101 things to do on a beach

Locals enjoying the sunrise

What can you do when you are surrounded by the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea?

Start your day with the sunrise, or maybe you are headed to bed after being out all night dancing. After all, it's Mexico and the parties last until dawn.

The sunrises here are usually spectacular unless it happens to be one of those rare cloudy days, and even then the sun might give you a multi-coloured light show as the glowing orb clears the horizon before disappearing into the clouds.

Visitors enjoying the beach before the crowds arrive 

Go for a walk on the beach while enjoying your morning coffee, smoothie, or whatever other beverage you want to start your day with. 

While you are out enjoying the early morning calm you might see the beach cleaning crew raking the sand, sifting for discarded cigarette butts and bottle caps, picking up trash and removing potentially dangerous overhead coconuts. 

If you happen to have an extra bottle of water with you, pass it along. These folks start work at sunrise to make the beaches clean and tidy for the next round of sun-worshipers.

Coconut removal crew 

Get your towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, a bit of money for food and drinks, and don’t forget your reading material. 

May I recommend some enjoyable beach reads? My Isla Mujeres Mystery novels – are entertaining mysteries set on this fabulous little island. Murder and mayhem. Revenge and romance.

Head to the beach and claim your favourite spot.

Order lunch from one of the many beach-side restaurants and bars. 

The wait-staff with happily deliver it to you. Don’t forget to tip, but please no foreign coins, including American or Canadian. Coins are only valuable in their country of origin. 

Find your favourite spot

For instance: American coins are only good in the USA, and occasionally in Canada and then only at face value. Canadian coins are only good in Canada, Americans will not accept them. 

Euros are only good in Europe, Americans and Canadians don’t accept them. 

Okay, you get the idea. Using the currency of the country you are in is always the easiest solution.

Great place to people-watch 

People watch to your heart’s content. 

There are beaches for sunning and swimming, beaches where the fishermen repair their nets, clean and sell their daily catch, beaches for surf-casting, beaches to investigate the under-water inhabitants, and beaches where on windy days the enthusiasts for kitesurfing, bodysurfing and regular surfing play in the warm waves.

Windy day - surfs up

Then wrap up your day with a long leisurely dinner at a beachside restaurant while watching the sun sink into the ocean. 

If you are lucky you will get another vibrant display, the kind that we refer to as a “Tony Garcia Sunset.” 

Captain Tony seems to have a natural instinct for when the light, clouds and atmospheric conditions are optimum for producing the best technicolour displays.

The peaceful beauty of a tropical sunset

Okay, so not exactly 101 ideas, but we’ll leave you to come up with your own plans as you enjoy the white sand, the turquoise ocean, and the clear blue sky.

Hasta Luego

                Isla Mujeres Mystery series! 
Available on Amazon as ebooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Nate – gave us a pass

Boarding up for TS Nate.  

Normally a bit of rough weather doesn’t bother us. We’re Canadian and have experienced snowy blizzards and drenching rain storms. But I confess I’m not a fan of tropical storms that are teetering on the edge of being classified as a hurricane.

I don’t mind wind, but I really don’t like the high velocity winds of a tormenta. Sadly though, when this recent storm, TS Nate, blasted over the mountainous countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua it was the excessive rainfall that caused the deaths of twenty-two people.

Since we live at the edge of the ocean and TS Nate was forecast to pass directly over this flat, little sandbar of an island we obsessively clicked on the NOAA site and several internet weather channels checking predicted rainfall, storm surge, and wind speeds.

On Wednesday it became pretty clear we were going to get hit.

By Thursday morning we had dragged everything inside our little casa; two sun loungers, a small sofa and two chairs, glass topped tables, stacks of big cushions for the two larger sofas, and anything small enough to become an airborne hazard. 

We tied down garden hoses to prevent them whipping around in the wind, and pushed plant pots into tight huddles. 

