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

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

A mischievous grin lit 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, with 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 somersault with the awkward board strapped to their feet.  

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, with 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 lens and a tripod, I am fairly certain that the kite surfers in his photos were a lot more visible than the ones in my photos. Sigh, only in my dreams.

Regata del Sol al Sol in the background with Navy ship

Menu in hand, our waiter arrived, suggesting that with the 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 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 offshore 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 a 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

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Forty-five years and counting. Regata del Sol al Sol race.

Playmobil arriving at Isla Mujeres 500 nautical miles 

Sails neatly stowed, as the skipper prepared to berth the Playmobil at the docks, three efficient deckhands secured boat fenders to metal cleats, working quickly and smoothly. They have done this before, a time or two. Another sailboat had successfully completed the five-hundred-nautical-mile Regata del Sol al Sol race. 

Forty-five years ago, the Past President of Mexico, Miguel Aleman Valdez and his good friend, Don Jose Jesus de Lima, envisioned boosting tourism to the Caribbean side of Mexico by creating several sailing regattas.  

Don Esteban Lima Zuno - organizer

They chose American cities of New Orleans, Pensacola, St. Petersburg and Naples, and Mexican locations of Veracruz, Isla Mujeres, Progresso, and Cozumel. Valdez and Lima lobbied Cuban President Fidel Castro to allow the American sailboats safe passage through Cuban territorial waters.  

The Regata del Sol al Sol is said to be the longest consecutively run international regatta in sailing history.

The island contingent of the race committee, headed by Don Esteban Lima Zuno and his family, is instrumental in keeping this regatta fun and lively. A number of the skippers have participated for upwards of twenty-five years. One of the committee members is always on hand to greet the arriving participants and ensure their smooth, easy entrance into Mexico.  

Smiling officials greeting arriving boats

At the Ballyhoo docks, smiling immigration and customs officials meet the captains, helping with the necessary paperwork and extending a warm island welcome.  

It would seem that the only time there was a problem was in 2012 when the skippers were required to clear customs and immigration in Cancun. 

The winning score: 29 Amigos, 28 Gringos

After dinner on Wednesday night, we wandered over to the basketball courts to watch the annual match-up of our island team, the Amigos, versus the crewmembers, the Gringos.  

It’s a wild, crazy and fun-filled game.  In the dying seconds of the game, the Amigos squeaked by with another win: 29 to 28.  

That makes forty-two wins for the Amigos, and only two wins for the Gringos. High-fives and laughter all around as the players congratulated each other, happily swapping sweaty t-shirts as souvenirs.

Laughter and high-fives for another good game!

But the real highlight for most of the participants is the children’s sailing event on Friday morning.  Stuffed to capacity with island youngsters the boats circumnavigate Isla Mujeres.  Squeals of laughter can be heard floating across the calm seas, creating indelible memories.

The Regata del Sol al Sol was created long before we came to the island, and will hopefully be sailing this course long after we are gone. 

http://www.regatadelsolalsol.org/

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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Signs, signs, everywhere signs….Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Faded sign not far from our house.

Waking up around three in the morning with a bright idea on what to write for our next blog, I scribbled a note to myself, a reminder for when I am fully awake. Later, while drinking my first cup of morning coffee, I looked at a fellow blogger’s page. Signs, she’d posted numerous photos of local signs. I must have been channelling her thoughts. During the dark hours of the morning, I had scribbled: write about the art of hand-painted signs. Weird.

La Esperanza - 2008 photo

For me, hand-painted signs are soulful expressions from the heart.  They are unique, individual, unlike the vinyl computer-generated signs that have almost decimated the traditional sign painting businesses in North America.   

Here on Isla one of my favourite hand-painted creations is the sign for La Esperanza, left over from a little gift store on Juarez that ceased operation long before we arrived on the island.  

The whimsical black cat still sits under a large shade tree patiently waiting beside the bright red door, hoping someone will let her inside. Bit by bit, the painting is disappearing. Fortunately, in 2008, I took a decent photo of the mural for my collection of Isla memorabilia.

Hotel Las Palmas - cheerful exterior

More recently, we noticed the amazing canvas that decorates the street-side entrance of the Hotel Las Palmas on Guerrero Avenue. It is a happy mix of peacocks, flamingoes, palm trees and tropical flowers.  

What a great way to sparkle up the exterior, and to fix the tropical experience in the mind of their guests.  How can anyone resist taking a photo or two of that entrance?

