Christmas in the Caribbean

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Isla gave to me:

Twelve Boats a Bobbing:

I wonder if Santa Claus could fit one of these beauties in Lawrie's stocking?

Any Sunday afternoon at North Beach a collection of yachts and mega-yachts can be seen anchored just off shore while their passengers enjoy a dip in the warm aqua-coloured sea water. These yachts are a fairly recent phenomenon as Isla was originally a fishing community. Walk any beach on the west side of the island and you will see numerous small multi-coloured panga-style boats pulled up on the beaches waiting for the work day to begin.

Eleven Loungers Laying:

Starting at seven in the morning the employees of the beach restaurants and bars begin to get organized for the day, setting out sun loungers and umbrellas for potential customers. 

Every business has their own colours to identify their area. Waiters will deliver food and drinks to the loungers allowing holiday travellers to just relax and enjoy the sun, sand and surf. 

Lawrie tried to train me to do that at our casa.  It didn't work out so well for him.

Ten Taxis Racing:

Even though the island is only seven kilometres long and a kilometre wide, the taxis are always in a hurry to get somewhere - where ever that somewhere is. Taxis are reasonably priced and can usually be flagged down from anywhere on the island. The main taxi stand is located near the passenger ferry docks. It is still best to ask the price before you ride as the rates can be higher in the holiday season.

Nine Snowmen Waiting:

These nine little donut-snowmen lined up on a baking tray at the Chedraui Super Store made us laugh. 

Snowmen, in the Caribbean? Thank goodness they are not real, and are only in someone's imagination. 

We've done our time with snow: no mas.

Eight Palm Trees Swaying:

Nothing says “the tropics” like a sugar-white beach and stately palm trees swaying in the breeze. Beware – those picturesque, and very hard, coconuts hanging above your head can knock you out if they connect with your softer noggin. 

Usually around this time of year the city workers are out and about removing the almost ripe fruit from the trees in an attempt to prevent injuries. Still, sitting in the shade of a coco tree is just so darn romantic it's hard to resist – potential head injuries be damned.

Seven Hammocks Hanging:

Swinging in a hammock strung between two coco palm trees, sipping on a cold cerveza: ah, bliss. 

We recently planted two little cocos in our small patch of sand on the ocean-side of our house. We daily check their progress to see if they are hammock ready. 

Unfortunately five feet high doesn't quite qualify. We have a few more years to wait. 

Six Massage Tents Ready:

Stressed from gift shopping or flying economy class? Why not hit the beach for a massage. 

Located on the beach, across from Jax Bar & Grill or the Posada del Mar Hotel, are five or six massage tents where the staff will give you a relaxing light massage, guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.  

Alex, Daniel, Freddy, Inez, Joao, Pepe in back, and Gustavo

Five Freezing Coooold Beers:

Merry Christmas to our good friends Freddy, Joao Gustavo, Alex, Daniel, Pepe, and Inez and of course Sal and Mal Richards at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill. 

They have the biggest smiles while they serve the best freezing cold beer on the island!

Four Trees in Centro:

The smell, the shape, the decorations of a real Christmas tree brings back great memories for anyone from northern climates, but I always wonder how did a Christmas tree become synonymous with Christmas in the Caribbean? 

As ex-pats we really enjoy seeing the trees, in centro, at the passenger ferry docks, and on top of the City Hall. It's a beautiful thing.

Three Church Bells Ringing:

Christmas time is very special to the islanders. It is the time of year when many children are baptized, or confirmed into the Catholic Church. It is also the start of a six-week-long celebration that includes The Feast of our Lady Guadalupe on December 12th, Posadas Navideñas December 16^th to 29th, Noche Buena December 24^th, Christmas December 25th, and ending in January with the Night of the Kings on January 6th. The three large Catholic Churches on Isla Mujeres are beautifully decorated and overflowing with worshippers during the holiday season.

