Monday, November 5, 2018

October 28 to November 03, 2018

Week 4 - and loving every minute!

It seems that when your vehicle breaks down on the roadside you can just walk away for months - this one we are told has been here for 6 months!




 More beautiful flowers.


 Allan fell heir to Bev Maguire's Puerto Morelos  walking stick - when we go walking in the mornings he takes it with us to ward off vicious dogs on the streets - and there are some! He is going to ensure he doesn't get bitten this year.


There are some beautiful wall Murals in our town - someone has that street art talent.



Produce in one of the fruit markets we 
shop at from time to time.




Our day at the beach this week was disappointing,


the winds were strong Northern winds and there were few people  on the beach.



We did stop for lunch at My Paradise, the above photo is of our french fried potatoes with melted cheese and bacon - mmmm so good! Just what we need is more fattening food - one would think the fries were enough. LOL!





From the shore we could see a long orange line running out into the water, so we took a walk to investigate.


This is the long floating tubes with a short skirt below for catching the seagrass (Sargasso) we were told.


The tubes are anchored with these huge cement blocks. You can see the orange line out in the water behind Allan. 


 Never have we seen the ocean this dirty - no beautiful aqua blue today as we are accustomed to seeing. Today it was a dirty brown colour - looking much like swamp water. Actually it looked angry. There was no fresh Sargasso in the water only the blacked aged Sargasso up on shore.







We went to Playa Del Carmen and had lunch and drinks at our favourite people watching spot "Pez Vela" while we waited for the bus to take us to Xcaret for the Day of the Dead festivities.


 

We were welcomed by these beautiful birds
 as we entered Xcaret.




The Guadeloupe Chapel

 Many workshops were set up for parents and children - this one was punching leather to make crafts.


Several Day of the Dead Alters were on display.







The highlight of the day/evening was a show in the Main Theatre - it was almost at capacity at the start of the performance which is 8,000 seats.


The evening started with everyone lighting a candle which was given to us upon our entrance, a minutes silence was held in memory of our families who had passed on before us.




The above photos show you the colourful costumes.
 

This is our Alter for Day of the Dead or in Spanish 
"dia de los Muertos"
The celebrations begin on October 31st and end on November 2nd


The first two websites give information on the Day of the Dead, its beginning and its meaning.

The third website is a full theatre performance at Xcaret - we were so far away from the stage (because of its size) I could not get photos that would give you a true picture of the events and costumes. Hope you enjoy the show as much as we did.





Many people here in Puerto Morelos had faces painted 
for Dia de los Muertos 


 Flower shops were full of flowers, especially the 
Flor De Muerto or flower of the dead which is the marigold. The fregrance of the marigold is beleived to guide the spirits of the dead back to earth.





 Some children also dress for Hallowe'en - which is held on October 31st. the same as back home. This is something new they just started celebrating it over the  last few years. Hallowe'en has been introduced by the Expats and conflicts with the celebrations of Dia de la Muertos. Some children are still trick or treating on November 1 and 2. They and the community are no doubt confused with the 2 celebrations overlapping on the 31st of October.


Big trucks in this little town have to make 3 attempts to turn their sharp corners.



Finally the driver made it. lol


More street art - beautiful.


The cool evening enjoyed by neighbours as they rest after a busy work day.


 Our refreshing evening cool down  after a walk about town which  leaves us hot and  sticky. 



Move Day of the Dead celebrations and dress up.



There was a contest at one of the parks for the best alter for Day of the Dead.


This little girl is making tortillas at one of the alters.







A closer look at what is included in the makeup of an alter.





This is Catrina who has  come to symbolize not only El Día de los Muertos and the Mexican willingness to laugh at death itself, but originally Catrina was an elegant or well-dressed woman, so it refers to rich people," de la Torre said. "Death brings this neutralizing force; everyone is equal in the end.

 Allan got to do some honey-do jobs this week - my own Mexican in his flip flops climbing a ladder - tsk, tsk! 



Well folks, that concludes another week in Paradise!

Stay safe, be happy and have a great week,


 God Bless!