We awoke to a lovely sunrise. It was Sunday and our plans were to catch the English church service at the beautiful church across from Mango.

There turned out not to be services in English any more so we just spent some quiet time in the sanctuary

and then met the gang at Mango’s new garden area (follow link here for the details).

As soon as we walked “home”  we got a text saying that lifelong friends from another part of Canada would be on the next ferry.

So we jumped in a cab to meet them. They were hungry and thirsty, as well as being tired from an early morning flight. But they had the energy to stay in Centro for lunch so we pulled their luggage to Bally Hoo (see link here for details).

Their cab dropped us off en route to their hotel further up the airport strip.

We spent the afternoon by the sea until they rested and walked to join us for supper in Centro.

We caught this glimpse of a sunset as we walked along.

We started at Nash’s because there was another Jets game that evening. But the place was extra loud and then a jazz trio turned up to perform, so we made our escape. We knew that we were being old fogies but we couldn’t hear/see the game or hear each other.

So we made our way just further along Hidalgo to Angelo’s. We had a big feed of seafood (see details in link here).

It was the evening of the Oscar’s so we watched the last of the presentations on TV with a Spanish voice over. Many of my family and my good friends were now on the island. I was feeling very blessed.

Kath’s quote: “Do not overcook this dish. Most seafoods…should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” –Jeff Smith

Love never fails.

On one of our final days on the island, D declared that we had not yet visited Mango Cafe. I love Mango but because I knew we had all kinds of fixings in our fridge and cupboard and because our departure was fast approaching, I was hesitant to go. I simply cannot waste food. Doug had a great suggestion as to what to do with it, so I agreed knowing that the food fixings would be going to a good home.

We have two favourites that we ordered each year-the stuffed poblano and the coconut French toast.

We have always marvelled as to how the stuffed chilies are made-does the filling go in already cooked to simply be reheated when plunged into the deep fat fryer? This is our best guess.

I try very hard to eat these with the fruit and not the syrup. The syrup takes it from hearty breakfast to decadent dessert!

We love the varied colours of the cozy restaurant and always feel at home. Perhaps it is the décor, perhaps it is the staff that are as cordial as the restaurant’s owner. We befriended Polo a number of years ago and are so excited to see his lovely little family expand.

Kath’s quote:  “I will stop loving you when an apple grows from a mango tree on the 30th of February”.-author unknown

Love never fails.

Up for another glorious sunrise.

We walked into town to say goodbye to Brother #3 & L (with their sad pouty faces on).

We snagged a cab to Mango Cafe.

I chose the eggs bennie on chia leaves, mushrooms and curry hollandaise.

D had the Stuffed Pobalno Chili. Everything was absolutely excellent as always.

We made it for the last 20 minutes of church.

We strolled home.

I headed out for a last opportunity of beachcombing.

It was a hot one as the clouds had subsided as well as the breeze.

So we conserved our energy and simply hung out for the rest of the day at Luna d’ Miel.

Me, showing off my tan (and my wrinkly neck).

We packed for our morning departure and strolled into Centro for our progressive dinner:

Our fist appetizer was a shared Bimbo Dog.

Next course was a shared order of Coconut Shrimp & Dos Xs at Miminoes.

We were fascinated by these two little girls that we could see from our seats. They were apparently fishing with a piece of fishing line.

Our next stop was Bally Hoo for a shared Pasta Marinera, margaritas and wine.

We caught one last glorious sunset and then headed to the square for Churros.

On the way home we grabbed Pizza from Suny’s for the next day. We shared a lovely bottle of Camenere with the stars and waves. We had a fabulous holidays and it was so leisurely we kept saying: “We’re still here!”

Kath’s quote: “I think that when two people are able to weave that kind of invisible thread of understanding and sympathy between each other, that delicate web, they should not risk tearing it. It is too rare, and it lasts too short a time at best….” ― M.F.K. Fisher

Love never fails.

Save

We have gotten to know a couple of Isla Mujeres’ restaurant owner/operators particularly well over the years. Fredy, Sergio, Ziggy and Polo all contribute to the Isla Mujeres culinary scene in their own distinctive ways.

Recently when scooting through the Colonias in a golf cart, Polo of Mango Cafe was driving by and waved us down. This is his wife and beautiful baby.

The menu at Mango Café is inventive and Polo’s dishes are exquisitely crafted. Each plate comes out of his kitchen looking like it was professionally styled. His take on traditional fare elevates each offering to the extent that none of us can stay away. We always pay Mango Café a visit during our time on Isla Mujeres, sometimes more than once.

Dinners are definitely memorable but it is Polo’s breakfasts that we particularly love.

On our most recent visit, Don had the stuffed poblano chili. When I first tasted this dish on Isla, I couldn’t believe that I had ever thought of stuffing eggs into a chili before, especially in the land of chilies relleno.

D loved the breakfast quesadillas. Look how pretty this plate was?

Victoria could not resist ordering Polo’s French Toast; a dish that our entire family loves.

In fact, last year just before they left the island, they packed in for one last feed.

I adored the Eggs Benedict with curried hollandaise, crispy bacon, mushrooms, chia (like spinach) & cheesy potatoes. “Heaven, I’m in heaven…..”

