We are not just another hotel in Playa del Carmen with rooms, a pool, a dive center and a bar. We do super interesting things, have super interesting guests and learn something new each and everyday, from the employees, from our guests, from people who stop in and admire our cenote. It is never ending and makes everyone’s day that much richer, that much more exciting and most of all, FUN!
I have permission to post this next series of pictures, just another night in Hotel Tropical Casablanca. This was an exceptional evening, an evening where a guest brought his professional skills to the hotel in hopes to teach another guest, a little about what he does, what his passion is and just have, some fun.
So the primary players in this fun evening were Don Pattie, a long time customer and friend who is a chef educator in a Canadian College. His specialty is pastry and chocolate, and he brought some interesting items from Canada to show molecular cooking in action. The other player is John Faulds, dive instructor, and business owner of one of the largest tatto shops in Canada, with a base profession of artist. Both are creatives but their angles are different. They had a fun filled evening in the front reception, unknown to Nicola by the way, making eggs from Mango, coconut milk and water. The secret ingredients can not be revealed or I may be shot, but this was clearly a class of molecular cooking, showing Johny how you can study and manipulate chemical properties in food to make a really super fun dessert!
The recipe for the evening was mango/coconut eggs, well they look like eggs, they feel like a poached egg…but they taste like tropical treats! I have to say they were a hit…watch as the men play and create right in the reception of Hotel Tropical CasaBlanca!
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- and they are doing a great job..thanks Don!!! what a great night…
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- This was after they saw whalesharks, eagle rays and the wreck in Porto Morelos
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- The intensity is killing me…..but the results were excellent!
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- Johny’s mixing and cooking….right in the front reception
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- More instruction from Don….
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- Don being the great teacher that he is!
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- The Mango and Comconut eggs transforming into DESSERT!
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- Mr. John Faulds making his first Mango Coconut egg…check out the student help…dos XX
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- Careful chemical mixing….
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- making the Whites of the New Eggs!
I think that many of us are feeling the pain and devastation that has hit Haiti in the last week. As our Caribbean Neighbours, and knowing that an earthquake could hit any of us at any time, we are doing our best to reach out.
For the Beach Book Club weekly review this week, I decided to highlight a Haitian author who grew up in Haiti, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 12. Edwidge Danticat has written a series of successful non-fiction books that have hit the best sellers lists, including Oprah’s Book List. Breathe, Eyes, Memory was pick up by Oprah and helped to fuel the popularity of this author’s writing. Ms. Danticat has continued to win awards for her ’storytelling’ and make ground as a compelling and enriching writer.
The recommended books from this author are:
Breath, Eyes, Memory (Oprah’s Book Club)
Brother, I’m Dying (Vintage Contemporaries)
After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Crown Journeys)
AS PART OF YOUR SUPPORT FOR HAITI, PURCHASE ONE TODAY!
I have been to Haiti and it is a beautiful country. I was fortunate to have a friend working as a teacher and was provided the opportunity to visit different parts of the country. I had a glimpse into the beliefs, the creole culture, the poverty (which I have to say is hard to comprehend but it is a part of Haiti) and the joy that people embrace, despite the hard lives they are forced live. In Port-Au-Prince, my favorite activity was to sit near the local church and listen to the singing of the congregation. The music was incredible, the richness of the singing voices something I had never heard before and the joy, the pure joy, that was felt even on the street was enough to make me cry. The songs rang through your body like you were a bell being rung. You could not ignore the joy, the love, the emotion, that people put into their daily prayers and song. I am not religious but this experience has stayed with me as a visible and strong memory for many years.
To support the ongoing efforts of Haitian people, I urge you to read one of the books by Edwidge Danticat so that you can get a peek into the lives of Haitian people. I am not going to say it is pretty, I am not going to say we agree, and I am not going to say that all is nice and beautiful, but books are there for us to experience, through storytelling, another belief, culture, ideology and/or experience that we may never have.
On a final note, the Riviera Maya is reaching out to the Haitan population through a series of events this Sunday. Thanks to Logo Gringo in Akumal, there is now a wave of Sunday Events that are being coordinated to raise funds for our Neighbours. The events are called HOPE FOR HAITI and two cities have arranged for Beach Party Fundraisers.
Akumal has a music festival in Akumal Centro starting at 2 pm and Playa Del Carmen has a Beach Party at Wicky’s restaurant starting at 1 30 pm featuring the Nasty Bastards. All proceeds and cash donations will go to Doctors Without Borders-Haiti Relief efforts, providing much-needed medical support and supplies. We hope to see you there…check out the details on facebook for music line ups and event times.
