Would you like a little salt with that? Living on the Caribbean coast of Mexico!

The perfect day on a perfect island

And you thought I was referring to a tequila shooter, with lime and salt, but no, I am referring to living on the windward side of an island in the Caribbean.

We live on Isla Mujeres, a small island just off the coast of Mexico near Cancun. It is paradise with its sunny, warm weather, gentle breezes, turquoise waters, friendly people and cheap, cold beer. However, we have discovered there is a price to pay for living in such a beautiful location. It’s called salt! 

The beautiful spume rising off the surf coats everything with a salty residue. Our oceanfront windows are currently caked with a week’s worth of salt. It makes the ocean look a bit fuzzy when viewed through the grime. Every bit of metal corrodes, yes, eventually even stainless steel. Plastic is my new favourite!

My handyman fixing icemaker

Electronics are the most sensitive to corrosion, rust, high humidity, and salt.  The various microwave ovens have burned up in eight to ten months.  

We have had three progressively cheaper coffee makers in three years. The satellite stereo system lasted about a year, while the refrigerator icemaker and the dishwasher motherboards died exactly a week outside of the warranty period. We replaced our deck furniture with a concrete and cushion sofa after two years, as the steel frame on the original set was quietly dripping rust onto the patio tiles. 

The four ceiling fans get repainted every six months with white marine enamel to slow down the rust.

Francisco and Juan cushions for new concrete sofa

The light bulbs seize in their sockets with rust or corrosion, and changing them involves a pair of needle-nosed pliers and lots of cursing. 

We did bring down special electrical grease from Canada to prevent that little problem; however, my personal handyman decided that replacing the entire socket with the light bulbs corroded inside was more time and energy-efficient. (His time and his energy! The replacement sockets can be purchased by the dozen at Home Depot for $1.50 each.) 



Another new dishwasher

We recently had all of our expensive chrome-plated bronze Helvex bathroom fittings – towel bars, shower heads, sink taps replaced under warranty due to corrosion. They were less than two years old. We had great service from the Helvex head office in Mexico City. We sent them a couple of items for their warranty department to inspect, then the next thing we knew, we had a very large and very heavy box delivered by courier, replacing every single item in the three bathrooms. Fabulous service.



Repairing a friend's gate

If you think we are grumbling about the cost of replacing items damaged by the salt, we're not.  The way we look at it is very simple. 

In Canada, our annual property taxes on a lakefront lot with a 2000 square foot house cost $8000.00. Here on Isla, an oceanfront lot with a similarly sized house, the annual property taxes are less than $100.00.  It’s a small price to pay for living in paradise. 

After completing all of these repairs, my personal handyman, Lawrie, needs a cold beer or two.  Jeez, the bottle opener needs some WD-40, too!

Hasta pronto, Lynda and Lawrie

Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

Bloomin' bougainvillea, retiring to Mexico!

Bougainvillea sprawling over Maria del Mar

Moving to Mexico in October 2008, I was ecstatic about the gardening possibilities in a tropical zone. I love gardening, and especially love flowers. The entrance courtyard was perfect for a grouping of large terracotta pots that could hold a profusion of flowering plants. 

The ocean side of the house had unlimited possibilities for a garden, either in pots around the patio, or perhaps a few set into the beach area. 

We also have two upper decks that would look stunning with terracotta pots overflowing with brilliantly coloured flowers. I could hardly wait to get started.

My 1st attempt at growing Bougainvillea.

The first plants that we bought were eight raspberry red Bougainvillea, that ever-present thorny vine that climbs and clamours over houses, hotels, restaurants, and fences everywhere in Mexico. Four vines went into the planter in the carport, and four more into a planter in the courtyard. I had thought to mix in a variety of colours, such as strawberry pink, flame orange and snow white, but decided to stick with one colour and build the colour palette with other types of flowering plants. The plants responded beautifully to their new home, quickly sending up four and five-foot-long shoots into the air, grasping for things to climb. And then the cooling winter winds started! Disaster!

Bird of paradise that lasted a few months

It turns out that the cool winds that enticed us to build our oceanfront casa on the windward side of Isla Mujeres are hell on gardens. Even though the temperature seldom drops below 20°C (about 68°F), tropical plants are a wussy lot, turning brown and dying back at the slightest dip in temperature, and especially when a cool, salty wind blows across their leaves. Even the tough invasive plants such as the Moon Vine, a white-flowered, night-blooming blooming and very fast-growing relative of the Morning Glory, turn black and wither into the ground waiting for the arrival of warmer weather in April or May. Sissies, they have no idea of what cold really is!


Our 1st Flores de Mayo

But I was not to be deterred! I will overcome this minor setback. Out came the Bougainvillea, and in went a Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May, otherwise known as a Plumeria). It did fine, offering a profusion of yellow-orange flowers, until the winds started. At that point, every leaf on the plant dropped, and we were left with a stark-naked plant to grace our carport entrance for the next six months. I have also tried Gardenias in pots along the outside wall of the courtyard with their heavenly scent perfuming the air, causing passersby to comment on the delightful smell. Died! They hated the winds in the winter and hated the intense heat of the summer.

Then there was the month of Geraniums - cheerily displaying their blooms from various terracotta pots. Ditto the above results. At some point, I even tried purple Chrysanthemums, thinking them tough enough to at least survive the cool winters. Nope! The salty winds killed them as well.


My Favourite!  Orange Hibiscus with Red Centre

Finally, Hibiscus thrived on my upper street-side deck, tucked away from the winds. We have had months and months of delightful eight-inch vibrant orange blooms with a deep red centre. Stunning! Until August arrived, nearly killing the plants with the intense afternoon heat. Rats! We moved both pots out to the ocean-side of the house, playing a dangerous game of waiting until the heat abates on the west side, hoping to move them back before the breezes intensify on the east side of the house.

Our ocean-side patio.

So what thrives on an ocean-front lot? Coconut palms. We now have five pots of coconut palms on the patio. The upper deck has two recuperating Hibiscuses and one presently healthy Rosemary plant. The courtyard currently has one palm, an assortment of citrus trees that I am experimenting with, a large pot of orange Canna Lilies, and another pot holding a yellow Hibiscus. So far, so good. Not exactly the Gardens of Babylon, but it's a place for small lizards, geckos, beach dogs, and cats to lounge.

It's still paradise for us, with or without the Bougainvillea.

Cheers from paradise. 

Lynda and Lawrie

Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky