Saving Lola, a giant sea turtle!

Julie Goth pouring water on a stuck mama turtle.   

“Hey, Lawrie! There’s a sea turtle stuck between two rocks! Can you help me get her free?”

Rob Goth, our neighbor a few houses to the north of us on Isla Mujeres, stood in our courtyard shouting towards our upper deck. 

It was early in the morning, and we still had our bedroom door closed with the a/c running. We hadn’t heard him shout, but the dogs Sparky and Max had. They woofed, and Lawrie opened the door to investigate. 

Julie, Lawrie, and Rob - how are we going to do this?

Then Lawrie yelled an explanation to me and took off, leaving me to scramble out of the shower, throw on clothes, and dash after him with my camera in hand.

When I arrived on the beach side of Rob and Julie’s house, appropriately named Casa de Tortuga, Julie was gently pouring water over the turtle’s head, and Rob and Lawrie were discussing ideas to free her. 

The temperature was already a sweltering 30 °C but felt like 36 °C due to the high humidity, that’s 86 and 97 in the American temperature scale. 

Rob Goth, sun umbrella for turtle

The turtles can survive on land for short periods to lay their eggs, but the ladies always arrive after dark and usually leave by sunrise.

This poor mama was hot and getting hotter.

She was tightly jammed in a crevice between a ledge and an enormous chunk of rock. Fortunately, she was in the upright position, not standing on her head. 

Lawrie suggested lifting her out by her flippers. I said no, that might injure the muscles in her shoulders, and then she wouldn’t be able to swim. (What do I know?)

Rob went back to their house for a small, red and white beach umbrella and a bigger bucket to pour more water over her. 

Rob Goth, hat for him, bigger umbrella for turtle

I zipped out to the street, looking for a local who might know the number for the Tortugranja, the Turtle Farm. 

Tony Gutierrez was passing by, I asked him if he knew anyone at the Turtle Farm. He said yes, and offered to drive over to tell them we needed help.

Other neighbors, Cesar Sepúlveda and Sylvia Leal supplied a bigger beach umbrella and another bucket. Their daughter, Fanny pitched in with filling buckets of water and passing them to Rob. 

Visitors from Kansas City, who were staying at Vidrio del Mar, the Sea Glass House next to Rob and Julie's, helped wherever they could. As did a guest from nearby Punta Piedra.

Fanny lugging water. Guest from 'Sea Glass House" 

Cesar hopped into the family golf cart and drove to the Turtle Farm looking for help, not realizing I had already spoken to Tony Gutierrez.

More people arrived, everyone curious and trying to be helpful. Some of the new arrivals took turns pouring the water over her head and body, hoping to prevent heat exhaustion. 

Lawrie and I both grabbed large coils of rope from our house. 

Cesar and Sylvia contributed flat tie-down straps used for holding cargo in place.

More helpers arrived

It seemed like forever, but in reality, it was probably about thirty minutes before the turtle farm employees arrived. 

They decided to lift her out by her flippers…as I said, what do I know? (Yes, honey, you were right.)

The guys used the tie-down straps instead of the rope because the thin straps were easier to maneuver between the turtle’s body and her flippers. 

Success! She's moving.

Then Luis, Amado, and Emir lifted her, one on each side, and one grabbing her shell behind her neck. The first attempt didn’t work. Amado asked for a hammer and chisel, thinking to chip away a bit of the rock. 

Rob reached in and suggested they give it one more try, poof – she was out.

Cheers erupted, everyone grinning like little kids at the circus. 

Turtle guys and helpful visitors - hold her for a minute

The mama started off but she was dragging a strap still attached to her front flipper. 

Three guys struggled to hold her back while another (Luis maybe?) undid the strap. And then she was off.

Amado escorted her to the water’s edge, waving farewell.

Everyone is happy the turtle is headed back to the ocean

It was heartwarming to see so many people from Canada, the USA, and Mexico come together to help this one creature. 

