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

Live like a Rock Star, on Isla Mujeres Mexico!

Sunset at Casa de Los Sueños

“Holy moly!” Gail exclaimed, “That is my handwriting. I won! I won!”

Convinced that an email she had received was a scam, perhaps a sales pitch for a timeshare hotel, Gail Stewart refused to believe she had won the fabulous prize being offered. To assure Gail that the offer was genuine, the hotel owner sent a second email, containing a photo of a local child holding the winning ticket; that's when she recognized her own distinctive handwriting.

2700 Square Foot Presidential Suite

The prize was a complimentary week in the 2700-square-foot Presidential Suite at Casa de Los Sueños on Isla Mujeres, plus a $500.00 credit towards food and beverages. She had purchased the raffle ticket many months before from the hotel owner, who was independently raising funds for the Little Yellow School House. As a middle school educator for thirty-eight years in Westchester County, New York, Gail is an avid supporter of the education of children. The LYSH is a local school for children with developmental disabilities; all of their funding comes from various fundraising events on Isla.

Food for the sunset cocktail party 

Gail Stewart and Mike Davanzo, or as she calls him, “her partner in crime,” recently enjoyed their complimentary week at Casa de Los Sueños, enthusiastically telling friends that everyone at the hotel was treating them like they were rock stars. 

They wanted to share their good fortune with island friends and arranged a sunset cocktail party for Wednesday evening. Lucky for us, we were included on the guest list!

Guests arriving for the party

According to Gail, the hotel manager was exceptionally helpful – suggesting food items that fit her budget, and organizing all of the party details. One fun twist was that the table and chairs were set up in the shallow end of the suite's private swimming pool. What a great idea! And Mike, an old-time rock-and-roller, played lively and familiar tunes for our foot-bouncing enjoyment.

Mike Davanzo, TGarcia photo

Originally from Queens, NY, Mike Davanzo has been playing in rock bands since high school, later playing professionally for more than 40 years in the eastern US and Canada. He is currently featured at Casa de Los Sueños on the weekends from 4:30 to 6:30, during Happy Hour. 

Mike's music is another good reason to stop by Casa de Los Sueños for a sunset beverage or two, and while you are there, purchase a raffle ticket for the 2015 Grand Prize.

Hotel staff setting up the buffet for the party

As Gail said, “It was a magical week, and everyone who worked there treated us like we had actually paid to stay in the Presidential Suite.” Although with Gail's many years of experience as a President for the Teachers' Union and as a Union Contract Negotiator, I noticed she kept a supervisory eye on every detail of the party. When you are accustomed to being in charge, old habits die hard. 

Thanks again, Gail and Mike, for the invite to share in your good fortune.

Presidential Suite - private pool

Lawrie and I bought our ticket; hopefully it's the winning one! 

Maybe next year we will be living like rock stars for a week in the Presidential Suite of Casa de Los Sueños.

Hasta Luego

Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

A playdate for adults! Isla Mujeres, Mexico!

A few months ago, a good friend quipped that after reading our weekly blogs for the past four years, she had come to the conclusion that living on Isla was a never-ending playdate for adults.  

That's a pretty accurate assessment of the situation, especially in the winter months when our northern friends return to share our pretty little sandbox. 

This past week was definitely a continuous playdate! The 5th Annual Island Time Fishing Tournament began on Monday, February 3rd. It's a week-long festival featuring legendary fishing, talented musicians, and tantalizing food. 

The funds raised at various events during the week are donated to the Little Yellow School House, "to assist children who have physical, emotional, and learning disabilities." It's a win-win situation for everyone. 

The participants have fun, and the school receives a large chunk of money to help with yearly operating expenses. 

Margarita Madness, Soggy Peso Bar & Grill 

We joined in the fun for three of the events:

Wednesday was the 4th annual Margarita Madness at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill - starring three great guys who like to sing, play music, party, and sing some more. Once again, Mal and Sally Richards and their hardworking staff ensured that everyone had a great time. Only a few people unintentionally fell into the swimming pool this year!

Island Time Fiesta at Marina Paraiso

On Friday night, a new event, the Island Time Fiesta, encompassed the large waterfront location of Marina Paraiso & Iguanas Restaurant.  

Organized by Tiffany and Brad Wareing, plus Carlos Espindola and Tani Cornell, it was a very successful and entertaining evening.  