Two Christmas Parades:

There are two Christmas parades: the official Municipal Santa Claus Parade, and the Christmas Golf Cart Parade organized by a local carnival dance troupe. Last year we participated in the golf cart parade for the first time, dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, tossing candy to the crowds of kids. This year the parade was scheduled for Saturday December 20^th, but due to the high possibility of rain has been moved to Saturday December 27^th starting at 5:30 in the afternoon. It is so much fun to ricochet around the island in a decorated golf cart, trying to follow the lead vehicle when the route is being planned just as the parade starts. The crowds of little kids waving and yelling hello make it all worthwhile. We'll be there again!  

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas Isla Gave to Me - One Brightly Lit and Noisy Party Bus:

It's bright. It's noisy. It's fun. Every year around this time the party bus, or as some people call it the disco bus, or the funny bus, comes out of storage and begins doing nightly runs around and around, up and down the island.

Loud music. Bright lights. And people have fun. It's become a favourite with Bachelor and Bachelorette party celebrations. 

It drives me nuts when I am trying to sleep, but it has become part of the annual holiday celebrations so we have learned to laugh, and go back to sleep muttering: “It's just the party bus.” We have plans to use it soon, and it will be our turn to be silly.

Feliz Navidad to you all – may your Christmas be Merry and bright!

Lawrie & Lynda

You can find us on the web at:

http://lynda-notesfromparadise.blogspot.mx/

AND

Humerous stories about critters we have known:

http://animalsandfamilymembers.blogspot.mx/

The other side of paradise ....

The three crazy friends on their new yacht!

Salty turquoise water sprays over the side of the boat, soaking my hair and shirt, coating my skin with fine grains of sea salt.  

It feels great.  We (well, let me amend that) Lawrie is now a proud boat owner in partnership with Richard Grierson and Chuck Watt.  

It's a twenty-six foot panga, a local style of fishing boat.  Currently named El Quinto Sol (the fifth sun, not son) it will eventually be renamed to something more suitable for the guys.  All week they have been bantering around names for the vessel but personally I am leaning towards Los Tres Amigos Locos.   The Three Crazy Friends! 

Two car ferries, and the Thor Heyerdahl school-ship

I must admit, the panga is a great way to see the island from a different perspective, up close and personal from the water.  On Sunday the six of us took it out for its first shakedown cruise.  After a few minor tweaks and fiddles with the fuel lines we backed out of the mooring slip and into Maxak Lagoon.  Then pointing the bow north we slipped along the western side of the island, past several marinas with a variety of boats: yachts, work boats, runabouts, and half-sunken wrecks.  

Interesting use for a ladder.

Powering along parallel to the shoreline we slid past the Thor Heyerdahl a topsail schooner that is used as a live-aboard training ship for young adults and teenagers from Europe.  

Then we passed the two car ferries docked near the naval base, and a large sailboat registered in Panama that had a quirky arrangement utilizing a regular ladder to access their dingy and the swim grid.  

North-western side of Isla 

The western side of the island is more familiar to us as we usually see it from the car ferries, and the Ultramar passenger boats.  

The beaches in front of the Posada del Mar and IxChel were both busy with the Sunday crowd of day-trippers, baking on the beach in a variety of colourful bathing suits.  

We anchored in the shallow waters of North Beach for a short time while Chuck took a dip in the ocean, primarily to see why one of the motors kicks up when put in reverse. Apparently there is a small piece - a metal pin - that is missing. It's an easy fix now that they have identified the problem.

Anchored beside the big guys at North Beach

Pulling up the anchor we motored around the northern point of Isla, into bigger waves, bouncing us around too much for me to focus the camera, and wouldn't you know it - we spotted a pod of dolphins cavorting in the waves, hunting for their lunch.  I couldn't dig the camera out of my waterproof bag fast enough.  They whizzed past and disappeared into the surf.  I missed completely missed that photo opportunity.

Got a bit wet when we were on the east side of Isla

However, it was still very interesting to see familiar sights from a different angle.  Houses and buildings that we walk or drive past on a regular basis look completely different from the water side.  