The next day was Rob Goth's birthday, and as he said, "This was the best gift I could have dreamed of."

A really big thank you to the Tortugranja employees from all of us.

As we headed home, carrying two really heavy coils of rope, I turned to Julie Goth and Sylvia Leal, “Hey, what’s her name?” I asked, pointing at the retreating turtle.

Amado escorting 'Lola" back to her home.

“Lola!” They yelled back.

From all of us, happy travels, Lola, and for heaven’s sake, watch where you are going!

                ~
Later in the week, Capt. Tony Garcia found another mama turtle stuck near Casa Coral. 

He was able to rescue her as well. It might be an idea for homeowners on the Caribbean side of the island to do a morning check for trapped mama turtles.  Better than letting them bake to death in the sunshine. 

 

Murder and mayhem. Romance and revenge.

Death in the Vineyards - Okanagan Valley BC

Isla Mujeres Mysteries - Isla Mujeres Mexico

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Isla Mujeres Mystery series 

The chaotic colonias of Isla Mujeres

Business and residential mixed together

The neighbourhoods of Isla, the colonias, have a vibrant atmosphere with a chaotic mix of residential and commercial, much like the small towns in Europe. 

They are lively and lived-in. New visitors occasionally remark that they see extensive poverty. We see diversity. We see hard-working neighbours and friends who live where they work, and work where they live.

Tiny tienda on Juarez Avenue

On Isla Mujeres, the tiny storefront businesses intermingle with modest living spaces. In the street just south of our casa, there is a myriad of small houses and apartments interspersed with a variety of establishments. The majority of the proprietors live behind or above their business. Within a few blocks, we can get our golf cart repaired, purchase a gift for a child, visit the veterinarian with a pet, get our laundry washed, or have documents photocopied.

Lawrie at Orlando's Golf Cart Repairs

There are two dental offices just a few blocks south of us. One is situated on an upper floor of a house, and in front of the car repair business. The other is tucked behind the air conditioning and appliance repair shop. Our favourite upholsterer is located between two houses near one of the island’s animal shelters.

If we are hungry or thirsty, there are several little tiendas selling sodas, eggs, bread or snacks. Our preferred tienda carries a good selection of fruits, vegetables and freshly squeezed juices. A tortilla factory operates six days a week, scenting the air with the delicious smell of freshly-baked corn tortillas. When they close for the day, an evenings-only restaurant sets up in front, selling tasty food to their neighbours. Two nearby stores sell cold beer to complement the evening meal.

The guys having their morning get-together

Scattered among the businesses are the long-time residents, living and working their entire lives on Isla. Every morning, a group of seven or eight people from adjacent dwellings gather on one large street-side verandah to share a sociable cup of coffee and the local gossip. 

Another man walks two blocks south to buy his morning newspaper, returning to sit outside his front door while he carefully reads each page. In the evenings, when the sun has shifted behind the buildings, another long-time resident sits on his shady patio, waving at passersby and shouting pleasant greetings.

Vibrant colour combinations are common.

Every home on the island is unique, whether it is an expensive house or a humble dwelling. 

Cookie-cutter neighbourhoods are virtually unknown except for a new development of beautiful high-end homes at the southern end of the island. 

Typically, the colonias are an unruly mix of brightly coloured buildings and unfinished houses, varying from simple huts to three-storied residences. 

Until recently, a mortgage in Mexico was almost impossible to obtain. 

Even now, with an increase in the availability of bank mortgages, the interest rates are astronomical compared to the three per cent that a Canadian or American would pay in their own countries. Consequently, buildings are finished when, and if, the owners have a few dollars to spend.

We love the chaos, the colour, the vibrant feeling of lived-in neighbourhoods. It’s what makes Mexico so interesting.

Hasta Luego 

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Max

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Have you got yours yet?

