Money, drugs and power - or lack of power

It is the fission of fear, the feeling of being a part of something dangerous, but not actually in danger, that stokes the internet wildfires. The desire to be a part of the news as it happens: I was there. But I’m safe. I was close, but nothing happened. I have a friend who was there and he said …..

TV Isla Mujeres, Cancun January 17th

When the recent shootings happened in Cancun, the internet blazed with news, comments, and speculation. The official reports maintain that the attack was a response to the new governor's anti-crime initiatives. The police headquarters were stormed by cartel soldiers who were unhappy with the authorities. One police officer and three bad guys were killed, and another five were captured. The police and gang members took the fight into a high-speed movie-style chase through the streets of Centro, scaring city residents and the customers at Plaza las Americas’ shopping center into thinking they were under attack.

Local kids enjoying a peaceful time on Isla

It’s a heartbreaking news story that will affect many of our island neighbours who are trying to eke out a living, to live a happy life, to watch their children grow and have families of their own. 

This area relies heavily on tourism. Millions of visitors from many countries in the world, as well as from other parts of Mexico, visit the Cancun-Riviera Maya every year. 

The stories of fear and danger will dramatically slow or stop the flow of tourists to this area.

1991, Switzerland with Brits & Europeans

We have vivid memories of 1991, the year of the first Gulf War. Americans were advised by their State Department not to travel to Europe, as it was too dangerous. 

As Canadians, we were not affected by the US travel ban. 

For six months, we explored Scotland, Northern Ireland, Erie, Wales, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Andorra, and Portugal with our pick of accommodations, even the ones that were typically booked two years in advance. In the six months of traveling, we met dozens of Canadians, hundreds of Europeans and eight Americans. 

2001, the empty Intercontinental Hotel in Bali

In 2001, a few months after the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, we spent a delightful two weeks in a charmingly generous and gentle culture when hotels were nearly empty, and restaurants were closing due to lack of tourists. 

Every Balinese national that we met said, “Thank you for coming to Bali.” Their small country was nearly destitute from the drop in tourism.

This isn’t a Mexico problem; it is a worldwide problem. Whether it is some crazy person shooting up a school, or bombing a cultural icon, or gangs involved in turf wars, it isn’t going to go away. Please don’t let this stupidity control your life.

And an interesting quote from an experienced authority.

"Chicago has had close to a 1,000 shootings in the last year," said Walter McKay, a former Vancouver police detective who is an expert on security issues in Mexico. "I still don't see a travel advisory on any websites for Chicago."

"The drug cartels are business entities," McKay said. "They're there to make money. And if they start shooting up and doing this all the time and all the tourists flee, well, what's the point of having the Playa del Carmen area under your control?" Quote taken from an Article by Nicole Ireland

And other happenings in paradise.

On Sunday night, the underwater electrical feed, a cable that runs between the mainland and Isla Mujeres, was damaged by a yacht anchoring near Playa Norte, leaving the entire island without power for fourteen hours as the electrical company scrambled to make repairs. Then again, on Monday night, right around supper time, the power was cut to make additional repairs.  Okay, bad timing for the intentional power outage, but when the crews are working non-stop, they do what they have to do to fix the problem.

Traffic jam on the water, North Beach 

We started to think about the funny and slightly annoying things that happen during a power outage. Money that can’t be dispensed by ATM’s. Gasoline that can’t be pumped into motos and vehicles for a community that habitually purchases small amounts of gas daily. Or the lack of cold beer.

One very inventive owner of a local taco eatery brought an operating moto (motorcycle) inside the restaurant, using the headlight as illumination for his customers. 

It was a two-walled restaurant with lots of open space for air circulation. It probably wasn't the healthiest solution, but it was inventive.

Lights for dinners R Lacey photo

And then there were the teenagers, deprived of the internet or phone texting, who were forced to communicate verbally with family and friends.

OMG, fourteen hours without updating their Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat accounts, it’s a teenager’s nightmare.

During the power cuts, we realized we were actually well-organized. We had propane for cooking. 

Fifteen wind-proof candle-lanterns normally used for romantic evenings on our patio, plus a dozen spare candles. 

Six flashlights were stashed in various locations around the house, and extra batteries. 

Bottled water. Food in the cupboard for us, Sparky, and Tommy.

Wind-proof lanterns, handy during a power outage

 A hand-operated can opener. Wine to drink and books to read.  

