Forget the beaches and the turquoise water, Isla Mujeres is really about the party!

North Beach early in the morning

Yes, the beaches of Isla Mujeres are some of the best in the world, and swimming in the clear turquoise Caribbean Sea is extraordinary, but the island party scene is just good fun. 

Great drinks. Music & dancing, all day and into the early hours of the next day. 

We all have our favourites, but there are literally dozens of places you can find good drinks and great music on the island. Places to spend a lazy afternoon, after working on your tan in the morning. Places to enjoy an evening meal and listen to great music. And places to dance, dance, dance the night away.

Lawrie and my great-nieces and giant Margs

You can’t go wrong with Ballyhoo’s, for food, drinks, and atmosphere. 

Located on the beach, behind the PeMex gas station on Rueda Medina, they have the best sunset location on the island. 

Depending on the time of day or the month, the view includes the comings and goings of a variety of boats: the big and sexy sport-fishing boats, the modest little open deck pangas, the catamaran jet-drive passenger boats or the slow and plodding car ferry. The best way to start a party is with one of their eye-popping big Margaritas.

Soggy Peso Bar & Grill

And of course, everyone thinks of the Soggy Peso when you mention killer Margaritas. 

The big jug on the bar counter-top contains their special recipe, made with four bottles of tequila, four bottles of orange Controy, and the words freshly squeezed lime juice whispered over the blend. The Margs are strong and tasty. 

Typically, customers are happy with one, or if they are feeling frisky, maybe two Margaritas; however, the record is twelve plus two to go. 

Jeff Current, singing with customer, Cathy 

In the winter season, local entertainer Jeff Current gets the crowd dancing to favourite tunes during his Isla Animals fundraiser nights. 

Watch out for the Soggy Peso’s pet (plastic) spider located above the sink!  It likes to drop down for a visit with unsuspecting newbies. 

The Soggy Peso is a perfect mix of silly fun, great songs, good food and killer drinks. When they are at capacity, the gate is closed.

The Joint, an island tour with family

At the southern end of the island near Garrafon Natural Reef Park, is The Joint Reggae Bar n Grill. It’s another good venue for a pleasurable afternoon listening to live music every day from 1 until 4 in the afternoon, plus on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 until 8 in the evening.  It’s an enjoyable halfway stop when touring around the island with visitors or on your own. We’ve heard the food is awesome, but we haven’t tried it yet. Just too many choices and not enough time.

Slow Down Food & Art   FB photo

On the windward side of the island are a few more of our favourite places to eat, drink and be merry. (Or is that eat, drink and get married?)  The newest is Slow Down Food and Art, located in front of Antonio Fabre’s intriguing art studio. They have a limited but tasty menu of sliders, Argentine-style empanadas, and salads. It’s a tiny, two-person operation perched on the edge of the road, across from a gorgeous view of the sapphire-blue water. Open from 11 in the morning until 8 at night, except Sundays, or when they are in Cancun getting immigration papers sorted out or when the chef is sick. It’s Mexico, they are open, except when they’re not.

Villa la Bella photo

And of course, don’t forget Villa la Bella for their Cadillac Margaritas with a shot of Grand Marnier on the side. They also serve the prettiest Pina Coladas on the island, or maybe in all of Mexico. 

That’s the place with the well-known ‘beer so cold it will make your teeth hurt’ sign. 

The award-winning bed and breakfast has a bar open to the public, unless they are at capacity, then the gate is closed. The location is spectacular, the drinks are yummy, and the view is killer beautiful.

In the same neighbourhood is Caribbean Brisas Bar and Grill, with its colourful atmosphere, live music and delicious food. We have always enjoyed their amazing menu choices. 

Caribbean Brisas Marg 

A recent addition to their drink choices includes Margaritas made with ingredients like cucumber, chaya, mint, or habanero. Now you can get a buzz while drinking your veggies!  It has to be good for you, right?

There are more, dozens more, but all this talk of food and beverages is making us hungry and thirsty. Time to grab the keys and head out to an old favourite, or maybe try something different.

And when you’ve had just too much fun, you can regenerate your liver cells while soaking up the tropical sun on those sugar-white beaches and gazing at the turquoise sea.

Hasta Luego 

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Max

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Fleeting images, the murals of Isla Mujeres

I call this photo  - The Reading Room 

The bright, the beautiful, the colourful images that come and go are worthy of remembering.

Over the years, there have been several ‘authorised’ campaigns to paint murals on private and public buildings on Isla Mujeres. Many of those frescos have survived the salty, humid weather, the over-painting of graffiti artists, or removal for new construction projects.  

This week’s blog is a remembrance of some of the interesting ones that didn’t survive.

Malecón bollards were painted as flags

When we first arrived, there was a collection of ocean-themed murals painted on the malécon, running along the eastern side of the island. There were turtles, fish, and other ocean creatures. 

