First light of the New Year

Fireworks at midnight in centro

Mexico really knows how to party.  The festivities for celebrating the arrival of the New Year in Mexico begin late in the evening on December 31^st, and romp on into the first hours of daylight. 

Tony Garcia photo - Dancing the night away

We have several times in the past nine years joined the party in centro on Isla Mujeres for the fireworks and the beginning of the dancing. We usually give up around two in the morning, leaving our reserved table and chairs for hardier friends to use.  A few times we have noticed the three and four-year-olds still dancing with their siblings and parents as we slink off to our beds. You have to be born into this culture to have kind of stamina!

New Year's Eve celebrations - Jimmy Picuri photo

This year we didn’t make the trek to centro, instead we celebrated quietly, just the two of us and our little mutt, Sparky, with a toast to the New Year and a few tasty snacks.  We were in bed well before midnight. When the booming explosions started I woke up briefly, thought about climbing to our rooftop to watch, then turned over and mumbled Happy New Year to my slumbering hubby. Maybe next year.

Waking at o-dark-hundred at six in the morning, Sparky and I decided to leave Lawrie snoozing and join the group that gathers to welcome ‘first light’ at the southern end of the island – the very first place in Mexico for the sun to strike.  I had an ulterior motive.  The event is featured as the opening scene in my second novel, Trouble Isla, but I had never actually dragged myself out of bed in time to participate.

Road blocked off at Punta Sur - no more room for vehicles

The pooch and I bundled into the golf cart and set off driving south to Punta Sur.  Passing through the colonias I waved at neighbours who were still happily partying in courtyards or spilling over into the roadways.  Loud music, laughter, the clink of glasses and the occasional small explosion from handheld rockets.

The farther south I drove, the more traffic joined the procession. Pickup trucks with mattresses laid in the back were piled with sleepy children. Motos with two and three laughing celebrants whizzed past. Groups of young men and women waved and greeted me with Feliz Año Nuevo as they trundled past, crammed six, seven or eight to a golf cart.  Almost everyone was still dressed in their party finery, vastly different from my jeans, sweater and athletic shoes. 

El Presidente Juan Carillo and his wife Pao Orrico first sunrise

Passing the landfill site I saw the flashing red and blue emergency lights of two police cars. Thinking I had come across an accident I fervently hoped no one was seriously injured. As it turned out, the police were controlling the traffic for a side road, where a large group complete with tents and chairs had set up along the edge of the cliffs, facing south. This is new. It could have been the new Presidente Juan Carrillo Jr. and his wife Pao Orrico with a large group of friends, or it could have been a church gathering. It was difficult to know with the quick glance I had before the police officer waved me on.

Arriving at the turnoff road to Punta Sur, I was surprised to see a police roadblock. The officer waved me through then replaced the traffic cones behind me.  Everyone arriving after me had to park along the main route, cluttering up both sides of the road. Sparky and I parked the golf cart and began to walk the block and a half towards the large palapa near the entrance to the park. There were cars, trucks, golf carts, motos, people, pets, and more people. An enterprising food vendor had set up near the palapa.  Music blasted over the crowd from a nearby DJ. Every available space was crowded with bodies; the tops of the stone walls, the seats in the seldom-used amphitheater, the gardens, and the plaza. People arrived with coolers of adult beverages. A few carried open bottles of champagne.

First light at Punta Sur January 1st 2017

I edged my way through the throng, heading towards a space where I might be able to snap a few photos and met up with two friends, Harriet and Richard Lowe, who have been making the ‘first light’ trek for a number of years. They were astounded at the number of people. In years past the small group was a combination of party-goes and sleepy early-risers, still wearing their pajamas.

Sparky and I hung around until the sky began to lighten with ‘first light’ and then I took a serious look at the number of vehicles parked in the area and decided it was time to go.  

We arrived back at our casa just as the sun was clearing the horizon. I brewed our morning coffee, then headed upstairs with two steaming cups of liquid brain-food to share with my sweetie. It’s a pretty great way to start the New Year.

Happy 2017, Feliz año nuevo

Lawrie & Lynda

and Sparky

It’s a brand new year!

Happy New Year - 2016

Well, it’s a brand new year for us to enjoy, or mess up, or make a dozen-soon-to-be-forgotten resolutions such as lose weight, get more exercise and eat healthier. 

We make the same resolutions year after year, so for 2016 we have only one resolution: no more stupid resolutions!

Life this past year has been busy, not just for us but for the whole island.  There were a number of large municipal projects that were finally completed: the fire hall, a bigger hospital, and the Casa de Cultura.  

New fire hall near the police station

These new facilities are a great addition to everyday life on the island.

Across the street from our house the seldom-used college basketball court was covered with a metal dome, and seating added for spectators.  

The improved facility gets lots of use by local teams, school drama presentations.  

Photo from FaceBook Folk Dancers' Congress  

Recently under the dome, an outdoor catering area was created to feed the two hundred or so folk dancers who were performing on the island in the last week of December.  

It was a very well-mannered group comprised of dance troupes from various parts of Mexico.  

They lined up quietly at seven in the morning for breakfast, then again for lunch plus practiced a few dance routines in the late afternoon.   We hardly knew they were there, except for the enticing aromas wafting across the street exciting our taste buds. 

Playa Norte

On a grander scale, tourism is up, way up, with an estimated two million visitors coming to enjoy the island amenities and our annual festivals: Island Time Music and Fishing Festival, the summer Whale Shark Festival, and the Caribbean Culture Festival.  Two of the most popular beaches on the island, Playa Norte, and Playa Centro have been designated as world-class Blue Flag beaches.  Those beaches must be maintained to a higher standard of cleanliness, with toilets available, and garbage and animal poop cleaned up on a daily basis.  Music, food, entertainment combined with sun, sand and surf!  It doesn’t get much better than that.

Carnaval

Separate from the “created” celebrations the Mexican culture has several annual events that are always interesting, such as Carnaval in February or March, Santa Semana – Holy Week (Easter) in March or April depending on the Catholic Church calendar, The Flowery Cross celebration in May, Independence Day in mid-September, Day of the Dead celebrations late October and into early November, and Revolution Day parade in mid-November. 

Kindergarten parade - Independence Day 

By that time we are at the end of the year and the calendar has rolled around into Christmas celebrations, with parades, parties and processions.  

(See our December 25th blog.)

So, we are off to a great start with the New Year.  Happy, healthy, enjoying life, and resolution free for 2016! 

Happy New Year / Próspero Año Nuevo

Lawrie & Lynda, 

Thomas the Cat, Sparky & Perla

Happy New Year from all of us! 

If you enjoyed this post please feel free to share it with your friends and family.  

Sunrise. Sunset. And another year is gone.

Sunrise

I have dozens, no, make that hundreds, of photographs that capture the beginning and the end of the day; photos depicting the rapid change from blue and yellow to hues of red, orange, pink, and purple.  Sunrise or sunset – it’s a reflective time of day.  

But the one sunrise I have never captured is the first one of the year.  At the Punta Sur on Isla Mujeres is the Cliff of Dawn, the eastern-most point in all of Mexico.  This is the first location in Mexico to be touched by the morning sun. 

Sign marking the Cliff of the Dawn at Punta Sur

Many New Year’s Eve revelers dressed in their party clothes and fancy shoes will trek to the tip of the island to toast the sunrise on January 1^st before heading for home.  Making their way from the parking lot, along gravel pathways, and down several flights of stairs carved into the sand and coral cliffs this is a pilgrimage of renewal.  

It’s a way of celebrating that all is well in their world as they begin another year. 

Photo from Sue Lo's collection

This year on New Year’s Eve the weather was perfect, clear skies and gentle breezes.  We admired the diamond bright stars scattered overhead, contrasting with the velvety blackness of the night.  Around eleven-thirty in the evening we and a few friends walked into Centro to join the celebrations.  

We arrived as the midnight fireworks began cascading from the roof the Palacio Municipal (City Hall) on to the celebrants.  Heads tilted back to admire the show no one seems to notice the burning embers and falling debris.  "¡Feliz año nuevo!"  It’s time to party and celebrate until dawn!

We slowly circulated around the mob of party-goes, stopping to hug, and kiss, and wish Happy New Year to hundreds of island friends.  The live band pounded out a thumping salsa rhythm.  People swayed, shuffled and boogied to the beat.  It’s an infectious sound that will blast the downtown core until dawn.  No one expects to sleep.  A little closer to the eastern sea-walk the food vendor’s stalls are jammed with hungry patrons.  Kids shriek with laughter running in gangs of six or seven between tables and parents. 

From Day Grey's photo collection

Some are in possession of handheld fireworks; an invitation to disaster.  A huddle of five small boys has gathered, scheming to set off their fire crackers near the Port-a-Potties (baños).  They giggle and cast furtive glances over a shoulder, checking for a disapproving parent.  A nearby policeman cocks an eyebrow and the boys disappear to create mischief elsewhere.  

Two hours later we are tired and looking forward to bed.  We are happy to let the celebrations rage on without us.  

As we walk the narrow streets past the Navy base towards home we occasionally catch a glimpse of a private dinner party.  Champagne, and food, and laughter.  

One enthusiastic woman wishes me happy birthday in English.  “No, no.  I meant Happy New Year.” She says, laughing at her mistake.  

I casually wonder if they are celebrating the tradition of the twelve grapes.  

Each grape has special significance – wishes for prosperity, luck, love, wealth and good health. The twelve grapes must be consumed in the twelve seconds leading up to midnight to bring the good luck.  

We don’t how to ask if they practice this tradition, so we wish them "¡Feliz año nuevo!" and continue walking home.

Sporadically during the night we were woken by the popping of nearby fireworks - neighbours in the colonias who were determined to celebrate all night.  Around dawn we hear an increase in traffic passing our house as some of the celebrants find their way home.  By eight in the morning the traffic has all but ceased, and the streets will remain quiet until early in the afternoon.  Many stores and restaurants are closed for the day.  There are few employees able to work after an all-night celebration.

Sipping my morning coffee I remark to Lawrie, that in two years I can officially retire.  He looks at me quizzically. “What?”  I laugh, and explain that I remember sitting in my grade-ten history class, calculating what year I would turn sixty-five and be able to retire.  How odd for a fifteen-year-old to be thinking of that, and even stranger that I would remember the occurrence forty-eight years later.  As it turns out we retired six years ago, much sooner than I anticipated, to this exceptional little Caribbean island.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2014

It’s a great place to wake up to the first sunrise of the New Year.  Maybe we didn’t make the trek to actually see the sun strike the eastern-most place in Mexico, but our hearts were there in place of our corporal beings.

Okay, that’s just a fancy way of saying: I was too tired to even think about it!

Happy New Year to Everyone

Lynda & Lawrie