Avid readers, we stopped purchasing paper books ten years ago due to the lack of new material available when living in a foreign country. 

E-readers are handy to have, as long as we remember to keep them charged and at least one or two unread books downloaded and ready to go. Otherwise, they are just another useless electronic device when the power and the internet are out.

Beginning of another warm and sunny day

We certainly weren’t going to freeze to death in temperatures hovering around the mid-seventies F, or mid-twenties C. 

Life was good. We were all set for the current situation.

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Tommy

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Our two island paradises

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Remember that bad pickup line from the 1980s? “So, what’s your sign?” 

  

We are both Pisces, and that makes us just a little bit different.  

By different, we mean, we love water and have to live within sight of it, hence our love affair with islands. 

Bowen Island, Canada

Our first stab at island life was Bowen Island, just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, near Vancouver.  It was a small mountainous paradise, about 19 square miles in total land mass. Back in the mid-1970s, when we moved to Bowen Island, the population was only around 1200. The mixed-grade school was so small it was in danger of closing. A student was invented to meet the minimum requirement of six students.

Car & passenger ferry for Bowen Island 

Close to the ferry dock was a small shopping area, with a couple of places to eat and the Snug Cove General Store operated by parents, John & Evy Lock. It featured a butcher shop, fresh produce, cleaning supplies, dry goods, canned goods, and a huge assortment of penny candy for the kids to ponder over.  

The store was taken over by other family members who eventually moved the business to a larger space, and away from the congested ferry dock. Snug Cove General Store is still operating at the second location, but under different owners.

Harvesting cocos from Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres

Fast forward a couple of decades.  As we neared retirement age, we once again thought of living on an island – only this time we wanted to be warm. Our choice was Isla Mujeres, just off the coast near Cancun, yeah - I know, the Las Vegas of the Beach. Cancun is a wonderful vacation spot, just not for us. Founded by the Mexican government in the 1970s on a vacant stretch of white sand, this is where all-inclusive resorts became popular. A great experience for families, at a fixed cost. 

Playa Centro, Isla Mujeres

On Isla Mujeres, life is simpler. Yes, we have our share of tourists, with Cancun being only eighteen minutes away by passenger ferry.  

That’s a good thing; tourism allows the residents to earn a living, and still have the qualities of life and community that make island living so special.  

Cancun provides the benefit of a nearby international airport servicing the world, familiar stores such as Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, and Sam’s Club - making living in paradise easy, a no-brainer.

Yummy mangoes for sale 2 blocks from our casa

And yes, in the beginning we used the benefits of Cancun regularly, but as Isla Mujeres grows, our trips to ‘the big city’ are less often.  

We have become a part of the community, frequenting local stores where the owners now greet us by name, and usually have exactly what we want. 

Should you move to a small island?  Maybe. It helps if you are a Pisces and are patient, but slightly impractical. Life on an island isn’t always about tight time frames and schedules. Sometimes it is a lazy afternoon hiding out from the hot sun and thinking about what you should be accomplishing – mañana.

Hasta Luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

 We were both Bowen Island volunteer Firefighters.

 

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

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Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

Driving in Mexico – It’s like a video game!

Driving in Mexico is a bit like a video game, a test of your reflexes and hand-eye coordination.  

It can be entertaining and fun, if not a little bit nerve-wracking.  

The traffic is fast, signals or stop signs are merely suggestions and staying in one lane isn’t always the safest choice.  

Ya gotta keep your eyes open and go with the flow.  Don’t drive too fast.  Don’t drive too slowly.  Just go with the flow.  

Little or no warning - road closed.  Turn here!

Lanes narrow, or disappear without much notice.  Road work can appear suddenly without a lot of warning signs.  A typical construction zone might have one lonely worker waving a tattered piece of red cloth as you are about to run over him.  Watch out!  

And at the end of the workday, an assortment of graders, rollers, and vehicles are parked on the dark roadside, with no flashing lights or warning signs. 

End of the day park the equipment and go home.

On the highways, cars, vans, or trucks pass anywhere it is possible to squeak by.  Recently, on Isla, we were driving south on Aeropuerto Road, just starting up the little hill near Casa Cielo, when the taxi behind, and the taxi behind the north-bound vehicle both decided to pass at the same time.  It’s an amazing feat of physics, or perhaps time and space, when four vehicles can pass without incident on a narrow two-lane strip of road. 

