Mañana doesn't mean tomorrow ..... it's just means not today! Updated Oct 2018

2014 Oct 7th, buoy headed our way

At sunrise, on October 7th 2014, I noticed a small green light blinking on the ocean just south of our house, flashing on and off at regular intervals.  

Well, that needs to be investigated. My camera has a decent lens so I zoomed in for a better look; it was a huge marker buoy drifting free, and bobbing its way north towards our beach. 

2014 Oct 7th, buoy down and rolling across coral

Fifteen minutes later it ran aground, tipped over, and ponderously rolled in the waves until it was stuck about twenty feet from shore. We emailed a friend who knew how to contact the naval base to advise them of the problem.  

A group of marinas (sailors) arrived, a non-commissioned officer and his crew, to check out the buoy.  

Then the sleek navy cutter arrived cruising back and forth in the deep water on the other side of the reef, unable to hook a line on the buoy due to the increased size of the waves, and the shallow water inside the reef. 

2014 waiting for a decision   

The weather turned foul so we invited the guys to take shelter on our patio, offering them coffee and snacks while they waited for a decision from higher-up. 

The navy bosses were in communication with the harbour master and two employees arrived mid-afternoon to check the situation.  

2014 Oct 7th, removing the valuable beacon

One lucky guy was designated to retrieve the valuable GPS beacon.  The ocean is very warm in October, but dressed in protective gear it was a bit of a struggle for him to wade into the thigh deep water and remove the heavy beacon, still transmitting its location at 21 14.5 N and 86 44.1 W.  

It is good thing the beacon was removed, or we could have had ships trying to take a position reading off of our house.  We envisioned an unscheduled cruise ship visit, similar to the Costa Concordia that ran aground in Italy in 2012.

2014 October 7th, Marinas and Lynda

By noon we were serving ham or chicken sandwiches to the on-shore crew complete with a choice of coffee or pop and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. It was a pretty good gig, hanging out with us while the jejes decide what to do with the marker buoy.  Around three in the afternoon the officer in charge flashed us a big friendly smile and said that the weather had become too rough and the cutter was not going to be able to pull the marker buoy back out to sea. 

2014 Oct 7th, Sparky on left Tommy on right 

“We’ll come back mañana, or when the weather calms down,” he assured us. 

“Si, claro. Okay, no problem.”
  

Smiles and handshakes all around, and everyone departed: October 7^th 2014.  

Yep, four years ago last week, and we still have a huge piece of rusting scrap iron rolling around in our neighbourhood. 

2015 October 11th, still waiting for removal

Back in 2014, I started taking annual photos of the life and times of the navigational buoy.

For the first few weeks the air stank of rotting sea creatures, until our neighbours helpfully hired a young friend to scrape the dying barnacles and mussels from the exposed bottom.  

So how big is this thing?  It has a six foot diameter, and without wading into the water with a tape measure to get the exact measurements, we think it is about fifteen to eighteen feet tall.  It’s big and it’s heavy.

2016 October, pointed straight at our casa. 

We had considered decorating it up for various holiday celebrations:  Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Independence Day. 

We have had friends offer to paint it with cool designs. One graffiti 'artist' did add his tag, but thankfully the weather removed the mess within a few weeks.

No one was allowed to remove, or move it, or even consider cutting it up.  It is federal property, but the feds don’t want it, the navy doesn’t want it and the harbour master doesn’t want it.  

2017 rolling in big waves from Hurricane Irma 

The first week or two that the buoy was here it moved around a bit, a little to the north, a little to the south, ever closer to shore until it is now half out of the water and stuck between two rocky outcroppings.  Our biggest concern is not esthetics, but of safety.  A big storm could turn this thing into a missile and shoot it straight at our house, knocking out walls and ripping down support columns. Or, conversely it could be swept out to sea during a hurricane becoming a dangerous navigational hazard, unlit, unmarked, and big enough to punch a hole in a large ship.

2017 September waves Hurricane Irma in Florida

We know it is not the fault of the folks that work for the navy or the harbour master. 

We have the greatest respect for them. They are willing, and helpful. 

