Food Musings

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

Isla Mujeres Trip Report-Day Twelve, Part One

February15

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We enjoyed the morning’s sunrise and coffee with two new Canadian neighbours at Luna d’Miel.

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I made a big ham and egg breakfast and then packed a lunch for our afternoon at north beach. It was a hot one and me being as freckled as I am, I spent the afternoon under an umbrella.

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We love the beach at any time but especially early in the day before the other beach lovers arrive. At this particular time, it felt like we had the beach all to ourselves.

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When there is no one else at the beach, the view is breathtaking and there is no one to disturb you as you escape into your book.

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Eventually it is time to stretch and take a walk so I head east on north beach (with my camera of course).

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The cool of our very own spot on the beach was waiting for me.

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Eventually we are joined by Sister #3 and Brother #3 who consistently visit the island at the same time as us. We are a family that loves to hang out together. You can likely tell that with my fair skin I don’t take after the same parent as my siblings.

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We were in and out of the crystalline waters all day to refresh ourselves.

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We enjoyed a late lunch time of sandwiches made of manchego cheese, cucumber, cilantro and lime mayo-oh yum! We made the hot walk home and hop into the shower and then head back into town again.

On a beach day such as this one, we do a lot of walking back and forth from North Beach/centro to Luna d’Miel on the Airport Road. We are very much looking forward to staying in town at Villas San Miquel this year. With a pool right in the courtyard, we may even decide not to go to the beach at all. We expect that refreshing breezes off the open ocean will cool us.

Kath’s quote:“A real friend is someone who takes a winter vacation on a sun-drenched beach and does not send a card.”–Farmer’s Almanac

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Love never fails.

 

 

Isla Mujeres 2014 Day 4-Date Night with the Wee One

March25

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After our late night of birthday celebration, I missed another sunrise.  I vowed to not make a habit of this and I don’t think that I missed another thereafter.  We ventured down to the beach before the day got too warm with the Wee One in tow.  I had already had a chance to introduce her to my Isla G.F.s- Jean and Jan, both Grandmas themselves (although it is hard to tell by their sexy figures in this photo).  Only other Isla-loving Grandmas could understand just how excited I was to be sharing the island with our first grandbaby and she with them. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with these ladies but they are good friends none the less.  We connect on Isla every year and by Facebook throughout the rest of the time. Say what you will about the evils of social media, I am grateful to be able to keep in touch with friends all over the world.

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Do you know that the popsicle man who appears on North Beach has pulled his cart all the way from one of the south colonias?  When we were in the vicinity of Limon we saw where he parked his cart in the evening and many days we watched him push his cart past our apartment on the airport road.

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Here’s a photo of him in 2013.

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And another in 2012.

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So too, I recognize this hard-working vendor from previous years.

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Here she is in 2012.

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Ah North Beach, this image gets me through our long winters.

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I love the wispy clouds in this shot.

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I did eventually pull myself away from the beach, to stop and see how things were going with the Canadians playing the US in the Olympic hockey game (Dona, Sister #3 and Daughter #1 were there a head of me).

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That evening, we had agreed to babysit for J1 and J2 who had postponed the celebration of their wedding anniversary until they could spend it together on Isla.  They chose Limon and Sergio had saved them a cozy table in the corner of the garden.

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They started with what looks to me like bruschetta, toasted over an open fire, just like they prepare it in Italy.

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Glazed pork.

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I know that this was a decadent lobster dish and that they raved about absolutely everything they tasted but especially about Sergio’s stellar hospitality.

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We could have had a little something at the casa but we thought, what the heck and walked into town for dinner with the Wee One at the Fisherman’s Co-op.  The sun was just setting as we arrived.

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Although our dinners looked very similar, mine was parmesan fish

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and D’s was almond crusted fish-both delish.

As we reflected on another lovely day on Isla, we felt very blessed that we could spend the evening with our precious granddaughter, while giving her hard-working and sleep-deprived parents a much needed break.

Kath’s quote: “Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.”- Welsh Proverb

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The Wee One, hours after she was born. 

Love-that is all.