Virtual SA: Underwater Museum Cancun- MUSA

 

Beautiful...Other-Worldly...and sometimes downright creepy...

Mexico has 3 of these underwater museums. One is in shallower waters and can be easily snorkeled.  The other two are deep and required scuba gear.

Some stand in large groups.

Some sit alone.

They are life-sized...including the car.

Over 400 statues.

One is a couch potato...with a life size sofa , a snack, and his TV.

The brainchild of 6 sculptor/artists, MUSA functions not only to draw tourists, but to help rebuild the coral reefs and provide homes for reef life.

Surprisingly, it was just an idea in 2009...and by 2010 was open and operational. Now, 13 years out it is well known throughout the world and the barnacles, coral, flora and marine life have settled in to call it home.

 

 

Let's Explore!

There are snorkeling tours...glass bottom boats and deep diving scuba tours.

There is also a Jungle Tour.

Tours

https://youtu.be/Jx0WeflKPiM

Underwater Museum

https://youtu.be/mPbIS4skCx8

https://youtu.be/qI7LWfpMzPI

I hope you've enjoyed this adventure...

Next time we will check out The Monarch Butterfly Reserve!

Virtual SA: Cancun- Tequila Museum

 Who would believe that this spiky blue plant could make your head explode, your friends laugh and fill in the missing hours from the night before, and your clothes fall off????

Meet Agave.

The plant that gives us Tequila.

Oh...sure...there are a few crucial steps in between...we will check them out in a minute.

There are five towns dedicated to making this adult beverage in Mexico...one aptly named Tequila...

But we are in Virtual Cancun...and in part of the old town there is the 

Museo Sensorial Del Tequila

Where we will start our adventure.

Less a Museum and more of an exotic liquor store...for 220 Pesos  (roughly $17.50 USD) you can have a tasting of many top shelf tequilas.

How Tequila is Made

https://youtu.be/dmAZ0aH0P9o

Tour

https://youtu.be/c6WIo5WLRZI

The most exclusive of these is sold for about $2,000 USD.

 

Okay...but how did we get from this...to this.

And WHY is there a worm in the tequila bottle???

First off...if they had been left to form a butterfly/moth they would have ended up looking like this.

 

But no........................

Instead of flitting from Agave to Agave drinking nectar and doing ...butterfly things...this guy

Somewhere in the 40's-50's decided it would be a cool marketing ploy to add the caterpillar.

Of course they immediately die when they are put in the bottle of alcohol...and they add no flavor.

Eating them holds no special properties and is completely harmless.

But you have to admit

It made ya look.

Next we will visit the Underwater Museum of Statues...

 

 

Spring Proper...Our Terre Haute Adventure...Memes...and More

 

 

We made it through another winter!

To celebrate we spent a couple of days at Terre Haute...enjoyed some snuggle time...the fact that John is doing much better after that brush with death accompanying the immuno-therapy  (....not 100% yet...but so much better and closer to healing...) loved some really great food...including starting the day with deep fried pickles...tried several variations of dark chocolate including raspberry and this

Which is kind of a misnomer...as it really doesn't taste like Tabasco at all.

At first it is like a tasty bit of dark chocolate...then...just at the finish the heat creeps up on you...it gets pretty warm.

We plotted and planned our April Getaway (as well) and will be doing Ollies, the huge sports shoppe and either John Wick 4 or The new Harrison Ford film!

 Can't wait!

When we came home the cat was STILL in the throes of heat. She loved up everyone...lol. 

John had fixed her up a stick-type cat toy with feathers and a jingle ball...and now that she has settled down she loves it!

And is back to her evil ways.

"...you are late for our nap, Mom...I am not moving...You figure it out...."

                                                                                                        -Sofi

Get a cat, they said.

It will be relaxing, they said.

Loved the memes this week, as well.

A seagull's tribute to John Travolta.

And a couple of Baby Yoda

My Life.

Talked with Angie this afternoon...they got some roof damage from the storms...hoping their homeowner's covers it...but otherwise unscathed.

John caught up with Curry, and the Mississippi storms missed him.

Much the same with Loretta's youngest (Keith) and his wife.

Given the damage in the state...they are all very lucky.

Finally read

after seeing the film, and OMG!!!!

So good, I immediately went out and bought Kaleb his own copy!

Going to put a personal message in it for him from Grandma Rose...something between us to last forever!

In politics...The Mouse has responded to DeSantis-

 

and (sadly)#Arrestmas did not come on Tuesday.

In fact...my middle son let me know that the whole rumor had been started by Trump as another grift of his supporters.

Why does THIS fail to surprise me???

And this guy

Joe "Fuck Around and Find Out" Biden

did exactly what he promised House Republicans he would do by VETOING the first of their hurt the average guy bills.

He didn't stutter during the SOTU speech. '

They should have paid attention.

They do not have the 2/3rds to overturn it.

I predict this is the first of many to come in the next two years.

 

Relaxing and recovering from the week but I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Love,

Carla

Virtual SA: Mexico- Mercado 28 Cancun

 

 

 

A short bus ride will take you to one of the most

visited market-places in Cancun.

 

Mercado Veintiocho

 

Market 28

 

Big but not huge.

Impressive- but sprawling and very touristy.

Most of the items that they offer are not handmade but mass produced.

If this is not off-putting to you

 

let's explore.

Walking Tour

https://youtu.be/IGj79EOfwJA

Something to remember 

is that prices

here

are negotiable.

They expect you to negotiate.

Do not pay the first price you are offered.

Also

 

Do NOT use you credit card here

 

You have been warned.

https://youtu.be/doFAYuMZN50

Tips for Travel in Mexico

https://youtu.be/o34BtUF_sts

For a more authentic market experience

try

Market 23

Next time 

we will visit

The Tequila Museum!!