The decision came from higher up the pay-scale ladder.It was just not in the budget.  

2017 October TS Nate now at Punta Piedra

In September 2017, when Hurricane Irma turned away from us, towards Florida, we had several days of big waves. 

We watched with trepidation as the buoy pounded against the three-foot high ridge of coral and sand protecting our house from the floating hunk of metal. 

At sundown it was pointed like a missile right at our casa. When we checked again at sunrise, it had bounced over the rocks moving north and stopping on the beach in front of Maravilla Caribe. 

2017 Oct - Amy, Punta Piedra having fun with buoy

A short time later Tropical Storm Nate moved the buoy a little further north to Punta Piedra's beach. 

Amy Canto decided to have fun with it, instead of obsessing over the unsightly hunk of metal. She made a 'man' by stuffing a pair of pants and a shirt with sargassum seaweed. His head was a round white fishing float, with a sombrero plopped on top.

Juan sat in an old beach chair inside the buoy with his bottle of tequila and a plastic Halloween pumpkin. He provided lots of chuckles for her guests, until another storm washed him away. I found pieces of Juan all along the beach, pants, hat, and head. Amy reassembled him, but the winter storms just wouldn't leave the poor guy alone. Eventually he disappeared. 

2018 Oct 8th moved again during Hurricane Michael 

Then on October 7th 2018 the weather forecast predicted that Michael, a Category 1 Hurricane, would pass between Isla and Cuba. The worrying and wondering started again. Where would the damn buoy land this time? 

Fortunately for us, Hurricane Michael skidded past Isla Mujeres doing very little damage, but it was a category 5 by the time it battered the Florida panhandle. All we can do is hope everyone is safe, healthy, and only a little wet. 

The remnants of the navigational buoy are a tattered shell of the heavy structure that arrived four years ago, but it is still capable of floating. We currently have a disturbance forming just south of Mexico, and Tropical Storm Nadine in mid-Atlantic. Hurricane season doesn't end until November 1st, and then we can breath a sigh of relief. 

In the meantime, Mañana, doesn’t mean tomorrow, it just means not today.

~

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

A big thank you to one of my favourite authors, Jinx Schwartz for her review of Tormenta Isla, Book #3 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery series:

Jinx Schwartz author of the Hetta Coffey series
Author @JinxSchwartz
Reasons I enjoyed this book: Action-packed, Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Page-turner

Tormenta Isla: Murder and mayhem on a tiny island in paradise (Isla Mujeres Mystery Book 3)
Lynda L. Lock
.
Crime Fiction, Action and Adventure
A mysterious disappearance of a local man and the looming threat of hurricanes headed towards the peaceful Caribbean island of Isla Mujeres create havoc in the lives of Jessica and her rescue mutt, Sparky.

Available as e-books on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, iBooks

Available as paperback on Isla Mujeres or via Amazon

Follow me on Bookbub

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Nate – gave us a pass

Boarding up for TS Nate.  

Normally a bit of rough weather doesn’t bother us. We’re Canadian and have experienced snowy blizzards and drenching rain storms. But I confess I’m not a fan of tropical storms that are teetering on the edge of being classified as a hurricane.

I don’t mind wind, but I really don’t like the high velocity winds of a tormenta. Sadly though, when this recent storm, TS Nate, blasted over the mountainous countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua it was the excessive rainfall that caused the deaths of twenty-two people.

Since we live at the edge of the ocean and TS Nate was forecast to pass directly over this flat, little sandbar of an island we obsessively clicked on the NOAA site and several internet weather channels checking predicted rainfall, storm surge, and wind speeds.

On Wednesday it became pretty clear we were going to get hit.

By Thursday morning we had dragged everything inside our little casa; two sun loungers, a small sofa and two chairs, glass topped tables, stacks of big cushions for the two larger sofas, and anything small enough to become an airborne hazard. 

We tied down garden hoses to prevent them whipping around in the wind, and pushed plant pots into tight huddles. 

I made up a couple of dozen sandbags to block the rain from entering under our doors, especially our bedroom door which has an outside entrance onto an open deck.