Kath’s quote: “We did not immediately come up with béarnaise, Bercy, and poivrade sauces. It took more than a single attempt to discover reduced cream, marinade, and forcemeat. We did not straightaway invent barding fat, the touch of garlic, and the thin slice of truffle under the skin…. While genius is spontaneous, its manifestations nevertheless require the passage of time before glorious perfection is achieved. This is particularly true in the area of food and drink…. Magical dishes, magical words: a great cook is, when all is said and done, a great poet. . . . For was it not a visit from the Muses that inspired the person who first had the idea of marrying rice and chicken, grape and thrush, potatoes and entrecôte, Parmesan and pasta, aubergine and tomato, Chambertin and cockerel, liqueur brandy and woodcock, onion and tripe?”-‘Cinquante Ans a Table’

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

We were awake for our last beautiful sunrise from bed.

Then we packed up and headed to Mango’s for Breakfast.   D finally got to taste the famed coconut French toast and I asked the server what she would recommend, without hesitation, she said the chile relleno that had been stuffed with eggs, ham and bacon (?) then rolled in a crunchy batter and deep-fried.

She said that if she were to die tomorrow, she would hope that this would be her last meal.

I love the décor of Mango’s complete with coloured different coloured barn board, heavy old tables and funky painted chairs.  I even loved the multi-coloured brick flour.  Polo is truly an exceptional chef, host and manager.

We headed back to the airport road to pick up our luggage to drop off at Casa el Pio while we still had the golf cart.  Once D returned it, we proceeded on foot back to Luna d’Meil for your last hours of reading and relaxing by our favourite scene of the crashing ways of the Caribe.  For sustenance along the way, we finally got a chance to stop in on our favourite liquid and popsicle place on the corner of the Casa del Pio street for lime popsicles.

D had stashed away two ceremonial beers for us to drink together and we had done so, sitting on a flat bed of coral.  My gaze went to the stony edge in case there was a heart shell or a nugget of sea glass that I had missed.  After scooping up another handful of beach glass, I was proceeding back the way we had come, when my foot broke through a shelf of coral and really surprised me.  I grabbed onto D and would have pulled him down, had he not been able to settle me and warn me that it would not be productive if we both lost our footing.  D had a couple of punctures around his ankles from the coral and I was pretty badly scraped up.  But we washed and bound up each others’ wounds and we not horribly traumatized by the adventure.

We gathered up the last of our snacks and beverages and left gifts and messages for Isobel.  We love this lovely woman and she was and always has been so kind and generous with us.  Just as we started our walk into Centro one last time, we saw her whizzing by to start her day on her golf cart.  Later that evening we saw her again with a golf cart full of family celebrating a Saturday night like the rest of us.  We tried to financial thank her for her rides in her retro golf cart and the extra trouble that she went to with white Christmas lights, tables, chairs and table cloths for our birthday happy hour party for Sister #2 and Brother #3. We also sent her an email booking for 2014.  We have also booked La Brisas, a couple of doors to the north, so that between the house and the two units, we will all have a comfortable place to stay.  I had also attempted to book the Roca Mar beach houses and the studios of Gladys’s new hotel but they had already been secured for 2014.    We had dropped in to visit Don Salomé, who had shown us with pride that at communal kitchen was being built at the east end of the swimming pool.  We couldn’t translate perfectly what the kitchen will be used for, but a communal kitchen would make sense.

We also enjoyed a cold beer on the stools at the corner of the Argentinean steakhouse (there is a new one in the old La Luna that Jill from Casa el Pio recommended but we never got there).

Being our last day, we realized that of all the beautiful photos we had taken, we had very few of the two of us so we tried this selfie.

When we needed a light lunch to tie us over, we dropped in Poc Chuc’s original location where D had

a traditional poc chuc torta

and I a fish torta.  Both were so delicious that we mentioned buying another couple for the plane ride home.  In the end we opted for a couple of airport pizzas that were surprisingly good.

Before dinner we had assembled at the old pier at Play Sol for our tradition of one last sunset.  D made kahlua cooladas and we finished up beer and wine along with snacks of Sister #3’s guacamole and chips.

The three sisters and Brother #3 (Sister # 3’s twin, follow?)

Here’s an out take of the photo taken just before.

And here is our entire gang: front row-Sis in law, Moi, Newbie, Do-na, back row-Sister # 2, Sister #3, my D, Bro-in-law and Brother #3.  Table for nine please.

As we took our last photos of each other and the setting sun, we ran into an acquaintance from the beach.  She was touched by the three sisters, as she had just recently lost hers.  I asked if she used to come to Isla too and she said no, but her sister was the person who first introduced her to the idea of holidaying in Mexico.

We celebrated my Bro-in-law’s birthday at Olivia’s with an amazing dinner.

We love all the little touches of this Middle eastern Restaurant.  The owner/manager is a fantastic (handsome) host. Andrea was our server from Toronto and our wine and beverages were served by a singing server.

Food was exceptional-starting with a Turkish dish called Lacmajun which when translated means “meat on bread”. Besides ground beef it included pine nuts, tomato sauce and parsley with a tahini drizzle over top.

I had Shepherd’s Salad,

D and many others Pastille,

Sis-in-law, Moussakka

and Bro-in-law, Moroccan Fish.

The perfect  way to end our perfect vacation.

Kath’s quote: “Too much work, and no vacation, Deserves at least a small libation. So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses; Work’s the curse of the drinking classes.”-Oscar Wilde

Love-that is all.