Sunday Siete

 The mail must go through!

One of my favorite Juarez doors.

Saturday was a beautiful day at Avalon Cove.

Just noticed this wreath today.

 Fountain at Maria del Mar.

 Another favorite Juarez door.

View of the Avalon bridge.

Six Pack Saturday

I'm looking out my window and this could be a fantastic beach day!  I was getting a little nutty after three more Norte days.  Keep your fingers crossed because I need a good swim before I leave for home!

Be it ever so humble, it's got a lot of Christmas spirit!

Who can resist a lavender door!

Gorgeous blooms!

My favorite neighborhood casa!  Can I have the Bug?

They've got Sol.

Sometimes I just can't resist a hot mess!

Five Pic Friday

Only a few more days left of our month on Isla, so I thought I'd just post a few quick photos. I'm hoping the wind will die down a bit so we can spend some time on the beach today!

That's Amore!

We've been wanting to eat at Pita Amore since last June, but out of sight, out of mind. And it seemed like whenever we thought about dining there, it was the wrong day or the wrong time.  Here's Craig posing in front back in June.  Its location is one of my favorite old buildings on the island, back on Guerrero just north of the square and supermercado. 

And here's Pita Amore all lit up for Christmas!

Anyway, yesterday after Craig's dive, he was famished and we decided to see if Pita Amore was open.  Yes!

I chose the Chicken Pita, and Craig ordered the Classic.

Here's my Chicken.  Craig wolfed his Classic so quickly, I didn't get a photo.  Both pitas were wonderful, so it was amore for both of us!  It's a definite recommend!

  Outside, this cute dog was posing like a statue.  He's patiently waiting for his to go order?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot

Like Feliz Navidad! Christmas decorations are springing up all over the island, and religious processions go to and from the church daily. If you blink, you miss something! It's a great time of year to be on Isla!

The Tamale Experiment

Sunday morning on our walk, we heard a familiar cry -- ta-ma-leeees -- ta-ma-leeees.  I'd been wanting to try a tamale ever since we arrived this trip, so curiosity got the best of me.  The guy had stopped his trike to sell to another man, so we rushed over to investigate.

He spoke no English, we speak very little Spanish, so we indicated dos and he told us veinte.  And I stepped in with the camera for the photo.

Shortly after we walked down the street, it hit me that I wasn't really going to try those tamales.  I'm a street food chicken and not willing to risk my intestines for a taste from the cart, especially since I had no clue about the man's culinary reputation.  I justified my 20 pesos as a donation for the photo, and decided to let Craig be the guinea pig.

In the whole vein of  Give it to Mikey -- He'll eat anything (remember those cereal commercials?), Craig gave it a whirl.  After two bites he proclaimed it to be fairly disgusting.  We think the tamales were of the boiled variety. 

24 hours later, Craig showed no signs of intestinal distress, so there were no victims from our little escapade.

The whole saga reminds me of the Science Fair when my son was in fourth grade.  While most kids presented mom and dad experiments, two children from Michael's class fed junk food to the family cat for two weeks and charted the cat's physical symptoms.

Thankfully, Tom survived.  (And so did Craig.)

Got Purses?

I'm always trying to sneak photos of beach vendors, and the women who sell the Guatemalan handicrafts on Playa Norte are my favorite subjects.

While visiting friends at their beach location at Maria del Mar yesterday, I finally decided to bite the bullet.  I dread haggling over price, but that seemed the best way to buy a purse I'd been wanting and get a few decent photos! 

As my friend and I were looking at their wares, the older woman joked to her younger counterpart that we were muy barato.   Si, I understand a little bit of Espanol!

We both ended up with purses, but our heads were spinning from the cambio process.  Ha!

I was trying to be muy barato, but I think she got me!

They had some cute beaded bracelets that I'm now regretting I didn't buy.  Only 19 more shopping days till Christmas and I haven't even started!  

Hidalgo's Newest Talent!

Now appearing live on Hidalgo -- it's Mini Hula Hoop Girl!  She's adorable!

A Soggy Sunset

Yesterday was Friday, so we headed over to The Soggy Peso in late afternoon for a plate of crispy beef tacos.  In the middle of all the frivolity, Craig turned to me and demanded (yes, he's a very demanding man) that I get photos of the sunset.  Actually, I'm very glad he pointed it out because it was a beauty!

 

And by the way, the crispy beef tacos were not soggy -- they were delicious!  If you missed Friday at the Soggy, you now have to wait a whole 'nother week to taste that wonderful creation!

Only one more Friday for crispy beef tacos for us.  : (

A Really Big Show!

It all started when Craig and I noticed these posters cropping up all over the island on utility poles.  Los Enanitos Toreros de Mexico.  Before long, a large group of us had plans to meet at the Plaza de Toros on Tuesday afternoon to see the bullfighters of small stature.  After all, how many times would we have the opportunity to view an event like that! 

We decided we'd better go early to get the best seats in the house.  If the event started at 3:30, we'd all meet around 3:00 p.m.  Tee hee. Seriously, what were we thinking!

While waiting in La Gloria to catch a cab to Plaza de Toros, this man came barreling down the road on his horse headed north.  Little did we know he was galloping into El Centro for a parade that probably started at 3:30 p.m.

After arriving at the bullring south of Villa la Bella on the Caribe side, we soon figured out the bullfight would not be starting anytime soon.  Tickets weren't being sold yet! 

Sometime around 4:00 p.m., the van with Los Enanitos Toreros arrived. 

Next came the bulls of small stature.  Meanwhile, we were still sitting at tables drinking Sol and Coca Cola, waiting to buy tickets.

A few cans of beer almost always call for a trip to the bano.  Hmmmmm.  Note to self:  Check for banos before consuming copious cans of beer! 

Finally somewhere around 5:00 p.m., the stands started to fill with people from all over the island, including quite a few we knew!  Hi Tiff!

Vendors traipsed the rickety corrugated metal stands peddling everything from nuts to popcorn.  Here's a rack with donuts. (Okay, that was bad!)

The comic matadors waited outside, posing for photos with fans.

Sunset came and went while we waited.  Brrrrrr.  I could have used a stadium blanket!

Fans continued to file past us into the stands, many dressed in cowboy hats and warm sweaters.

We bought more snacks and waited.  Even cotton candy man was making the rounds!

Craig and I disagree on the time the event finally started, but it was post sunset.  Finally, men on horseback, including the mayors of Cancun and Isla Mujeres, rode into the ring and circled.  As always, political speeches ensued and went on for quite awhile.  Love the lone female's getup!

As always, we got the rear view.  Finally, almost three hours after the time on the posters, the main act, Los Enanitos de Toreros, entered the ring.  Here's a short film clip that sums it all up!

We didn't stay for the entire show because frankly, we had to pee!  But we did out last, out survive  all our friends!

A weird time was had by all!