Mexico: One Shot at a Time

Mexico: The Boat Trip

Snorkeling Days

Photo by M

Another really cool adventure was our boat trip to the Puerto Morelos Reef. We hired a local boat guide to take us snorkeling.  The boat had a glass bottom so those who opted out of snorkeling (um, Pop Pop!) could get a view of the reef.  The standout coral for me was the purple fan coral which was absolutely stunning (again no underground camera...oops)!  We saw a stingray and barracudas as well as other tropical fish which I don't know the names for. It was really fun.  And I was utterly exhausted and ready to rest inside the boat after the third drop off.  M was a little fish once again snorkeling the reef and ARose took a snooze in Pop Pop's arms (which is quite humorous given that PopPop is the KING of snoozes).  

Awww..nappy time with Pop Pop!

Photo by M

 



Pre-ARose melt down....she loved the outdoor shower.



The Little Mexican Cooking School



Traditional Molcajete (lava rock)

 In researching things to do in Puerto Morelos, I came across a glowing recommendation for a cooking class at The Little Mexican Cooking School. Since I love to eat (man, do I!) and I love to cook, this was right up my alley. It was also up the alley of Mel and Lisa (we are a family full of foodies…fun!) who joined me for the class.

Sure, I can make nachos and tacos with some guacamole but I really didn’t know much of anything about authentic Mexican cooking. I feel like living in the Chicago area (we are something like the second largest population of Hispanics outside of Mexico), it’s pretty much mandatory to have a basic understanding of Mexican foods. Before this class I was always intimidated by the aisle filled with dried peppers and other seasonings in the supermarkets. What the heck do you do with those things? Well, this school enlightened me. I learned about the flavors and ingredients used in Mexican cooking. I tasted fruits I have never heard of. Tasted seasonings, that sounded vaguely familiar, but I had no idea how to use. Tasted new "festive" drinks.

Xtabenun (similar to Sambuca)

F-U-N!!

Throughout the day (it was from 10-4:30; supposed to end at 3 but it was just that good!) we were treated with little tastes of Mexico, sampled lots of local drinks, made homemade tortillas. Mel and I even made some salsas for the class using a molcajete (Mexican mortar and pestle).

Oh, and to add to the charm -- the cooking school was in a private house, taught by a local chef. The class was held inside the kitchen obviously but the cool thing was that the kitchen opened up to a tiny quaint outdoor area with a small swimming pool, hammock and lush tropical plants. It was picturesque.

F-U-N!!


I know visiting ancient the Mayan Ruins should have been the highlight of my trip but I can’t really appreciate the history like I should. What I can do is enjoy food so I have to say that this little cooking school was the highlight of my trip!!!!


OUR MENU

 Tortilla Making (all Mexico)
 Radish Salad

 

 Guacamole (all Mexico)
 Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa Roja (Comtemporary)
 Salsa Verde Cocida (Central Mexico)
 Sopes or Picaditas Veracruzanas (Coastal México)

 Tortilla Soup (Central México)

 Pan-fried Mero Fish (Grouper) with Poblano Rajas con Crema and Grilled Cambray Onions (Contemporary)
 Charro Beans (North México)

 Chocolate Mouse/Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Berries

Chef Pablo and the Ladies

Tulum Mayan Ruins

I think it is blasphemy (not in the holy sense but historical sense) to visit the Yucatan Peninsula and NOT visit any of the Mayan ruins. We took a road trip to Tulum where one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites is located. 

One side of the ruin is a steep sea cliff which offers GORGEOUS views of the Mexican Carribean. Lisa, Mel, M and I couldn't resist taking a dip in the ocean. Nice and refreshing!

 

Cenote: Zipline

Cenotes: Hidden Worlds

Cenotes are natural freshwater pools with underground caves and caverns, formed because of the porous limestone ground that makes up the Yucatan. I'm told that they are found in only a few areas in the world and that the world's capital is the Yucatan Peninsula.  I don't know if that's true or not.  I can say that there were alot of them.  It was hard to choose where to go.  I read somewhere that the Yucatán Peninsula has about 10,000 cenotes, many of them unexplored or Mayan cultural and archaeological sites.

