Mexican house hunting with Canadian friends (and former clients) :)

So, we haven't been house hunting in a while, so when our friends Chris and Iris were here in Progreso for their third visit, they were starting to get closer to deciding they were ready to invest in this wonderful area of Mexico

 

 

This house is a very interesting and rare find, just a few blocks from our home, actually half way between the condo and the house!

 

Situated on an awesome lot of 20 x 40 meters, with scads of mature coconut trees, the property boasts a 3 bedroom house as well as a 3 level apartment/casita type dwelling, ideal for friends and family, or for a little investment income maybe someday?

 

Chris taking it all in

while our adorable Goldie watches from outside

 

Chris and Iris imagining themselves here :)

 

The house is a 2 storey with a covered patio and two terrific upper level decks

 

And the lot as you can see is fantastic

 

The apartment is very unique and has some amazing potential

 

The owner's son, Jorge, showed us around with his 4 year old son, Emilio, both very nice and fun to get to know a little

 

Some things may need a little updating in time

 

But very functional without much input required to get started

 

Goldie likes it!

 

Spacious bedrooms with lots of windows

 

upper deck

 

funky pool with place to put lounge chairs right in it for those who want to sunbathe,

 

But still lots of shade everywhere for those who stay out of the sun

 

All this for just $1,500,000 (pesos that is). Chris and Iris have gone home now, so we'll wait to see what they think from the chilly side!

A holiday fron our holiday at the Grand Mayan Resort on the Mayan Riviera

Although the timing seemed odd, as we'd just started to relax at "home", we had already booked a week of time share at the Mayan resort just north of Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo.

It has been a year since we saw the Carribean Sea, so off we went to really relax!

 

Our resort unit was gorgeous, with a full working kitchen and all the amenities

 

Very comfortable king size bed in the master bedroom with a pull out couch,

and 2 pull out couches in the living room, so there was really room for 6 easily

 

Lots of great space and light

 

And even our own dipping pool on the balcony

 

Where we watched a few sunsets and sipped a few sangrias 

 

The resort itself was lovely too, with great facilities everywhere

 

even an artificial beach for the kiddies to play in, which is a good thing as the beach at our particular resort is not a nice one. Lovely to walk on but due to the rock along the shore, tough to get in to.

 

But you can see how perfect this beach is - ha!

 

And the grounds are incredibly lush with beautiful plants and trees everywhere!

 

 

And Happy Hour by the pool was lots of fun as we sampled a few new concoctions from time to time

 

Really neat bar with swings - don't have oen (ha) too many and inbibe :)

 

This is the pool Vic and I spent most of time at as it largely resembles a lane pool and we managed to swim laps 3 times!

 

But spent most of the time relaxing and meeting new friends

 

 

And enjoying each other.

 

 

 

Strangely though, after 6 days, we were bored and left the resort a day early to head "home" to enjoy Progreso and all it and our lovely new home have to offer!

Love to get away, but it's even better to come home, and appreciate what our new life has to offer!

Hasta luego!! :)

 

Morning routine and Bugs adopted!!

Well, I think we've recovered enough from all the construction that we seem to have adopted an enjoyable and relaxing new morning routine.

With the changes of the tide and season, so too does the beach change and it's looking pretty nice these days! More of it to enjoy, as it gets wider.

 

 

Walking the beach with our faithful street dog, Goldie, is a great way to start the day. She loves to play in the sand, and check out what the surf has washed up for breakfast - yuck!

 

As you can see, we're down to one puppy. 

We found Bugsy a family home with 3 young children, after asking many people if they would like a dog.  The fellow who buffed one of our friend's cars for us said his family would love her.

When he came to drop me off, he met Bugs and despite barking at both the other local people walking on our street at the time we introduced them, she very calmy approached Mocho and was instantly comfortable with him.

We sent her off to her new family with collar, leash, food dish, dog food, ear drops, blankets and toys. Yeah! A new full time, permanent home for Bugs.

 

In the meantime, as you can imagine, Goldie is somewhat lonesome, although her sore front paw seems to have healed completely without the ruffian! Ha!

She enjoys meeting new friends on the beach, and even made a friend of another puppy that apparently doesn't like other dogs. She is so loveable!

 

Goldie and Lucas, and below Lucas and his Mom

 

So just one more adoptive family to be found, and I can't imagine it will be hard with Goldie. She is an extremely affectionate, quiet girl who loves to run and be cuddled.

Fortunately, we still have 6 weeks to go and a couple of prospective families already. We'll keep you posted!