At the southern end of the island the waves were a coming at us from two directions as we cut through the swift current that runs along the island, past Cozumel.  And then we were around the southern tip, and into calmer waters.

Calmer after we rounded Punta Sur back to the west side

Brilliant sunshine, light winds, sea salt on our skin; it was a glorious afternoon.  As we headed back to our marina berth, we decided we should dock at our favourite island beach bar, the Soggy Peso, and pop in for an icy cold drink.  Sunday afternoon in high season!  What were we thinking?

There was not a seat, a stool, or a place to perch anywhere inside the bar or on the lawn, so we took our cool beverages down to their private beach and sat on the loungers.  

Beach bums at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill

Huh!  Different perspective again - sand between our toes, palm trees rustling in the breeze, the beautiful blue water to look at, and a soft lounger to sit on. Not bad.  I could do this again.

When we returned home I downloaded the photographs and discovered that a number of them had a hazy spot or two.  Dried sea salt obscured the lens in a few spots.  Next time I will take my waterproof camera, and cleaner for the lens!

I can't wait to see what name the guys decide on for the boat.

Hasta Luego
Lynda & Lawrie

The new yacht! 

The white stuff!

The wind howls, shouldering its way through cracks and crevices, forcing its way into the house.  It slides under the door, bringing with it fine white particles.  You can’t hide from me!  I’ll find you.  

Outside the flecks blow through the air, collecting along the edge of our patio, drifting into corners and coating accessible surfaces.  The particles insinuate themselves into clothing, sliding into tender spaces where jackets meet pants.  In Centro, the street cleaners shovel it – yet again – off the streets and over the retaining walls: sand, damn sand!

What?  Did you think I was talking about snow?  We live in Mexico! 

A few months ago we were enjoying a beach day when a Norte was just getting started.  

A Norte is a belligerent storm that blows from the north across the US/Mexico border, bringing strong winds, cooler temperatures, thick clouds and heavy rains.  

On this particular day it was still brilliantly sunny and the kite surfers rode the exhilarating winds, getting huge air under their boards.  

We, on the other hand were being sandblasted.  We carefully picked particles out of our beachside lunch.  Chomping down on a burger seasoned with bits of coral and shells can be tough on tooth enamel.  

We discovered the easiest solution is to rinse the offending grit out of our mouths with an icy cold beer.  And don’t talk a lot, just enjoy the day.  Talking leads to sand in your teeth.

However this week we are suffering from the effects of the Polar Vortex that is enveloping most of Canada and the USA with record-breaking cold.  Island tourists had abandoned plans for a lazy day at the beach, huddling instead inside hotel rooms wondering: why now, why me?  

When a Norte hits after an extended dry spell, the sand is lighter and easily snatched up by the wind, and deposited wherever.  Other times the rain will saturate the grit before the winds arrive to plaster the wet mess onto buildings.  It’s a lot like blowing snow, but without the cruelly cold temperatures.

Meanwhile back at our beachside casa we have different challenges with sand.  We have a beach and we have pets.  It’s an interesting combination. 

The two cats, Tommy and Chica seldom venture far but they like to investigate the surrounding area before deciding where they will nap for the next few hours.  Each trip out and back beautifies our floors and furniture with numerous paw prints.  

Tommy, my fourteen-year-old cat has a thick double coat that feels more like unspun wool than hair.  

Particles cling to his substantial belly, and his chunky legs.  His favourite napping spots are identified by a circular pattern of debris, the shape of a large, relaxed cat.  

Chica, the younger tabby cat deposits her contributions on coffee tables and comfortably padded kitchen chairs.  She is fastidious with personal hygiene – spending the next thirty minutes removing every fleck of sand from her silky fur, leaving it for me to remove from the furniture.

