♬ “That’s What Friends Are For” ♫

Since we’ve been nomads, we’ve mentioned to friends and family that we generally have an extra bedroom and bath for anyone who might like to join us for a few days. But, until last week, no one has taken us up on our offer. Last week not one, but two couples visited us in Puerto Morelos. One couple, Faye and Steve stayed in our second bedroom and the other couple, Carl and Kate booked a little bohemian cottage down the road.

Steve and Faye arrived in the afternoon and after settling in, we went to a little place for dinner called El Pesquero. It’s not right on the beach, but the sand floor, palapa roof, fan-cooled dining area and fresh fish sure make you feel like you're there. The food and drinks are always good, and the waiters are the best.

The second day that Steve and Faye were here, Carl and Kate arrived. John decided to cook what Nancy facetiously called a “traditional Mexican meal,” so he made pasta and meatballs. OK, so that not traditional Mexican, but it is traditional Italian American, which John cops to. He made his grandmother D’Antonio’s sauce (see recipe here) and Sandy Zuchero’s (John’s late wife’s) meatballs. The pasta was store bought {even in Mexico you can get all types of dry pasta.} We had cocktails and snacks on the deck and then dinner at our massive table in the condo.

None of the folks who visited had ever been to this part of the Yucatan Peninsula before, so they were interested in seeing some of the sights. Now remember, John and Nancy have said that our nomadic life isn’t about sightseeing; it’s just living our “everyday life” as we did in Philly only in less familiar, more exotic surroundings. Our days entail enjoying coffee while reading about the decay of Western Civilization, reading a lot of books, co-finishing crossword puzzles, sitting by the pool, making dinner, or going out for long lunches or dinners. John adds doing some drawing, painting, and looking for grant opportunities and donations for his late wife's charity Mother Goose: Read to Me. Nancy loves to hit the gym to walk several miles while streaming shows on her iPad. Yes, there’s a gym in Puerto, with used Planet Fitness equipment.

Our guests decided to fit in with our mellow routine and kick back, but they also wanted to check things out. Steve and Faye went on walks along the beach and into town, but more often then not were found on our porch or at the pool.

One day however, the group decided to go to a local cenote. For those of you who don’t know what a cenote is, it’s a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes fresh groundwater. Some cenotes are merely open holes in the landscape. Others are accessed by going underground to caves filled with freshwater. Our group went to Siete Bocas Cenote. Since there wasn’t anywhere to store personal items, no one took their phone/cameras, hence no pictures with the group frolicking together. The pictures below are general shots from the cenote.

On other days it was pool and beach time. The week before our guests arrived, the sea outside our condo was crystal clear. One day John went in...he could see the bottom and the small waves were bottle green in color. The beach near us is protected from large waves by the Great Mayan Reef, which is a 700-mile-long barrier reef system, the longest in the Western Hemisphere. The day before our guests arrived, we began to see large stretches of Sargassum seaweed begin to invade our little paradise. As you may have heard or read, the Sargassum this year is the worst it’s been in a while. There’s a large mass of it invading Florida right now too. The town of Puerto Morelos, as well as most beaches along the Riviera Maya are doing their best to combat it. PM has Sargassum Cleaning Machines that travels along the beach picking up the seaweed without removing the sand. But it’s a losing battle, they pick it up and more drifts in.

To get to the ocean one must wade through this mass of rotting seaweed until finally you get to the water. And, because of the seaweed, the sea is brown along the shoreline…the color looks pretty much like the Jersey shore. The bottle green color is gone. Plus, the Sargassum often smells like rotting eggs, not a pleasant odor.

But, if you go out a-ways you can snorkel and see lots of interesting fish and rays. Steve tried it and saw: Banded butterflyfish or juvenile French Angelfish Barjack, a large school of Brown Chromis (he says thousands of them, but he exaggerates), Peacock Flounder, School Master, White Spotted Eagle Ray, Great Barracuda, a Lionfish (knowing Steve, it’s a Lying Fish). BTW, Steve never signed up for our blog, nor did he tell Faye there was a blog. So, the entire time he and Faye were here we kept telling him, “you would have known that if you had read our blog…” Also, Carl is a regular reader of our blog posts…that’s why his gin and tonics had more gin than Steve’s.

Another day Steve, Faye, Nancy and John went to Playa del Carmen, which is a 40-minute ride south of Puerto. Playa del Carmen is what Puerto Morelos may become someday, hopefully not too soon. The main attraction is the main shopping strip. This strip is a pedestrian walkway that runs for about three miles through the town and is continually expanding and getting longer. Faye and Nancy decided to go shopping, Steve and John found a shaded bar and sat while the ladies shopped. John would be remiss if he didn’t tell you that the first item that was purchased was a “Day of the Dead” shirt for him.

Steve had wanted to go to some Mayan ruin but decided not to after realizing how far away it was. He looked them up online instead! He was starting to appreciate the more mellow aspects of our life.

One morning the four of us went to a little restaurant called El Nicho. We’ve been reading about this place for a while. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch, and it’s always busy. When we got there, we had to stand in line, the place was full. Now neither John nor Steve is happy standing in lines, but again, we were a bit more mellow than usual, plus we were near the front of what became a large line. While waiting, a woman came out and Nancy, in her usual way, asked her if it was good. She replied that it was, but that she was bias, she was the owner. She told us that she opened the place six years ago and it’s been a hit ever since. While we waited for our breakfast, Nancy and Faye took a ride on a swing in the kids’ section of the restaurant.

The night before all four of our friends left, we went to dinner at a restaurant called Tanino’s. Nancy and John had been to before with other friends, Denise and Lori. Besides a great dinner, it was Kate’s birthday. Nancy had called ahead to make sure they would have a dessert with a candle for her. We think she was very surprised when they brought out a cream filled crepe with a candle, and everyone sang happy birthday.

The next day all these nice people left for home and the Nor’easter that threatened the Northeast. After dropping Steve and Faye off at the airport, we headed to our favorite Cancun wine store to stock up for our last seven days in Mexico. We then went to a little beach bar/restaurant called Playa Jaguar that Carl and Kate told us about for a nice lunch.

We really enjoyed having friends visit. And, when they departed it was again just the two of us…living our everyday life.

Adios from Mexico...next stop Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Nancy and John