Our first days in Cancun, Yucatan

A new destination for us: Mexico. We leave Toronto with a temperature of -25 and can hardly wait to find ourselves in a sunny and warm place.

We arrive at the Cancun airport where we arranged for a pick-up that will bring us to the Hacienda de Castilla in the heart of Cancun. The van is there, with 2 drivers! Their English is about zero and Marleyne's Spanish not yet at the level where we can have a conversation. So, the ride is quiet.

We will spend three night in Hacienda de Castilla.

We do not expect much from Cancun but we like to have a little bit of time to get familiar with the country before exploring! The area is a popular one, the kids play in the street, music and TV sounds can be heard from the houses besides the hotel...

Well, the exploration begins after unpacking and showering: we asked the friendly Paul at the reception where we can go and have a bite to eat.  (The staff at the Hacienda de Castilla was very very nice and helpful: Paul liked to chat and Sandra, who spoke perfect English was a very efficient and helpful manager!)

At first, he is hesitant: the touristy area is far from here...but we let him know that we do not want to go to the Zona Hostellerias but wold rather eat Mexican fare...It is just around the corner...We stop in a small street poblano, sit on red plastic chairs, have our first beers in Christmas mugs (!) ,and eat tortillas... We must be in Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!

The next days are spent walking around Cancun popular districts, shopping for sandals and sun protective hats, and familiarizing ourselves with the different food names and appellation. And one warm evening, we discover pastor! An adaptation of the libanese dish of of the shawarma spit-grilled meat brought by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico.Pork is marinated over one or two days in a combination of dried chiles and then slowly cooked with a piece of pineapple on top. Absolutely delicious!

On Sunday, we take the ferry to Isla Mujeres in Puerto Juarez...we have heard so much about this destination. In the 1970s, this used to be a casual destination for boheme people who just wanted to rent a cheap little cabin on the beach and watch the blue sea...Well, Isla Mujeres seems to have changed a lot since then: it has become the destination for the tourists of the world! Prices are higher, accomodations seem to be overpriced..but there are some cute little restaurants, a wonderful beach and a great bar with a view of the ocean where we sipped Mexican cervezas looking at the Sunday crowd driving by in scooters along the avenue.

On Monday, we take the bus back to Puerto Juarez to find a little oasis of sun and sea..

And we find one, located on the beach in front of Isla Mujeres. The owner convinced us that he had the best prices for lunch...cooked a la Yucateca. And we could have 10 small Corona beers or Coronatita for 130 pesos (12.00$)...How to resist???????????

Mexico - here we come!

Be honest, you cannot blame us for leaving Kingston!  Just look at the forecast!

After an intensive search of "places south", while looking for great deals on flights ... our destinations will be:  Mexico!  At $371 round trip per person, we could not say NO!

So we booked.  Now we are working on our accommodations   Marleyne (H writing) is doing a great job, and keeps her Spanish language exercise book in the bathroom.  I call that: preparation!

Here are some of the places we wish to visit, in addition to some Mayan towns.

The link for these archaeological sites in the Yucatan peninsula is here:

http://www.locogringo.com/research/ruins.html

We hope to see some of them.

Our app for updating the blog is limiting us to text (for some reason the uploading of images does not work on our various Android devices).  But M will try to upload some shots to her facebook account via Instagram.  So, be patient if you do not see our blog updates with images.  We will be working on them when we are back.

Pinky arrived!
We got Pinky for shorter travel destinations such as the downtown marina and Home Depot, as long as we don't buy Gyprock plates!
Unfortunately, Pinky will not be powerful enough to transport us to Italy, the centre of Vespas.
But we think we got close enough...via the Chinese version.
And we think that Pinky looks smashing!
Here we are looking forward to our next ride, sans snow but with warmer weather..don't you agree it is a fantastic acquisition for our future travels?

After 3 weeks of coughing, sneezing and other flu related excitement following our return from our last trip, we are almost back to our happy selves! Luckily, because it is Christmas in a couple of days.