I made up a couple of dozen sandbags to block the rain from entering under our doors, especially our bedroom door which has an outside entrance onto an open deck.

New house a bit north of ours boarded up.

We had extra bottles of water, gas in the golf cart, easy to prepare food for us and the pets, and cash in case the power was off for a few days making ATM’s useless. (By now we are feeling like the characters in the novel that I am writing, Tormenta Isla, who had to do all the same prep work!)

Then, exactly as our friends Tony Garcia and Isauro Martinez described many boat owners prepared for the storm/hurricane by moving their vessels deep into Laguna Makax. The Caribe line of passenger boats from Cozumel brought their three good-sized vessels to Isla and docked them at the municipal wharf next to the car ferry. Presumably that dock is more sheltered than the ones at Cozumel. Even the car ferry and the Ultramar passenger ferries shut down early.

Caribe Ferry - normally located in Cozumel

It was an eerie feeling driving along the island’s shoreline which normally bustles with boats, islanders and tourists. Every public or private wharf from Velasquez Restaurante, near the north end of the island, to the car ferry were empty and all of the oceanfront restaurants were closed. Every tour, pleasure, or work boat had been moved to Laguna Makax, or dragged high up on the beach and securely tied to nearby palm trees.

Hotel shuttered on main floor

Many businesses were closed so that their staff would be safely at home before the predicted late-Friday afternoon arrival of the storm. Doors and windows were covered by pieces of wood or cortinas, the accordion-style hurricane shutters.

A light rain damped the streets and we decided it was time to hunker down with our pets and a good bottle of wine. We read, we sipped wine, we waited, and we checked the internet. The predicted rainfall was for around 95mm or 4 inches although TS Nate had dumped 510 mm or about 20 inches of rain on Central America. The wind-speed was going to touch on a Category 1 Hurricane of 120 kilometers per hour, about 74 miles an hour.

Wharf at Bally Hoo - empty, restaurant closed.

The afternoon turned into evening, and still no rain or wind. 

Then, remarkably we fell asleep for two hours. I usually lay awake during storms listening the sounds of the house; the rattle of the screen on our windows, the creak of the patio doors as the wind pushes against it, and the banging of something not tightly secured.

At ten in the evening both Lawrie and I woke up, to silence. No wind. No rain. Nothing. We checked the internet again. It looked as if the storm now called Hurricane Nate had moved about ten miles east, closer to Cuba. It had passed by us. That was a big relief to everyone. Facebook pages were soon littered with jokes about the over-reaction and the huge amount of prep work for a non-event.

M&J's buttoned up for TS Nate

But as one of our friends said:

“They just don’t understand what it feels like to lose everything and to not have insurance. To have your only vehicle damaged, whether it was a moto or an old car it was still your only transportation. To worry about the lives of your family, your friends, and yourself. To step out of your home and see the damage done to your community and know that it could be days or weeks before everything is back to some type of normal. In the meantime people scramble to make a living and to feed their children. It’s difficult, very difficult. So what if we over-prepared, better that then homeless.”

We’d happily do the same preparations again especially if it works as a lucky charm and keeps the tormenta away. 

Although it seems that when our nearby neighbours Rob and Julie Goth board over their small windows, the ones without the cortinas, we are guaranteed to get a pass from the hurricane.

We’re back to sunny and hot weather and waiting on the return of our various Canadian, American and European neighbours for the busy October to April social season. 

There goes the diet!

Cheers from paradise

Lynda & Lawrie

 ~

Trouble Isla 5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and furious
CA review on September 26, 2017

Yasmin and Jessica are back and the gold they found in Treasure Isla is still haunting them, especially when Carlos, their boss at the Loco Lobo, and Yasmin’s new lover, is kidnapped. No spoilers here, but his captivity and the girls’ efforts to free him, with the help of Carlos’s pals—including local Isla Mujeres fishermen and a Mexico City cop—are the crux of this fast-paced story. Lock has created not only a compelling and authentic setting, but a well-developed ensemble cast. The next Isla mystery can’t come fast enough.

