02 May 2006: this photo really strikes a nerve in me. On my first SP visit, around Christmas of 1976, I found Sefi Paz, Jr., standing inside a hole-in-the-wall in the front of the Ambergris Lodge and dealing something deliciously close to Dairy Queen.

I still remember his cheerful "no hay" whenever he failed to have some goods ready to serve.

It was not until my 3rd visit, one year later, that I had the good sense to look inside the unimpressive entrance to Fido's - just across the side street to the south - and find Wil, Dale, and Chico serving booze and, more importantly, playing great music in that usual gathering place for all the local gringos and many of the musically inclined San Pedranos.

So you've come to the tropics?
Mervino