May 2010 Election sign

During federal, state, or municipal election campaigns, local sign-painters find a bonanza of work for a few weeks, painting the colours, slogans, and promises on fences and walls.  

Then shortly after the campaign has been won or lost, the signs are covered over with a coat of white paint, waiting as a blank canvas for the next election.

Colegio de Bachilleres painters 2009.  R Bietting photo

For the most part, the signs are created by one or perhaps two painters working together, but when the Colegio de Bachilleres (high school) decided to repaint the wall across the street from our house in March of 2009, they organized a work party.  

At one point, we counted ten guys chatting, painting, clowning around and dancing to their iPods.  

My cousin Rob snapped a dozen or so photos, keeping a timeline of their progress.  Either it was good planning and teamwork, or luck; the sign turned out just fine – straight letters, and nice inside-the-lines painting.  Four years later, it is still legible.

Between Centro Mercado and a school

It may be a dying art in most of North America, but here on Isla Mujeres, the incredible art of hand-painted signage gives the island a quirky, memorable personality.  

For next week’s blog, I wonder if I can tap into Becky’s thoughts again for more ideas?   

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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Isla Mujeres, Mexico: One of the most colourful cities in the world!

My favourite is the "crayon house"

Dang!  We’re good! 

Two weeks ago, Isla Mujeres was ranked in the top ten islands of the world. This week, an article rating the top twenty-four locations to see colourfully painted houses ranked Isla as number seventeen.  

Fabulous creations like the “crayon house” are eye candy for anyone toting a camera. Deliciously covered in bright colours, designs, and scenery, this multi-coloured house sports a meticulous paint job. Amazing artistry. Think of the hours of detailed work required to create the effect.  The muscles of my painting hand are cramping in sympathy. 

Hemingway's Bar for wedding photos.

The Behr Paint Company judged Isla Mujeres against locations like Cinque Terre, Italy, Cape Town, South Africa, Barranco in Lima, Peru, and a host of other gorgeous cities.  

Only one Canadian city, St. John’s in Newfoundland, made the list. Granted, the paint company is hoping to sell more of its product, but the article still brings positive recognition to this sleepy little island.

Beautiful Casa Zuzy

Most island visitors have photos, or at least have seen photos, of the visible Centro locations that have been photographed time and time again. Places like the French Bistro, Mañanas Coffee House, Hemingway’s Bar, Barlito’s Bakery, and Orsario’s Hardware Store, to name a few.  

But if you wander around the diverse neighbourhoods, there are many more examples of great colour combinations: orange and green, pink and blue, yellow and orange, pink and purple, and multi-coloured. Another favourite of mine is the magenta-trimmed turquoise house, slathered with polka dots in hues of green, red and blue. This one is located near the Salinas Grande, close to where the road changes from a tope-riddled (speed bumps) congested street into the double-width road.

My second favourite, the polka-dot house

The colour extends into every part of island life. Even the tombs in the two island cemeteries are painted pink, blue, purple, and mango-yellow. Our Canadian cemeteries, especially the newer ones, resemble parks or golf courses with granite headstones flat to the ground, so that the groundskeepers can trim the lush grass with riding lawnmowers. Somber tones of grey, brown, and black arrear to be the only acceptable hues in northern graveyards. The Mexican custom of painting tombs with a palette of cheerful colours is, in my view, fitting for this bright and vibrant culture.

Beautifully cared for tombs

Perhaps the Municipality of Isla Mujeres should encourage more owners to paint their houses and businesses, with wild, interesting combinations.  

The municipality could feature a different, well-painted building every month, and offer a small cash prize to the winner. Over time, the various neighbourhoods could become a draw for photographic buffs. 

Love this entrance!

There I go day-dreaming again.  

In the meantime, get your cameras out and explore the various neighbourhoods.  

You’ll find lots of interesting photo opportunities – because, after all, we are number seventeen in The 24 Most Colourful Cities in the World. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/behr/the-24-most-colorful-cities-in-the-world

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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“Sugar and Spice” and everything nice at the Artist Fair Isla Mujeres, Mexico!

Kate Abbott and Yazmin Aguirre Rivera

With a name like Sugar and Spice Bakery, we just had to stop at their booth during the Artist Fair in the Square on Isla Mujeres. Yum! Katie Abbott and Yazmin Aguirre Rivera had stacks of cupcakes in every colour, flavour, and style.  

I really wanted one of each variety, but taking photographs while eating icing-slathered cupcakes was a recipe for disaster. 

Although photos shot through a smeared camera lens might have created an interesting effect, an ethereal soft-focus with a finger-licking-good taste.