Sparky, a short, part-terrier, part-something-else pooch recently decided that he too should live at our house.  He’s a rough coated low to the ground sand-magnet.  His ideal day includes a swim in the ocean then a tussle in the sand with a neighbour’s dog, finished by a quick dash inside to say hello.  Strewn across the patio is his gritty pathway leading into our main floor living space and up the circular stairway into our bedroom. 

Sweeping, I return the sand to the beach for the animals, and us, to recycle on the next jaunt through the house.  Housekeeping is a hit-or-miss proposition.  We usually think about cleaning the house when the dust-bunnies are larger than our seventeen-pound cat, or when the ocean-side windows are occluded with a glaze of salt and sand.  

If we clean the house, it will only get dirty again.  It’s inevitable.  

Accumulations of sand lend authenticity to the beach house theme of our casa.

And finally, there is the challenge of sand in your shorts caused by swimming in the warm Caribbean Sea.  The sandy-bottomed ocean reflects beautiful hues of turquoise, indigo, and aqua-blue.  The rolling waves scour the ocean bottom, lifting the fine white sand into suspension – and depositing the residue in the tender areas under bikinis and bathing trunks.  It can be painful.

So, to our hardy northern readers who are currently dealing with temperatures as low as -50C, save a bit of sympathy for us.  Instead of enduring record setting cold and snow, caused by the Polar Vortex, you too could be dealing with the challenge of scratchy sand in your shorts. 

It’s a real hardship.  Honestly.  You should try it sometime.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

Beach porn

Ah ha, you couldn’t resist that title, could you?

White sands of North Beach

This week’s blog is not about rude photos of nude people.  It’s about the pretty beaches on Isla Mujeres, and the things you can do on a beach – legally!

Lawrie, my idea-man, tweaked the slang expression food porn – referring to the photos that travelers post to internet sites such as Trip Advisor extolling the virtues of a particular meal, at a particular restaurant.  Food porn – beach porn it is all about photos and memorable moments.

Crystal clear waters

The sugar white beaches of Isla Mujeres lend themselves beautifully to sun-tanning, and lounging, and daydreaming for the laid-back personalities; the people who can stare at a grain of sand for hours perfectly content to let the hours slide by as they bake first one side of the body, and then rotate to bake the other side.  Bake, grease, flip, and bake.  A bit like a BBQ rotisserie.

Build a sand pyramid

And for the slightly more active beach-dweller, there is snorkeling, shell hunting, and swimming in the luminously clear water.  

The sweeping sandy beaches are primarily located on the northern and western sides of the island.  This is where sand sculpture contests, organized or random, take place; people expressing their creativity while working on a tan.  

Dolphin Discovery 

These beaches are also where the majority of the restaurants and bars are located, serving refreshments and meals to the thirsty and the hungry.  The Sac Bajo area on the western side also has Dolphin Discovery where visitors can play, swim, and interact with dolphins, or rays, or manatees.  Either the northern end, or the western side are fabulous for personal sunset celebrations; a glass of wine, a few good friends – life is good.

Wild and rocky Punta Sur

For the more adventurous the beaches at the south end of the island are less inhabited, and more difficult to access.  Most of the area requires a hike down dangerous and friable cliffs to the pounding aquamarine surf.  The turtles, and the rays, love the south end for mating during the summer months.  It’s a great area for photographs; lots of sea life, and wave action.  Sea glass collectors also haunt this area, searching for the perfect specimen for their collections.  On the south-western side of the island is Garrafon Natural Reef Park, with zip-lines, and great snorkelling.

 

Sunrises and moonrises on the eastside

On the sunrise side of the island, where we have a house, the surf changes dramatically from season to season; calm and easy-going in the summer, wild and pounding in the winter.  There is a thriving coral reef that is a favourite with the day-trippers.  The dive boats drop snorkelers and divers into the surf to explore the long reef that runs the length of the island and continues further south to Belize.  It is ranked as the second longest reef in the world. However, swimming on the eastern side is a bit trickier, not because the coral is skin-tearing-sharp but it is lumpy underfoot, making the walk out to swimming-depth challenging.  But in exchange for the bother of coral underfoot, we get turtles, lots of turtles laying their eggs in my neighbours’ yard, or on the beach in front of our houses.  We think it’s a good trade-off.  

