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

Puerto Morelos only has three main avenues parallel to and between the beach and mangroves. One of those three avenues has a few "tiendas" scattered along it. "Tiendas" are small stores that sell mostly just snacks, drinks, and some canned goods. Very small. "Los 5 Hermanos" translates as "the five brothers." Note the small shrine by the door.

Near as I can tell, "La Negrita" translates as "the bold."

This is one of the bigger tiendas, complete with a Christmas manger scene on the roof. As near as I can tell,  "Tienda de Abarrotes" translates as "grocery store."  

The Bimbo sign (pronounced Beembo), is a brand of bread produced by a Mexican company which is the world's largest bread maker.  Grupo Bimbo is one of the company names that has been floated recently as a possible salvation for the bankrupt Hostess Twinkies brand in the United States. 

This is a detail view. Note that this tienda even has a room to rent - "rento cuarto."

A couple miles away in the community of La Colonia, is a Super Willy's. I'm not sure what the exact distinction is between a tienda and a market but I think Super Willy's is probably a regular market.

A whole shelf area with rice and beans - the healthy foundation of diet here.

And a not-so-healthy candy and cookie aisle, too.  

The tile on the floor seems to be a work in progress. I like that about Mexico - everything doesn't have to be nearly perfect like we have grown to expect in the U.S. -  here, there are cracked sidewalks or no sidewalks, unexpected holes to step in sometimes, unfinished tile projects in a store, goods stacked high without railings to protect you - it requires the consumer to pay attention when you walk around, act like a responsible person and don't expect the government to always be policing everything and protecting you all the time. Either system has its advantages and disadvantages-  your choice.

Slowing Down, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

As the morning glow of sunrise brightens the day, a pelican begins his hunt for breakfast.

It is another beautiful beginning to another beautiful day in Puerto Morelos. Weather: warm and sunny - same forecast every day. It's been almost a week since New Year's day and the weekday crowds are starting to diminish a bit - time for many folks to go home and get back to their real lives.

If gulls could talk.........: "I don't wanna go next, you go next, I went next last time, it's your turn, I always have to go next, I don't wanna go next, make him go next, he never goes next, I'm tired of flying, I just want to stand around, you go next......"

This palm trunk washed up on the shore this morning.  I wonder how long it's been floating around and how many boats either banged into it or saw it in time and dodged?

Solitary silent songster silhouetted since sunrise. 

A milky wave breaks over a piece of driftwood.

In the middle of the day, I stay inside when the sun is at it's most intense - it's too much for my pale skin. And at that time of the day, from our rented third floor condo unit a few buildings back from the water, we have a nice sideways view of the water.  

A Day in the Life, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Any day that begins like this has to be a good one.

Our neighbor's white dome and a tourist cruise white sailboat. This makes me think of Greece and I've never even been there.

This is the side yard for the house on the left. It's not for sale and I couldn't afford it anyway!

The breakers on the reef crash non-stop - and with an onshore breeze it sounds like you're right next to them. This is part of the Mesoamerican reef and extends more than 1000 kilometers through this part of the Caribbean.  It is the longest reef in the Western Hemisphere and the second  longest in the world. On any given day you'll see at least a half dozen snorkeling/diving excursion boats out there enjoying the underwater world.

Bananas growing along the main avenue.

A quartet of pelicans hanging out near the town pier hoping for a handout from the fishermen. 

And always, families playing in the warm blue water. It's that kind of place.

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

Here's another post in my occasional series about "what do vegans eat?"

Prepare the ingredients - avocados, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, lime, and salt.

Combine them gently in a bowl. (The red powder is some experimental spice not shown in the first photo).

And there you go  - ready for chips and dip, or,.....

....... make a tostada with a corn tortilla, brown rice, diced zucchini, black beans, broccoli florets, and then add a REALLY big pile of guacamole on top of everything.

The avocados are so perfect, plentiful, buttery, and inexpensive here in Mexico that I seem to have developed a pattern of making a fresh batch for lunch, then another for dinner, and saving the leftover from dinner in the fridge for breakfast. That's right, for breakfast - guacamole, fresh bread, papaya, and mango - I don't think life can get much better. (Oh yeah, don't forget the Nutella).

Beach Sights, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

It is not uncommon to see well behaved dogs not on leashes - they just kinda mosey about like the humans. 

There are other critters not on leashes, too. This sculpture survived three full days before the wind drifts finally overtook it. I was impressed that with the volume of people here over the New Year's holidays, some careless person didn't step or stumble into it.

No, this is not Amy with a wicked tan but - it certainly could be her or one of her club members photographing an old shoe washed up with the sunrise tide.

Call me old-fashioned but this is odd attire for a gentleman of a certain age in any country - and what's with  the ski poles?  Maybe he misses the northeast and he's pretending he's cross-country skiing?

Chedraui, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

We had to make a final shopping trip for food before I had to turn in our rental car, so we went to.......

Chedraui is Mexico's fourth largest retailer and was founded in 1927. They go head-to-head with Walmart for pricing and beat them in many situations based on the ads I saw. There were about 25 checkout registers at this store in Playa del Carmen and the place was buzzing - not including the loud music and thumping bass. 

There is a self-service bakery section with tons of sweet and savory goods.

And cakes.....

And Cokes in old fashioned little bottles, 5 pesos each.

But the best thing of all was the mountains of stuff in the aisles - 12 maybe 15 feet high, towering over the shoppers, Charmin toilet tissue 47 pesos, Top Choice dog food 267 pesos.

Even towers of beer!! I think OSHA must have outlawed towers of anything in United States stores and markets, it seems I never see them anywhere.

Stoves at the high end from $6995 pesos and down.

Samsung laptop computers for $9199 pesos.

A 42" LCD TV for $7995 pesos.

Of course they had lots of fresh food, packaged food, booze, housewares, clothes, and..............you get the idea. (By the way, if you're curious, divide the peso number by 13 to get US dollars).

The Mansion, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

This is the most extravagant looking beachfront home I've found in Puerto Morelos. Note they decided it was necessary to have their very own Mayan scale model feature next to the swimming pool. I guess the rich have to spend their money on something. I assume this is a private home since I didn't see any sign on the beach side or the street side that would suggest it is available for rent - many properties here are rentals for vacationers.

New Year's Day, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

We did something we haven't done in many years last night - we closed down a bar on New Year's eve. That is the literal truth.  But, in the spirit of full disclosure, though, since the bar closed at 6pm and I was only drinking water anyway, I guess it doesn't really count as wild and crazy. Oh well......

Creative use of seaweed.

I was out and about before sunrise this morning and was surprised at the hundreds of folks out on the beach greeting the new year.  I don't know if they partied all night or not but they weren't loud and rowdy at sunrise.  They were friendly and happy. Very few gringos. I think because it's mostly cold in the USA on New Year's Day, we are not programmed to plan on being outside in short sleeves at the beach before sunrise in January.

The English seaweed version.

Downtown, many working boats were still tied up this morning.

But a few were readying for snorkeling or fishing trips at the town pier.

Many folks were hanging out on the pier at sunrise visiting and chatting.

Some dressed in their finery and some not.

Kids played with an electronic device while their parents chatted nearby.

And in case you missed the boxer puppy a few photos back, here he is again.

He was chilly in the 72 degree sunrise air but still wins the unbelievably cute award.

This pup stayed warm sleeping in a purse but he was only half as cute.

Being here in Puerto Moreles, Mexico, was a great place to be to greet the new year. ¡Feliz Año Neuvo!