Shortly before sundown, as we strolled along palm-covered wooden walkways, we were greeted by the blood-pounding sounds of flamenco guitar music and the rhythmic tapping of feet on a wooden stage. 

Fabulous!  

Female impersonator

As darkness fell, in the second act, a troupe of female impersonators from Cancun took the stage. They performed complicated dance routines that included energetic moves, while lip-syncing to popular songs.  

Their lead performer had a quick sense of humour, and even though the words were in Spanish, we understood the intent.  

 Jeff Current

To wrap up the night, talented islander Jeff Current played guitar and sang fun tunes about sun, sand, and island life, interspersed with his good-humoured jokes about islanders: "You might be an Isleño if ....."   

Well-known for his quick sense of humour, his secret has been exposed. He can sing, and sing well!  Plus, he plays a mean guitar. 

Dispersed throughout the crowd were food stations supplying a variety of yummy Mexican delicacies, including tacos and a savoury paella created by the Marina Paraiso staff.

Logan Day showing off the yummy paella.

Another food station provided custom-made marquesitas, those hot and crispy dessert crepes that can be slathered with chocolate, Nutella, or bananas. Yum! 

The participating sport fishermen donated a heap of just-caught fish, wahoo, grouper, mahi mahi, that were turned into exquisite fish and chips.
  
The very happy crowd of over 600 attendees settled around the stage or comfortably relaxed at tables scattered around the waterfront property.  With music, food, and soft ambient lighting, it was a perfect venue to relax and enjoy the tropical evening.

Disco Dance at Brisas Restaurante on the beach

On Sunday, the final Island Time Fishing Tournament event was the annual Disco Dance with Isla's renowned DJ, Rosa Sirenas, playing tunes and keeping everyone dancing.  

We had a lot of fun trying out various dance routines, faintly remembered from years past, and entertaining the startled passersby when they glanced into the interior of Brisas Restaurante. 

Having fun at Brisas Restaurante

"What the heck are they doing?"  Seemed to be the common question both in English and Spanish. "Having fun, just having fun." 

In all cases, the proprietors of the venues: Soggy Peso Bar & Grill, Marina Paraiso & Iguanas Restaurant, plus Brisas Restaurante donated the use of their facilities, plus a huge chunk of the bar and food revenue to the sponsoring charity. They are over-the-top good citizens. Thank you, everyone, for a fun week and for your support of a worthy cause.   

We need a rest!  No more playdates for this week: please!

Curtis Blogin, Bob Frye, and Lawrie at Brisas Restaurante

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, Thomas, Sparky, and Princess Chica

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

It’s a wrap! Little Yellow School House fundraiser, on Isla Mujeres.

I hear y’all were at a disco dance ..."

“I hear y’all were at a disco dance before comin’ here.” She said in her husky Georgian drawl. Her grinning smile and the tone of her voice implied: a disco dance? Really?

Well, yes, most of the crowd assembled to listen to E.G. Kight’s rich voice belt out southern-fried blues had been at a disco party thirty minutes before.

E.G.’s second performance at Jax Bar & Grill was the final event in a week-long string of festivities, all aimed at raising funds for two well-known island charities.

Enjoying E.G. Kight's southern blues

The majority of the events were focused on raising money for the very significant Help a Special Child Inc. (The Little Yellow School House), while this second concert by E.G. Kight was solely to benefit the Isla Animals Society. 

Hair of the Dog - starting point at Jax

Another event, the Hair of the Dog Poker Run, organized by Paul Ricker and Brook Prinsen, was also a very successful first-time event for the Isla Animals Society.  

A group of fifty-two participants, all clad in vivid green t-shirts, met at Jax Bar & Grill on Saturday morning and set off on their adventure as a group.  

Get Down Tonight!  Ashley, Lawrie, Betty.

The bar-hopping revelry yielded over $1000.00 to help with spay and neuter clinics, or vaccinations for the many dogs and puppies being sheltered and fed by the organization.  

The final fundraising event for Help a Special Child Inc. (The Little Yellow School House) was the disco dance hosted by Brisas Restaurante.  

The proprietors, Karina and Wbeymar Maldonado, contributed fifty percent of the beverage revenue to the host charity.  

DJ Rosa Sirenas

It was a fun way for the volunteers who helped with the fishing tournament, the music festival, and the t-shirt sales to unwind, relax, and have a few laughs.  

Special guest DJ Rosa Sirenas kept everyone grooving to the music until it was time to boogie on down the road to Jax, and the final E.G. Kight concert.

