Paradise from another perspective – Wow, just wow!

Amazing starfish shape!

Did you know that the five red pathways at Punta Sur, Isla Mujeres, are actually in the shape of a starfish? 

We didn’t.  

It’s a bit like discovering the three-thousand-year-old chalk image in the hills of England, which is really an ancient 360-foot-long rendition of a white horse, the Uffington White Horse.  

Okay, maybe it’s not that notable, but for us, the starfish was very cool to see. 

The four carbon-fiber blades are powerful

Expat David Daniel captured the image with his newest boy-toy: a DJI Phantom 3 UAV.  Also known by the misnomer of drone, the UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAS Unmanned Aircraft System, comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. 

Highly conscious of the potential danger of the remote-controlled UAV, 

David pointed out the four whirling carbon-fiber blades as they spun up, lifting the vehicle aloft.  

David: It's easy to fly this UAV

Then, with a noise akin to a hive of active bees, the aircraft sailed away, hovering off the southern point of Isla Mujeres as it broadcast streaming video to David’s iPad.  

Woohoo!  What beautiful images.  

Wow!  Isla Mujeres from Punta Sur

For both David and Diane Daniel, traditional photography is an outlet for their creativity, and operating the UAV gives David yet another instrument for crafting beautiful images.

At Punta Sur, a family of curious Argentinian tourists quickly gathered around David as he maneuvered the UAV for better images.  

Curiosity is a familiar reaction, typically with the technology-savvy under-thirty crowd, and especially Europeans. 

Images are difficult to see in bright sunlight

When operating the remote-controlled device, he and Diane are mindful to not intrude on anyone's privacy. They don’t buzz low over crowds or deliberately focus on individuals.  

David said even with the advanced cameras, measuring distance from space is difficult. A few times, they used the UAV to try to locate a pod of dolphins that cavort along the eastern side of the island, only to discover that pinpointing a fast-moving six-foot creature is nearly impossible. On the other hand, flying around a stationary object is a breeze. 

Diane Daniel, keeping a very hot Sparky company

UAVs are primarily fun toys used for taking great videos or stills from a vantage point normally unavailable to photographers.  

They also have useful commercial applications; for instance, when two Canadian friends recently decided to sell their home, the real estate company immediately scheduled an aerial photo session with a UAV. It’s the new standard for real estate listings. 

David says he operates his UAV just for the enjoyment. 

My photo of David's DJI Phantom 3 UAV 

Currently, the UAVs owned by individuals vastly outnumber military drones, with estimates of over a million sold by 2015. The popularity has created a few hazards, necessitating new laws to govern their use. Whether you refer to them as drones, UAVs, or a UAS, they are banned within five miles of airports worldwide and prisons in many countries. 

The newer models are equipped with updated software that has no fly zones or hot spots, prohibiting the vehicle from lifting off. Older versions still exist, prompting many countries to erect signage at airports forbidding the use of this type of equipment. 

The drone's photo of me taking its photo

It turns out our home is within that five-mile radius of our local, almost-abandoned, and seldom-used airport. So no high-flying photographs of our casa. It’s probably a good thing, I think our ‘dainties’ were still hanging on the laundry line.

If you would like to see more great photographs and videos, visit David and Diane’s New Nomad’s Facebook page. 

Here’s the link. New Nomads

Their photography will wow you!

Hasta Luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

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Come to papa!  David Daniel and his new toy.

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Colourful Bugs! The Vochos of Isla

VW Bug - a Mexican Vocho  

Bugs!  They are everywhere on the island; painted in an array of fun colours, the quirky Vochos, the Volkswagen Beetles, are affordable for basic transportation, work vehicles, and occasionally trucks.  

   

Introduced to Mexico in March 1954, sixty-two years ago this month, the aging collection of the older-style Vochos has a faithful following.  

Freddy and Chuck, pushing Vocho to gas station

From 1961, when the first Vochos were assembled in Mexico, until the end of the production of this body style in 2003, over two million were made in Mexico.  

By 1978, Vochos made in Mexico were being exported back to Germany and Europe.  At one time, over 100,000 two-door Vochos were used as taxis in Mexico City.  

In recent years, they have been replaced by the more convenient four-door Nissan Tsuru.

Perla's Vocho - Paquita

One of the most visible Vochos on Isla Mujeres is owned by Leslie Woodbridge, or as she says, owned by her large Labrador, Perla.  

The red and black, convertible-topped car, named Paquita, usually sits on the street near the Comex paint store, waiting for Leslie and Perla to take her out for a ride.  Apparently, Paquita loves to go fast and hates topes. She stalls and is cranky when forced to slow down. The rearview mirror has an annoying habit of falling off and landing in Leslie’s lap. Paquita is getting on in years; she is allowed to be eccentric.

Rob Herrin and Michelle Butler - road trip in Vocho

Although she was named by Leslie Woodbridge, Paquita previously belonged to part-time islanders Rob Herrin and Michelle Butler. During the period they owned the little Vocho, they once drove her on a nine-hour adventure to Valladolid via the backroads, stopping along the way to swim in the quiet, relatively unknown cenotes and eat in the little family-owned cafés. Rob says he still misses Paquita’s quirky personality.