New house a bit north of ours boarded up.

We had extra bottles of water, gas in the golf cart, easy to prepare food for us and the pets, and cash in case the power was off for a few days making ATM’s useless. (By now we are feeling like the characters in the novel that I am writing, Tormenta Isla, who had to do all the same prep work!)

Then, exactly as our friends Tony Garcia and Isauro Martinez described many boat owners prepared for the storm/hurricane by moving their vessels deep into Laguna Makax. The Caribe line of passenger boats from Cozumel brought their three good-sized vessels to Isla and docked them at the municipal wharf next to the car ferry. Presumably that dock is more sheltered than the ones at Cozumel. Even the car ferry and the Ultramar passenger ferries shut down early.

Caribe Ferry - normally located in Cozumel

It was an eerie feeling driving along the island’s shoreline which normally bustles with boats, islanders and tourists. Every public or private wharf from Velasquez Restaurante, near the north end of the island, to the car ferry were empty and all of the oceanfront restaurants were closed. Every tour, pleasure, or work boat had been moved to Laguna Makax, or dragged high up on the beach and securely tied to nearby palm trees.

Hotel shuttered on main floor

Many businesses were closed so that their staff would be safely at home before the predicted late-Friday afternoon arrival of the storm. Doors and windows were covered by pieces of wood or cortinas, the accordion-style hurricane shutters.

A light rain damped the streets and we decided it was time to hunker down with our pets and a good bottle of wine. We read, we sipped wine, we waited, and we checked the internet. The predicted rainfall was for around 95mm or 4 inches although TS Nate had dumped 510 mm or about 20 inches of rain on Central America. The wind-speed was going to touch on a Category 1 Hurricane of 120 kilometers per hour, about 74 miles an hour.

Wharf at Bally Hoo - empty, restaurant closed.

The afternoon turned into evening, and still no rain or wind. 

Then, remarkably we fell asleep for two hours. I usually lay awake during storms listening the sounds of the house; the rattle of the screen on our windows, the creak of the patio doors as the wind pushes against it, and the banging of something not tightly secured.

At ten in the evening both Lawrie and I woke up, to silence. No wind. No rain. Nothing. We checked the internet again. It looked as if the storm now called Hurricane Nate had moved about ten miles east, closer to Cuba. It had passed by us. That was a big relief to everyone. Facebook pages were soon littered with jokes about the over-reaction and the huge amount of prep work for a non-event.

M&J's buttoned up for TS Nate

But as one of our friends said:

“They just don’t understand what it feels like to lose everything and to not have insurance. To have your only vehicle damaged, whether it was a moto or an old car it was still your only transportation. To worry about the lives of your family, your friends, and yourself. To step out of your home and see the damage done to your community and know that it could be days or weeks before everything is back to some type of normal. In the meantime people scramble to make a living and to feed their children. It’s difficult, very difficult. So what if we over-prepared, better that then homeless.”

We’d happily do the same preparations again especially if it works as a lucky charm and keeps the tormenta away. 

Although it seems that when our nearby neighbours Rob and Julie Goth board over their small windows, the ones without the cortinas, we are guaranteed to get a pass from the hurricane.

We’re back to sunny and hot weather and waiting on the return of our various Canadian, American and European neighbours for the busy October to April social season. 

There goes the diet!

Cheers from paradise

Lynda & Lawrie

 ~

Trouble Isla 5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and furious
CA review on September 26, 2017

Yasmin and Jessica are back and the gold they found in Treasure Isla is still haunting them, especially when Carlos, their boss at the Loco Lobo, and Yasmin’s new lover, is kidnapped. No spoilers here, but his captivity and the girls’ efforts to free him, with the help of Carlos’s pals—including local Isla Mujeres fishermen and a Mexico City cop—are the crux of this fast-paced story. Lock has created not only a compelling and authentic setting, but a well-developed ensemble cast. The next Isla mystery can’t come fast enough.

Book #2 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series
Available on Amazon e-books $2.99 USD

 Treasure Isla 

Book #1 Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

            $2.99 USD on most e-book distribution systems.

