23. March 2017 · Comments Off on Throwback Thursday at InPuertoMorelos.com · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Our Favourite Things, Photo Post

Heading into our last week of ownership of the Alma Libre Bookstore, we’re getting a little sentimental, so here is a look at some photos from 2006. This was the town’s comeback year after the devastating hurricane the year before.

A familiar view of Puerto Morelos. The taller lighthouse was damaged significantly in the hurricane and needed extensive repairs. It was replaced completely last year with a new one. The old leaning lighthouse shrugged Wilma off without any problem. We were worried it might straighten up!

The beach at Ceiba del Mar hotel (Now Desire). You can see it was quite a bit wider then. Hurricane Wilma did a lot of damage, but “gifted” us with more beach.

Alma Libre Bookstore in 2006. Our neighbour was Eric (Le Marlin Bleu) who retired from shrimp tacos to run Ecab Explorer, an excellent local tour company.

Laid back bird

Testing a hammock before the arrival of guests at Casa de los Viajeros. No detail is too small!

22. March 2017 · Comments Off on New Restaurant! · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog

Another new restaurant has sprung up in Puerto Morelos. “Maiz Maiz” just opened this morning we think. It is on Ninos Heroes, one block north of the square in the old Pancho Villas space. They have done a nice job brightening up the space. I have no information on their menu or hours beyond these photos. The “de Cancun” is sure to raise some questions. Let us know if you try them out!

  

17. March 2017 · Comments Off on Last Minute Special! · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post, Travel

FREE NIGHT!

Spring Break Anyone? We have nine nights open at the end of the month in our most economical suite, suite #3. It’s fully equipped with a full kitchen, living room, full bath and a balcony with hammock. 800 square feet of space on two levels.

Open March 23 to April 1. Book 7 nights and I will give you one the last night FREE! Book all 9 nights, and we’ll discount further. http://www.casadelosviajeros.com/suite-3/

Here’s a video tour! 

*All our suites include WiFi, bottled drinking water, weekly cleaning and Netflix.

Balcony with hammock and seating

Full kitchen with full-size appliances

Queen bed, full bath, balcony, walk-in closet.

Comfy Queen bed

Queen bed, full bath, balcony, walk-in closet.

Full kitchen. Those stairs lead to the second floor bedroom.

13. March 2017 · Comments Off on Puerto Morelos Cash Exchange Rates: March 13, 2017 · Categories: Do not use

Here are the cash exchange rates for March 13, 2017 at CI Banco in Puerto Morelos. I post these rates on occasion so that you can compare these rates with the rate your bank or the ATM may offer.  www.InPuertoMorelos.com

13. March 2017 · Comments Off on A Nice Night in the Colonia · Categories: Do not use

Shout out to three places in the Colonia you may have missed. In typical “Only in Mexico” style, we enjoyed a fun meal of dinner and drinks while sitting at one place and patronizing two others.

Our drink headquarters was La Hija de Morelos (The daughter of Morelos). It’s a big, friendly bar with draft beer and cocktails. Later in the night it is popular with workers from the nearby hotels and they sometimes have live music. Earlier in the evening it is never crowded.

Hija does not have food, but that is no problem. On the south side of the place is Al Horno, which has a wide menu including pizza and baked empanadas.

On their north side is Taco Neri, which has delicious tacos and burritos. We had baked empanadas from Al Horno and tacos and giant burritos from Taco Neri which we watched them grill from our bar stools.

In both cases, we got table service from the surrounding restaurants while sitting at Hija. Great service all around and everything was very reasonably priced.

Outside the restaurant children played tag and hide and seek on the sidewalk and families strolled by, often wishing us a pleasant evening or saying “¡Buen provecho!” (enjoy your meal).

As it got later, we meandered back to the entrance to Puerto Morelos. We hoped to try some fancy beers at Micheladas del Semaforo, but they were packed! Next time we will go a little earlier.