David Daniel and Ocho Vocho

Diane and David Daniel own a relatively young Vocho, built in 1998. The silver-coloured car is named Ocho Vocho, so I’m going out on a limb here and am guessing this one is a male. As with everything metal, eventually things rust and corrode. The driver’s side window hand crank frequently falls off; the securing pin has rusted through. The gas gauge is intermittent, leaving the driver to guess at how much fuel might be in the tank. Ocho Vocho’s resident gecko occasionally rides on the hood of the car, the wind blowing in its face, squeaking: Yahoo!  What a ride!

Adrian with Sweet Lips

And then there is Sweet Lips!  She allows Adrian and Stacey Ralph to drive her when it suits her. Being a young-at-heart, older woman, Sweet Lips has a few missing and not quite original parts. There is only one windshield wiper, and a side window that was, until very recently was a plastic laundry bag duct taped to the car.  

To roll up the other window, pliers are required, and the left turn signal works sporadically despite numerous new bulbs and fuses. When the bottom rusted away and the car battery dragged on the topes a piece of plywood was pressed into service as a new floor. 

The most recent indignity for this aging temptress occurred when her steering wheel ceased functioning, and she was taken to a car doctor for a checkup. Sweet Lips will be kicking up her heels for a few more fun-filled years.

Announcements

Other island Vochos are put to use as public address vehicles, broadcasting daily supermarket specials, or community information.  

Our friend, Ivan Acevedo, uses his Vocho for carting around the various bits and pieces of equipment required for cleaning swimming pools.  

And then there are the first cousins to the VW Beetles, the dune buggies. They are fiberglass bodies, placed onto a Vocho platform.  

As with all Beetles, the dune buggies are prone to rust, but the folks that own them love ‘em anyway. 

Francisco Avalos's dune buggy truck

With quirky personalities and aging bodies, the tough little cars, affectionately known by our generation as VW Bugs, are slowly disappearing from history.  

The newer, sleeker version will find its own place in our collective memories.

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

When the gas station was white - two white VW Bugs

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The Adventures of Thomas the Cat

You know you are an islander when …

Crocodile round-up in front of new hospital

You know you are an islander when:

The recent round-up of baby crocodiles makes you smile, knowing that they are being moved to a bigger and better location instead of being destroyed as a nuisance.  Their mother has already been moved to the Hacienda Mundaca Lake, and now it is time to catch the youngsters.  

You go get 'em!  No, not me!

A crowd of city workers stood on the edge of the marshy swamp near the new hospital, jockeying for a better view, but still keeping their feet on dry ground. “You go get them,” one man said, playfully pushing his co-worker towards the dark, foreboding water.  “No! You get them!” the other man responded, shaking his head, No!  Baby or not, crocodiles have sharp teeth and vice-like jaw muscles.  They can do a lot of damage to hands and fingers.  We didn’t stay to watch the round-up, but I was told they have been successfully relocated.

Stumpy, enjoying a free meal.

You know you are an islander when:

Thirty-five iguanas of assorted sizes come knocking at our patio door every morning.  “Hey, lady!  Where’s our fruit?”  We buy a steady supply of watermelon, bananas, papayas, and sweet peppers – anything red, orange, dark pink or yellow.  Those colours attract iguanas.  They wait impatiently on the back patio, pacing along the edge of our pool as I dutifully cut up the fruit and skins into iguana-sized pieces.  

Iguana fruit & veggie salad

They don’t have teeth, just bony ridges that can shred things to a certain extent.  A too large piece can result in a choking problem, and I don’t really want to do the Heimlich Manoeuvre or CPR on a frantic lizard.  I chop and cut, slice and dice, then scatter the goodies over the back yard and rocks.  There’s a flurry of scurrying bodies, scrabbling claws, flicking tails and then the fruit is gone, leaving behind deposits of fresh iguana poop.  Stumpy, the large one with the short tail, tries unsuccessfully for seconds, following me back to the house, begging for more.  He looks very disappointed that I don’t fall for his antics. 

Dolphins in front of our casa

You know you are an islander when:

A pod of dolphins cruises past in the late afternoon, cavorting and courting.  Their lithe muscular bodies flip out of the water, corkscrew through the air and slice back into the ocean.  All you can do is stop and stare in wonder at such beauty.  We were so preoccupied with the display that we forgot to take photos.  The one included with this post was taken by our neighbour.  The pod played for several minutes in front of our house before taking their circus act further south, past where David and Diane Daniel are staying at Casa Toloc.  David has a fun new toy, a drone.  He filmed the pod at sunset. You can see it on YouTube – link below.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1atIZycuSSc&feature=youtu.be   

Fishing boats at sunset L Lock photo

These are just a few of our daily experiences of living on Isla Mujeres.  Many more amusing things happen, but we have always tried to have photographs with our blog, and sometimes I just don’t have the right photo for the situation. For instance, the police vehicles that cruise around the island 24/7 with their emergency light flashing - red and white and blue.  In most countries, flashing lights on a police vehicle mean one thing: pull over now! We want to talk to you. In Mexico, it means, yep, that’s a police vehicle. When they want your attention, they will “blip” the siren. That’s when you know you need to stop, right now.

Island living has a personal, quirky charm.  That is what makes living here magical.

Hasta luego, Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

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