Fantastic images for a fantastic setting

Danae Brissonnet, artist on scaffolding far left

Fanciful creatures from the ocean swarm a human figure holding a conch shell to an ear; listening to what the ocean says.  

Canadian artist, Danae Brissonnet’s very colourful mural adorns one of the new white walls of the expanded Aguakan waste water treatment plant on the eastern side of Isla Mujeres. 

Day one - Danae Brissonnet 

When I first stopped to chat I mistook her slight accent for Spanish and proceeded to torture her with my very limited Spanglish.  

Eventually we both realized that we had English in common, and communicating became a whole lot simpler.  

Danae Brissonnet - egg carton palette 

For a painters’ palette holding multiple dabs of vibrant colours Danae had creatively re-cycled a cardboard egg carton, designed to hold thirty chicken eggs.  Enamoured by the simplicity, she is hoping to find more discarded egg cartons.

A few feet away fellow artist, Hilda Palafax from Mexico City created a woman who languidly swims in the ocean with a huge critter – a Whale Shark.  Painting in the early morning light, and again late in the afternoon when the heat of the day had abated somewhat, Hilda (Poni) crafted an image that is both humorous and beautiful.  An illustrator and graphic designer by trade, Hilda is close to becoming a full-time artist.  It is her true passion. 

Hilda Palafax - painting woman and Whale Shark

Another truly fanciful mural has been painted on northern side of the municipal waste transfer facility.  The creatures are fun and colourful, and brighten up an otherwise dreary space.  

The close proximity of the three murals will attract a lot of attention from the thousands of Cancun daytrippers who buzz around the island via an assortment of golf carts. With the turquoise water and a long white beach directly behind the artists, the soft breezes and gentle waves have to be an inspiration.  An assortment of long-sleeved shirts, comical hats, and scarves protect skin unaccustomed to the blistering sun. 

Hilda Palafax, Poni - almost finished her mural

There are four visiting artists taking part in the Pangeaseed Sea Walls project happening this month on Isla Mujeres.  Unfortunately we never did connect with the other two artists - Tysa and Senkoe who painted the mural on the waste transfer building, and the new mural on the tourist information building.  Some of you may remember the fourteen spectacular murals from the original Pangeaseed project in 2014.  

Many are still intact, adorning numerous buildings in centro: the Mercado, several hotels, a kindergarten and our favourite mural, the huge one decorating the Palacio Municipal (City Hall).  The mural on the tourist information centre on Medina suffered sun damage and is being repainted this week with a different collage of ocean-themed images.

Tysa - mural at the municipal waste transfer facility

The original plan included decorating the bland exterior of the Casa de Cultura in centro, but when Danae Brissonnet examined the wall, she realized the surface was much too rough for her painting.  Too bad for the Casa de Cultura, but very fortunate for the Aguakan facility. 

How did this all come about?  Well, as we understand it, Pangeaseed is the parent organization promoting the idea in various locations around the world.  The local feet-on-the-street coordinators, such as Carolina Marin, are associated with an organization called Visual Junkies.  These are the folks who organize local sponsors, which walls can be painted, and accommodations. 

Caroline Marin, Visual Junkies and artist Hilda Palafax

Islander Eric Shott, of El Milagaro Marina and his very talented staff assisted in 2014 with accommodations for the artists, assembling scaffolding and carting heavy items with their marina company truck.  And again in 2016 Eric provided accommodations for the artists.

Rooster’s Café and the sister restaurant of Bertha’s has helped out with breakfasts, delicious coffee, and a wind up evening meal.  The municipality of Isla Mujeres arranged the walls to be painted, and meals at Pelayos Restaurante on Medina Rueda.  Made in nearby Merida, Maya Solar supplied bio degradable sunscreen and insect repellent suitable for use when the group members ventured out to swim with the Whale Sharks and rays.  OSEL paints have supplied materials for the artists.  

Danae Brissonnet - the hat just made me laugh!

These are just a few of the sponsors that we heard about, if there are more we would be happy to include them in this article.  The joys of electronic publications!

Whether you are on Isla Mujeres right now, or are coming soon for your annual vacation, a tour of the island in search of the multiple murals – new and old, is well worth the time.

Hasta Pronto!

Lynda & Lawrie

Also see our other article about the 2014 project:

http://lynda-notesfromparadise.blogspot.mx/2014/08/isla-explodes-with-creativity-and-colour.html

Isla from a different perspective (Lawrie's turn to write!)

Enrique Lima Marina - early in the morning

I know, most visitors fly into Cancun and take a passenger ferry across to our island paradise, but if you are one of the adventurous ones, come in by boat, it's a very different perspective. 

Yes, there are some great places to berth your boat and have a good time.  

Looking towards Ballyhoo Restaurant

At the north end of the island is the Enrique Lima Marina, home of the Isla Mujeres Yacht Club, and commonly know as the El Muelle de la Gasolinera: Gas Dock. This marina is central to hotels, restaurants, bars and the Super X-Press grocery store. Located at the head of the docks is the Ballyhoo Restaurant, serving good food every day of the week.

Nice anchorage at entrance to inlet

As you travel south on the waterways past the passenger ferries, and the car ferry docks, you will see a number of reasonably protected spots to drop the hook, and anchor for a few days. If anchoring is not your style, keep traveling deeper into the inlet and you'll discover more marinas, bars, restaurants and several small hotels.