The "Cenote Route" as it is called is situated just west of Puerto Morelos so it was a no-brainer for us.  We simply had to explore these wonders. We only had time for a couple, but man was it worth the short drive.
 

The first one was called Cenote Verde Lucero about 18 km off the Cenote Route on the left coming from Puerto Morelos.  It has one really deep cenote which seemed kind of basic.  The waters weren't very clear so snorkeling wasn't optimal.  Although we did see some fish.  The cool thing is that this cenote has a zipline which dumps you into the cenote.  I must confesss, I didn't take part in the zipline.  It's not the zipline itself....I've been ziplining in Costa Rica and LOVED IT.  It was the snap at the end that scared me.  Remember my little fall off the bike last year which gave me a fractured elbow.  Well, I remember this all too well and decided I didn't need another broken bone, especially in Mexico.  Chris and Lisa did, however, enjoy the zipline--with no broken bones as souvenirs!



Courtesy of Blue Picture Blog


The second cenote was spectatular, Cenote Siete Bocas--about 15 km off the Cenote Route on the right coming from Puerto Morelos.  This is what I had envisioned when hearing about cenotes.  Its blue/turquoise color reminded me of the Blue Grotto in Capri but thankfully I didn't get up close and personal with the pointy edges of the rock like I did in the Blue Grotto (ie, no scar on my bum for 2 + years). 

I think there were 4 cenotes open, the other 3 may have dried up.  These cenotes connected through small passages through caves which were shaped by rock formations from millions of years ago.  Unfortunately, we didn't have water cameras so we missed out on the BEST photo ops.  (I borrowed  one from another source so that you could have a glimpse into the underwater world we saw.)  M was a little fish in both of the cenotes but I think this one was her favorite.  She loved the cave!  I think she was facsitnated by the stalactites.

Mexico

Sunny and 80's for 8 straight days!  (Well, a couple of clouds on the last full day but who cares.  It was still 80+ degrees.)

The stars definitely aligned for us last week.  We were able to beat the blizzard hitting the Chicago area by the skin of our teeth.  As soon as we heard the storm predictions we were on the phone with the airlines.  Our original flight was cancelled and we were lucky enough to catch an earlier flight. Off we flew to the warm and sunny MEXICO where we met some of Chris' family. 

Puerto Morelos, Mexico to be specific.  Puerto Morelos is a town and sea port in Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula--about 36 km south of Cancun. It has historically been the main port between the mainland of Yucatan and the Island of Cozumel.  One hundred meters off shore (that's what they say but it seemed it little longer) lies the Puerto Morelos portion of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is now protected because of its recent national park status.



The trip was amazing.  (Have I said lately how much I luv the SUN and WARMTH? )   I was looking for a place to relax in the sun, on the beach....so PM fit that bill perfectly.  I must admit that PM wasn't quite the "sleepy" little fisherman's town that I had envisioned.  I guess I was thinking more authentic/rustic Mexico.  It was rustic for sure (we were not supposed to flush toilet paper...yuck!) but a bit more touristy than I thought it would be.  No matter, the point was to be with family so it was GREAT.  Chris and his sister, Lisa, took this opportunity to get certified in scuba diving.  We did some snorkeling (even M).  We swam/explored the underground fresh water sinkholes--called cenotes.  Toured local artisan markets.  Visted Mayan ruins.  Took a cooking class.  Ate.  Played.

This is life!!

(more posts with lots of pictures to come....)

Pinch Pot

Oak Park’s art program is fantastic!  Not only do they do the basics things like coloring and drawing pictures in Kindergarten but they also work with ceramics.  This is one of M’s latest projects…..a Pinch Pot.  Love it!

Blizzard Escape

I am taking a break relaxing under the sun. Will be back too soon:-))