News Flash! Isla Mujeres is not really part of Mexico

Isla Mujeres - "not really part of Mexico"

Every once in a while you just have to laugh at the absurdity of “it’s the rules” that really large companies, the behemoths of consumerism, operate by. 

Recently we decided to replace two eight-year-old appliances, a stacking washer/dryer and a small fridge, that were showing signs of age due to rust and corrosion.  

(On the other hand, our big GE Profile refrigerator has been replaced three times, and we finally got smarter and switched to an LG model without all the fancy electronics.)

Isla Mujeres. I'm pretty sure we live in Mexico

Lawrie had discovered Costco Online shopping with lower prices than the stores, better choices in brand names, and best of all - direct delivery to your front door, anywhere in Mexico.  

Anywhere.

A phone call to Costco confirmed that, yes they would be delighted to deliver to our front door on Isla Mujeres, at no extra cost.

Encouraged, Lawrie ordered the new Frigidaire washer/dryer combination, plus a Frigidaire wine fridge that would fit perfectly into the under-counter spot recently vacated by the demise of our third dishwasher.  The dishwasher was not going to be replaced.  We decided that for two people and two pets we sure as heck didn’t need another electronic-nightmare princess-of-a-dishwasher.  I mean, really, how difficult can it be for our dog Sparky to clean a few plates, pots and pans?  The utensils, well, that’s a bit more of a challenge because he has to be careful of the sharp knives and pointy forks, but he gets the job done.  

Bird of Paradise in paradise. Isla Mujeres

I was excited about the new appliances.  A new rust-free washer/dryer would be nice to have in hopes of preventing more rust stains on our clothes, but in my humble opinion, the wine fridge was a necessity.  Confirmation of our order came through our email.  We could expect delivery of said appliances in about twenty days.  

A few weeks ticked past without any more information, then we happened to be shopping at the Cancun Costco store.  We stopped at the customer service desk and they referred us to a very helpful English-speaking employee.  She checked the status of our order and pointed out that the invoice said: twenty working days, not twenty days.  Saturdays and Sundays were considered non-working days.

Looks like Mexico to me ....

“Oh, okay, so that would be around November 5^th?”

“Well, more likely around November 9^th, because there was also the October 31^st, November 1^st and November 2^nd national holidays to celebrate the Day of the Dead.” 

“Perfecto! Thank you so much for the update.”

Then on November 3rd we received an email from Costco.  The appliances were now on their way from the distribution center and would be delivered to our front door by Almex, a worldwide ginormous transportation company whose modernized company name is a shortened version of All-Mexico.  Another week ticked past and still nothing, but the online status showed that the appliances are out for delivery and should arrive on Isla by November 16^th.  Okay, a little later than promised, but no big deal.

Oh look, there's Cancun in the real Mexico, I guess

November 16^th comes and goes, and once again we happen to be shopping in Cancun at Costco.  The Store Manager gets involved this time along with two other very helpful employees.  

They attempted to reach the Almex trucking company distribution center to find out the status of our order.  An hour and many minutes later on his cell phone the Store Manager finally gets through to a person at Almex.  

The response: “We don’t deliver to Isla Mujeres, it’s not really part of Mexico.”  Well, that’s strange: our address says Isla Mujeres Quintana Roo Mexico, the islanders speak Spanish, and the local currency is Mexican pesos.  Who knew we weren’t really living in Mexico?

Stacking washer/dryer

Very patiently the Costco Store Manager explained to the Almex branch manager, “Yes, you do deliver to Isla Mujeres.  It’s in your contact.  It’s listed on our online webpage.  You deliver to anywhere in Mexico.”

“No. We don’t!”

Really, a trucking company giving Costco, another worldwide ginormous corporation, the proverbial finger?  Wow!

Eventually, the Store Manager fought his way through the maze of Almex personnel to reach someone more important in the hierarchy who very grudgingly agreed, "Yes, we will deliver to Isla Mujeres." The Costco manager told us the trucking company would call within an hour and arrange a date and time convenient for us. 

Lawrie and I do a mental eye roll, and chuckle to ourselves.  Sure.  Sure they’ll call.

Finally arrived. 7 weeks after ordering

For the next few days, we hung around the house, concerned about missing the delivery.  By November 21^st our patience is getting a bit thin.  We would like to join our friends for Happy Hour, not be stuck at the house waiting.  Lawrie sends off yet another email asking Costco Online what is the status of our order.  They in turn say that Costco Head Office has had a very up-close and personal conversation with Almex Head Office. 

We will be getting our appliances delivered on Saturday November 28^th.  Guaranteed!  Costco Head Office apologized profusely for the delays. 

Well, just when we thought it is never going to happen - it does.  A day early.  On Friday November 27^th at 8:30 in the morning, when both Lawrie and I happened to be out – the appliances arrived!  

Thank goodness for strong friends!

Fortunately, Lawrie was just next door at his sister Linda’s casa having coffee. His brother-in-law Richard noticed the truck at our house.  Whew!  If we had missed the delivery I am pretty sure that Almex would have refused to try again.   They would have been only too happy to give those pesky islanders, and Costco, the middle-finger-salute!

We have to say we are delighted with our purchases, especially the pretty 42-bottle wine fridge.  The Costco staff went out of their way to help us out.  

The Store Manager even called on the following Monday to make sure that we received our order and that we were happy with the new purchases.  Yes, and yes.

Fisherman cleaning catch and feeding bird

Almex on the other hand might need a lesson in geography.  Isla Mujeres really and truly is part of Mexico.  

