17.05.19 Bye Bye Beach Buns

When I first arrived on the island I was a little shocked at the number, style and quañity of buns on display. But after a couple days I decided to see how many of them I could photograph without being noticed. Perhaps I should have asked permission, but that would have been wierd, too, and I figured they were intentionally on display, so why not?  Since I don't know the owners' names (except one) and have not shown any faces, I think I am safe for publishing. 

So enjoy .........

 

Respectfully covered buns

 

Respectfully uncovered buns

 

Sandy buns

 

Bubble blowing buns

 

Big buns

 

Baby Oil Buns

 

Buns and boobs?

 

Beautiful Buns

Bye bye beach buns.

He disfrutado té observa.

(I have enjoyed watching you)

17.05.17. Last full day on the Island

The day started with a short walk around the corner to rent a bicycle from one of the many scuba/snorkel/day boat trip excursion package counters in El Centro but this one also rents bicycles.  It is the same place I rented from last week and I reminded the counter dude that he told me if I come back another day the price will be 100 rather than the 150 I paid the first time. Good business, I thought, encourage repeat customers. Today, after listening to my Spanish reminder ( he was native and spoke less Englidh than I spoke Spanish) he said OK but told me this price was for me only, not my friends. I told him "yo intendi, mis labios están cerrado" ( I understand, my lips are sealed).  

The negotiations complete, I took Off on "bici blanca"  headed out of El Centro toward the other end of the island by 9:30 in the morning. 

 

It was not too hot yet, and I was very happy with my choice of activity for the day.  I planned to explore the island using a different path because today I had started three hours earlier and I knew the terrain. 

First stop was desayuno at Green Verde, a highly rated restaurant I had been pointed to by two other places I stopped at first looking for breakfast. 

 

The restaurant was small, but clean and proud of the recycled materials used to create the tables, bathroom fixtures and public spaces. The food was pretty on the plate and home cooked. I had a Mexican omelet with fresh cucumber lemonade ( which was delicious!). 

 

When I was done, I engaged the owner with compliments about the food and drink.  He told me my Spanish was good ( I've heard this from almost everyone I've had a conversation with in Spanish so I am encouraged and know I'm on the right track). Two thumbs up for Green Verde!

After breakfast I continued south along the perimeter road I knew, but took the first opportunity to turn inland and explore the middle island where locals live. Really glad I did because I found an inland lagoon completely surrounded by a bike path - maybe a little more than a mile total distance. 

 

I went around twice saying Hola to everyone I passed - even the one white woman who greeted me first with Hello.  I sat on a bench for a while to look at my phone ( that's another post some day) and was soon joined by an older friendly man who told me he was Mayan.  My Spanish was not up to the task of understanding him, but was able to say a few words of basic conversation.  

I stopped at a small local market for a liter of water, a banana and a mango. I asked the woman if she had a plastic knife.  She did not, but offered to cut the mango for me. All for the total cost of 21 pesos or about  $1.

By now it was after noon and getting warm. I passed a long driveway with a sign that said Albatross -Sail Away and one guard sitting at a table in the shade. I made the good decision to turn around and ask the guard if the place was accesdible to the public (remember, all of this is in my struggling but somehow adequate Spanish). He said no, it was  a prívate resort but I yes, I could tale a look. He walked with me down the driveway and called for his boss who spoke better English, but I continúed to attemp to comunícate in Spanish which is why, I believe, I was given permission to come on in.   

What came next was totally enjoyable. This was a private beachside resort with palm trees for shade and comfy beach loungers like the ones that cost 300 pesos on the main beach in El Centro.  The place was staffed to accommodate the prepaid guests who came in by the boatload for lunch during their snorkel excursion.  

 

I was there with no gate fee and was introduced to the bartender because while I was not going to crash the food part of the party, I said I might have a beverage. I went directly to the water to cool off, then bought a beer and settled in to a lounge chair to watch the people disembark, 

 

go through the buffet line for food, then shop, sit or swim for a while before reboarding. At one point I was there between boats with no other people except the staff and was extremely obvious.  I bussed some stray drink glasses when I returned my empty bottle and the bar staff apologized to me ( for choosing to busy own stuff?) I went back to sit alone in the loungers and was asked by another staff person if I had eaten and whether I was missing my boat. It was awesome. When the next boat came in one of the passengers asked me how I got there so early and I said I came by bicycle. He said "that's what I should have done". Note to self:  Skip the high priced tourist excursions and make your own way by bicycle.  I'm not sure if this would work for a larger group of English only speakers, though. 

I left after a couple hours and was greeted by the driveway guard who acknowledged my bike which he was watching for me.  I said thanks and tipped him, so my gate fee was actually 20 pesos and a beer for a nice stop in paradise. 

I biked all the way to the south end of the island again, stopping to watch the zip liners over the water but did not visit the Mayan Goddess Ixchel again. Instead I found a place to check out the Caribbean beach side of the island for a minute

 

but the sun was too hot, the water too rough to enter and the beach to uninhabited to linger long.  

On my way back to town I passed a women's beading co-op with four local women working on their jewelry creations at a table inside the small brick building at the top of a hill with a nice breeze flowing through. I was able to confirm that the locally made beaded jewelry coming from them is not sold in the markets in town, only in their workshop.     The items in the stores in town are shipped in from elsewhere (and probably not hand made). I've always been a fan of buying from crafters, so I was happy to have found this place by getting off the beaten path.

