More Weekly Highlights

Week # 9

December 2nd to 8th, 2018

Another beautiful week in "Paradise"

Our birds provide daily entertainment.

The property tenants behind us are feeding their hens which means several birds are taking full advantage of the free food.

 We have had and still do have problems with birds pooping on the walls surrounding our back yard and pool, someone suggested that having a plastic owl will keep them away so we bought two. Hahahahaha - you can see how well they work.

This young lady works at one of the taco shops in town.

 Allan was one of  the victims of the Ketchup Scam at Chedraui this week. We were standing in line waiting to go through checkout when someone bumped into his back.  He checked his hip pocket (with his wallet in it) the wallet was still there, but now there was ketchup on his back - first part of the scam. A friend we have known for years came from another check out lineup and gave us tissues to wipe off the ketchup. As I was wiping it off his clothes a nice well dressed young man pointed out the bathrooms and suggested Allan go there to clean up. This is the second part of the scam. We knew of this happening to others so I said - "No thank you, we are managing ok." He smiled and left. This common to the world scam has found its way to Puerto Morelos. One sprays you with ketchup, another comes along and offers to go the the bathroom with you to help clean up, this is the "Good Samaritan". He or she goes to the bathroom with you and this is where you are alone with them and they lift your wallet. Thankfully we follow local groups on facebook and were forewarned about the scam which avoided Allan of losing his wallet and any physical harm that may have come with it.

The little Great Kiskadee is back most days to use our pool.

We have the greatest restaurant "La Cabana" at the end of our street "Goleta" on Timon that serves the best burgers in the whole of Puerto Morelos. They have been serving beef dishes only until this past Wednesday when they added seafood to their menu.  Their hours are from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

 Everything on the menu is prepared and/or cooked right in front of you. Currently the fish menu is cocktails and ceviche. 

Charlie Brown, who is known by everyone and is always on the community dock of Puerto Morelos, lost his boat in a storm, (light hurricane) just before we arrived in early October. Due to the storm being an act of nature there is no insurance coverage so some of his friends asked my assistance in setting up a gofundme account in an attempt to raise enough funds to replace his boat and motor. Hopefully we are able to raise enough to meet their goal.

 A new Chedraui Selecto has been built on the Port side. 

It is smaller than the Chedraui on the highway but is to 

carry more items and brands the tourist are familiar with. 

It has a great beer, wine and spirits selections too.

The new Chedraui will provide a boost to the number of customers  to the tourist shops along 
Rafael E Malgar and Rojo Gomez.

We went to the beach a couple of times this week, 

the first day the winds were high,

 and the port was closed. Many people were 

just sitting and chatting in small groups.

There was a tremendous amount of Sargasso along the beach and many volunteers working hard to clear it away.

The second day, about 3 days later, the winds were calm, the sea grass was all cleared away and life was good.

This week we met the Chedraui parking lot volunteers who work at the highway store.

 Alejandro 

Marcelino

and Shaid. These men work shift work every day between 7 am and 11 pm.  They do not receive a wage from Chedraui therefore they work for tips only. We very rarely use their services because we walk to and from the grocery store with pull carts to carry our groceries. Upon a request from a friend I posted on "Friends of Puerto Morelos" on facebook giving information on these volunteers. The post has received many positive comments. You can view the post at this site:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PuertoMorelos/?multi_permalinks=10156577195776251&notif_id=1544243709681994&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic

A little excitement to end the week, on Saturday morning we found we had only a gravity fed water supply from the water tank on the roof. Allan investigated and found the pump had seized, a little WD40 and some TLC had it running again soon. Pumps and other equipment have a short life here due to the salt in the air and in the water to a small degree. The water originates from the cenotes which contain a brackish water. This means a trip to either Cancun or Playa del Carmen this week to purchase a replacement pump. The old pump will not keep running for very long and we don't want to be without water when our company arrives.  Dwayne and his family are coming for Christmas - Yippee!

The street dogs certainly know their pecking order - 

the grey dog pulled this garbage bag down the street 

and the 2 blond dogs followed at a distance. 

When the grey dog was satisfied with his location 

he sat and started to eat from the bag. You see 

the other 2 dogs sitting back patiently 

waiting their turn to eat. Interesting.

We washed our windows this week, you see we had a little help. There were 2 newts the same colour and size running back and forth on the window. They are cute little critters and they eat bugs, nice to have around.

It is hard to believe we have been here 9 weeks already, how fast the time goes. This week we went to Playa del Carmen with Louise and Gaston Begin, had dinner with Susan and Maurice Gogal. We met with the Gogals again later in the week to have a drink at Don Ernesto's on the beach, before Susan headed back to Canada.

Allan and I feel very fortunate to be here and remain in close contact with family and friends back home at the same time. This luxury is available to us via the Internet, such an amazing tool. Our sons, their children and our facebook friends chat with us daily.  The telephone is another option but not like face to face chats which leave you feeling like you had a more personal visit.  

Hope this upcoming week is a fulfilling week for each of you, stay safe, be happy and keep a smile on your face - it's contagious.