As those paintings peeled or faded, the next municipal administration repainted everything in a flag motif.  Flags from the countries of the visitors to Mexico. Canada, America, many European countries, Israel, and all of the Latin American countries adorned the seawall bollards.

2012 Spear Art - La Perla Hotel

In February 2012, a twenty-something Belgian backpacker, Corentin Binard, known as Spear, decided to add his unique brand of graffiti to the island. Situated on the east side of Isla. 

The three-story La Perla Hotel was partially damaged during hurricane Gilberto and was destroyed by hurricane Wilma in 2005.  

It languished as a crash pad for vagrants, an unsightly place littered with garbage and beer bottles.

More portraits by Spear Art

Arriving on Isla, Spear discovered the crumbling structure and decided he would leave his mark there.  For three wild days working in a frenzy of creativity, he sprayed, splashed, dabbed, and painted. 

He crafted five large, animated portraits of friends on the south walls of the damaged hotel rooms, and two more on the north end of the structure. 

About a month after his marathon of painting, the damaged La Perla was knocked down and reduced to a pile of rubble. There are plans for a new hotel in the same location.

Sometime in early 2014, an image appeared inside an abandoned, roofless building located at the northern end of the seldom-used municipal airport, near the entrance for the Malécon and the Aguakan pumping station. 

Inside a roofless Aguakan station 

The image stares with a question in her eyes. Perhaps she is asking: why are you here inside this dank, derelict space? 

Still visible, the image is a faint ghost of the original.

Then, in the summer of 2014, a large group of artists arrived to embellish fourteen buildings in Centro. Almost three years later, the majority are still visible, a little paler, but attractive. 

2014, at Gabriela Mistral Primary 

Two of the originals are gone. The long and colourful ocean creature that swam along the perimeter wall of the Gabriela Mistral Primary School in Centro was the victim of expansion. 

The black and white whale shark, swimming with a woman at the Tourism office on Medina Avenue, was a victim of the hot afternoon sun and tropical storms. Flaking and faded, it was replaced this year with a conglomeration of brightly-coloured mythical figures.

One of our favourites - gone!

In early 2015, a collection of birds, iguanas, hermit crabs, whale sharks, turtles, fish, sharks, and jellyfish flowed along three sides of the retaining wall where the seniors play volleyball. During a tropical rainstorm late in October of that year, the wall crumbled, destroying the striking artwork. The replacement wall is a plain, vanilla-white structure. We miss the eye-catching images of our local wildlife.

Barbara Siebenlist mural, purchased Villa la Bella

Another one of our favourite depictions of ocean-going creatures was painted by artist Barbara Siebenlist on a wooden fence at Antonio Fabre’s studio. 

Curtis and Ashley Blogin, the owners of the Villa la Bella Bed & Breakfast, fell in love with the artwork and quickly negotiated to purchase the piece for their lobby. Safely sheltered from the rain and sun, it’s a beautiful addition to a handsome facility.

Golf cart rental, mural on fencing

There are other images tucked away behind private walls or inside hotel courtyards waiting to be discovered. Many businesses located in Centro are starting to capitalise on the interest of visitors in the various murals, commissioning paintings for their lobbies, rooftops, fences and buildings. It's an interesting and profitable spin-off of outdoor art.

Now, if someone would start an island-wide mosaic project. Mosaics are permanent and just as colourful.

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, and Sparky

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Reelin' in outstanding scholars, Isla Mujeres

Students March 2014

A criminologist, a nurse, a human resource administrator, a graphic designer, a petroleum engineer, a linguist, and an animal health specialist all have one thing in common; the Ron Brown Scholarship Fund available to qualified Isla Mujeres students.

Created shortly after Ron Brown's untimely death in the summer of 2009, the scholarship fund assists a limited number of students with tuition and the expenses of living off-island while completing their education at a university or college. 

Reeling for Ronnie tournament - P Parent Photo

Since its creation, Ron's close friend Richard Lock and the Lock Search Group have been the biggest supporters of the fund, along with Ron and Gwen's many personal friends and family members. The fund is incrementally, year by year, increasing the number of students that can be assisted.

In addition to personal donations, the fund also raises money through an annual fishing tournament organized by Richard Lock, Frank Berke and Peter Zukow. 

Patrick Parent - largest fish.

The Fifth Annual Reeling For Ronnie Fishing Tournament was held this year at the luxurious North King Lodge, located in the sheltered waters of Caamano Sound on the northern coast of British Columbia. 

North King Lodge Caamano Sound BC.

Participants from a variety of cities in Canada and the USA - Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, 

Fort McMurray, Victoria, Vancouver, Minneapolis and Austin – enjoyed a fun-filled four days of fishing and camaraderie. Afternoons were consumed by the recounting of spontaneous and slightly exaggerated fishing stories. 

