In Mexico, every cook has her own tamale recipe, her own sauce, her own masa mix, her own flavours. I didn't get any family secrets from Juantia (who bore holes though me with her icy stare), but Gleacelda galdly gave me a few moments of instruction in how to make tomales in her (pretty darn good) English. I kept up with my extraordinarily bad tourista Spanish/action charades.
Just off the beaten path and worth every step (or stagger); Cantina Habanero boasts the best burger in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. South of Cancun on Highway 307, Puerto Morelos is a cozy fishing village developed enough to be convenient yet small enough to be Mexican, where I stumbled upon a vision, in search of a cure.
The sun is thin, rising behind the mountains to the east that are the ridgeback of Roatan, a 40 mile stretch of land surrounded by reefs. The home beach - West Bay Beach is a sunset beach, shaded by the mountain in the early morning, it makes it a cool walk, swim or... run. It has been my practice for the last two weeks to go to the beach as the sun comes up and... move.
A trip to Belize is not a short jaunt from Canada no matter which side of the country you live on. Despite being just south of Mexico, flight fares are steep and options are few. Until one day a well traveled friend suggested looking at this trip from a different direction. Pick up a cheap flight into Cancun and then book a regional flight from Cancun into Belize City. Genius.
On the back steps of the kitchen, in the tropical paradise of an idyllic atoll off Dangriga, Belize; Phillip Matinez shares a family favorite, Sweet Potato Pudding Recipe (known in Belize as “Pone”). It became a favorite of those of us paddling for pleasure with Island Expeditions in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
"In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway learned something about "bad luck" and getting kicked by life. He was struggling to make his mark as an author when disaster struck. He lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts.
Roatan hits me like a heat wave. The island itself enchants and as we land sweet tropical air fills me with ease, it was a bumpy ride. We arrive after a full day in transit. Our last night in Havana was supposed to be a sexy romp in old Havana but a stay at the Historic Plaza Hotel can put anyone off “sexy".
Tourists lounge by the pool. Taut nubile bodies in high-cut bottoms and slack pale bodies with no right to “Speedo”. Bless Brazilian women. Bless European men. He strides by with the same confidence as she - her naked, round rear half exposed in the sun... him... flashing as he walks.
Cancun. Just a few miles south, Puerto Morelos. It’s become a second home. For the first time in my life – I bought a one way ticket that took me to Mexico. It felt like freedom. In the heat, I am waiting on a friend. He said he’d be here and he will.
Let it never be said that being a grown up is all fun and games. With the responsibilities we take on there come times when we must make very uncomfortable choices. We know they are the ‘right’ choices... but there lingers for a time a deep sadness and doubt before moving on to acceptance.
It smells good. No, strike that, it does not smell good, it smells fantastic. With a kitchen this creative and ingredients this pure, the Wooden Monkey thrills the senses from the moment you walk through the door.
A little sign next to the menu under the glass top table reads: Soup is Love. It's safe to say that love is a key ingredient in everything that comes from the kitchen at Leo’s Café.