Beach treasures

The one beach-oriented activity that surpasses all others is weddings.  

There have been a hundreds of weddings celebrated in various beach locations around the island.  Good friends Bob and Leanne Frye, and Chris and Marianne Shannon chose beaches on opposite sides of the island.  This year I witnessed the communal Valentine’s Day weddings at Punta Sur.

Going for a walk with his best friend - Dad!

Friday evening we will be at Playa Mirada for a wedding, and Saturday our neighbours are hosting a traditional Mayan celebration on their beach.  Tropical beaches and weddings: perfect.

Ah, it is another sunny day, with a light breeze, and a few fluffy clouds.  It must be time to snap a few more beach-porn photographs. 

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

Sun, sand and Sol (Sol, arena y Sol)

Sol, arena y Sol   (Sun, sand and Sol beer)

A mischievous grin lighting his face our friend Chuck recently asked: “Do you even know where North Beach is?”  Okay, I get it.  We are not beach people.  We like sitting in the shade, by our own pool, with our own refrigerator close at hand for a supply of snacks and cold drinks.  Boring, but true. 

So, imagine my surprise when Lawrie asked me if I wanted to go to the beach.  “The beach?  Really, the beach?  Okay.”  Then there was a long pause while I thought about it some more, adding: “I guess.”

Surfer with blue and white kite twenty feet in air

We packed up our swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, and sunglasses then hopped in the golf cart.  Parking in front of the Na Balam Hotel we sauntered through the gardens headed to the beach.  We greeted a couple of the staff members that we knew and paid for a double lounger partially shaded by a palm tree.  

Ten minutes later a bucket of icy cold Sol cerveza arrived compliments of our friend, Luz.  Alright, maybe I could get to like this beach thing.

Third kite surfer joining the other two

Leaning back on the sunbed we lazily watched as two very fit young guys launched their windsurfing kites into the wind.  They made kite-surfing look ridiculously easy as they skimmed and scooted across the waves, bouncing up a good twenty feet in the air and flipping into a summersault with the awkward board strapped to their feet.  



Sure, we could do that too, if we really wanted to. 

Exercise the hard way!  Popsicle salesman.

Then a third young guy started untangling lines and readying his black and yellow kite.  We silently scoffed.  He couldn’t possibly do nearly as well as the other two.  He was a bit on the chubby side, a spare tire around his waist.  However, once he got the kite airborne he did just fine keeping up with his competition. 

I snapped dozens of photos of the action, all the while staring covetously at another photographer and his very expensive Nikon D4 or maybe it was the Nikon D3X.  Equipped with a humongous telephone len and tripod, I am fairly certain that the kite surfers in his photos were lot more visible than the ones in my photos.  Sigh, only in my dreams.

Regata del Sol al Sol in background with navy ship

Menu in hand our waiter arrived, suggesting that with north wind blowing we might want to eat inside at the restaurant.  He was worried our food might include a side-order of sand.  We decided to stay put on the lounger and enjoyed a tasty lunch, only slightly seasoned with blowing sand, while watching more of the beach action. 

In the distance we could see that the participants of the 45^th Regata del Sol al Sol were wrapping up their weeklong visit to the island with the children’s day of sailing.  We watched as a dozen or so sailboats arrived loaded with children.  They circled around a naval cutter, sitting off-shore as a marker for the boats, and returned to the marina.  This part of the Regata del Sol al Sol is hugely popular with boaters and islanders alike, giving local children pleasant life-long memory of this annual event.

Rebuilding the weirs to stabilize the beach

Soon we were drowsy from food, sunshine, and cold beers.  It was time to pack up and head back to our shady little casa.  Time for an afternoon siesta. 

We do know where North Beach is – I have photos to prove it!

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie