What a wonderful and magical chapter in your Puerto Morelos journey! Such a pleasure to see the richness of the Yucatan unfold through your writing. Well done, and thank you!
Once again my friend you've outdone yourself. I was wondering what Book to bring on my vacation, Now I know. I read it years ago, When you gave it to me and I was visiting all the lighthouses on the west coast. Now, I'll enjoy it on my travels to South Dakota. Where; Hopefully there are many arms To hug me when I arrive.
Keep on writing my friend, you're fantastic.
💜🐟🐠🐡🐈🐈 those darn cats just won't stop chasing the fish.
Jeanine, another great story and history lesson. I so appreciate how you weave them together. It also brought back a memory of when I was stung in the middle of the night while sleeping by a poisonous scorpion. I'm grateful your friend and I are here today. Look what she accomplished!
You really ticked a lot of boxes for me with this one, Jeanine. Conservation, preservation, yoga, meditation, and ....Snakes. Am I the only person who first thinks of snakes when I hear about hurricanes, floods, most natural disasters? "Oh My God there are going to be snakes everywhere!", I gasp. Thanks for putting a positive spin on snakebite, though. Without that almost fatal bite from the four nose (horrifying name btw) a wonderful environmental achievement might never have happened. Well gotta go, need to check under my recliner for cuatro narices.
Snakes in southern Mexico are pretty much everywhere. Harmless as well as otherwise. In our laundry bodega, Paul pulled out a stacked towel. Underneath was a small but dead snake that lives around coco trees. Thank goodness it must have been asleep at the switch—no bites. But always a reminder that in the tropics, we share space with everyone and everything. Yes, snakes are scary!!
I love your stories and how you incorporate Mayan ‘lore’. If I’m not mistaken, that cuatro narices looks like what we called a tericopelo in Costa Rica or a Fer-de-lance, highly venomous! We also had a friend fortunate to survive being bitten by one. Amazing! What a journey of Ana Mario to use her sign to save the precious reef!
Thanks Marlo! Yes, fer de lance it is. Very scary. She was so lucky. Few of us in town knew she was even attempting that endeavor. I was in our local store one morning and there on the front page of one of Cancun's newspapers, above the fold, was a photo of Ana Mario and president of MX, Felipe Calderon (!) stating provisions had been made for the reef. My mind was blown. She was SO under the radar. I only heard about her life and achievements through our friend who was a local newspaper editor. Her daughter, too, was very under the radar. They were so cool.
Thanks Daniel. At first I wasn't sure if it would resonate with readers, but so glad it did. Those that surrounded us in our pueblo were as much of the fabric as the place itself.
Thanks, by accident I re-sent out Chap 10 again … Puerto Morelos Magic as I tried to put into my Section at top. My latest post is on Chichen Itza and hope you have a chance to read it too.
Another incredible story with so many fascinating twists and turns: hurricane devastation, the escapees of Crococun, a deadly viper snake, Ana Mario's amazing recovery... (Reminds me of "Lions, tigers & bears - oh my!) But I love how Ana and her daughter founded Lu’um Ka’naab and also how you found your heart's goal, a bountiful meditation and yoga center - right in Puerto Morales!
This chapter really conveys a mixture of sadness and dismay following the hurricane, but yet, still hope and anticipation for good things still to come. Love the "stay or go" connection part about Ana Mario and her daughter, her snake bite and the amazing and wonderful contributions she/they made to Puerto Morelos and the entire Caribbean coastline with their work on the Meso American Reef! Wow! Not to mention her work on saving the essential mangroves! Such an exciting time to have been there.
I really like how you weave together your story with all the other stories - of the land, the people, and the environment. It creates a rich atmosphere! Thanks, Jeanine!
Thank you, Priya. Actually I was a little unsure of this chapter as I was telling a lot of backstory. But maybe that’s what memoir is ): I’ve written a couple thrillers since (set in the Yucatán of course) and my editor always wanted less backstory, more action, which of course that’s what thrillers are. But she’s fantastic and her edits/cuts were right on. Readers were always left wanting a bit more and whipped right through them. So, she was right.
Oh thank you David! I really appreciate that! What's really weird is I wondered if readers would like it b/c it wasn't really moving the story forward. I am really glad you did like it! The people and life events in MX really cemented my feelings about the country and I wanted to share that.
Yes the story is the discovery, the search, the quest. Sometimes we move forward, sometimes it seems sideways or even backwards, but your journey is one we can all share and appreciate.
Gracias Jennifer! Oh, it is chock full of tales from the Mexican crypt, haha. It's so great I get to re-live them by writing about them all over again. I love that Ana Mario had the nerve to battle the state to save the reef. Her first husband was Luis Aguilar, often called the Mexican Frank Sinatra. When he died in 1997, they closed off a main street in CDMX, her daughter Ana Luisa told me.
What a wonderful and magical chapter in your Puerto Morelos journey! Such a pleasure to see the richness of the Yucatan unfold through your writing. Well done, and thank you!
Thanks Mike.
Once again my friend you've outdone yourself. I was wondering what Book to bring on my vacation, Now I know. I read it years ago, When you gave it to me and I was visiting all the lighthouses on the west coast. Now, I'll enjoy it on my travels to South Dakota. Where; Hopefully there are many arms To hug me when I arrive.
Keep on writing my friend, you're fantastic.
💜🐟🐠🐡🐈🐈 those darn cats just won't stop chasing the fish.
Much appreciated Micheline. Glad you're enjoying the story, again!
Jeanine your descriptive storytelling ability shines through this engaging narrative as always. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Tinashe. Appreciate it!
Jeanine, another great story and history lesson. I so appreciate how you weave them together. It also brought back a memory of when I was stung in the middle of the night while sleeping by a poisonous scorpion. I'm grateful your friend and I are here today. Look what she accomplished!
Thank you Paulette! Oh dear. Scorpion stings are very scary. Glad you too survived!!
You really ticked a lot of boxes for me with this one, Jeanine. Conservation, preservation, yoga, meditation, and ....Snakes. Am I the only person who first thinks of snakes when I hear about hurricanes, floods, most natural disasters? "Oh My God there are going to be snakes everywhere!", I gasp. Thanks for putting a positive spin on snakebite, though. Without that almost fatal bite from the four nose (horrifying name btw) a wonderful environmental achievement might never have happened. Well gotta go, need to check under my recliner for cuatro narices.
Snakes in southern Mexico are pretty much everywhere. Harmless as well as otherwise. In our laundry bodega, Paul pulled out a stacked towel. Underneath was a small but dead snake that lives around coco trees. Thank goodness it must have been asleep at the switch—no bites. But always a reminder that in the tropics, we share space with everyone and everything. Yes, snakes are scary!!
I love your stories and how you incorporate Mayan ‘lore’. If I’m not mistaken, that cuatro narices looks like what we called a tericopelo in Costa Rica or a Fer-de-lance, highly venomous! We also had a friend fortunate to survive being bitten by one. Amazing! What a journey of Ana Mario to use her sign to save the precious reef!
Thanks Marlo! Yes, fer de lance it is. Very scary. She was so lucky. Few of us in town knew she was even attempting that endeavor. I was in our local store one morning and there on the front page of one of Cancun's newspapers, above the fold, was a photo of Ana Mario and president of MX, Felipe Calderon (!) stating provisions had been made for the reef. My mind was blown. She was SO under the radar. I only heard about her life and achievements through our friend who was a local newspaper editor. Her daughter, too, was very under the radar. They were so cool.
I love the mixture of history, mysticism, and your personal story with Puerto Morelos. This was a fun read!
Thanks Daniel. At first I wasn't sure if it would resonate with readers, but so glad it did. Those that surrounded us in our pueblo were as much of the fabric as the place itself.
All your chapters resonate! I’m enjoying and learning a lot from your publication.
Thanks, by accident I re-sent out Chap 10 again … Puerto Morelos Magic as I tried to put into my Section at top. My latest post is on Chichen Itza and hope you have a chance to read it too.
Another incredible story with so many fascinating twists and turns: hurricane devastation, the escapees of Crococun, a deadly viper snake, Ana Mario's amazing recovery... (Reminds me of "Lions, tigers & bears - oh my!) But I love how Ana and her daughter founded Lu’um Ka’naab and also how you found your heart's goal, a bountiful meditation and yoga center - right in Puerto Morales!
Thanks Lana.
This chapter really conveys a mixture of sadness and dismay following the hurricane, but yet, still hope and anticipation for good things still to come. Love the "stay or go" connection part about Ana Mario and her daughter, her snake bite and the amazing and wonderful contributions she/they made to Puerto Morelos and the entire Caribbean coastline with their work on the Meso American Reef! Wow! Not to mention her work on saving the essential mangroves! Such an exciting time to have been there.
It truly was, Barbra. So much going on.
I really like how you weave together your story with all the other stories - of the land, the people, and the environment. It creates a rich atmosphere! Thanks, Jeanine!
Thank you, Priya. Actually I was a little unsure of this chapter as I was telling a lot of backstory. But maybe that’s what memoir is ): I’ve written a couple thrillers since (set in the Yucatán of course) and my editor always wanted less backstory, more action, which of course that’s what thrillers are. But she’s fantastic and her edits/cuts were right on. Readers were always left wanting a bit more and whipped right through them. So, she was right.
A great chapter. I saved it to read until I knew I would have time to savor your delicious writing. Especially liked the print of the Mayan Goddess.
Oh thank you David! I really appreciate that! What's really weird is I wondered if readers would like it b/c it wasn't really moving the story forward. I am really glad you did like it! The people and life events in MX really cemented my feelings about the country and I wanted to share that.
Yes the story is the discovery, the search, the quest. Sometimes we move forward, sometimes it seems sideways or even backwards, but your journey is one we can all share and appreciate.
Mil gracias!
How intriguing. That lovely place is just teeming with great stories. Or you are!
Gracias Jennifer! Oh, it is chock full of tales from the Mexican crypt, haha. It's so great I get to re-live them by writing about them all over again. I love that Ana Mario had the nerve to battle the state to save the reef. Her first husband was Luis Aguilar, often called the Mexican Frank Sinatra. When he died in 1997, they closed off a main street in CDMX, her daughter Ana Luisa told me.
Wow. Who knew? You did!
I met so many incredible people in MX. Cancun was like the wild west and early on people came from everywhere.