Oct 2, 2018 - Fun in Mexico

We had a wonderful day, we went on a day trip to Mexico. We drove about 65 miles to Weslaco, Texas and then took highway 1015 directly into Neuro Progress Mexico. This is a very popular Mexican town with South Texans and snowbirds visiting the area in the winter. This was our first trip into this part of Mexico, we loved it. We parked our car in a parking lot right next to the bridge for $2 a day. We walked across the bridge, taking pictures of the Rio Grande River in the middle of the bridge. You can walk right into Mexico without showing...

Oct 1, 2018 - Huatulco, Mexico

We had an enjoyable dinner and show on the ship-at-sea with our new British mate, John (Boy) Walton. He’s been a lot of fun to talk to. In fact, he’s about the only reason we “dine” in the formal dining room versus the Buffet Line – we don’t want to leave him to dine alone ;-) The show was a lot of singing and dancing with a theme of “New Orleans”. This cast of folks works very hard to please us and I have to give it to them. I enjoyed their shows more than I have some “professional” shows in big cities. Our next stop is Huatulco. I was a...

Sep 29, 2018 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Today we visited Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It is a fairly small town, but huge on vacationers as you can tell by the number of condos along the shore line. Our guide told us that this area really began to get popular in the 70’s. At that time they only had around 6,000 folks actually living here, no electricity or plumbing, extremely limited roads and no airport; boats were the main transportation to the area and the condo builders “shipped in” 10,000 additional workers to build the city. The guide also mentioned that the condos that we saw...

Sep 3, 2018 - Rainy Day in Cancun

We woke up to rain today which finally lowered the temperature. We ate lunch back at the food stalls at Parque de Las Palapas and took shelter from the storm at the indoor-outdoor bar where we found $1 margaritas last night. For dinner we tried Pericos but there were no other customers to share the saddle bar stools so we had one margarita and moved on. We tried La Parilla complete with a mariachi band but LindaRose was looking for BBQ ribs we thought we'd seen on their website. Not on the menu. Finally we settled on Labnah, a charming...

Sep 2, 2018 - Isla Mujeres and Cancun

We said adios to the 3 cats at Lisa's condo in Playa del Carmen this morning. Lisa will return from Colombia tonight and they will be reunited. LindaRose and I are spending our last two nights in Cancun. The ADO bus ride took an hour and as we were walking to Hotel Plaza Caribe, LindaRose was pickpocketed. We spent an hour reporting the theft to her credit card companies and then went in search of something to eat. Cancun can be pretty dead on a Sunday. We opted to take the ferry to Isla Mujeres. We stopped at my old haunts Rolandi's, JAX,...

Aug 31, 2018 - Last Night in Playa del Carmen

We treated ourselves to an Italian dinner at Negromaro on 5th Avenue and later explored 38th Street. Unlike the usual t-shirt shops and cafes, this street has upscale restaurants and shops. We happened upon one featuring Ladies' Night and free gin and tonics at 8:30. The surprise was that Bombay Sapphire Gin was being poured.

Aug 30, 2018 - Hammocks

We located La Casa de Las Hamacas today and bought two hammocks. Choosing a color was the hardest part. Yucatan hammocks are known for their strength and bright colors. These are the real deal, not the ones sold to tourists at inflated prices. Descendants of Mayans who live in the Yucaatan sleep in hammocks with no beds to be found in their homes. From Everything Playa del Carmen: Hammocks are the essence of life between two palm trees swaying the in the breeze with a cool drink but they are also part of life in the Yucatan for those who...

Aug 28, 2018 - Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos is located halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. This fishing village has resisted resort development and has zoning in place to restrict building height. It is a pleasant small town with just the right number of shops, restaurants, bars, and sightseeing offerings. We arrived before noon and stopped for Eggs Benedict. After we walked around the plaza we signed up at Marina Pelicanos for a glass-bottom boat tour which included snorkeling on the Great Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world....

Aug 26, 2018 - Eggs Benedict "Birthday"

We seaarched online for a restaurant that served Eggs Benedict, LindaRose's favorite brunch item. We weren't disappointed at La Vagabunda. I told the waiters it was LindaRose's birthday, an untruth for sure, but she was served complimentary flan for dessert. She rated her eggs a 7.5 out of 10. The restaurant has been in business since 1996, some kind of record in Playa del Carmen. La Vagabunda 5ta Av entre Calle 24 y 26 www.vagabundaplaya.com

Aug 25, 2018 - Travelling to start

August 23 & 24 (Friday / Saturday) I love travelling, but the worst thing about travelling is the actual travel days. Air travel in the States is much worse because of the level of security, the impossibility to have luggage moved on to more than one location at a time, so needing to go through pick up luggage everytime, go through customs, and checks. And as your travel agent rarely allows for this additional time, you are always against the clock. I attempted to get out of the air port to see Mexico City at night by taking a town bus from...

Aug 22, 2018 - Cozumel and Tall Ships

We took the ferry to Cozumel this morning because the Tall Ships were in port. Mexcio, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, and Brazil were represented and we went aboard each ship. Afterwards we shopped at the artisans' market and had fish tacos at La Mission. We also visited a couple of bars and met other tourists. Dick's Dive 5th Avenue Norte, No. 50 dicksdive.com Free tacos on Sundays Wet Wendy's Margarita House 5th Avenue Norte, No. 53 www.wetwendys.com La Mission Avenida Rafael Melgar www.lamissioncozumel.com

Aug 22, 2018 - Nostalgic Paamul and Akumal

LindaRose lived beachside in Paamul when she drove to Mexico for the first time in 1992. She and her husband Brian stayed in the park in their RV. Now there's a restaurant and hotel on the property in addition to RV sites. We enjoyed swimming in the Caribbean here with no sign of the Sargasso seaweed which is plaguing much of the Riviera Maya coast. Akumal, on the other hand, has become a tourist complex. This is where I swam with the dolphins years ago. On the way home we stopped at Wichoo's in Playa del Carmen. The Best Cheap Eats in...