Yesterday, we made our first panforte, this wonderful Sienna delicacy!!!   We had looked at these tempting delicacies when we visited Sienna (Italy) about a year ago.  But ghee, were they ever expensive!!!!  Now we have learned to do it ourselves .... It is Delicious!  And we have enough to share it with our neighbours! ... some of it!

That was quite a trip!

Yes, 9540 km in all, from Kingston Ontario to Wichita Falls, Texas then south to San Antonio, Galveston, the bayous of Louisianna and New Orleans, Fort Myers and the Everglades, Nokomis and St Augustine before heading up to Kingston on the Hudson and then home! Wonderful moments!

After two days spent in St augustine, we really head north.  It is Sunday and traffic is increasing as the day advances...people are driving back home to the Carolinas, Virginia and Massachussets after the Thanksgiving holidays. The weather is still gorgeous and we reminisce our frequent travels along this coast, by car and by boat! We stop in Selma, North Carolina where we visit JR Cigars...and the Days Inn just around the corner. It is our best deal after New Orleans: the room is cheap but the accomodation luxurious: you'd think that you are at the Marriott!!! 

Before we drive back to Kingston, Ontario we will stop in Kingston on the Hudson, in New York state. We will have a short visit with our friends Pam and Bill, the owner of Songbird, whom we met in 2008 and with whom we have kept in touch. We were really sad to learn that the hurricane Sandy had pushed Songbird on the beach recently...and that the cottage in which Pam and Bill were renting, was also destroyed by the storm...

But Songbird was sucessfully lifted by 2 cranes AND was able to motor tto the yacht club, where it was lifted în a more conventionally and

put on a cradle. Both are happy that not more damages have occurred...I guess they will have a busy spring!!!!

We had a nice visit with them and shared stories of the pat as well as future plans to visit in Canada, this time.

On Black Friday, we drive north to St Augustine.  The weather is still cool but the sun shines and we have decided to slowly move north. We made a reservation at St Augustine beaches' motel.  The beach is very long and due to the north winds of the last week, there are nice swells ...

After a long walk on this deserted beach, we decide to get supper and then head into town. It has been a long time that we have not been here and it feels strange to be here without the boat!  The town is packed, there are already Christmas decoration in the square, the winds have stopped and it is a magnificent evening!

St Austine charms us every time we visit! But the times are changing: we noticed that there are mooring fields close to the city; but it is still permitted to anchor..as per this linkhttp://www.portofstaugustine.com/free-anchoring.html.  Cruisers do not trust their skills to anchor anymore and feel happy to take a mooring...as long as it is not an obligation to take on, why not! And yes, the city is rebuilding the breakwater as tides have been growing higher from one year to another...

And up we drive to Nokomis, also located on the Gulf side of Florida to our friends Sally and Arnie. We arrive on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday and Saturday nights, residents and travelers can celebrate the sunset on the Nokomis beach.  The "drum ceremony" it is called...Unfortunately, that evening, the north wind is blowing at 15-20 knots and it is really cold. Somehow in disbelief - it cannot be that cold in Florida, can it???? - we don't bring enough warm clothing! The ceremony is nevertheless quite endearing with people of all ages gathering around drummers, dancing their heart and souls.

Next day, we celebrate Thanksgiving at Sally and Arnies friends ant it is great fun! Thanks to both of you and to all your friends for this wonderful meal and gathering!!!!

We are now ending our stay in Fort Myers, Florida at our friends Lindsay and Karen. What a week...Besides the fact that spending time with them is totally enjoyable, they have led us on a tour of activities for the last 6 days. We have been enjoying long breakfasts, and then went into various parks and wildlife refuge, sand sculpture competitions and beach combing and swimming on the shores of Gulf of Mexico. And how about this airboat trip in the Everglades!!!!

                             Karen and Lindsay, thank you so much for this great great week!!!!!

Nouvelle-Orléans

After a very strange camping site along the express way because the State Park that we had in mind was FULL, we finally made our way to New Orleans.  Due to the forecasted rainy and cold weather , we looked for a hotel room instead of a camp site.  Susan from the New Orleans Tourist office found us a pearl of a hotel, l'hotel Provincial on Chartres street, in the French Quarter of course. http://www.hotelprovincial.com/

On that weekend there was a football game and all rooms were booked except this wonderful 2 story suite ..where we were happy to "nest" for a while. As soon as we put our luggage in the room, we went in one of the several courtyards to enjoy cold beers and plan our New Orleans stay.

It was Susanne's first visit to Louisiana and New Orleans.  Our first evening in town was wonderful because the weather was balmy and there was still enough of a crowd to enliven the atmosphere!

Our hotel was very close to Jackson Square with the St Louis cathedrale and the lively square animated by locals playing Louis Armstrong's tunes or fortune teller and tarot card readers.

 We enjoyed visiting the mansions of the Garden District, the "American district" of the city...a totally different experience from the French Quarter.  We took the Charles street trolley from Canal street stop and, once in the district, walked on, following the Travel guide.  http://www.tourneworleans.com/garden_set.html











There are truths about New Orleans and one of them is that in that city, people don't eat to live but live to eat! We had to taste their delicious beignets with cafe au lait, and taste their jambalaya and gumbo as well as their boudin. It did not matter where we ate, the food was always delicious. Le Cafe Beignets made these great pastries on demand and the trio filled the stomach for the day. There are several locations of this Cafe  in New Orleans: we particularly enjoyed the one in the courtyard at the Musical Legends Park of the French Quarter. http://www.cafebeignet.com/whatsnew2/mlp.html

We ended our very nice holiday with Susanne at the Gumbo Shop an St.Peter street! Susanne was very curious to try a blackened fish! She loved it! Heiner had a jambalaya and Marleyne enjoyed a combo of jambalaya, crawfish etouffee and creole shrimps! Thanks Susanne for the food and the nice evening and your enjoyable company!

 Viewing plantations belong to the Louisiana experience. One of the most breathtaking plantation experience is the Oak Valley plantation, especially because of the nature enveloping the site.

The live oaks - which must have been smaller at the time of the building of the plantation house (1837-1839)-make quite an impression on the viewer.

Originally named Bon Sejour, Oak Alley was built in 1837-39 by George Swainey for Jacques Telesphore Roman, brother of Andre Roman who was twice governor of Louisiana.

Laura Plantation is a restored historic Louisiana  Creole Plantation on the west bank of the Mississipi River near Vacherie, just a few miles away from Oak Alley.  The Duparc Plantation (Duparc was the name of the Frenchman whom this land was granted by Thomas Jefferson for his loyalty to the US during the American Revolution) was located on unusually high ground near the River. He built his manor house during 1804-1805 in the middle of the large Colapissa Indian village that had been located at the site for over a hundred years.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Plantation

Louisianna...quite a different experience from Texas. A different mentality, different styles of managing landscapes and town (parishes): bayous, cajun music and cuisine! Upon leaving Galveston Texas, we took a ferry to Bolivar island, Texas and drove through Beaumont Texas and then along a flat and boring landscape dotted by oil wells pumps. Entering Louisiana does not change that very much....the southern part of the state is really oriented towards oil industry BUT once in a while, we drive through small town like Franklin that have retained their beautiful live oaks bordered streets and charming houses.  And of course, the dykes retaining the mighty Mississipi...

Oil rigs museum

One afternoon in Galveston, we had to make a decision: who is going to go the Public Library and update the blog???????????? Marleyne auf course...she loves libraries!  Heiner and Suzanne opted for a visit to the oil rigs Museum of Galveston;  The Ocean Star Oil Rig Museum is located on the ocean in Galveston.
Both found the visit fascinating...and entrance for seniors was cheap..Ja ja, Suzanne hat her first senior discount ever!!!

 

And so, after mountains, hills and prairies, here we are again close to the sea, the Gulf of Mexico.  Our encampment is at the Galveston Island State Park and we hike, in the marshlands, on the beach and in galveston itself, a quiet little place. we found a great spot for seafood and enjoy the very warm weather!!!!