply the plural version of gelato, or maybe it is the other way around.

I have had my fair share of gelato experiences in between our original taste of Eva’s and the “new” Eva’s sensation.  While D and I traveled along the west coast of Italy from Sicily to the Italian and French Riveria, gelato fixes were the primary motivation for an evening walk after long train rides or a day of hiking.

We have our favourite spots too on Isla Mujeres where coconut gelato is my fav and D’s is pistachio.

Eva in the mean time had also been busy, moving east on Corydon into expansive new digs.  The quality of her product did not diminish with the move.  Nor did its popularity.  By then Eva’s was available at other retailers in carton form.  I even enjoyed it recently at the inaugural Bomber game at Investors Group Field.

We decided long ago that Eva’s made and served our favourite gelato but I needed a recent photo of their new locale.  So I sent J2 (aka Daughter #3).  Many of you know that she is days away from giving birth to our first grandbaby and when I asked for the favour, she was quick to oblige.  What is it about pregnant women and ice cream?

When I was expecting my first baby 28 years ago, it was the summer that Dairy Queen came out with Blizzards.  D and I would often walk in the evening with DQ as our destination.  J2 has gained just the right amount of weight and even though our grandbaby is sticking way out in front, from the back, you wouldn’t even know that she was pregnant.  I on the other hand, gained some 70 pounds when I was pregnant the first time around, and I can definitely equate that weight gain to the Blizzards.  During my third pregnancy when I craved ice chips and celery, my weight gain was 22 pounds.

Kath’s quote: “Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”-Voltaire

Love-that is all.

We were up for anther glorious sunrise and just enjoyed our time on the ocean side of Luna D’Miel. 

Brother #3

One of our favourite beach vendors.

Later that morning we went to find Brother #3 and his wife on North Beach. 

When lunch time came around we walked the short distance to the Loncherias (across from Las Palmas).

 

This little sweetie was on her school lunch break.

Over the years, we have eaten at three of the four Loncherias and decided that it was high time to make it a fait du complete by visiting Poc Chuc. 

D had a chicken burrito and I the poc chuc.

Even though the latter is not usually accompanied by papas fritoes, they very cheerfully accompanied me.

We luxuriated in the setting sun.

That night we visited Ziggy, the personable waiter from Café Cito’s at Monchi’s  in Colonia’s  for dinner.  Ziggy, like so many Islanders, works night and day and in the evening he is the cook at Monchi’s.  It was my first visit and will not be my last.

The evening started with slices of baguette with a garlicky dip.  I ordered pineapple fried rice with chicken where Ziggy scoops out a pineapple then mixes the fruit with a twist on his fried rice recipe including shredded purple cabbage and celery.  

D and Sister #3 loved the coconut shrimp. 

Sis-in-law had the fish special which was stuffed with seafood in a white sauce and wrapped up and baked in a foil packet. 

We all love the chayote (sp?) which tasted like a cross between a melon and cucumber. 

Dona tucked into garlic shrimp. 

Brother #3 was really pleased with his enormous burrito.

Time is slipping away from me since we spent our two glorious weeks on our precious Isla and even though I keep a travel diary, the details are slipping away from me too.  But I can tell you with certainty, the emotions that I was experiencing that day, because they are the same ones that I have everyday that I spend on the island-delight in the rising sun and glorious days spent basking in it; deep satisfaction with the food so carefully prepared by the exceptional Isla cooks; peace while gazing at the turquoise sea and setting sun; and lastly, immense joy when in the company of my beloved family and Isla family. 

Kath’s quote: “He is the very pineapple of politeness!” Richard Brinsley Sheridan

My coffee filters at Luna D’Miel-I kid you not!

Love-that is all.

Mango Café (found in Colonia Meterorologico on Isla Mujeres, Mexico) is infamous as a great place for breakfast.  Our first ever visit to Mango was for dinner on the equally infamous Jamaican Night hosted every Monday.

I love Mango.  The owner Polo is a great host and the food is fantastic. I make a point of making at least one stop there every trip but it occurred to me that I have never tried their regular dinner menu. I was so over the moon with their Jamaican food and breakfast items, how could I have overlooked an opportunity to sample even more of their fare?

The menu at dinner is not extensive, but I am a firm believer in doing less and doing it really well, instead of doing lots and it being just OK.  We were a party of seven and most of us ordered different items, so this meant I got a look at almost every item on the menu.

We started with a couple of orders of Tostones for the table.  These yummy fried plantains were topped with a green apple guacamole, an interesting twist on tradition.

For our mains the boys ordered Ajilla catch of the day in a garlic and gualillo chili sauce and chicken stuffed with guava paste, cream cheese and chaya, a Mexican green thought to be a super food.

Two of the girls ordered enchiladas and tropical fish stuffed with crab, shrimp and cheese topped with a pepita (pumpkin seed) sauce.

Three of us wanted to try the chicken skewers served with coconut peanut sauce.  My friends made a special request to have a side of rice to make this appetizer into a light meal.  I, on the other hand, added another appetizer to make mine dinner.

I tried the jalapeno peppers stuffed with goat cheese and blue cheese and topped with bacon.  These were served with two dips; habenero jelly and tamarind balsamic dressing.

As we were celebrating the recent nuptials of friends who joined us for dinner, we decided we had to conclude the evening with a couple desserts and seven forks.  We had the cheese cake which was scrumptious; served on a chocolate crust topped with strawberries and sauce. We all love the coconut crusted French toast at Mango for breakfast and at dinner they turn this delicacy into dessert by topping it with vanilla ice-cream and caramel sauce, calling it Mango toast and cream.

The attention to detail in the food at Mango is exemplary.  Even the beverages were a delight.  Many of us enjoyed the ginger lemonade and a few others ordered a variety of agua frescas, refreshing fruit waters made with everything from watermelon to hibiscus flower.