 

 

St. Patrick's Day...The Colt's New QB....A Possible Arrest and More

 

                           ...when the leprechaun gets into your coffee...

Good Morning!

Woke up to 21 degrees...more snow...and a headline screaming that Trump is to  be arrested on Tuesday.

REALLY?

...a closer look would reveal that this was something that he had told his supporters...so who knows...

Getting the champagne and good chocolate together..you know...just in case.

 It appears although I am DONE with Winter...apparently it is not done with me.

Also all the rain this year has rotted my Spring bulbs in the ground.

sigh

Now I have to decide whether I am going to buy and replant pre-chilled...or just forego Spring blooms altogether and go directly into bedding plants.

I have decided that I will pre-chill my own from now on...as our winters are getting too warm and wet to effectively plant directly in the Fall these days.

The Colts have signed on our new QB.

Gardner Minshew

To be honest, I know little to nothing about him at this point...but I am glad we have moved away from Ryan (now released) and Foles. Anxious to see how our new HC will do this season.

And watching as Green Bay moves further and further away from Rodgers on the Group W Bench...face it Aaron...they're done with you...and he is eyeing the Jets as a place to land. No commitment there, yet.

Tried to watch

...if only to understand how it swept the Oscars this year.

Alas...I will never know.

Made it through the first 45 minutes...and aside from a few funny moments...long drawn out and dull.

Might be somebody's idea of a great film...but not for me.

Disjointed...distracting...and did I mention dull.

Finished this week's book

Which I found as good as the above-mentioned was bad.

Very positive and uplifting.

Not just a memoir of her early life, but pearls of wisdom and perspective we can use in our own daily round.

Highly recommended. 

Finishing a few more things...a nap with the Sofi-Cat...and then putting together burritos and nachos for the weekend.

Have a Great One!

Love,

Carla & Sofi

 

 

"Remaining Hopeful"

 

 

Virtual SA: Mexico...Cancun

 

And we are back to Virtual Mexico!

Hola!

Today's destination...Cancun.

First, I must tell you that the name means "...nest of snakes..."

...you have been warned...

Luckily, this seems to be confined to just outside the airport, taxis, and money-changers.

Next the city and its tourist attractions can be divided into two distinct sections.

A narrow long strip of beach-front aptly known as The Hotel Zone...where the Spring-Breakers and twenty-somethings migrate endlessly.

https://youtu.be/zQrG-GooqlA

Row after row of expensive hotels...bars...curio and swim shoppes...and beaches filled with the well oiled bodies of youth. Punctuated at night by the mating call of the female college student:

"I'm ssooooooooooooooooooooo drunk."

Maybe in my 20's...okay?

"Old Town Cancun" is a district of historical architecture...including the Tequila Museum. It is the home of several sprawling market-places where you can find damned near anything.  An underwater sculpture museum. It has some of the best cafes...street vendors and authentic Mexican food you will find. As well as a beach for those of us who are no longer hard-bodies...and a sea turtle rehab area. 

The pace is restful.

Relaxing.

Cancun Walking Tour 

https://youtu.be/ej3PNZEYZIM

The first thing you will notice about Central Cancun is that it is not as slick...pre-packaged...perfect palm tree lined streets.

It is real.

Grittier.

It is also way less expensive...everything from hotels to food.

Do's and Don'ts of Cancun

https://youtu.be/e4-CuXW7oOc

 

 Next time we will check out the Marketplace.

Until then...

 

Caturday...Book and Movie...Spring Cleaning Begins

 

The grass is greening up...and visions of gray morels are already dancing in my head.

So...it must be time for Spring Cleaning!

Totally Cinderella Day here...with trash bags and brooms and implements of cleanification. And everything clamoring to be scrubbed...polished...dusted...thrown away....laundered or washed.

The Sofi-Cat is staying well away.

The end of today culminating is a long soak in a warm bubble bath.

Making a long-simmered pot of soup from the remains of the steak...asparagus...brown rice...onions...potatoes and various odds and ends that will find their way into the stock-pot.

...I did bone broth long before it became a thing...

Seriously Millennials...when did this even become a thing?

Now for 59.00 to as high as 145.00, you too, can buy pre-made bone broth.

Isn't that cute?

Or...you could just save the bones from good steak, chicken and such...roast them....toss the whole business into a stock-pot with the odds and ends from your veggie drawer and simmer with water until...gasp...you have fine quality bone broth like Grandma used to make.

Oh...and it is free.

sigh

Tomorrow starts DST...again.

 So, anyway, set your sundials ahead one hour.

And try to convince your cat that 7AM is now 8AM...good luck with that.

Just began my new book

Will review it when I am finished....but thus far quite engaging.

This week's movie

An old one..but new-to-me...with Sir Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.

Very enjoyable, edge of your seat stuff...and a surprise actor that I didn't know was in this:

Bart the Bear

(now deceased)

The photograph is with his handler for scale.

He was 9 feet tall and weighed 1,500 pounds.

Later he was diagnosed with cancer...underwent two surgeries and was euthanized at 23 in 2000.

I was a Bart Groupie through the years...somehow missed this one.

He was amazing and sometimes terrifying.

This intimidation scene out of The Bear is probably some of his best work. He excelled in throwing up clawsful of gravel and jutting that lower lip out while bellowing and displaying a mouthful of Grizzly teeth.

Hopkins and Baldwin played well off each other as they tried to survive a plane crash, being stuck in the freezing wilderness, a rampaging grizzly bear...and each other.

Very highly recommended!

Now back to the cleaning...have a great week!

Love,

Carla and The Sofi-Cat

 

 

"Find a good Netfix and chill!"  -Gadget