Book #2 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series
Available on Amazon e-books $2.99 USD

 Treasure Isla 

Book #1 Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

            $2.99 USD on most e-book distribution systems.

Here are the links:

Treasure Isla on Amazon

Treasure Isla on Smashwords

Treasure Isla on Kobo Books

Treasure Isla on iTunes

Treasure Isla on Barnes and Noble Nook

Local knowledge - an author’s best resource

We love living in a small community. The people are friendly and willing to share their insider knowledge. 

A few days ago while I was working on Tormenta Isla book #3 of the Isla Mujeres Mystery series, I was stuck for an answer.

I popped a message to two of my island friends, Tony Garcia and Isauro Martinez. Within minutes both guys had responded with oodles of intriguing bits information. How great is that? 

Captain Tony Garcia

Captain Tony is a well-known wedding, special-occasion and island-ambiance photographer. 

He is also a tour boat captain, and judging by the photos on his Facebook page, he’s a terrific chef.

Isauro Martinez is the affable and always smiling owner of Indio’s golf cart rentals. 

Indio was his dad’s nickname, and his is Apache. He always has fun stories to tell about growing up on the island.

Isauro Martinez - Indio Golf Cart Rentals

And then there is Freddy Medina who has been a good friend since we moved to the island. 

In the first novel of the series, Treasure Isla Book, I had one of my main characters, Yasmin Medina, jokingly name the crocodile that lives at the Hacienda Mundaca Park after her fictional cousin Freddy. 

The real Freddy owns the El Arrecife Bar in Centro. He and his five sisters have been fabulous a source of island information and personal stories, especially for our weekly blogs.

Freddy and Yadira - after Christmas parade

Many other islanders and ex-pats have big-heartedly answered questions, contributed bits of information, and recounted funny anecdotes. 

It’s all part of the island colour that I try to bring alive in the novels.

My recent questions went something like this:

What happens to the car ferry during a hurricane?  “It normally is used as a breakwater across Laguna Makax to prevent big waves from destroying all the smaller boats stored in the lagoon.”

Chatting while cleaning the day's catch.

Is the lagoon jammed with boats by the time everyone gets their vessel inside the area?   “They are tight around the edges but not in the center. The center is muddy and if you drop anchor there, the boat would move. Berthed at a marina or tied to the trees is much better.”

What’s the name of the bit of water between Puerto Juarez and Isla Mujeres? “Bahia de Mujeres.”

Morning gossip group - I gave them all a copy of this pic.

You just can’t get that type of information from the internet. (Okay, maybe I could have eventually found the name of the bay on Google.)  

You may be wondering why most of my information comes from men and not women. Maybe because the guys like to gossip, to chat, to chew-the-fat? 

I don't know.  What do you think?

Cheers Lynda & Lawrie

Book #2 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series
Available on Amazon e-books $2.99 USD

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and furious

CA review on September 26, 2017

Yasmin and Jessica are back and the gold they found in Treasure Isla is still haunting them, especially when Carlos, their boss at the Loco Lobo, and Yasmin’s new lover, is kidnapped. No spoilers here, but his captivity and the girls’ efforts to free him, with the help of Carlos’s pals—including local Isla Mujeres fishermen and a Mexico City cop—are the crux of this fast-paced story. Lock has created not only a compelling and authentic setting, but a well-developed ensemble cast. The next Isla mystery can’t come fast enough.

 Treasure Isla 

Book #1 Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

            $2.99 USD on most e-book distribution systems.

Here are the links:

Treasure Isla on Amazon

Treasure Isla on Smashwords

Treasure Isla on Kobo Books

Treasure Isla on iTunes

Treasure Isla on Barnes and Noble Nook

The blue will leave you breathless

View from Isla towards Manchones Reef and Cancun.  