Airfare to Bella Bella, a helicopter ride to the fishing camp, meals, snacks, beer, wine, equipment, boats, and gear are all included in the price. Best of all (according to the website), there are no fish-stealing Sea Lions in the area! This is serious fishing country!

Gwen Brown and Mike Johnson

Between the tournament and a raffle for an all-expenses-paid fishing trip, the 2014 event raised a record-breaking $15,000.00 CDN; 100% of all money raised is used for paying tuitions and student expenses.

Here on Isla Mujeres, at least two dozen guys were salivating over that trip, purchasing handfuls of tickets in hopes of upping their odds. 

The winning ticket was drawn by Gwen Brown at a Friday night happy hour at Villa la Bella in February. Mike Johnson from Minnesota was the lucky guy, but his nephew was even luckier when Mike gave him the winning ticket. The moans and groans from various ticket holders were painful to hear; everyone wished that they were Mike's nephew.

Sorry guys! Maybe next time.....

Hasta luego
Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

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Bella’s Story: an Isla Mujeres stray finds happiness!

Well, this is a little embarrassing. I’ve been asked to tell you about myself, and really, I am quite shy. I’m not prone to bragging. The beautiful brown-eyed blonde smiled impishly at her visitor.  But, since you asked, well, here goes.

When I was a tiny little baby, I had five brothers and sisters. Our mother was taken from us quite suddenly, so we never knew her.  

I was so tiny I would fit in the palm of a person’s hand. Bella’s feathery tail swished softly as she warmed to the idea of telling her story. One day, just after the loss of our mother, a tall woman picked me up in her arms. 

The woman whispered to me, “You are going to be safe, sweetie, don’t worry.  I know exactly who is going to love you forever.” 

I am 1 year old in this photo

The next thing I knew, I was being handed to a very pretty blonde-haired woman. “Oh, she is so beautiful. I love her to pieces! She'll be my very special friend.” 

Well, that made me very excited, and I must admit I acted just like a very young puppy would, licking her face and wiggling ecstatically. It’s all a bit embarrassing, really, but I was so happy to have someone love me. 

She is the person who named me Bella, which means “beauty” in Spanish, and since we were living in Mexico, it just made sense to have a Spanish name.  One of her many friends thought that my name should have been Sandy, as I blended perfectly with the sand floors of their outside living area. I am very happy she stayed with the prettier name.  I think it suits me perfectly, don’t you? Bella smiled coyly.

After my operation, one ear up, one ear down

As I grew up, it took me quite a few months before I could climb the stairs up to the apartment of my two humans.  Because I had poor nutrition as a tiny baby, I had very weak bones, and my feet would swell when I tried to run or play.   

My female human was so very patient with me, carrying me down in the morning, back up for an afternoon nap, down for playtime, and up again for bedtime. It really was a nuisance for her as she was also operating a busy resort. She kept telling me she loved me, and it was not a problem. Lucky for me, she loved me so much!  

Her handsome male human was away a lot of the time, working in another city, so we were good company for each other. Now, happily, he is here all the time, and I love him as much as I love her. Well, maybe I love her just a teeny, tiny bit more because she carried me up and down the stairs.

This is our family photo in 2004 

When I was learning my manners, my special treat was a few Cheerios, those little round crunchy circles that people float in a bowl of milk. I adore them. I will do anything for Cheerios. Learning my manners wasn’t a problem at all; it was quite fun, actually. I have also been told that I am very smart, so smart that I even learned to love cats, including my first friend Luna, and now my friend Peek-a-Boo. Luna taught me many secrets that only cats know. Peek-a-Boo and I have become good friends, and we patrol our property together. We keep an eye on our humans and make sure their house is safe. Any strangers must pass our inspections, especially if they are working at the resort. 

Where's the fish?  Where's the fish?  Pounce!

Some of my favourite activities include a game I invented – I call it pounce. It’s an exciting game. My humans take me down the path, through the dark, cool caves, and onto a small, quiet beach. In the shallow tidal pools, I watch very carefully for small fish. When I see them – I pounce! I wait, and I watch; then pounce again! I have been told that I look like a fox pouncing on a mouse when I play this game. I could play for hours. Peek-a-Boo would like to play with me, but she’s afraid to walk down to the beach with us.   

I also enjoy running on long sandy beaches at a place called Tulum. I’d run for miles, dash into the surf, roll in the sand, and then clean my face on a fluffy beach towel. It was a delicious treat. I am quite a bit older now, so I don’t do the long runs and hikes that I did when I was a much younger dog. 

Sadly, I have had a few health problems in my past. The first problem occurred when I was about two years old.  I had a large tumour in my head that required surgery. The doctor did a fine job of removing the tumour, but as you can see from the photos, both of my ears used to be perky, like wings. Now the right one is perky, and the left one is relaxed. It makes me much more interesting to look at, I think.  

