Random stuff pt 1

The time for our departure has come and gone. We're home now loving our pets but hating the cold and a few aspects of being home. For now, here's some looking back on Merida, some day trips/overnights, friends and other random things that may or may not interest you. I'll do this in a couple installments to make it seem like it's not as cumbersome as it really is. Our life in Mx;

Outdoor cooking with Amber - she's making a killer Strudel with my help, of course. Amber and John do all their cooking outside using special ovens, grills and other special cooking devices that they've invented. The food was superb and the company was great.

Plenty of extra hands and Margaritas. All this between pool dipping.

Slow roasted pork made for John's Ukrainian Stroganoff. This takes hours to prepare. It's melt in your mouth good.

Swimming with the fishes. Some of these guys were a good 24+" long.  They got transported about 4 miles from the sea during a hurricane. As said earlier, Merida and the Yucatan are on a plate of land with water underneath. This Cenote is about 30 mins from downtown Merida.http://yucatantoday.com/en/topics/san-crisanto-mangroves

New friends and accomplices swimming in the Cenote. Maria & Gary

We got poled (a cute guy used a pole aka Venus style through the mangroves) to the swimming Cenote. Saw some flatdogs (gators) in the mangrove waters on the way. Little flatdogs but still.  No gators where we swam, though. We asked.

We stopped at playa telchac after going to the above mangroves.

Dos Equis, cerviche and grilled fish at one of the many roadside fish joints. This one's in Telchac

Yet one more sunset. This one's in Chelum. 20 mins from the house.

We got upgraded from the back pool view room an ocean front bigger room at http://www.sandcastleinnmexico.com/

The pool area. The owner took us to the art show we were in and brought us shopping.
* Downside, the owner is a bit hard of hearing and likes to blast Fox news ALL day. She loves to loudly quote Rush Limbaugh :( ........sometimes while your peacefully floating in the pool. Oy!

Mike's new dog. He (not Mike) and his family lived on our courtyard walls