Now. I have to be very clear. I can not got a hold of this block buster BUT the reviews on television, 60 Minutes (check out yesterdays show of January 10th, 2010), online retailers etc have this book as a hit the day before it is released. The media is a buzzing and I want to put it on the Beach Book Club list as it seems prudent to do so…..and proves some interesting points.
The Change Game is a behind the scenes look at the 2008 presidential elections and reports all the gossip, facts, actual goings on that happened before Obama. The Book is written by two outstanding policital reporters, Mike Halperin and John Heileman.
John Heilemann is the national political correspondent and columnist for New York magazine. An award-winning journalist and the author of Pride Before the Fall: TheTrials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era, he is a former staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist.
Mark Halperin is editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine. He is the author of The Undecided Voter’s Guide to the Next President and the coauthor of The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. He has covered six presidential elections, including during his decade as the political director for ABC News.
They have credentials, they are believable.
So to be blunt, these guys seem to have the dirt, the gossip, the inside scoop on what really happened during the 2008 US presidential election. I am not a gossip queen, in fact I have very strict rules at the hotel that no gossiping is allowed, but when two reporters of this caliber get together and release the information, the backend deals, the undercutting, the stuff, of what happened before during and after the presidential election, I do want to read it and decide if it is gossip or real fact.
A day does not go by in Mexico when people call all forms of Mexican government corrupt. My response has always been, ‘that and every form of government in the world does back-end deals. Mexico is pretty transparent about their corruption, payoffs, back ends deals, in fact there are no back-end deals, everything is done up front…and people know about. I would rather know that things are not right than think that things are right when they are not.’
US and Canadian Politics are just as mean-spirited, not following the rules, doing back-end deals but keep them back end deals until SOMEONE releases information that our vision of white picket fence politics is actually all fiddled and played with.
Find the book, read it and then lets see what people have to say….this could be one of the most profound, interesting and revealing books of the century..and I would love to know what you think about it….
Happy New Year everyone! And what a new year it was! The Life Just Became Simpler property was busy, with the Dirty Martini doing what it does best, serving great cocktails and entertaining everyone who was there, the hotel was full and the dive center staff come to join in the fun at 12 midnight! Old friends, new friends, guests and Playa Del Carmen residents all shared in the 12 o’clock countdown and then partied until the wee wee hours in the morning.
We do not do resolutions as a rule but we do state intentions and we do reflect on why we do what we do and where we do what we do. the theme this year was:
” Why we like Playa Del Carmen, Mexico“
It was decided to include the coastal region of the Mayan Riviera as most of us love Playa but also have favorite things up and down the coast. We have friends in all towns so the I like part will include and allude to the entire coastal area and jungle regions from Puerto Morelos to Tulum.
Here are some of the top answers that people discussed…after the new Years Parties were done. This was not talked about during the many bottles of champagne that flowed throughout the evening.
1. The weather People love the weather and we all voted for that. Hot, sunny, humid (which is very good for your skin) and when rain is needed, it comes. The ocean breeze is also a part of that ‘weather vote’ as it is an important part of our weather life.
2. Community People come for the weather but really you can get sun, beach and sand in many parts of the world. People come for the people, whether they be other travelers, residents or a great meeting place for friends to gather. Playa Del Carmen is a big community and is an international community which makes it even more fun and very interesting. Americans learn from Europeans, who all learn from Latinos, and exchange ideas with Aussies, kiwis and others. People get along here, no matter what their background and they all listen to the different perspectives that make our globe a globe. To top it off, Playa Del Carmen unlike other beach towns that are tourist destinations, mix up the residential with the vacationer so it becomes one big community. Everyone knows someone in another city close by and will pass on that friendship. Sometimes it is hard to decipher who is a vacationer and who lives here…Now that is what we call, a great community!
3. Diversity There are more things to do within a 45 minute radius than any other area we know. This makes vacation planning easy. I remember the days when we were in say, Paris and my brothers did not want to go to museums…well we all had to go to the museums and the boys had to suffer…this does not seem to happen Here!. IF someone wants to go snorkeling and someone wants to go to the ruins and someone else wants to chill on the beach and someone else wants to sleep, this is all doable and is done easily. There are no family arguments about what to do that day. Part of this is due to the safety in the area, part of this is due to the activities offered on the beach, and part due to the diversity of the tours. Ruins are combined with cenote snorkeling and also with shopping..kids don’t get bored and adults love the eco and historical aspects of the tours. and all tourist guides, snorkel guides, dive guides and just people hanging out seem to know how to entertain kids and adults all at the same time.
