Isla from a kid’s point of view.

Dancing on the beach- carefree and happy.   

To get a different perspective on life on the island, we decided to write about Isla from a kid’s point of view.  

We asked several of our friends if their youngsters would be willing to answer a few questions. Here are their responses.

Where were you born? 

Cancun and the USA were the most common answers.

Hanging out with friends

How long have you lived on Isla Mujeres?

My whole life, or in some cases, the youngsters answered with the number of years. 

It sounds so very grown-up, but from their perspective, it is their whole life.

If you have lived in another country, do you miss anything from that country? 

The mountains.  

Interestingly enough, none of the kids mentioned missing a particular food, which, according to our grown-up friends, is one of the biggest adjustments they had to make. We have friends who ‘mule’ down a variety of their favourite items every time they return from their country of origin. We, on the other hand, have adjusted to the food and flavours that are available here, except my favourite brand of hard, salty Dutch liquorice. That I get ‘muled’ to us a couple of times a year. It’s a must-have.

Bike riding on the Malecon

Is living on Isla fun?

Everyone answered that one with a big YES!

Why wouldn’t it be?  There are parades and fireworks several times a year for Carnaval, Independence Day, and Revolution Day. Then there are traditional dance groups, musicians, and Carnaval dancers. 

Trick or treating for Dia de Los Muertos

A youngster can celebrate Christmas with their Canadian or American friends, and still convince mom and dad that they should receive presents on the Night of the Kings, on January 6^th.  

Or they can trick-or-treat for Halloween, then continue through November 1st and 2^nd, for the Day of the Dead. 

The tradition of trick-or-treating was brought to Mexico by visitors, and the local kids adapted to the custom, expanding it into a five or six-day binge of collecting candy and pocket change from tourists.

One of several basketball courts 

What is your favourite thing to do on Isla?

These answers ranged from playing video games, going out for dinner, hanging out at the beach, and enjoying the annual Carnaval dances and parades. 

Us too, except the video games. We’re terrible at those! With a choice of hundreds of restaurants ranging from high-end gourmet to economical home-style, it’s a great way to introduce youngsters to new foods and a new culture. 

Revolution Day parade on Isla Mujeres

Kids can also learn to play baseball, basketball or soccer. Then there is fishing, either with a few friends or as a participant in the annual kids’ fishing tournament. Ride a bike. Learn to skateboard. Go swimming, or just chill at the beach. Except for a few storms that roll across the island, the weather is normally warm, sunny and great for outdoor activities. No snowsuits required!

Playing in Centro

What languages do you speak?

Everyone answered English and Spanish. 

Other languages that we have heard local youngsters speak include Hebrew, French, Italian and a number of Spanish dialects from South America. How lucky for the kids to be fluent in a number of languages at such a young age.

Fishing Tournament for the young islanders

Do you sometimes translate for your parents?  

Most said no, that their parents are bilingual, some said yes, their parents are still learning Spanish or that they translated for grandparents. 

We need one of those! We still struggle to learn the language after nearly ten years of living on Isla. A fluency in other languages is so helpful when you travel to other countries. I struggled in high school with five years of mandatory French. Lawrie chose Latin, which has been very useful for deciphering written instructions or road signs in French, Spanish or Italian.

 

Summer fun all year round

Is your best friend the child of a foreigner?  Or a Mexican child? 

The majority of the responses were: I have many friends who are from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Mexico. What a great mix of experiences for island kids.

Where do you go to school?

Most of the youngsters attend school on the island, whether it is a private school or a public school. One is being homeschooled by parents.

Do you like school?

Ha! The answers were pretty plain: which ones were boys and which ones were girls. Boys-no! Girls-yes!

Any advice for parents who are thinking of moving with their children to Isla Mujeres? 

Parents, for the most part, answered that question:

Celebrating Independence Day in Centro

Living in Isla is great with kids, safe, and fun. Most of the things I thought I needed to raise a child it turned out I did not need at all. Learning to live simply is the best lesson of all!  

Rent a golf cart, get to know the island and get a house.

Learn the culture, learn the language, and get involved with the island.

Cheers, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Max 

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Animas Festival: the Parade of Silence, Dia de Los Muertos

Ghostly brides. Half-faced children. Phantom cowboys.  Gentlemen apparitions in formal wear.  

Ladies in flower bedecked headdresses and jeweled Catrina makeup all gathered in Centro for a relatively new event on Isla Mujeres, the Parade of Silence, paying tribute to the souls of the departed.

Ru Perez Director Casa de la Cultura, on right

Organized by the Casa de la Cultura and the Jean Piaget private school, the procession was scheduled to start at six in the evening at the old cemetery located at the north end of Hidalgo Avenue, culminating at the Casa de la Cultura on Guerrero Avenue.  

Six o’clock Mexican time: más o menos.  In this case, the event was surprisingly not too far off schedule, starting at six-thirty.  

A group from our neighbourhood agreed we would meet downtown, watch the parade, and then go out for a light dinner. 

It should be easy for seven people to meet up on a five-mile-long island…wouldn’t you think?  

However, by the time I had snapped nearly a hundred photographs and the procession had passed us by, we realized that four of our friends had still not arrived.  

We did see several other well-known locals who were enjoying the spectacle, relaxing street-side in the various bars and restaurants that line Hidalgo Avenue.

Lawrie and his sister Linda decided that they would head to The Reef, where the group had planned to pop in for a drink with our favourite island bar-tender, Freddy Medina.

In the meantime, I scouted around Hidalgo Avenue for the others. 

It turns out they waited twenty minutes for a taxi, not wanting to risk the new Breathalyzer sobriety roadblocks that were initiated a week ago.  

For those of you unfamiliar with life in Mexico, drunk driving has been tolerated until very recently. Open liquor in vehicles, on golf carts, or even motos – no problem.  

A few times, we have witnessed motor scooter drivers so bombed that when required to stop for traffic or pedestrian crosswalks, they forget to put their feet on the ground. The result is a comical slow-motion toppling of the driver and the motorcycle into a heap on the hard pavement, in one case conveniently beside a police officer. 

The Breathalyzer sobriety checks are a step in the right direction; however, according to the island coconut-telegraph, the testers are re-using the same plastic ‘straw’ for every person.  It’s a very unsanitary practice, to say the least.  Hopefully, this is just a rumour.

Ashley Blogin

But I digress, Julie, Rob, Brent and Dé were about to start hoofing it into Centro when an available taxi finally arrived.  Having rounded up the strays, we trailed after the procession, heading in the direction of the Municipal Square and The Reef Bar at the south end of Hidalgo Avenue.  

The colourful, but quiet group slowly wound its way between the tables and chairs pushed out into the street by restaurant managers trying to maximize every possible square inch of serving space. 

Hidalgo Avenue has a fun, chaotic atmosphere with cramped spaces, colourful tables and chairs, wait-staff hawking menu choices, and the delicious smells wafting from open-air kitchens.

The Parade of Silence continued a few more blocks, culminating at the Casa de la Cultura.  We turned a sharp left and up the stairs into The Reef for an adult beverage.  We finished up our fun evening with a yummy dinner at Javi’s Cantina on Juarez Avenue.  The beautiful live background music was provided by Jorge and Martine.

  

Jorge with Javi on drums

We are already anticipating the procession of the souls next year.  Sometimes life in paradise is just so darn difficult.

Cheers

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

Julie and Linda G. with their new friend

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Or

Death in the Vineyards