We drive a golf cart as our everyday vehicle. It's fun and easy, but basic on standard equipment. An island turn signal is your arm stuck out to the left to indicate you are turning left, or maybe to tell the driver behind you it’s okay to pass, or sometimes to tell the driver ahead that you are going to overtake him/her.  Your right hand pointing to the right is usually the indication that you are turning that direction, or perhaps just resting your arm on the back of the seat. 

Recently, we were on a short and busy trip back to Canada.  We rented an average car, complete with standard safety equipment such as brake lights, seat belts, and airbags.  I enjoy driving and hopped into the driver’s side of the Hyundai Sonata.  Coming up to our first turn, I indicated with my left arm that I was turning left and slammed my hand into the closed window. Oh, right. This car has turn signals. All was well for a few more miles until I had a momentary glitch in my brain’s hard drive, and signaled right by slapping Lawrie in the face with my right hand. 

Internet - standard hand signal for right turn

I must admit we get a bit of perverse pleasure in confounding our Mexican friends when we use our left arm, bent at a ninety-degree angle, to indicate a right turn.  It’s the standard signal in most parts of the world …. just not here.   

Other drivers give us a “what the heck are you doing?” look, which makes us smile.  Small things amuse us!

Typical street in rural Mexico

In Mexico, pedestrians do not have the right of way, as they do in the USA or Canada.  

However, those wide yellow speed bumps (topes) are sacred!  They are typically located in extremely busy locations, such as across from the passenger ferry terminal, near the schools, and at the Chedraui grocery store.  

DO NOT drive through these crosswalks while a pedestrian is crossing.  This is the quickest way to irritate the police, and for you to donate cash to the Policemen’s Benevolent Society. 

Good luck with your new video game: Driving in Mexico. 

Hasta luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

Juarez Avenue at sunset on Isla Mujeres

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Landscaping by turtles, Isla Mujeres Mexico

Perfect turtle egg-laying weather

Yep, that’s what the title says: landscaping by turtles. 

I know, I know this is the second article in two months about turtles, but this is turtle season, folks!  

We are in the middle of the nesting season with possibly the largest number of returning turtles since the turtle farm came into existence about twenty years ago. 

Dozens of nesting holes

Hundreds and hundreds of the ladies are nightly digging up the beaches, creating four-foot deep holes on any small piece of sand on the eastern side of Isla Mujeres. The beaches look like a Bobcat earth mover has been at work, operated by someone like me, someone with a very short attention span.  “I’m bored with this hole, I think I’ll make another one over there, oh wait, that’s a better spot.”  And on, and on, into the night.

Sparky sniffing the mess left by the mama turtle

A few weeks ago, around mid-night, Sparky our little four-legged alarm system woke us with a woof.  Lawrie and I popped out of bed to investigate the strange noise coming from our ocean-side yard.  It sounded as if someone was shovelling sand, preparing to bury a body.  (You can tell, we read a lot of murder mysteries and thrillers.)  

A quick flick of the flashlight and we spotted a large sea turtle deep in the bushes on the south side of the house, violently flipping rocks and sand.  We wanted to help her find a better spot, but decided that she had to make her own decisions about the suitability of the location for her nest.  In the end, she abandoned the attempt and moved on to another place. 

Eggs were dug up by another mama turtle

The downside of so much nesting activity is that many of the eggs are not being collected by the turtle farm for hatching in their predator-free environment.  I have recently seen at least six large nests that have been re-dug the following night by another mama turtle, scattering eggs across the beach, crushing the fragile spheres with her large body.  It’s unfortunate.  Presumably, the turtle farm hatchery is filled to capacity.  The upside of the extra eggs is that the crabs and birds are happily feasting on the embryos, increasing their chances of producing more baby crabs or baby birds.

Mayan Riviera Sargassum seaweed 

Besides the challenge of finding a suitable place to nest, the mama turtles are facing another weird environmental phenomenon this year – Sargassum seaweed.  Literally tons of seaweed have been drifting in mats of vegetation and washing up on beaches throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.  It is an unsightly mess causing problems in resort areas, especially the Mayan Riviera and Cancun.  The Sargassum seaweed is an algae that originates mid-Atlantic in the warm-bodied Sargasso Sea.  The reason for the problem is perplexing scientists and environmentalists everywhere.  

Tracks through neighbours' yard into ours.