El Milagro Marina

The El Milagro Marina has good docks, a small pool, community kitchen and several hotel rooms right next door to the fishing co-operative, where fresh lobster can be purchased in season. 

It is also close to three fun bars: the Bahai Tortuga, the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill, and Barlito's.

Barlito's at Marina Paraiso Marina

Right next door to El Milagro, is the Marina Paraiso Hotel, featuring great food at Barlito's Restaurant. 

Marina Paraiso also has a sports bar, two very large swimming pools, a dive shop and a twenty room hotel for those nights when you really want a comfortable bed and a good hot shower.

Am I starting to get your attention now? Good!

New name for Villa Vera 

As you motor up this inlet, on the west-side of Isla you will pass a number of restaurants and bars all with a dock to tie up your dinghy should you wish to investigate this area later. 

Then deep inside the inlet – wow, a really big marina Puerto Isla, comes into view. This is the recently renamed Villa Vera Marina that was managed by Raintree Hotels. 

It is a large facility complete with traveling boat lift, fuel docks, restaurant, bar, and hotel. This marina is very well protected from severe weather and is a favourite hiding place for boats during hurricanes.

Big yachts at Puerto Isla Mujeres

Just past the Marina Puerto Isla are more economical places to berth a boat for the night, or for a longer period. 

Affordable and friendly Marina del Sol

The Marina Del Sol is basic but well run by great folks who care about their clients. Next is Oscar's Marina with the best pizza restaurant on the island. 

As the waterway narrows there are many tiny facilities that will allow boaters to berth at their docks for varying amounts of money.

Oscar's Marina & Restaurant - best darn pizza on Isla!

For a change of perspective come on over and explore the island by boat. 

It's a whole other view of living in paradise.

Happy New Year to Everyone

Lynda and Lawrie

You can find us on the web at:

Humerous stories about critters we have known:

http://animalsandfamilymembers.blogspot.mx/

AND

The Adventures of Thomas the Cat: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Adventures-of-Thomas-the-Cat-Las-Aventuras-de-Tomás-el-Gato

Amazing Stairways

Tiled artwork on San Francisco stairway

Swirls of patterns, and flowers, and geometric designs scramble up the stairs, enticing pedestrians to climb higher and higher still. The eye-catching designs make climbing the steep stairway a pleasant experience instead of a hot arduous task.

Street art is currently very popular in larger cities around the world; cities like San Francisco California, Seoul South Korea, Valparaíso Chile, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, or Rio de Janeiro Brazil. A quick search on the internet for “amazing stairways around the world” will bring up a plethora of steps decorated with realistic faces, piano keyboards, or perhaps a garden of flowers.

(Photo from the Bored Panda webpage)

This hotel is at the top of the Uribe stairway

On Isla Mujeres we have two sets of public stairways. One set is on Rueda Medina between the Navy base, and Bahai Chachi Hotel. 

The street sign says: Andador Virgilio Uribe. It is a shortcut from Medina the main road on the west side of the island to Juarez, the avenue that runs along the back of the Navy base and north through town. 

The other larger set is deep in the colonias, running east from Paseo de Aves the double-laned road to a single lane neighbourhood street. They are both serviceable, plain, and boring concrete.

Boring serviceable concrete stairway on Isla Mujeres

Every time I see either one of those two stairways I think: what could be done here? Flowers? Colour? Tiles? Something! 

Isla has a high percentage of artistic people living and working on the island. There could be an opportunity to showcase our little paradise with beautiful creations. I am not advocating self-centered tagging or graffiti, but well thought-out plans, with pleasing designs and bold colours. 

Almost finished - Goddess IxChel

Our neighbours Ronda and Bruce Roberts recently commissioned Sergio, the artist, to paint a mural of the Mayan Goddess IxChel on their street-side wall. It is meaningful and beautiful, and a nice addition to our neighbourhood.

Perhaps since paint is so impermanent in this hot and humid climate a picture laid in a tile mosaic might be a better option for a public area such as a stairway. 

At various times we have seen decorative murals painted on the seawalls, or public structures. After a few years the paintings fade to ghostly outlines, and then are obliterated with another coat of single colour paint. 

In centro 2010

In centro a few years ago the pillars in the square were decorated with colourful flowers and birds, unfortunately none that I recognized as being indigenous to the island, but still interesting to look at. Time, weather, and municipal budgets have their way with everything. Those fanciful designs have been painted over.

I certainly won't be applying for permission to paint anything other than the walls of our house. My painting abilities lie strictly with the paint-by-numbers canvases that my mother bought me as a child in the vain hope that I would develop into an artistic person. 

Sorry mom, it just didn't work!



But I can still daydream about vibrant colours and beautiful images leading me up a stairway, a colourful and artistic change from plain old concrete.

Inside Marina El Milagro - tile insets add colour

And one final note: a very heartfelt thank you to Maureen & Randy McFadden, plus Colleen & Ken Flynn for donating 20 of our bilingual The Adventures of Thomas the Cat books to the local elementary and kindergarten schools. Awesome!

Maureen, Colleen, Randy and Ken - thank you!

Hasta Luego
Lynda & Lawrie