Here are the links:

Treasure Isla on Amazon

Treasure Isla on Smashwords

Treasure Isla on Kobo Books

Treasure Isla on iTunes

Treasure Isla on Barnes and Noble Nook

Sweating for fun, sweating for work – it’s a matter of perspective

View along the Caribbean side - for early morning joggers

In the early mornings right around sunrise until an hour after, the roadways along the Caribbean side of the island are littered with people. People walking. People running. People cycling.  Some are exercising for health, others are using their feet or bicycles to get to their jobs.

Groups of joggers are scattered along the route: three women, a man, two women and several solo guys pound along the roadways dodging stray dogs, and potholes. Decked out in the latest brightly coloured athletic gear with coordinating leggings, tank tops, hoodies, and footwear these folks are serious about their fitness routine. Their large iPhone or equivalent smartphones are strapped to a bicep, earbuds jammed into ear canals and music pounding out the beat as they run along the outer perimeter road to Punta Sur and back.

Other bike riders in centro

Four youngsters sharing two single-gear bicycles, each with a passenger balanced on the foot pegs poking out from the rear axle of the bike, slowly grind southwards headed to one of the numerous construction sites near Punta Sur. The rider stands straight and still, with hands resting on the peddler’s shoulders. It’s a way of getting to and from their manual-labour jobs. It’s hard to know which part of this duo works the hardest. The one peddling the bike. Or the one balanced on round metal pegs. As kids we did the same thing, but the goal was to get to the playground quicker, not to arrive at work six days a week by eight in the morning.

Ab exercises at work

A group of construction workers, in their twenties, trudge southwards towards their job wearing jeans, battered t-shirts and sometimes runners but more often than not cheap disposable sandals. They have a measured pace, arriving at the job for the eight o’clock start time. They will labour until sundown, and frequently later. It’s not uncommon to see workers toiling under inadequate lighting until late in the evening.

Ab exercises on the beach

Vehicles, golf carts, and motos are beginning to make their appearance on the roadways as parents make the frantic dash to school. If the child doesn’t arrive before the gates are locked, then the parent is stuck with sorting out childminding problems for the day.

Our friend, Yaron pushes past on his multi-speed bike, his muscular legs churning like pistons. He zooms up and down this road from first light until he finishes his routine number of laps, or time. His fitness level is impressive. He lifts the fingers of his left hand in a half-wave and smiles while fiercely concentrating on the bumps and challenges of the local road. Hitting a pothole or rock while piloting a skinny-tired bicycle can result in flying lessons for the rider.

Early morning biker rider - selling tortillas

The dog walkers generally have a more leisurely pace while the dogs sniff, pee, sniff, pee and repeat. A few walkers such as Ana have big dogs that set a faster pace. She almost jogs to keep up to her exercise mates. We routinely run across Melissa and Issy, out for their morning constitutional. And Carol’s seventeen-year-old Alfie is blind but knows his way along the sidewalks and pathways. Our Sparky likes to visit with him, but Alfie prefers his solitude instead of in inquisitive wet nose investigating his private areas.

2011 photo - the navy groups use smaller trucks now

A squad of Marinas from the naval infantry is on an early morning circumnavigation of the island. Riding in a grey truck they smile and waggle a couple of fingers in greeting, trying to look seriously bad-ass in their combat gear while grinning a hello.

An hour after sunrise the road in nearly empty. Even though it in now a week into December, the daytime temperature is hitting 30 degrees Celsius, or mid-eighties Fahrenheit.

It’s time to find a shady spot.

Internet photo - we are waiting for our trees to grow this tall

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

Missing! Five Islanders and the Anastacia

Anastacia - before it went missing.  Isla Fiesta photo

They are husbands and fathers, brothers and sons, uncles and nephews, cousins and friends; and they are missing.  Five friends left Isla Mujeres on a 32-foot boat, the Anastacia, Wednesday March 30^th.  They were headed towards the island of Cozumel to fish for sharks.   

They have not been heard from since.

Waiting for news

At the fishing coop where the Anastacia berths the families wait, faces pinched by worry and love, seeking comfort from each other.  