Giant sea turtles, dolphins, rays, whale sharks, and exotic fish of every description swimming in sapphire-blue water; that’s the main attraction to Isla Mujeres. 

You can swim, snorkel, scuba, or if you are experienced, free-dive like the locals. 

MUSA - Photo from Glass-bottom boat, Cancun webpage

A unique subaquatic site is the MUSA, Museo Subacuático de Arte, an underwater museum situated on Manchones Reef between Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The MUSA was started in 2009 in an attempt to divert divers away from the over-visited natural reefs. The project currently has over 500 concrete statues that were lowered to the ocean floor by ship-mounted cranes.

MUSA Manchones Reef - X-treme Sports photo

The MUSA is within easy diving depths, and reasonable visible to surface snorkelers, or via the glass-bottom boat tours operating out of Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The underwater statues feature unnervingly realistic houses, furniture, cars, pets and people, fabricated out of porous concrete that encourages aquatic plant growth and provides a friendly habitat for a wide assortment of sea creatures and fish. 

Turtle, Punta Sur - Captain Tony Garcia Isla Mujeres photo

Another great diving location is just off Punta Sur, or south point near the Garrafon Natural Reef Park. 

There is usually an abundance of sea turtles and barracudas passing through. A number of our friends drift-dive in this area. 

But watch out for the strong currents!

Diving on a wreck - Sea Hawk Divers, Isla Mujeres photo

Or if you are interested there are ship wrecks to explore. Who knows you may find a galleon from the era of Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba, the Spanish captain who discovered Isla Mujeres in 1517. 

Or perhaps you’ll come across a corsair that could have belonged to pirates such as the Lafitte brothers, Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf or Fermin Mundaca.

Beautiful fish - Kara Stansfield photo

Along the eastern side of the island is the Great Maya Barrier Reef, second longest reef in the world. 

It runs right past our house all the way to Belize and is very accessible for scuba diving or snorkeling.

There are a few other secret gems, like the cave of the sleeping sharks and the mysterious hidden cave.

We’re not divers and haven’t seen the caves, so even if we were bribed with muchas cervezas frías or a copa de vino tinto we still couldn’t divulge the locations, but we know a few people who could …..

Group heading out to scuba dive - L Lock photo

Just ask anyone of these folks:

Seahawk Divers: http://www.seahawkislamujeres.com/

Captain Tony Garcia: https://www.facebook.com/CapitanTonys

Mundaca Divers: http://mundacadiversislamujeres.com/

Carey Dive Center: http://www.careydivecenter.com/

Aqua Adventures: http://diveislamujeres.com/

Casa del Buceo: http://www.casadelbuceo.com/

Squalo Adventures: https://squaloadventures.com/

Hyperbaric chamber located on Isla Mujeres, in Centro

If the worst happens and you experience decompression sickness, the bends, when resurfacing, Isla has its own hyperbaric chamber to help with your recovery. 

Primary used to rehabilitate deep-diving lobster fishermen, it is also used to promote healing of leg ulcers in diabetic patients or speed up the repair of badly fractured bones.

On a humorous side-note, apparently Hollywood A-Listers have discovered the wrinkle-reduction benefits of time spent in a hyperbaric chamber.

So, now you can explore our watery underworld and get a face-lift all in one vacation.

Cheers

Lynda & Lawrie

~ 

Have you got yours yet?

Treasure Isla is a humorous Caribbean adventure set on Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the eastern coast of Mexico. Two twenty-something women find themselves in possession of a seemingly authentic treasure map, which leads them on a chaotic search for buried treasure while navigating the dangers of too much tequila, disreputable men, and a killer. And there is a dog, a lovable rescue-mutt. 

$2.99 on Amazon e-books. 

Free downloadable app enables reading on any electronic device.

The cover of Treasure Isla has a new look courtesy of one of my favourite mystery writers Carmen Amato.  Carmen is the creator of the popular Emilia Cruz Detective series set in Acapulco.