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| Longer days - beautiful weather |
Huh! I’ll be darned!
Scrolling
through 20,472 photographs of Isla Mujeres we have taken in the last
few years, I realized there definitely is a repeat pattern to life here on
the island.
June is prime
time for the boisterous political parades. The campaign for Governor of the State of Quintana Roo was in June
2009. The campaign for Presidente of Isla Mujeres occurred in June 2010, and it is happening again in June
2013. State and federal elections are held every six years, while local elections are held every three
years. The mandate for our local Presidente,
Hugo Sanchez, was a bit shorter as the election officials wanted to synchronize
the dates statewide.
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| 2009 State elections |
The political
parades are entertaining, so we don’t mind the noise of the various campaign
slogans and accompanying music. The PRI party
seems to like rap music similar to Pit Bull, and the PAN soundtrack sounds like One Night in Bangkok, or maybe it’s Putting on the Ritz – one of those. I find myself humming along as the boom-box
golf carts pass by our house, again and again and again.
June is
also the time for torrential rainstorms interspersed with silky smooth seas
and brilliantly sunny days. In June 2011, Tropical Storm Arlene paid us a visit, flooding many parts of the island.
This
year, a storm sat over Isla for about a week before grudgingly moving on
to Florida, where it became Tropical
Storm Andrea - the first named storm of 2013. TS Andrea
set rainfall records in various parts of the USA, and
probably here on Isla. I have seen
reports of up to 2 feet of rain for the week. That’s a lot of water!
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| 2011 TS Arlene flooded streets in Centro |
So much
water that two separate sightings of crocodiles swimming on roadways were
reported; one in the hotel zone in Cancun, and one in the area by the Hacienda
Mundaca Park on Isla.
Strange areas, such
as Captain Tony’s front yard at the higher southern end of the island, were
turned into lakes. He and his dog went kayaking
- on the front lawn.
We were wet and
cranky, experiencing a bit of cabin fever
as we huddled in our house, staring out the rain-drenched windows as sheets of
rain obliterated our ocean view.
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| Lawrie, clearing the street drain near our house |
And
predictably, every year the heavy rains cause migraine-sized headaches for store
and restaurant owners in Centro. Even though we are an island made primarily
of sand and coral, the water doesn’t dissipate rapidly enough. The various pumps just can’t handle the flow.
This time, there was also a problem in
the electrical panel for the pumps, causing a further delay in reducing the
water buildup. Many drainage trenches
were clogged with sand and trash.
In the
summer months, we frequently check the two large drains a few hundred feet south
of our house. We have, on occasion, been
out there in the pouring rain, rakes in hand, clearing the debris, reducing the
accumulating water to a few inches instead of a few feet. I
wonder do we qualify as city workers? Maybe we will get an invitation to the annual Christmas party?
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| Swimming with whale sharks, June 2009 |
On the
upside, June is one of our favourite months because the ocean is teeming
with sea life. It is turtle mating
season, and the beginning of their nesting season. June is also, in my opinion, the best month for
enjoying a swim with the whale sharks, those graceful forty-foot long
submarines that are in truth neither whale nor shark, but the world’s largest
fish. Fewer tourists equal a better
experience when swimming with these gorgeous creatures. In
June, most Canadians, Americans, and Europeans are enjoying fine weather in
their own hometowns. Later in the
summer, when crowded cities heat up, we will see another uptick in tourism,
particularly from European countries.
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| Turtle tracks on our beach |
June is
also the beginning of the migration season for various species of rays, including
the Golden Rays and Manta Rays. We were
fortunate a few years ago to watch as a large group of rays passed our house on
the east side of the island. The females
leap high into the air, contracting muscles, and expelling a cylinder-shaped
live baby ray. The babies’ wings
unfurled as they entered the water, and away they sped following the family
group. Pretty darn cool to see!
It’s
comforting to know that some things never change. Next year, we’ll be doing most of the same
things again: viewing the turtles’ mating season, swimming with whale sharks,
watching for the migration of rays, and enjoying life with our friends and
family.
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| Ah, beautiful, peaceful June. |
Lynda and Lawrie
Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.
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4 comments:
Sounds wonderful! We will be down next week! usually we go in the winter, but this will be th2nd time for us in June. Bringing some newbies which is always fun!
Hi Ann - looking at the island through a friend's eyes is always interesting. They can usually point out something that I have never noticed before. Hope everyone has a great time. Cheers L
Actually we are bringing our niece & nephew as a HS graduation present! They have traveled a bit but never out of the country!
Great idea! We did that a number of years ago. Brought Lawrie's son John to Mexico for a grad present. He turned into a huge fan of Mexico. Now in recent years we have had great fun introducing his two sons to Mexico.
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