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.

One of our many Isla restaurateur friends is Pollo. We met him years ago but only see him occasionally now as he is a hands-on Dad, a compassionate disaster fund-raiser and entrepreneur. Here are some Mango meals from the Food Musings Archives:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

We had watched his Facebook posts over the summer to see the building of his rooftop space and outdoor patio garden. Not surprisingly, it was the first place D wanted to go when he joined me on the island.

This beauty met us as we made our way from the restaurant to the patio. He/she simply wanted to play and we were happy to indulge him/her en route.

We were drawn to a large live edge plank table and benches. Luckily the table was open and we comfortably settled in.

One thing that Mango has always cleverly done is place an urn of “help yourself” coffee in their dining spaces. This way even if a server doesn’t make it over to you right away, you are content to sip coffee and imagine what beautiful culinary concoction you will select on this visit. You will notice that the patio is covered with brightly coloured tarps. I don’t know if they keep out the rain, but they certainly shield you from the sun. Strategically placed jumbo fans also get the air moving.

There were requests for stuffed chilies all around except for one order of their amazing French toast which I have so many pictures of, I chose not to add another and…

the Mayan scramble which I ordered. Oh my goodness, I was over the moon! This delicious mound of sauteed veggies and eggs sparkled in my mouth. The tastes were clean, fresh and absolutely addictive. I always order the stuff poblano but no more.

Service was as attentive as they could be with a full patio and restaurant. Somehow sitting on that patio, we didn’t really notice how long the food took.

Kath’s quote: “Food is for eating, and good food is to be enjoyed… I think food is, actually, very beautiful in itself”. -Delia Smith

Love never fails.