Villas Wayak and the Telchac Jazz Festival

$250 (Mexican) got us into this amazing Jazz Festival, all in support of the schooling of the students of Telchac, a small rural town about 40 kms east of Progreso

 

 

The developers of this gorgeous complex shared their property with the coordinators of the fundraising at no cost, to help the students.

 

Vic loved the drink and food tickets!

 

And we met a fun couple, Rene and Yolanta, from France who were here to help Rene's brother-in-law with the food from one of the several kiosks that were made available for our dining delight.

 

 

And we got to meet some of the students that have benefited and are still benefiting (some of the students have already gone through their full schooling and are now being provided assistance through this wonderful group as they carry on to University!)

 

Beautiful people,

 

a beautiful venue

 

 

 

 Fabulous Music

 

a wonderful cause

 

and excellent weather, all made for an amazing evening!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Vic and I went out for brunch to one of our favourite restaurants in Progreso!

 

Fresh squeezed orange juice,

bananas with yogurt and granola,

 

A fantastic omelet

 

 

And oops, I ate almost all the giant pancake before I remembered to take the picture - it was delicious!!

 

At the Sol y Mar restaurant, which is excellent for breakfast, lunch or supper.

It is located on calle 78 (that's 78th Street), just north of calle 25.

 

 

Oh, the total bill was 105 pesos (about $8.50 Cdn)! :)

 

Dining out in Progreso and area! Soma Restaurant, Jim and Elke's Faces, Elios al Mar, Remo, El Faro, and the market

While I don't have any pictures of all the culinary delights we have partaken in in the past few weeks, I thought I really should say something about why I'm getting chubby again - ha!

There are so many great places to go for a reasonably priced meal, and people to go with here in the Progreso area.

For pasta we went to two awesome spots last week!  In Progreso on the beach on calle 21 around 38, Elio's al Mar had a wonderful Tuesday special where for $150 (pesos that is), we had The Triology, consisting of a sample platter of fetucini, chicken parmesan and spaghetti marinara, and a lemonade. To top it off we shared a delightful chocolate lava cake with coconut ice cream! It was an extra $50 pesos, and sooo worth it! We shared all this with our good friends Judy and Keith after getting the pants beat off us at cards - ha!

Then in Chelem, with our special friends Dan and Luce, at a lovely restaurant which unfortunately is now only serving supper one night/month!, we had a "choose your parts yourself" pasta feast. I had the tube noodles with creamy garlic sauce, broccoli, spinach, caramelized onions, and feta cheese. Yummy!  And the special that night was 2 x 1, so for $140 for both of us, we each tried our own creation. $50 corking fee to be aware of though - seems to be the charge in a few places now where you bring your own wine.

At El Faro, where we went for lunch with our fun friends Bindi and Owen, I had a wonderful shrimp ceviche, Bindi and Owen enjoyed their fish and chips and Vic had chicken quesadillas. This was sandwiched between 2 meetings we attended in Chicxulub, one regarding dying in Mexico, the other what turned into a bitch session about the imperfections of living at the Beach. Funny, it's not the same as living in Canada or the States. No kidding! Anyways, lunch was great!

Another day last week we went to Faces, where the music was hopping and the food pretty good. A little too warm most evenings, but worth the ambience. Just try to sit near the doors :). A super place to catch up with many of our expat friends here in Progreso, and we even found our Cranbrook friends, Chris and Iris, who have just arrived for their month of fun in the sun.

And for a wind down after the music at Faces, especially on a Saturday night, it's wonderful to go next door to the Quinta Progreso and listen to their fabulous Jazz music. A fabulous father daughter duo sing and play guitar beautifully, and provide a mellow way to finish off the evening.

And tonight, after beating Judy and Keith at cards (it was our turn), we checked out the Remo restaurant at the entrance to Progreso.  Not sure how they stay afloat as we were the only guests in the restaurant, but my shrimp mignon, Vic's fish and chips, Judy's chicken kebob and Keith's poc-chuc were all excellent! Lovely ambience as well as it's right beside the rio that runs along the highway just south of our town.

Oh, and while we haven't been there in a couple of weeks, one of my favourites still remains San Thelmo's in the downtown Progreso market - where for less than 100 pesos Vic and I can both enjoy some delicios flautas (flutes of chicken, lettuce, media crema, and salsa verde), panuchos and salbutes, with a soft drink each!  And to watch the hustle and bustle of all the locals as they go about their daily shopping is always a treat!

Great dining out all, but definitely hard on the wasteline!  Time for salads at home for a while. :)