Something’s fishy on Isla

Beach near Velasquez Restaurante

Isla Mujeres, the Island of Women surrounded by water and fish, lobsters and conch. Until tourism started to boom in the 1980’s the traditional way of making a living for islanders was fishing.  

Even now around dawn the open deck panga-style fishing boats and crews head out to pull in the hopefully-heavy nets.  

If they are lucky, four or five fishermen per boat will be needed to haul the nets into the boat.  

In the evening the reverse happens, the fishing crews return to their favourite locations and reset the nets for the night hoping for a successful catch.

Heading out - watching for the Lady Fish run

When the weather turns grumpy the Port Captain closes the port, restricting the size of the boat that can leave the harbor until he gives the okay to leave.  

These are the days that most island restaurants will tell you that there is no fish for their menu that day.  

Others might have a supply of frozen fish from previous catches, and still others might substitute with a Vietnamese Basa, a river-caught fish, uniform in shape, and softer in texture.   Basa is not my favourite and I will usually change to something that does not include fish for my menu choice.

Cleaning and repairing nets

The good thing about a port closure - it gives the fishermen time to repair and clean their nets.  Sometimes you will see them on the beach north of Velasquez Restaurante on Rueda Medina. 

They string the nets between palm trees searching for rips, pulling off bits of seaweed that have been snagged in the weave.  

Weaving a new net

On very stormy days the net-mending takes place under covered domes where after school basketball games normally happen.  

Watching the fishermen repair tears in the netting is very reminiscent of the folks who weave hammocks.  

Holding a wooden bobbin in one hand and a tough nylon line in the other their hands weave in and out, neatly filling in the torn area.  It’s a beautiful skill.

As you enjoy your freshly caught fish in a local restaurant on Isla Mujeres think about the folks that make that tasty meal possible.  

Cleaning the catch 

Working whenever the weather allows the small open boats to ply the waters, hauling in fish, cleaning the catch at the end of the day and repairing nets on the stormy days in preparation for the next day’s work.  

It’s a physically demanding job, dangerous at times but for those who do the work there is no other job that gives them so much enjoyment.

Cheers from Paradise

Lynda & Lawrie

Crew cleaning up at the end of the day

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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!