One of the early Artist Showcases outside Barlito's

This colourful affair is the brainchild of Tiffany Yenawine Wareing and Brad Wareing. It started modestly a couple of years ago, set up outside Barlito’s Bakery on Hidalgo Avenue.  During the high season, Tiffany invited a variety of local and visiting artists to sell their jewelry creations, paintings, or photographs on the first Thursday of every month.  

Alison Sawyer Current - multi-talented artist

Eventually, the municipality told Tiffany that she needed a permit for the successful art show.  She replied, “No problem. What do we do to get a permit?  And by the way, why don’t you give us a hand with this? We’ll make it bigger and better.” After a few meetings and negotiations, the municipality joined Barlito’s Bakery as a sponsor, along with Fayne’s Bar and Soul de Isla. The improved event has been relocated to the square in 

Centro.

As we roamed around the fair, greeting various island friends, we recognized familiar faces. Always smiling, Alison Sawyer Current was there selling her books in support of the Isla Animals Society.

Damien Lemee - Droldoizo.com

Alison is better known as The Dog Lady, as she works tirelessly to improve the general health and well-being of local and mainland pooches.  Alison is a multi-talented artist. Besides organizing spay and neuter clinics, and rabies inoculations, she writes books and makes beautiful pottery.  

When I think of Alison, I think of an old quote by Lucille Ball: “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” That is Alison!

In other areas of the fair, we enjoyed seeing the other artists’ handiwork. Damien Lemée from Montreal, Canada, dangled his quirky tropical birds created from recycled vehicle tires. A few of our friends have his whimsical creations hanging in their homes and on patios.  

Isla Beading Co-operative

Across the square from Damien, the Isla Women’s Beading Co-operative had a great selection of items for sale, all patiently made by hand. I can hardly see the tiny glass beads, never mind actually stringing them into intricate creations.  

Nearby, Eileen Regn showcased her sea glass and sea heart jewelry collection, while Gladys Galdamez and Gunther Hepner had a variety of clothing and jewelry, including earrings made from colourful feathers.  

Glady Galdamez & Gunther Hepner

The feathers were donated by their two pets: Codie and Rosa.  (Do the birds get an extra ration of treats for dropping such gorgeous feathers?) 

There were many more contributors, but Lawrie and I spent a bit too much time socializing. By the time I realized that I hadn’t seen everything, the light had changed, making clear photos difficult. Ah, well, there is always next month! 

Eileen Regn with sea heart and sea glass jewelry

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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You know you’ve picked the right place to retire when ….(Lawrie’s turn to write)

North Beach from a penthouse at IxChel Condos

Okay, I admit it, we got lucky when we chose Isla Mujeres as our retirement destination. Captivated by the turquoise water and friendly locals, we jumped at the chance to live here. Now, prestigious TripAdvisor has named our little island #6 in the world for islands to live on.  Travelocity rated Isla as #4 for Value Vacations, and even Fox News and NBC have gotten into the act, touting this little paradise.

Looking south from the IxChel Condos.

Isla Mujeres is a very small island, 7 kilometres by 1 kilometre, situated off the coast of Cancun. It’s about fifteen minutes by passenger ferry across the azure and turquoise water to reach this little paradise. Tourism is the #1 industry on the island, followed by fishing, although reeling in tourists is far more profitable than fishing. Tourism is increasing, and more people are travelling.  Fishing is decreasing due to fewer fish available.

One of our favourite views, fishing boats.

An abundance of island restaurants cater to every taste, and there are many great watering holes serving up icy cold beer and frozen concoctions to help your vacation along. And of course, there are beaches, lots of beaches. All very safe.

We are not the type of folks with what we refer to as a drawbridge mentality.  You know the type; once they have discovered a place, they don’t want anyone else to discover it lest it might change. Change is good. It keeps the community vibrant and alive. 

And fishing nets ....

Some of the things that make living as an expat in a foreign country easier are electronic readers that enable us to download the most recent novels, magazines, and newspapers. We and many of our friends have magicJack phones that allow us to call anywhere in the US or Canada – free. The nearby Cancun International Airport gives us travel options with direct flights to many countries. It’s all good.

Mini market and restaurante near Salina Grande

So, if you are thinking of a great retirement location, or just a vacation slightly off the beaten path, consider Isla Mujeres.  If you are like us and dive right into a new adventure, you will find professional real estate companies, good builders, and a very fun and affordable little community that will make you feel right at home.



Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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