A Canadian writer's life

Friday, February 6, 2015

Are we done yet? The endless project!

Presidente Agapito Magaña

It all started with a photo-op and press conference. On August 30^th, the Presidente Municipal de Isla Mujeres announced the construction of a new dome to cover the seldom-used basketball court, located directly across the street from our casa. The basketball court is part of the Colegio de Bachilleres school complex on Aeropuerto Road.

Official announcement

The dome is probably a good idea, adding daytime shade, nighttime lighting, fencing to keep the basketballs out of the nearby jungle and bleachers for the fans to sit and enjoy the games. In almost seven years of looking at that basketball court, we have yet to see one actual game played. The players are usually just noodling around with a ball, repeatedly losing it into the thick vegetation. Eventually, they give up in frustration and head back into the college classrooms.

September 23rd - backhoe working

So the big announcement was made, and then nothing happened for several weeks. We shrugged it off as another idea that would soon fizzle and die. Then, around September 23^rd, a backhoe and operator arrived, digging trenches and shifting piles of dirt to new locations. A few days later, the forming crew arrived, creating eight deep holes to be filled with concrete. And then nothing more happened. All through October, we had blissful silence across the street; no beeping backup alarms, no workers, just birds tweeting and twittering. (And, no, I don't mean the birds were sending texts to each other!)

November 5th - concrete pumper

Then just around sunset on November 5^th, the concrete trucks and pumper arrived to pour the foundations. Okay, things are starting to happen. In years past, we have seen various bits and pieces of remedial work done on this basketball court, and never completed so we were still not convinced at this point that this is really going to happen.

December 6th, upright supports

Back to peace and quiet – until December 6^th, when a large flatbed truck, hauling eight steel uprights, pulled onto the court surface. The crew jostled and jiggled the posts into place on the footings, securing them with large bolts.

By now, we are headed into the long break that occurs in Mexico from December 11^th to January 7^th. It's a time of numerous celebrations, religious holidays and family events. It's definitely not the time to accomplish anything. The construction site across from us languished, quietly waiting until the festivities were over for another year.

January 7th, 2015, curved beams

And then January 7^th arrived, bringing a flurry of activity. Flatbed trucks with stacks of curved steel beams.

Cranes. Pickup trucks. Welding units. Big jack hammers. A dozen workers. It's a proper construction site!

The clangs of metal braces nudging up against metal beams, the loud bangs of hammers persuading the pieces into place, and the sizzle of the welding torch fill our daytime hours with loud noises. That's life. There is still a lot to be finished: the dome covering, the bleachers, and the fencing.

February 3rd, welder, curved beams

No, we aren't done yet!

In the end, the students with have a great place to play basketball, or other court games, and in the meantime, I have a handy source of action photographs to share with our readers.

Cleaning up the site

Hasta luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat

Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa & Roberto Borge Angulo

Friday, October 10, 2014

Yeah! The new ferry terminal is open, sort of

Ribbon cutting - photo Municipality of Isla Mujeres

At last, after many false starts and delays dating back to December of 2013, the new ferry terminal was officially inaugurated by a large group of dignitaries on Saturday, October 4^th.

(Updated: Roberto Borge was charged with fraud in 2017 and imprisoned. Link below.)

Every level of government was represented, from our own Municipal President Agapito Magaña Sánchez, to the Governor of Quintana Roo Roberto Borge Angulo, to the Federal General Coordinator of Ports and Merchant Marines Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, the President of Cancun, the President of Cozumel, our Naval Vice-Admiral Juan Ramón Pigñol, plus a host of other dignitaries.

Waiting for the event to start

A good crowd of islanders were on hand for the celebration. A large white tent was quickly erected in the new parking lot. It sheltered two massive video screens and a convention-style raised platform for the honoured guests, plus dozens of white slip-covered chairs for the general public. It was a classy event.

Appreciative crowd listening to Agapito Magaña

But, you know, everything runs on Mexican time. The event was supposed to start at 10:30 in the morning, but didn't get started until the last dignitary arrived via helicopter around 12:30 in the afternoon. And as always, everyone waited patiently for the commencement. The only people checking their wrist watches with mild irritation were us, the ex-pats. (We are learning, slowly, very slowly, not to fuss over start times.)

Governor Roberto Borge & Presidente Agapito Magaña

Finally the event started. Municipal President Agapito Magaña Sánchez called it “a historic day” for Isla Mujeres to have this new 700-thousand square-meter terminal. The new structure is fantastic, with plenty of room for the two plus million visitors that Isla Mujeres will host this year. Of course, the smaller vendors, eating establishments, and tour operators will take a little time to settle into the new facility, but be patient; eventually it will happen.

Some of you will say that the old, quaint facility had character, befitting the island; however, one visit to the washrooms or the waiting area would have put paid to that idea. Isla Mujeres is a world-class destination - funky, quaint, rustic, fun, beautiful, romantic, or hip - but it is that first impression that grabs the newcomer, creating a yearning, a compulsion to return again and again to this beautiful little island. This gleaming white facility, with its Mayan architectural influences, is a dazzling new entrance to paradise.

Governor Roberto Borge

Governor Roberto Borge also promised in his very popular speech, the completion of the Cultural Centre, completion of the ongoing hospital project, more utility services on the mainland portion of Isla Mujeres, upgrading the car ferry terminal at Punta Sam, and last but not least, the repairs and upgrading of the popular Isla Mujeres baseball field.

Whew! That's a big list, hope it happens.

