November 19th, 2008
A good choice for a breakfast or an afternoon snack is pan de dulce (sweetbread). In Mexico you will find an endless variety of sweetbreads, each one more delicious than the last one you tried.
There are los churros, sticks of chewy pastry well covered with cinnamon; la concha (the shell), bread in the form of a seashell, coated with sugary icing; el cuerno (the horn); el puerquito, usually made with ginger; el polvorón, which looks like a sugary pretzel; la campechana, layered pastry with a sugary glaze; la trenza, los besos, el volcán, las orejas and thousand more.
My current favorite is the polvorón… What about yours? Why don't you try them and let us know?
In Playa, you'll find excellent sweetbreads at Pan del Carmen…
Posted in Mexican food and recipes | Write a comment »
November 13th, 2008
¡Vamos Potros!
Wanting something different to do? How about a professional soccer game on a Saturday night? Forty-five minutes north of Playa you’ll find the city of Cancun, where the Potros de Hierro del Atlante (the Broncos) play every other Saturday.
How does Mexican soccer work? Like a lot of Central and South American domestic leagues, the Mexican Football League has two separate seasons every 12 months. The first is the Apertura (opening), the Fall league that runs from late summer to late December. The second is the Clausura (closing), running from January until late May/early June. During each season, clubs play 17 games, usually starting at noon EST on Saturdays and Sundays. The two seasons are completely separate with individual champions. Currently, there is no overall title game between the Clausura and the Apertura Champion.
The Mexican league is made up of 18 clubs divided into three groups of six each. The top two in each group, plus the two 3rd place teams with the best records, go to the playoffs. The playoffs are about to start and the Potros are definitely going to be there.
Are you ready to cheer? "¡Vamos Potros!"
Posted in Outside Playa | 1 Comment »
November 7th, 2008
¿Te gusta levantarte temprano — a las 5:00, por ejemplo? ¿Te gusta llegar "temprano" a casa después de la fiesta?
Si tu respuesta es afirmativa a una de éstas 2 preguntas, te recomiendo admirar el amanecer en Playa del Carmen, ya sea desde la Avenida Constituyentes o desde playa Mamitas.
Hay lugares y momentos que nos repiten que Dios existe, en Playa del Carmen así lo sentí.
Rayna Linaloe Martínez (Cuernavaca Mor. México)
¿Verdad que vale la pena levantarse temprano?
Posted in En español, En la playa en Playa | 1 Comment »
November 6th, 2008
El Castillo, Chichen-Itza | Photo: Jason
Jason took a teacher training course with us in Playa del Carmen…
We got to Chichen Itza about 9.30 in the morning, the Saturday after my CELTA course finished, after a somewhat adventurous trip from Playa in John's rented Jeep.
We were there before the tour buses and rushed in without buying a map or waiting for a tour guide, determined to explore this amazing place on our own. The famous Quetzalcoat pyramid, with its many steep steps reaching far into the sky, the Temple of Kukulkan (aka "El Castillo") dominated the manicured lawns.
We then strolled haphazardly around the rest of the site, in a relaxed game of hide-and-go-seek, along paths where people were selling souvenirs, mostly masks, Mayan calendars and trinkets.
Tucked around corners and behind groves of trees were all manner of buildings and other structures, each one more fascinating than the last, including the Great Ball Court, which we failed to recognise as such at first.
By this time, we had been at Chichen Itza for a few hours. The tour buses had arrived and throngs of tourists were being herded around by guides. The mystique of the ancient monuments was lost and, though we had missed parts of Chichen-Itza, we decided to move on, down the pot-holed back road, lined by jungle on either side, to the ruins of Tulum.
Posted in Outside Playa, Photos of Mexico | Write a comment »
November 4th, 2008
En IHRM nos encanta ir a la playa, ¿por qué?
Porque…
- Me siento como un ángel
Tatiana (Rusia, estudiante de español)
- La vida es un pastel de chocolate
S'Labe isch en Schoggichuacha!