Isla Mujeres Mystery series: a humorous Caribbean adventure set on Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the eastern coast of Mexico. Murder and mayhem. Pirate treasure and hurricanes. Lovers and families. And there is a dog, a lovable rescue-mutt, Sparky. Come join us for the adventure. 

Cheers Lynda and Sparky

Meanwhile back on Isla Mujeres Mexico…

 

Dinner at Rolandi's Isla Mujeres.

We’ve been away from our little beach house on Isla Mujeres a lot lately.  

First, we spent three weeks wine-touring in Argentina, returning mid-March, and then we were off again for a week to John and Maia’s wedding in British Columbia, Canada

Sparky, our almost-famous rescue dog, is still miffed at us for disappearing not once, but twice this year. He had two fabulous sets of babysitters while we were traveling, but now that we are back, he’s demanding a lot of attention.   

In mid-February to early March, the weather in Argentina was warm, much like Mexico, as it was late summer going into early autumn.

  

Sparky lying on my lap when we returned home 

British Columbia, Canada, on the other hand, in late March, was cold, damp, and chilly as the temperature struggled to rise above 10 °C (about 50 °F). We’re not accustomed to the low temperatures anymore! 

Sunset in March on Isla Mujeres

While island friends tortured us with Facebook photos of beautiful, sunny weather, we bitched and complained about being cold. 

Our discomfort was partly our own fault for not purchasing the necessary items to bundle up and stay warm. 

Lawrie wore sandals the entire time, except for the formal part of the wedding ceremony. 

He was unable to convince his feet that they should be stuffed into stiff, unyielding shoes. I kicked off my shoes at the wedding once the dinner was served. What a pair of beach-bums we have become.

Lawrie the MC at John and Maia's wedding

With only two days of sunshine among the fog, rain, and drizzle, John and Maia got lucky for their special day. Sunshine!  And a week later, the day before we left was also sunny and slightly warmer.  

Everywhere we went, people were hidden under cozy jackets, scarves, and hats. One restaurant provided fake-fur wraps to patrons who wanted to eat outside on their patio. 

At the end of the day, photographers gathered along the ocean shoreline, snapping pictures of the spectacular sunset similar to the eye-popping colours of an Isla Mujeres sundown. 

Fake-fur wraps for the outside patio

Meanwhile, back on Isla Mujeres, the temperatures were flirting with the lower thirties Celsius (mid to high eighties Fahrenheit). Hot, sunny, and breezy! 

Now we know what it feels like when we torture our northern friends with pictures of people wearing shorts and bathing suits in February. 

Doesn’t mean we will stop tormenting you; it just means we can empathize a tiny little bit…maybe, until we forget what it was like.

Lawrie - happy to be back on Isla

And as a last ‘gotcha’, our Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Cancun did not have heat inside the aircraft. 

Cold! Oh, my goodness, at the end of the five and a half hours, we were darn near frozen solid. When the doors opened on the aircraft, we were happy to be back in the land of warmth and sunshine.

Despite the chilly weather, we wouldn’t have missed John and Maia’s wedding for anything.  

John & Maia. We wish you endless happiness.

It was a beautiful ceremony connecting two extraordinarily happy people and their blended families.   

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, and Sparky

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

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Carnaval 2009 to 2016 on Isla Mujeres, Mexico

We are celebrating Carnaval 2017 in Argentina. Here are a few of our pictures from previous Isla Mujeres celebrations for your entertainment. 

Enjoy!

2009

2009

2010 - I want to be a Carnaval Queen

2010 Carnaval Queen and King

2011 

2011

2012

2012 Handing a beer to thirsty dancers

2012

2013 Beep, beep, beep around the island

2013 Always room for one more dancer

2013

2014 at Abasolo & Juarez Avenues

2014 Lawrie celebrating his birthday 

2015 Kindergarten dancers

2015 Sunday morning street dancing 

2016 

2016 Costume changes

2016 Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers group

Lynda, enjoying the parade 

                           See you next week. Cheers, Lynda & Lawrie

 
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Where the heck are we? Tourist photo-ops,

Dance troupe, whale shark statue on Isla Mujeres

We’ve all done it, posed beside a large decorative sign with a recognizable name.  The signs are memory joggers for photo buffs, those of us who snap hundreds of pictures on a two-week holiday, trying to capture all of the excitement, all of the beauty. The signs remind us of the location of a fun experience, a quirky building, or an interesting street scene.