I know that next year I will have to be back for breakfast but will also return for dinner.  Only problem is I just noticed a lunch menu packed with items I’ve yet to try.  So much food, so little time!

Kath’s quote: “One way can be learned by starting to see the magic in everything. Sometimes it seems to be hiding but it is always there. The more we can see the magic in one thing, a tiny flower, a mango, someone we love, then the more we are able to see the magic in everything and in everyone. Where does the mango stop and the sky begin?”- Joshua Kadison

Love-that is all.

I wrote this in my travel journal the morning after we had spent a very special evening:

As you know I have been traveling every year to Isla Mujeres since 2005 and I can honestly say that last evening was the most precious of a string of pearls that I call my Isla Memories.  I have seen the saying “Mi Cusa Es Su Casa” on many ceramic plaques.  I have purchased one for a friend and another one sits at my own front door.  But I have never truly understood the meaning until last evening.

I have written in the space about our dressmaker friend Hortencia: how she will allow you to select a pareo and when you return the next day, have a sun dress whipped up and waiting for you, matching shawl and all.  I have also made reference to her children and her adorable grandchildren.  We know Hortencia well enough by now, to know that she and her husband have worked hard to raise their family and to provide in a manner that all parents hope for. 

I have imagined Hortencia in her kitchen, as I have caught glimpses of the lunches that she has packed for her family, so that they can have a nutritious meal right at the store and not interrupt the flow of shoppers or disappoint anybody if she is not on site.  Last night I got to see Hortencia’s kitchen. 

It is truly a perfectly planned room, set away from the rest of the house with only a doorway in and out of the outdoor space that sits at the back of the house.  This way when Hortencia is cooking for her family (who all still reside with she and Papi), she will not heat up the rest of the house. 

She took the day off from the market stall yesterday, to do what we understand is a rare thing indeed.  She stayed home to watch over a pot of love-her own mole recipe.  The chicken must have simmered for hours as it was so tender, not in a stewed way but a moist, baked one. She served the casserole with a beautifully flavoured rice, her own guacamole, homemade tortilla chips, pickled peppers and huge stacks of tortillas.

The meal was absolutely delicious by any standards, but in truth, it had nothing to do with the taste of the ingredients because you could literally taste the love-the love of us, her Canadian friends, the love of her family (standing at a separate table so that we her guests could sit around her big dining table), the love of her Island and her country.  

The evening passed with jokes and stories animated with huge gestures to get the point across.  Simple English was spoken by Hortencia and her family.   Simple Spanish was streamed through Sister #3, Miguel, Dona and Paula all having worked hard to immerse themselves in the romantic language.  And thank heavens they had, because their contribution to the enjoyment of the evening for us all, was immense. 

We are a pack of travelling pet lovers and are all missing our babies back home.  Hortencia’s household is shared by two adorable Chihuahuas and a muscular and handsome pit bull.  So many of us got our canine snuggles in with the Chihuahuas nestling their noses under elbows and the pit bull guiding Sister #2’s hand back to the spot on his chest where he loved to be nuzzled.

At some point in the evening Hortencia’s son got out their huge family album to walk us through the faces and history of his family.  We too, went back through our archived photos on our digital cameras to provide images of our huge family assembled for a recent wedding.

We were reluctant to leave, but the kids needed to get to bed and all the adults obviously put in very long days.  We thought Hortencia might be tired but she laughingly admitted that she was “frio” (chilly).  Not surprisingly, we Canadians thought that the weather was pretty much perfect. Brother K gallantly offered his Winnipeg Jets jackets which she graciously accepted. 

We hadn’t known what to bring that would be a gesture of gratitude for the hospitality.  We didn’t want to insult the family by brining food, so we amassed a huge bouquet of flowers and toys for the grandkids.  How do you adequately thank someone who wants you to truly feel as if their home is your home?

Kath’s quote:“The home should be the treasure chest of living.”Le Corbusier

Love-that is all.

We are into our Isla routine of waking up with the sun.  We are rewarded over and over again with incredible colours and play of light and water.

We spent a lovely morning on the Caribe side of our little room and the delightful street patio.

D is really content this year to just stay put in the mornings.  I did some beach-combing while D read and sunned in the hammock.  He is learning how to truly relax and lap up the pleasures that the island has to offer.

In the late morning, we walked to the north Colonias to explore together. As much as I love Centro, the “neighbourhoods” offer a charm all their own.

And the people are just as gorgeous as the brightly coloured buildings.

I spot a place that I absolutely cannot resist capturing with my camera.  It has a familiar feel and then I realize that it is Lolo Lorena’s.  I have dined there only once and it was dark when I arrived and so I did not recognize it in the brilliant sunshine.

Lorena is across the street from a house where a person creates shell hangings that are illuminated.  I got a gorgeous one for our gazebo back home.  At $30 for a work of art, I was thrilled.

We found this little place for lunch only to find that they weren’t yet serving lunch.  We always seem to want to eat earlier than islanders.

So we stopped  (for our very first visit) at Iguana’s at Marina Pariso.  You might say that Iguana’s is appropriately named.   The lunch area is a shady spot under a canopy of leaves with beautiful lanterns adorning the boughs.

We shared lunch of fish and chips (fabulous fried fish and ok fries) and a simple but absolutely delicious onion and potato omelet.

With 2 icy cold coronas to wash it down and a beautiful setting, it was a great lunch.

We strolled down to the marina before winding our way back through the Colonias and our way home.

We actually wore ourselves out with the long walk home, so we had to rest up before we ventured out for the evening.

Kath’s quote: “Laziness is nothing more than resting before you get tired.” -Jules Renard

Love-that is all.