And just to keep everything interesting, the annual Carnaval celebrations started on Friday, so at times the two boisterous events overlapped each other with raucous music, booming sound systems, dance troops, noisemakers and whistles competing with speeches and awards ceremonies.  

One of the colourful Carnival entries.

At one point during the disco dance, we had two separate sound systems on the street booming out salsa music for the carnival dancers, and our DJ blasting disco tunes. 

How do you dance to that?  

Is it salsa-disco, or rock-and-roll salsa? It was all good fun.

But now it’s over, wrapped up for another year; two amazing back-to-back events; the six-day long Island Time Fishing Festival intersecting the five-day Mexican carnival celebrations.  

Great Carnival band - beating on the drums  

Whew!  It’s nice to get back to a quieter routine. 

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie
            

Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

     

It’s all for a good cause, the Island Time Fishing Festival.

Wake up!  Time to go fishin'

I slowly pried my eyes open. The clock shows 5:15 in the morning! Sighing, I quietly fumbled my way out of bed in the pre-dawn darkness, trying not to disturb my spouse, who was still slumbering.  Dressed, but with no time to wait for the coffee maker to do its thing, I snuck out the door and hailed a taxi.  

“Marina Villa Vera por favor.” 


  

Songwriter and ITFF Director Jeff Outlaw

It’s opening day for the 2013 Island Time Fishing Festival, and I promised to take photos of the boats as they head out for day number one of fishing. The things we agree to do when sharing a bottle of wine with friends. All of the proceeds from this multi-day event go to support the island-based non-profit organization Help a Special Child Inc. (The Little Yellow School House), so yes, this is all for a very good cause.

Nick Norman, Lewis Brice and Jon Stone

This year, the entertainment line-up was as interesting and as talented as in previous years. Nightly concerts featured different entertainers upstairs at Jax Bar & Grill: Rivers Rutherford, Wynn Varble and David Lee, or Craig Wiseman and Rodney Clawson.  

On Wednesday night, E.G. Kight, a good friend of Jackie Walker and Michael LeFiles, presented a fabulous dinner concert.  She had so much fun, she has offered to do a second concert on Sunday evening, admission by donation, to assist the Isla Animals Society. 

Such a lot of really talented and generous people who are donating their time and talents.

How much am I bid for Nick's sweaty shirt?

We unfortunately missed the E.G. Kight concert due to the after-effects of the annual Margarita Madness on Wednesday at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill.

Returning favourites Nick Norman and Jon Stone, with the addition this year of Lewis Brice, rocked the Soggy Peso with their original compositions and old favourites.  

Margarita Madness at the Soggy Peso

The party rolled on from two until five in the afternoon, culminating with the auction of Nick Norman’s t-shirt; reportedly fetching a whopping amount of money. 

This great group of guys will also wind up the Island Time Fishing Festival on Saturday night at the Awards Presentation. It’s a sold-out concert, but occasionally the fishermen are too worn out by a week of fun to attend. So, if you are really, really lucky, you might be able to snap up a spare ticket late Saturday afternoon. Check with the staff at Jax.

Carnivore and Relax - heading out fishin'

And this year there are even more events to keep fishermen, their friends, and locals entertained. The Hair of the Dog Poker Run, organized by the Isla Animals Society, happens on Saturday afternoon.  

Then there is a wind-up Disco Party hosted by Brisas Restaurante and the Disco Queen herself, Deb C, from four until seven on Sunday afternoon. The disco dancers can then disco right on down the street to the E.G. Kight benefit concert at Jax Bar & Grill, starting at seven-thirty in the evening.  

As the Island Time Fishing Festival website says: The Fishing is Legendary, and the Party Never Ends.

John & Betty Raimondo and friends.

In between the entertainment, the great dinners, and the many cold beers, the competitors always find time to go fishin’.  This is a catch-and-release tournament for trophies and bragging rights. Trophies are given to boats, anglers, and junior anglers with the most releases.  And since it is a fishing tournament, in the middle of a music festival, our Texan friends cajoled me into taking photos of the sport fishing boats as they departed at dawn.

As I got in the taxi at 5:45 in the morning, I realized I was wearing one green sock and one blue sock with my sneakers. That’s what happens when I dress in the dark. It’s all for a good cause, a really good cause; Help a Special Child Inc., the Little Yellow School House.

Hasta luego, Lynda & Lawrie

                    Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky