Goodbye, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

It is time to say goodbye to Puerto Morelos.  We have been here for a wonderful month.  The weather was warm and sunny every day, I don't think it ever went below 75 F nor above 85 F day or night, a few showers here and there, always a breeze, and friendly people, both residents and tourists alike. Plenty to do or nothing to do - your choice. We are heading south about 60 miles to a different place called Puerto Aventuras. Hopefully, I will do some more blog posts from there.  ¡Hasta luego! Here's a final walk about on our last day.........

Sunrise at the public beach access.

A storm rolled through briefly after sunrise.  Not too many folks were out walking.  I had to seek refuge for a half hour when the skies opened up. Palapas are made to keep the sun off, but they leak too much during a downpour to serve as a rain umbrella. 

We stopped and checked-out this beachfront condo development - maybe for a future visit?

The town pier had the usual range of activities - fishing, snorkeling, wandering.

This fisherman is trying to convince the visiting cormorant that he is not going to give away his catch.

This is a regular sight all along the beach and pier - the fruit man selling cups of fruit - sticks of papaya, jicama, coconut, cucumber, etc.

This band was playing Beatles music at the entrance to the pier.

The Unico beachfront bar on the sand is always hoppin' with natives and gringos alike. Beer drinking on the beach seems to be legal here - or not enforced - folks have beers at any and all times of the day in glass or cans.

And speaking of beer, we stopped for Amy's last beer on the beach - note her faint reflection in the sunglasses.

A sunset sailor caps another beautiful day here. ¡Adios! Puerto Morelos.

Panoramas, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

I decided to republish in one post, all my panoramas from our four week visit in Puerto Morelos.  Click on each photo if you'd like to see it in full width.

Storm clouds at sunset .

Downtown at the waterfront.

Downtown plaza and waterfront.

The beach at Ojo de Agua.

End of the town pier looking back toward town.

The Ocean Homes Mexico condos (aka. Star Wars).

End of the town pier looking back toward north side of town.

Downtown waterfront.

At sunrise looking south.

Downtown main plaza.

A brief, raging, rainstorm early one morning.

A Few Restaurants, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Puerto Morelos has dozens of restaurants.  Here are just a few that caught my eye on a stroll around town:

Tacos.Com 

Cantina Habañero 

Spaghettino

El Merkadito  

I Wanna Pizza

Pangea

I think I like the palapa-style roof - makes me feel I am somewhere exotic. I've never seen a palapa roof in Massachusetts..........

Vegan Food, Siempre Sano Restaurant, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

In my experience, it is not common to find a restaurant anywhere that advertises 100% vegan.  What a wonderful surprise to find one in Puerto Morelos!  Siempre Sano Restaurant (English translation is something like - healthy forever) had previously been located in a hole in the wall place elsewhere in town but they moved into this brand new building just last week and now offer a seating area also.

It is located about a block south of the main town square on Avenida Javier Rojo Gomez just a bit past the Mayan Handicrafts Artisans Market.

We have been there three times in the past week and were very pleased to see other customers there each time both eating in and carrying out. And we don't normally eat at the peak restaurant hours.

The proprietress takes a customer's order. 

These three entrees featured hibiscus, cactus, mushrooms, and lots of other tasty non-animal foods.

And these three entrees - potatoes in salsa verde, vegan chorizo, and a zucchini/squash medley.

So, with the fixed plate meal you get a fruit drink, soup, rice, beans, tortillas, and three entrees from among the maybe 10 choices.  And the cost?  60 pesos each (about $4.60 USD).  And it was ¡EXCELLENTE!

Lunch in Town, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

We walked into town today for the fresh vegetable market and then got hungry, so, it became a lunch trip, too.  There are many restaurants in Puerto Morelos from which to choose. We decided on "Al Chimichurri," where we had a delicious vegetarian pizza there a few weeks ago. This little place is a block south of the main plaza on Avenida Javier Rojo Gomez. Tables on the sidewalk or in the street. 

Amy, sporting her new sunglasses (more on that later) is patiently waiting for both the wood-fired oven to get hot enough as well as her fresh papaya drink to arrive.

And here's our vegetarian pizza on the left, the cheese pizza on the right was not ours - the drink is fresh papaya juice. (Small vegetarian pizza enough for two people - 75 pesos).

We started out planning to eat here at Pangea but, they weren't open yet. With a view like this, they can open whenever they please.

It was middle-of-the-day warm as usual and some folks were lazing about the plaza.

The coffee drinkers were still hanging out at Le Café D'Amancia, the prime shady north-facing corner on the main downtown plaza. If I were looking to set up a food/drink/hang-out business, I will never underestimate the value of a shady north-facing location if in in a hot, sunny climate. Location, location, location.

Others were strolling along the waterfront.

Some were inside the shops buying the world famous Cohiba Cuban cigars (last I knew they were illegal to sell in the U.S - they were Castro's favorite).

And of course, one can walk the souvenir gauntlet if you so choose.  Amy needed to buy some new sunglasses so off we went. Never one to pay retail,  she bargained the seller down from the initial asking price of  about $300 pesos down to $120 pesos for a pair of Oakley glasses. Even speaking Spanish, she drives a hard bargain. The seller has visited Massachusetts and even has a son living in Brewster so maybe he had a soft spot for us. (She's wearing her purchase in the second photo above but, I have my doubts whether they are genuine Oakleys for less than 10 bucks USD).

Even this beautiful Hooded Oriole was just sittin' on a wire doing very little.

At the Beach - Again, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Our time in Puerto Morelos is winding down. Four weeks goes by pretty quickly even when not much is on the agenda - that is, if we even had an agenda.......only a few more days to be here before heading farther south.

The beachfront vendors set up the tables and chairs and are ready for the day's customers. They set up and take them down every day anew - the umbrellas are planted manually by a guy with a post hole digger to keep them from blowing away in the unrelenting winds.

I, like the pelican on the stump, enjoy these crepuscular rays (more commonly called "God's rays").

Here's another beachfront house that has a fancy cupola.

I don't know much about boats and motors but, almost every boat has a Yamaha 60 as it's motor. Either they are the best choice for this application, or, there is a really effective Yamaha salesperson around here, or maybe both.

It's either mine or, some other big-footed gringo.

Vegan Food, Tostada, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Another post in my occasional series about "what do vegans eat?"

One can only eat so much guacamole and chips.  So, it is necessary to create other vehicles to consume guacamole. And frankly, almost any food works fine.  In this case, layer a corn tortilla with rice, diced zucchini, spaghetti/pasta sauce, top with roasted cauliflower florets (roasted on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt), and garnish with a generous dollop (or four) of fresh guacamole.  (The guac has avocados, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, and salt).  If you have leftover guac, you can always use it for your breakfast bread spread.

Out and About, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

A fisherman oddly inclines his body with the angles of the clouds and rain on the horizon - all driven by a strong wind from the left of the photo.

The first rays of morning sun hit the "new" Puerto Morelos lighthouse. It was built to replace the still standing-but-tilted original iconic lighthouse that was damaged in Hurricane Beulah in 1967.

A frigate bird soars past the old lighthouse.

An artist captures the morning's sunrise in watercolor.

Today's relatively lighter wind was perfect for this windsurfer.

This man pedals his trike miles each day selling his homemade tamales, either with meat or with beans, to locals and tourists alike.  They were still toasty warm in the styroform cooler. We bought two of the bean version, wrapped and steamed in banana leaves for 15 pesos each. ($1.15 USD each).