Sunrise side of Isla Mujeres

Recently, we have seen an increase in bright, cheerful signs simply proclaiming – Isla Mujeres. 

We think the signs have been installed to help combat TCS, tourist-confusion-syndrome. Symptoms of TCS include an inability to distinguish between one city and another. Sufferers of TCS are usually oblivious to their surroundings due to the overuse of selfie-sticks and alcohol. 

Conversations with a visitor who suffers from TCS can sound something like this:

“This is my favourite part of Cancun,” the bikini-clad woman said. 

“Cancun?”  The islander asked, his eyebrows lifting, questioning. Then he noticed the woman was wearing an identification wristband from an all-inclusive resort located on the Riviera Maya.   

“Yes, we are on a day trip from the hotel zone.  This is my favourite part of Cancun.”

“Actually, this isn't Cancun.” He patiently replied, “We're a separate community. This is Isla Mujeres.”

“Oh! I’ve never heard of it,” she said.

Arriving on Isla Mujeres

If you are here on a day-trip, the first indication that you aren’t in Cancun is the enormous metal sign spread across the top of the Ultramar passenger ferry terminal – Isla Mujeres. Snap a phone pic of that one to help you remember where you were. 

Or just a few steps from the boat, at the head of the wharf, is another photo opportunity – an anchor, a painted wooden sign, and the beautiful blue ocean. During the Christmas holidays, an enormous inflatable, woolly bear complete with Santa hat and scarf sits beside the anchor. It is an ideal stop for a memory-jogging photo.

Whale Shark statue at night

If you rent a golf cart to tour the island, there will be several other visual clues that you are not in Cancun, you are on Isla Mujeres. 

There is a large whale shark statue, suspended over a sculpture of a small fishing boat, a panga. It is located about five minutes south of Centro, on the western side where the Malécon runs along the water’s edge. The statue is a popular place to stop for a touristy photo. Driving past this area can be interesting when golf-cart drivers suddenly brake and swerve to the curb, pointing excitedly at the statue with their selfie-stick.

Isla on the winter solstice, December 21st 

Back in Centro on the eastern shoreline, the sunrise side of the island, there is a newer, yet already rusting, large sign proclaiming the name of our small community: Isla Mujeres, Island of Women.  The sign is located behind the Casa de la Cultura.  Abasolo Avenue will take you right to the sign – but please remember the Malécon is a walkway.  It isn’t a place to play dodge-em with dog-walkers, joggers, and parents walking small children. The Malécon narrows and ends at a wall, leaving you, the obviously-not-an-islander, red-faced and reversing to extricate yourself from the jam. 

For the folks who are only visiting for a few hours and plan to walk around Centro, one of the newer tourist stores on the double-wide Rueda Medina Avenue, Plaza Don Agustin, has a perfect place for a memory-jogging photo inside their store. 

On the wall is a depiction of a whale shark along with the name of our community.

In the same neighbourhood is the Miramar Restaurante, located on Rueda Medina Avenue and across from the Señor Frog store. After enjoying a snack, or lunch, or perhaps a cold beverage, you can walk out on their dock for yet another Isla Mujeres photo op.

Islanders try their best to help cure TCS, tourist-confusion-syndrome.

Now, if someone could convince the souvenir salespeople to stop selling Cancun-branded t-shirts and touristy gee-gaws, maybe we could make some real progress.

Cheers, Lynda, Lawrie, and Sparky

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

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