It would be interesting to hear from other islanders, or residents of Isla Cozumel or Isla Holbox if you have successfully had a large delivery from Costco Online, or did Almex cause you some hair-pulling moments too? 

It’s all part of the daily fun of living in paradise.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

(Updated August 2024)

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The adventure begins!

Hernando didn't make the cut this time!

Whispered sounds sifted across the sand. Something very large was headed his way. A bright light swept across the beach, momentarily blinding him.”

“You should write a children's book,” said our island friend Caroline Beebe after she read Hernando's Story in our weekly blog of March 29^th 2013. It's a whimsical story about a hermit crab who lives near our house.

Thomas the Cat in my rowboat

Caroline, Harriet Lowe and I met for lunch at Qubano's on Hidalgo Avenue in early April of 2013. They convinced me to seriously consider the idea. Back home I talked it over with Lawrie, and he said, “Great idea!”

And so the adventure began.

Hernando and I worked together for a couple of weeks, trying to turn his story into a book, but in the end I had to tell him, “I'm sorry Hernando, you just aren't adventurous enough to be the central figure in your own book,” and I turned my attention to my very handsome cat, Thomas.

Diego - making changes to the illustrations

Thomas was extremely pleased about the project. He reminded me to include the part about how he liked to ride in my rowboat on Okanagan Lake, while we searched for pirates. As Thomas and I worked on his book I soon realized I needed a talented illustrator to really bring the story to life. Lawrie suggested our friend Diego Medina who was training to be a computer animator at the university in Valladolid. Diego agreed. Little did he know how many hours, and days would be required to create the characters, stroke by stroke, hair by hair. Two cats, two dogs, two people. Thirty something illustrations.

Next we solicited assistance from Diego's aunt Mauri Medina to help with the translation from English to Spanish, making the story bi-lingual. Some sections were too lengthy when translated so Diego and I amended, revised and re-worked the story. Then I enlisted the assistance of Christy Dix of On Target Language Services, to re-check the wording for us, adding her revisions and corrections.

I need a crown please!

With each revision Thomas supervised, pointing out the important parts that he wanted to remain in the book. Chica our little female cat looked over the pages. She decided she wanted a crown and to be called Princess Chica. Diego gave her a crown and we changed her name. The two beach dogs, Odd and Missy spoke up and added their comments. Missy thought that she should have been the princess. Diego mollified her with a flower behind one ear. Odd-the-Dog reminded us that he had one blue eye and one brown eye. “Yes, we know. See? That's what the illustration shows.”

While Diego was finalizing the illustrations it was my job to find a printer. First I tried various printing companies in Mexico, but the printing prices were more than we could possibly charge for a children's book. The high price is dictated by the necessity to import all of the paper for printing, whereas in the USA or Canada the paper is produced locally. Next I tried printing companies in the USA and Canada, but by the time I paid for shipping and importing the prices were still too high for a small order.

Hhumf!  I should have been the princess.

Finally I decided to try having it printed in China. There are literally thousands of printing companies in China, and choosing one who would give us a good price and good service was a bit nerve wracking. Over the next three months I corresponded with various companies obtaining quotes, answering a myriad of questions: Size? How many pages? How many copies? What weight of paper? Type of cover? Full-colour or not? Shipping by air or by sea? Insurance? Which port? Questions, questions, questions; all the while crossing my fingers that I was dealing with the real representatives of the various companies and not an internet scammer.

March - the sample book arrives.

In February we were finally ready to send the final – we thought – document via the internet to Gold Printing Company in Shenzhen China. As it turns out we had a few adjustments to make and with a fourteen-hour time-difference every adjustment took three to four days to complete. And then came the leap of faith. Send money! A 30% deposit was required to continue the order. Two weeks later we received a full-colour, hard-cover sample of what the finished product would look like.

Wow! We were so pleased.

Then came the really big leap of faith – send the balance of the money. Gulp!

June 2nd in Manzanillo Mexico

On May 6^th, the shipment left Shenzhen bound for the west coast of Mexico. Through the internet we were able to loosely track the ship as it meandered from China, to Korea, and across the Pacific Ocean to the USA, dodging a category 5 hurricane and an earthquake off the coast of Mexico, before arriving in Manzanillo on June 2nd.

Gustavo at Almex helping Lawrie and I load 420kg of books

Annie, my invaluable contact at Gold Printing Company, put me in touch with both the shipping company and customs brokers in Manzanillo to continue the process. We still had a few more expenses to pay for - unpacking the container, importation, documents, and putting the books onto a truck. We were given another tracking number and spent an agonizing week checking on the progress of the shipment as it traveled to Mexico City, Villa Hermosa, Merida, and Cancun.

Thank you Steve and Chris.  You made our day!

Finally, on Thursday June 12^th – thirteen months since Diego and I teamed up to do this project - Lawrie and I drove into Cancun and picked up the 420 kilograms of books at the AlMex loading dock. 

A few hours later as we waited in the lineup at the car ferry docks at Punta Sam we made our two first sales: Chris Shannon and Steve Mattox. Thank you guys, you really made our day.




During the whole process everyone was extremely helpful: Annie and Gold Printing, Erika at Gade Aduanero S.C., Paula at IFS Neutral Marine, and Carla at Grupo Almex, the trucking company. 

They gave us such good service, and encouragement, Diego and I are already working on book two.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

Celebrating with Diego, Thomas and Sparky