Hasta Luego

Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

2020 Borge linked to organized crime

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isauro "Indio" Martinez Magaña

Friday, August 23, 2013

Then and now; Dan Kane’s photos of Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Dan Kane - transplanted islander

“What is happening to my little Isla?” Recent arrivals moan. Change! Inevitable change. When you look back on the photo collections of other Isleños, the island has always been changing.

This idyllic palm-strewn sandbar in the Caribbean Sea was discovered by the Mayans, then Spaniards, then Mexicans, and finally world-travellers of many different nationalities.

A transplanted islander, Dan Kane, recently reminded me that he has a collection of photos taken back in the 1970s and early 1980s. They are fun photos of thin, earnest young men with longish hair and pop-star-style moustaches.

Earnest young men with pop-star moustaches

The southern view from the balcony of their room at the Rocamar shows a remarkable open area where our house and the houses of my neighbours are now situated.

The view north, behind the two men, shows the large hotel known over the years by four different names, including the Presidente and the Avalon.

Upper balcony of Rocamar Hotel looking south

Some of the photos capture Playa Norte, or North Beach as an empty sweep of white sand, dotted with palm trees; no condos, no hotels, just sand and a couple of rustic beach restaurants.

At the south end of the island, the Mayan temple to the Goddess IxChel stands alone, a sturdy sentinel against invaders. (The structure was much larger before the devastation of Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988.) The statue garden has not been thought of, the newer lighthouse structure, gift store, and restaurant have yet to be built. Neither Garrafon Natural Reef Park nor Dolphin Discovery exists.

Mayan structure before 1988 Hurricane Gilberto

Every person who discovers Isla changes it in some small way. Perhaps a tourist requests an item that was not available before, and an enterprising merchant imports it to the island. Perhaps a winter resident requires a new service, and a company steps in to supply it.

Services that may have started out with simple things such as fax machines and photocopiers soon included cable internet, cell phones, internet cafes, or cash machines. Eventually, the island offered every modern convenience a traveller could dream up, including the recent Chedraui Super Store.

Other historic pictures from Dan’s collection are of a very well-known former islander, "Indio", sharing his sailboat with friends. Isauro "Indio" Martinez Magaña passed away on August 14th of this year.

He was part of the large, influential Magaña family and a cousin to our Presidente-elect, Agapito Magaña Sanchez.

Many of you will remember Indio’s Beach on the south-western side of the island; a quiet, tucked-away area to enjoy food, beer, and perhaps a little nude sunbathing if you were so inclined.

North beach before the hotels, condos and restaurants

Most of us are careless with photos from our youth, never once believing that a quick snapshot of friends enjoying themselves could have any historic significance down the road.

Perhaps in a few years, your personal photos will be the subject of another blogger’s musings.

Cherish the memories – they are a bit of history happening before your eyes.

Thank you, Dan, for sharing your memories with us.

Hasta Luego

Lynda and Lawrie

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Alicia Ricalde Concepción Magaña

Friday, May 17, 2013

Lights, Camera, Action! Political campaigning on Isla Mujeres, Mexico!

Enthusiastic PAN supporters.

Beep! Honk! Rat-a-tat-rat…and we’re off, headed into eight weeks of political campaigning for local elections in many areas of the state of Quintana Roo. The campaigns officially started at 1 minute after midnight on May 12^thand will culminate on Sunday, July 7^th, with the election of a new mayor (Presidente) for Isla Mujeres.

In the dark hours of the night, and into early dawn, crews feverishly mounted huge posters on every available electrical pole from the Navy base south to the tip of the island. Ladders were hurriedly propped against the posts, and intrepid supporters laced wire around the dubious concrete pillars to secure placards of their candidates.

Agapito Magaña Sanchez

There are several basic problems in the previous sentence; the concrete poles have metal rebar breaking through to the exterior, the electrical wires criss-crossing above are live, and the ladders are merely propped against the poles. It’s enough to make a grown person wince with fear! Ay caramba!

In this current island election, the PAN candidate is Alicia Ricalde Concepción Magaña. Sra. Ricalde Magaña was Presidente on Isla Mujeres from April 2008 to April 2010. Under Mexican law, a politician may serve one term before vacating the office, for at least one more term. The new PRI candidate is Agapito Magaña Sanchez. According to local friends, the two main candidates are cousins. I don’t think they’re first cousins, but they are cousins just the same. It must make for interesting conversations at family reunions.

The next several weeks will feature several parades, gatherings, and house-to-house campaigning. There are several trucks mounted with huge speaker systems cranked up to full volume that cruise the various neighbourhoods. The high-energy advertisements extoll the virtues and campaign promises of their candidate.

First parade of the 2013 Elections.

It’s enough to scare the bejeesus out of my cats, who dash panic-stricken for the closest hiding place. You would think that they would become accustomed to the noise, but apparently, a cat’s long-term memory does not extend from one election to the next. Every time, it is a new and terrifying experience for them. (Similar to what many voters experience at election time?)

Drummers for the parade

In our previous home of British Columbia, Canada, the provincial elections just wrapped up with a surprise comeback win for the in-power Liberals and the new Premier Christy Clark. Our Canadian elections aren’t nearly as much fun as here in Mexico. In Canada, we never experienced a loud, boisterous parade of decorated motorcycles, golf carts, and personal vehicles being led by a group of teenagers with an assortment of drums and bugles.

Elections are a lot more fun here!

Hasta Luego
Lynda and Lawrie

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