Here are some Facebook links to the places I mentioned:

Hija de Morelos

Al Horno

Taco Neri

Micheladas del Semaforo  (Click here for a look at their menu)

I neglected to bring a camera, so photos are from the Facebook pages of the businesses mentioned. The first three places are easy to find on Avenida Timón near the Extra store. Micheladas is at the entrance of Puerto Morelos near Chedraui. See our map on this website for more location information.

¡Buen provecho!

 

 

11. March 2017 · Comments Off on New 100 Peso Bill · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post
They seem to be quite rare, but you might run into a special 100 peso bill in your change. The bill commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Constitution of Mexico, which was adopted in February 1917.
 
There is a pretty good short video on the Bank of Mexico site about the bill,  and more info about the Constitution of Mexico here.
We have received a few of the bills in the bookstore, ironically mostly from visitors who got them from their bank in the USA.
09. March 2017 · Comments Off on Give Yourself a Spring Break! · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post

It’s been a long winter, and in many places it isn’t over yet. Give yourself a Puerto Morelos Spring Break. We have a few holes in our schedule that you would look great in!

We have 1 and 2 bedroom suites available soon…

Our Suite #3 is a one bedroom, one bath on two levels. It is our most economical and is open later this month, March 23 to April 1. It is also open in April from the 8th to the 29th.

Here is a short video of Suite #3

  

Our Suite #1, which is 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths is currently open March 29 until April 29.

For more information on either of these sweet suites, check out our webpage at CasaDeLosViajeros.com

*All our prices include all taxes, bottled drinking water, weekly cleaning, high-speed WiFi and free Netflix

 

 

02. March 2017 · Comments Off on Adios La Panza es Primero! · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post, Restaurant Scene

La Panza es Primero, known for its bright colours and lucha libre theme is finished in Puerto Morelos, and as far as we can tell, in all of Mexico. La Panza is actually a small chain out of Spain. According to their website, they still have restaurants in Madrid.

The Puerto Morelos location opened in 2010 and famously was seriously damaged by a spectacular fire in 2013. Click on this link to see 30 seconds of fire footage, shot by yours truly.  Panza Fire Video

In recent weeks, we noticed the distinctive decor was being removed and painted over. According to staff, the new restaurant will have seafood, but does not yet have a name. They say they will be open from 9:00 am to 7:00 daily, but in typical Puerto Morelos fashion, if people want to stay a little longer, they will stay open.

Update: March 09, 2017. The restaurant now has a name. It’s not terribly catchy, the name is, “Puerto Morelos Fish Market Restaurant”.

For a look back, here is Panza’s website. La Panza es Primero

Not a great shot of the menu, but a fairly good look at my thumb.

02. March 2017 · Comments Off on Sold! Alma Libre Books & Gifts · Categories: Do not use

  

After 15 years we have decided to start a new chapter!

Alma Libre Books and Gifts will change hands on April 1, 2017.

We will continue to live in Puerto Morelos…we will just be living a lifestyle a little more like our customers!

The last 15 years have been amazing. We have met thousands of people from all over the world and have helped many discover our little town. We grew along with Puerto Morelos, and survived challenges like Hurricane Wilma.

As we head into our final Alma Libre month, we would like to sincerely thank you for your ongoing support and friendship over the past 15 years.

We feel the bookstore is an important part of Puerto Morelos, and we know that we are leaving it in very good hands. The new owners are from Canada and own a bookstore! They love Puerto Morelos and are making it their home.

Here is a link to the press release if you would like more details: Sold Final

In 2002, not long after we bought the shop

The store after Wilma in 2005. The store came through pretty well, we were amazed to see the sign made it through just fine, and not a single pane of glass was broken. The store did have a fair amount of water damage inside, we lost about 1000 books.

Shelving…so much shelving. We have done a lot of it over the last 15 years. After a while, you start to forget the order of letters in the alphabet!

Cat in the shelves

Joanne in front of Alma Libre the day we bought it in 2002. That suitcase is full of books!