4. Food Who does not like a good meal and who does not like the fact that they can eat out at any price point within a 10 minute walk…Playa Del Carmen is the international food haven for anyone looking for great food, street food, quick food, slow food. The first question we ask people when they are looking for a place to eat is, what kind of food are you craving..and once that answer is given over, there are at least 5 recommendations that can be provided. and all are within walking distance. Nuff said, I am getting hungry.
5. Staff and Mexican People I could go on for days about the rave reviews I hear about bartenders, receptionists, waiters, tour guides, owners, eco-guides, dive instructors, boat captains, etc. Staff in the tourist industry are welcoming, helpful and want to share their experiences. Visitors want to hear it and want to understand the true, first hand Mexican account of life in Mexico. I for one am blessed with the most helpful staff in the world. They are gracious helpful and kind. They want every single guest to be happy and leave happy. You will always get a smile when you come to see them. But Hotel Tropical is not alone in this. Thousands of Mexicans work in the tourism industry at many different levels and they are all super great! You may get someone on a bad day, and that is a possibility but all in all, this is a very happy, playful and wanting to please society.
There are zillions of other reasons why Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya is a destination of choice for international visitors, but on reflection these seem to be the top reasons why it is so popular and they are not the usual or obvious reasons why snow birds flock to a Caribbean destination. These reasons are unique and the area is unique and we are all very happy to be here, whether it be for a week, a few days or for a life time.
Happy New Year everyone and may the force be with YOU for the entire 365 days of 2010! And let us know why you like Playa del Carmen…as we always like to hear.
We have some very exciting news! This information will make your trip planning easier, will enable you to have Riviera Maya Events at your finger tips and will take the guess-work out of what to do when visiting the area. There is a new Riviera Maya Events web page in town and it is full of events for everyone! www.rivieramayaeventscalendar.com No longer do you have to use smoke signals, listen to the stars for some sort of mayan sign to hit you on the head to know what is going on, or rely on street information that gets to you too late! This is an up-to-date events calendar where you can see area happenings, post your area happenings and check area happenings daily so that you don’t have to think or search for things to do. The absolute best part of this is that it is FREE…yes Gratis for all of those who want to post or browse. Yes, it is for free, I swear.
Lets review it together. Go to www.rivieramayaeventscalendar.com and go to the events page. You will witness first hand a calendar FULL of all kinds of events, restaurant openings, happy hours, cultural events, school events, weekly events, yoga classes, for the entire coast. There are scouts in each major city that post event information daily. It is colour coded so you can just search for sporting events, for an example, or food events, or cultural events. It is the coolest one stop event calendar in the area.
For visitors it is great to have an overview of what you can do each day in each community. No longer do you have to walk around and collect the various magazines or tourism bulletins to find out what is going on. No longer do you have to search the web to find out the local activities that make the area so personal. and for large events, like the Taste of Playa, or the Italian food Festival or the Eco Fair, you can see when they are happening so vacations can be planned around these destination events.
For people hosting events, you can submit your event for free on the calendar…yippee, free publication and a captive audience…have an event, fundraiser or just a cool place for people to hang out? Put it up and get an audience that is looking for things to do. Just post the link to the website on your homepage or Facebook page or tweet about it and you will have more people interested in what you are offering the Riviera Maya. If you wish to have the scrolling events calendar on the your web page, have a look at www.buyplaya.com or www.locogringo.com , they have one, just send a request to the administrators at info@rivieramayaeventscalendar.com and they will send you the script to add to your page. We have just added it to the Tropical Casablanca home page so that our visitors will have a full view of what is happening.
This side of Mexico is a great place to visit because there is so much going on. The events are personal, in the sense that someone knows someone who is putting it on, or you meet up with someone who has referred you to the area. By attending the events you also meet so many people who live or work in the area, so you find your entire vacation is not an anonymous visit but a friend-sharing vacation with new friends and old from all over the world. The area is getting larger and there are more things to do, but with the Riviera Maya events calendar, the area becomes smaller as you have information at your fingertips.
Very few people were able to access information about what was happening in other towns other than in the places where they were staying. It seems silly to miss a great event in Akumal when you are staying in Playa Del Carmen. Akumal is 35 minutes by collectivo and has a lot to offer. Same with those staying in Puerto Morelos and missing out on fun events in Playa Del carmen. The coast is big, but it is easy to access super fun things to do, when you know about them.
Check out the Riviera Maya Calendar Events Page before its official release in the new year. Submit your contact information so that you get updated events. Check it out daily if you want to find something to do. Easy as 1, 2, 3 and as rewarding as winning the lottery!
Have fun with it and if you wish to see more features, email them at info@rivieramayaeventscalendar.com.