Eyes brim with tears that quickly spill with the arrival of more friends, affectionate hugs, and soft words of solace.  An upset child picking up the unsettled mood, tugs at a sleeve of his mother, plaintively asking: When is papi coming home? 

But each new day is a morning filled with hope and optimism.  “Today is the day we will find them!” 

The search coordinating committee is made up of many islanders including Jorge Fernando De La O Pino papa to Jorge De La O, the captain of the Anastacia.  

Javi, Marla, Jorge Sr., and Jill

Others members are Marcelo Cupul Ku, Rogelio Digurnay Perez, Marcelino Cupul Avalos, Javier Martinez Cen, Marla Bainbridge Martinez, Wilberth Ancona Argaez, Julio Sosa Chuc and Thelmo Burgos Uc.  Jill Hardekopf is also helping out with her American contacts.  

Most of the committee has other jobs that they have taken a leave of absence from, allowing them to devote time to finding their family members.  In the case of Jorge Sr., the opening for his new restaurant has been delayed indefinitely.   Javier Martinez Cen (Javi) and Jorge Jr., have been as close as cousins since birth.  For him, and all of the other families, this search is intensely personal.

Currents - Mexico, Cuba, US

The search grids are based on suggestions from highly qualified experts from around the world and experienced members of the community, fishermen, captains and mates who know the currents and wind patterns.  From early morning to late at night coordinators makes phone calls to authorities seeking assistance, asking permission, planning for the next day’s search grid, raising money to pay for the massive amounts of fuel required, and answering hundreds of emails and Facebook posts.  

All through the day optimistic words of hope are spoken.  Never give up!  We will find them.   Each sunset is the beginning of a night filled with very little and restless sleep, exhausted brains spinning with questions.  Where are they?  Are they okay?  What can we do next?  Where should the search focus tomorrow?

Huachisan III and crew searching in Cuban waters

Deline García Canto talks with pride how his papa Juan de Dios García Povedano (Huacha) and crew aboard the Huachisan III have been given permission to search in Cuban waters.   They are tired, worried and a long way from home, but still searching for their friends.  The Mexican government has initiated the request for assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, and are still waiting on their reply.  

Also out searching

The navy, the harbor master, and the UltraMar passenger ferry have all assisted. Mexico News Daily with a readership of twenty thousand expats carried the story a few days ago, as did a TV station in Houston because Jorge De La O lives there part of the year.  A gofundme campaign has raised thousands of dollars to assist with the cost of fuel for the search boats; more is needed.  

Locals and expats have come together providing basic needs for the five families, waiting without a source of income, for the return of their husbands and fathers.  The search committee is working remotely with the specialized, volunteer Search & Rescue team from the USA.  Their arrival has been delayed, awaiting documentation.

Isla Mujeres is a strongly knit community of locals and foreigners all pulling together to bring the five men home safely, hopefully with an interesting adventure story to tell their children.  But the social media network is slowly picking at the threads of the community, bit by bit, picking and unraveling the fabric of the island.  

Social media is a curse and a blessing.  It is an instant form of communication.  And an instant form of condemnation and criticism.   Why didn’t they do this?  Why don’t they do that?  I could do this better.  Not taking into account the tangled regulations involved with three separate countries – Mexico, USA, and Cuba who hasn’t had a diplomatic relationship with the USA from 1960 until just this year.  Permissions are required to cross, enter or fly over airspace and oceans.  And not taking into account the personal toll on the family members as each new rumor is bandied about as “the truth” while family members are left to wonder: Why wasn’t I told.  I am sitting right here five feet away from the coordinators.  Why didn’t they tell me my son was okay?  And then it’s revealed to not be the truth, but just a fast-moving rumor spreading like wild-fire through the internet searing the hearts of those waiting for news.

Dawn of another day of hope!

Maybe today is the day that they will find them!  

Be strong, stick together, and work to a common goal.  It’s what makes Isla Mujeres such a special place in a complex world.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

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If you would like to help - please donated to the Find the Anastacia Fund gofundme