Playing in the tidal pools on Isla Mujeres.

I was such a scrawny, lanky teenager – all legs and feet. Now that I am a mature woman, I have settled into a fuller, Rubenesque body type. I do have other health challenges, including skin sensitivities, digestive issues, heartworm, and Ehrlichia, but I won’t bore you with the gruesome details. And as I age, I am gradually losing my eyesight to cataracts. It is such a challenge getting older. I miss the carefree days of my youth.

With such a rocky start to my life, being adopted has been a blessing for me. I gained a loving family who feeds me, cares for me, and lets me share their lives completely. And I’ll tell you a secret. She leaned closer to whisper. I have my own private closet filled with beautiful jewelled collars; collars for Hallowe’en, or Christmas, or Thanksgiving, and for my birthday. I have collars to match my female human’s dresses, and my male human’s shirts.  I'm spoiled.  

And here's our recent family portrait!

They also let me share their bed for part of the night. I like to get into the bed first, kiss both of my humans good night and then leave to sleep peacefully in my own comfy bed. Partway through the night, I will sometimes sneak into bed for an hour, or when my male human gets up in the morning, I’ll make a warm nest with his pillows. Those extra few minutes of sleep are delightful, full of wonderful dreams and memories of being young again.

I love my life.  Bella looked away, a film of tears in her eyes, thinking how she had aged so much in the last year or two. I hope I can stay healthy and happy, sharing my life with my people for a few more years yet. I love my people. But her life was too perfect to be sad about anything for very long. Softly thumping her tail on the floor, she grinned happily at her visitor. I wish every dog could be as fortunate as I have been!

                            ______________________

Cast of characters:

Bella lives at Villa la Bella Bed & Breakfast on Isla Mujeres  

The tall woman, Alison Sawyer Current, who founded the non-profit organization Isla Animals dedicated to helping animals in need.

The blonde-haired woman is Ashley Margilyn Blogin, co-owner of Villa la Bella

The handsome male human is Curtis Blogin, co-owner of Villa la Bella

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

The textures of Isla Mujeres, Mexico...continued

Goin' visiting

A giggling young boy runs bare-assed naked from his home to visit a friend, a few houses down the street. 

He zips down the middle of the road, passing a brightly painted house with a cat quizzically watching from a fence. 

A sign on a small store proclaims,  "Wonder" 





Mariachi Band on Hidalgo Avenue



A group of Mariachis stroll Hidalgo Avenue, strumming guitars, enticing restaurant guests to pay for a song or two. "A little musica?" the lead player asks, hope lifting his voice into a question mark.  

An eight-foot-tall Johnny Depp look-alike struts on stilts, hovering over groups of prospective customers.  "Come have dinner with us." He implores, pressing a small advertisement into friendly hands.

Neighbours out for dinner

Expats gather to share a dinner, a glass of wine or a cold beer, one last time before everyone scatters to their northern homes.  We prattle on in English, not struggling to communicate with a mixture of English and Spanish, laughing knowingly about a shared experience, a delay, a frustration, and the fun, oh so much fun.

It's all, Isla.

Makax Cottage

We have now lived on Isla Mujeres full-time for nearly four years. Our first experience was not as homeowners, but as tourists in May of 2002. 

We rented a charming little cottage via the internet for one week on the west side of the island, at Villa Makax. The after-dark taxi ride from "Centro" led along a bewildering series of dark streets, curving roads, and a potholed-almost-not-a-road, eventually arriving at the property. The cottage was situated on a very private piece of land with a beautiful sandy beach and two congenial hosts, Steve and Lindell Leher, who have since become island friends.

Rolandi Hotel on the west side of Isla

For the second week, we had not made any advance reservations and eventually settled on moving one block down the street to the small luxury hotel, the Villa Rolandi. 

The Villa Rolandi provided full-on pampering with gourmet dinners, an infinity-edge pool, and bar service anywhere on the property.  

Steve and Lindell, on the other hand, well, we never quite got them properly trained to magically appear with a glass of wine, or a cold beer. Perhaps if we had stayed longer, they would have been trainable?

A few years later, we returned to Isla Mujeres. This time, we were cat-sitting for family members while they returned to Canada to deal with personal business.  We stayed at the house they had rented on the east side of the island. There, the breeze is constant, the waves are larger, the beach is not so sandy, but the slightly cooler temperature was perfect for us. 


Our view on the east side of Isla Mujeres

Several years later, we built on the windward side of the island for just that reason - cooler year-round temperatures. 

We are still discovering and exploring. 

Two days ago, we found a new lane, an undiscovered twisting sand-strewn road that led us to a different view, a new layer, a different texture.    

Hasta pronto

Lynda & Lawrie

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