Jessica (Suiza, estudiante de español,)
- Viva México
Isabelle (Suiza, estudiante de español)
- Siento que puedo volar
Raúl (México, profesor de español)
- Pura vida
Fermín (Filipinas- Estados Unidos, estudiante de CELTA )
Así es cómo nos sentimos. ¿Cómo te sientes tú?
Posted in En la playa en Playa | 3 Comments »
October 27th, 2008
En Playa del Carmen hay muchas discotecas, pero sin duda la más popular es el Blue Parrot.
Blue Parrot es un punto de referencia en Playa. Ya sea de día o de noche, los columpios junto a la barra te dan la bienvenida a un oasis playero donde palmeras, cuerpos bronceados y deliciosas bebidas se mueven al ritmo del reggae y lo más popular de los años 70, 80 y 90. Todas las noches tienen el famoso "fire show" (espectáculo de fuego).
Víctor Hugo Hernández, integrante del espectáculo de fuego, nos habla un poco sobre este evento tan interesante y divertido:
"El espectáculo de fuego es una tradición que inició en Hawai hace muchos años. En Playa del Carmen hemos practicado esta actividad desde hace más de 5 años y varias personas que han visto el espectáculo en Hawai nos han comentado que lo hacemos mejor que ellos, lo cual me llena de orgullo y valor para seguir practicando ésta que es mi profesión y mi pasatiempo."
¿Y tú, has visto el espectáculo de fuego?
Posted in En español, What's on in Playa, Bars and clubs in Playa | 1 Comment »
October 17th, 2008
In Playa del Carmen, you can taste every flavor from Mexico. A great place to eat camarones (shrimps): Los Aguachiles.
You have a wide variety of shrimp tacos with a huge assortment of sauces: cilantro (coriander), spinach and cream, refried black beans and mushrooms with chile de árbol…
Then there's a great selection of tostadas, including tuna, shrimps, shrimp ceviche…
And our favorite at this restaurant: "Los Figurines", tacos served in lettuce leaves with a homemade dressing (see photo, above).
Still hungry…? Don't miss the desserts: Apple with pulpa de tamarindo (tamarind pulp), chile and chamoy sauce.
Prices: tacos $16 pesos; tostadas $16-20 pesos; figurines $18 pesos.
Nice atmosphere, outdoor restaurant, local people…
Los Aguachiles is on Calle 34, esquina 25 Av. Norte, and is open Monday to Saturday, 11.30am to 7.00pm.
Posted in Restaurants in Playa | 1 Comment »
October 16th, 2008
Izamal, la ciudad amarilla…
Now, if you come to our weekend trip to Mérida, you can also enjoy a visit to Izamal, "The City of Hills".
After visiting Chichen Itza, we pass through several fascinating Mayan villages on the 45 minute drive to Izamal. When we get there, we go first to enjoy the Yucatecan cuisine at the Kinich restaurant.
After lunch, we go to visit the Franciscan Convent that was built from — and over — one of the Mayan Pyramids. In this colourful town you can also take a leisurely stroll round some of the plazas.
The whole city was painted yellow and white for the visit of John Paul II in 1993, as a welcome.
Oscar Sáenz
Posted in Outside Playa, Photos of Mexico | Write a comment »
October 6th, 2008
Otra de las cosas que te recomendamos probar durante tu estancia en México es el pan de elote. Buenísimo, ya sea como desayuno, merienda o postre, con dulce o salado.
Un buen lugar para comerlo en Playa del Carmen: Café Andrade en la Calle 8 norte entre Avenida 15 y 20 [mapa].
Si te animas a hacerlo, aquí tienes la receta…
Posted in En español, Mexican food and recipes, Bars and clubs in Playa | 4 Comments »
October 6th, 2008
Playa del Carmen is generally a pretty laid-back sort of place to come to. You really need to chill out? How about a massage…?
Lots of our students have been to the healing hands of Silvia Arnó, and really recommend it. You find Silvia at Samadhi, Calle 26 Norte, Núm.128 altos, entre 5a y 10a Av. Phone 984 128 36 02 / 873 35 83.
Posted in Gente de Playa | Write a comment »