The female sea turtles – in their strange turtle logic - are reluctant to cross the piles of seaweed.  It’s probably an old turtle tale handed down from generation to generation by the older turtles to the younger turtles.  “Don’t cross the seaweed or you will die.”  This year, the turtles seem to be getting over their fear and clambering over the accumulation of seaweed in their search for a nesting spot.

We have often wondered why the mama turtles seem to congregate on the eastern side of the island, instead of using the longer, flatter, and much softer beaches on the western side, the side facing Cancun.  

Is it because our beaches are more visible as the ladies arrive back at their home base?  Or is it just more expedient after mating to hit the first available beach and offload all those pesky eggs?  

The ladies expend so much effort digging in the rocky sand on the eastern side, I would think a few extra minutes spent scouting out a better location would be worth the time, wouldn’t it?  

As you can probably guess, we really enjoy watching the show in turtle season.  They are pretty darn amazing creatures. 

We wish you a long and peaceful life, my friends.

Hasta luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

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The Little Devils of Isla Mujeres, Mexico!

Delivering vegetables to Hidalgo Avenue

“Bicycle?” he asks with a smile, pointing at his specialized vehicle, a diablito (little devil). It’s a combination of a cart and a bicycle welded together ingeniously.   

The maleteros, bellboys, or bicycle couriers are a hard-working bunch of guys who meet all of the arriving and departing passenger boats. They offer their portage services to everyone.   

On this particular day, two of the maleteros have been hired by a local restaurant owner to cart his heavy purchases from the passenger boat, a few blocks to his restaurant on Hidalgo Avenue. Boxes of ripe tomatoes and aromatic peppers are stacked on top of sturdy cartons of supplies. Sacks of green cabbage heads and crisp white onions are balanced to one side – the bright red diablitos are loaded and ready to go. Both maleteros are wearing the sponsored t-shirt of the day, this one from Casa España.  It’s a clever way to identify the legitimate porters.

Bellboys (porters) loading packages on UltraMar

On the other side of the bay at the UltraMar docks in Puerto Juarez, the white porters’ tunics with navy trim, and “Bellboy” embroidered over the pocket, strive to create a hotel-resort atmosphere.  This subtle visual reference is presumably designed to ease the concerns of tourists, as most travellers will have encountered a bellboy in a safe and familiar hotel situation.  

Puerto Juarez hotel-style uniforms for porters.

To complete the resort illusion, the porters use a traditional hotel cart to move packages, not the bicycle-cart diablito. They will offer to transport heavy bags and purchases down to the docks, stacking luggage in piles for easy loading onto the boats. 

Embarking passengers wait sheltered under large canvas sunshades – chatting amiably with friends if they are familiar with the routine, or eyeing their luggage fearfully if they are new to the island. On the Isla Mujeres side of the water, the procedure is similar, but we have noticed that people are less worried about their possessions on the return trip now that they know the system.

Passengers waiting to board at Puerto Juarez docks

It is always a bit amusing to see a tourist react with suspicion at the suggestion that they turn over their precious baggage to a stranger.  Although, to be fair, the first time we arrived on Isla, we didn’t feel comfortable enough to let someone walk off with our suitcases.  

Now, we are so accustomed to the service, we gladly let someone else cart our heavy items. Disembarking on Isla, we hand over our goods, describe in Spanglish where our vehicle is parked and part company. We walk out the passenger exit, while the maletero must go around to an exit for the diablito. We met up again a few blocks down the street, where we indicated the golf cart was parked. For just a few dollars, it’s a nice treat, especially for my shoulder and knee joints! 

Diablitos - bicycle/cart combination 

On Isla, there is the added service of the bicycle-couriers transporting heavy items directly to hotels in Centro, or the customers’ place of business, or to a nearby vehicle.  

And as with every form of transportation on Isla, people become very inventive about what will fit on a diablito: 50-inch TV, propane tanks, groceries, large pails of paint, pet carriers, lumber, mattresses, and of course, suitcases.  Some enterprising operators also use their diablito to transport family members when it is not being used to earn a living. Mom and the kids pile in the cart portion, and Papa provides the pedal power on the bicycle.

Maleteros - use  hand carts as well as diablitos

Maleteros, bellboys, and bicycle couriers work for tips. Be generous. It’s a hot and physical job.

Hasta Luego 
Lynda and Lawrie

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

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The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky