Home again!

Dear Mary Lois picked us up at the Clipper on April 29th, and then that night we had a feast at Mike and Brenda's in Sooke to welcome us home. Ah, yes, we miss Mexico - especially the HEAT - but it is lovely to be back by the Pacific Ocean too.

We were SO glad to see our 2 cats at our house in Parksville, Sitges, posing on the buffet, and Dax, lounging on the window seat. We have now spent over a week with them and they are all over us, so guess they didn't forget us after all.

Closing up and saying goodbye

A lovely farewell dinner with Rob and Joanne, a final feed to the street cats at the Bookstore, and then we drained, covered and packed up our pool and back patio for the summer. All the plants are now at the front to make it easier for Val to water everything while we are away. So sad to leave.....!

Fond farewells

Friends from New Jersey, Mark and Sharon, returned to PM just in time for us to get together a couple of times before we leave for Canada. We had drinks and a visit at Excellence, their hotel, and later had dinner and live music from Kathy and her band at David Lau's.


As you can see, we have thoroughly spoiled dear little Fox, who now enjoys lounging in a lawn chair in the living room.

Saying goodbye

Gosh, only a week today until we fly back to Canada.......how can the 6 months have passed so quickly??? This rather dark evening shot is part of the town square in PM. The night we got back to town from Ek Balam, we had supper with Lee - right out in front of the bookstore, while we worked.
Miki and Lee enjoying great Portobello Relleno's from Triny's next door!
Good thing it was very quiet - we don't usually eat and work at the same time! We will miss the store and all the wonderful customers we have met this winter, from far and wide.

Critters

At our house we are caring for a wild little street cat, who will only let me take pictures through the window........and of course Fox, our friend Sarah's little rescue dog. While Lee was at our house, she looked after them. She and Fox are now fast friends.
At Ek Balam, we had the pleasure of Lee's 2 dogs, Luna, a husky (I know what is a husky doing in Mexico - someone dumped her) and Flaco (which actually means skinny, but as you can see Flaco - also one of Lee's rescues - is a fat healthy boy now). She also has 3 feral cats, 2 black and one grey and white, who are fed every day and are shy but affectionate.


Then there are 4 street dogs who are also being fed outside the grounds, including a dear wee puppy who we were unfortunately not able to get a picture of.

Ek Balam

On April 14 we drove to Genesis resort at Ek Balam, while Lee, the owner, had a well deserved break from the 24/7 routine of running the hotel by staying in our casa in Puerto Morelos. We stayed until the 19th, then came back to PM to meet Lee, have supper, and enjoy the evening with her as she stayed another night.



This time we stayed in the Luna room, with its own little patio, overlooking the lovely pool. We helped out while we were there by cleaning the pool, helping with shopping, organizing the library, working on the wifi system, and cleaning some rooms the day we left. It was fun, but you can sure see how running a resort can wear you down!! Might have to rethink one of those retirement fantasies of running a B & B some day.....!
Luckily, Lee has Pedro and Letitia, who are her manager, cook, cleaner, gardener and good friends. These 2 are such sunny delightful people, always with a ready smile and willing to help.
Pedro's nephews - Marcus, Modesto and oops - I have forgotten the youngest's name!)are part of the team - the boys do watering of Lee's extensive gardens, clean the pool, and whatever chores Pedro gives them to do. Lovely boys!

Celebrations

We were at home by the pool one afternoon and could hear horns honking from several streets away. Not an unusual sound in Mexico, but still.......! Eventually, we realized there was some procession and it was going up and down every street in our neighbourhood. Grabbed the camera and sure enough, it was one of those glorious 15th Birthday celebrations for a local girl. Families go all out - a fancy dress (often looks like a wedding dress), a huge dinner for all and sundry, and in this case, a fully decorated parade, that was at least a block long. Music, people dressed to the nines - all to celebrate when a girl turns 15. Sometimes these poor families go into debt for years to pull it off, but when you think about how her life might end up - she could be married, have kids, and a hard life in the next couple of years - it is a wonderful thing for her to be honoured in such a way once in her life.

Wednesday night we went for dinner and live blues at Caktuz - the "unplugged" version of their regular Saturday blues show. It was very nice - and we had the best steak in town!