Last stop before my 5:00PM deadline with bici Blanca was at The Soggy Peso - a lagoon side bar and restaurant I had been referred to.  I bought a Bloody Mary, took it away from the bar down to the palm tree shaded beach and splashed in the water to cool down.  

 

I was a little disturbed by the 18 inch long iguana scurrying around in the shaded sand, but decided he was not going to bother me. 

 

so I settled into another lounge chair for a half hour, enjoying palm trees, the water traffic and my book.

I returned bici Blanca to it's owner 5 minutes before the deadline and went to my room for a cold shower and some R & R before a walk to the local beach to see yet another beautiful sunset.

 

Reminds me of Carlsbad ( except much warmer and no rocks) and the question "How many sunset pictures are enough?"  

I'm still working on the answer to that one. 

17.05.16 Love my Isla Hotel

By the time I leave Isla Mujeres, I will have stayed at Posada Isla Mujeres for seven nights.  The hotel itself is in a great location. Only a five minute walk from PocNa hostel where I started ( good thing because I have returned there numerous times for morning yoga, afternoon hammock swings and Saturday night entertainment.). Only one block from the main drag that I use to walk the 1/4 to the beach.  Surrounded by restaurants, bike rental and bars. 

 

My room is in a great location in the building.  It is a corner room at the street end of the building on the 2nd floor.  One of my windows is above the ground floor office's red roof and the other window is in the hallway next to my door.  When I'm inside with the windows open a nice sea breeze blows into the hallway window, through the room and out the street side window creating natural air conditioning making the room a pleasant place to be when it is hot outside - which is all the time. 

The hotel is simple. Nightly rate is 500 pesos or about $28 US dollars. No breakfast buffet, no pool.  There IS a cold water dispenser near the front door, and I've been hitting that pretty hard. Sometimes it is empty and I buy water in  liter bottles at one of the many convenience stores in town. 

The room itself is not deluxe. It is painted a bright green ( my favorite color, so THAT is good) 

 

to match the outside of the building, and there are green paint splashes on the sink, shower floor and on most  of what should be the trim areas in the room and bathroom.. The shower drain cover is missing, the shower head is corroded and spits the water out in an uneven spray after a second or two of random dripping. The water is not heated - but that is OK - it always feels good to jump in and cool off after a day at the beach. 

I have two beds. One is used as a dresser, since there is no dresser in the room. The bed is comfortable and there are three pillows to use as back elevators while I am watching TV,  or laying in bed while listening to books on tape or the Gianta game and knitting.

Every day I have enjoyed some R&R in the room and several days I had to pull myself away because I realize I should get out to enjoy the day (or night). 

Here is a snapshot of my immediate neighborhood surroundings.  First, a midnight view of the street from my street window.

Right next door on the street level is the Salon de Belleza

 

where I went in with freshly washed hair to get trimmed up by Gloria on Saturday night

 

Two blocks away is Olivia, a highly rated Mediterranean restaurant where I had a romantic dinner with myself one night. 

 

After that dinner, I considered stopping at the bar across the street from my hotel after dinner, 

 

but I can hear their music from my room, and generally it is not my favorite so I decided to go straight home when I heard my name called from the rooftop dessert and coffee bar above Gloria's salon. It was Jack, one of the guys staying at PocNa hostel who I have had conversations with over the last week. He was having dessert there with Nick, Stephanie and Sarah, other young people I met at PocNa. They invited me to join them for some dessert 

 

and some "español practicando" and I was happy to be included - falls in the category of "it's a small town / world".  Jack is from Chicago, Nick from Washington state, Stephanie and Sarah from Canada - I'm not sure where. Jack is the best at speaking Spanish. He told me when home in Chicago he stays connected by listening to the Simpsons on TV in Spanish. I've been watching news and Telenovellas in San Diego.  

Dessert was enjoyed by all and I walked the 10 yards to my hotel to spend some pleasant time in my room before calling it a night.  Usually I say "home is where I park it" but for this leg of my trip, home is Posada Isla Mujeres. Me gusta!

17.05.12. Under the Sea

Heads up to my readers....,this is going to be an unusual post - a longer read with less pictures and interesting, I hope, so save this read for when you have time.....

PS added 05.19 ...... I added a picture of the plastic island house and the snorkeling course to the lighthouse when I was able to get relevant pictures after the fact. 

I like the water.  

I grew up in Michigan where the inland lakes are plentiful and Lake Michigan is a summertime destination and a winter wonderland. 

As a child, my family spent every summer holiday, Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day at Townline Lake, a church owned family camp where I learned to water ski and developed the love of rowing a 12 foot fishing boat and jumping out to swim in deep water because I could, and because I did not enjoy walking on the mucky lake bottom. 

My family also went camping at Muskegon and Ludington State Parks where I enjoyed body surfing and swimming in the sandy and salt free Lake Michigan. 

When Mike and I began our journey together, water was a big part of our recreational focus - a trip to Lake Michigan as an early date, and a move to the west coast to discover the mighty Pacific Ocean together.   We adopted the philosophy of always taking the path "closest to the water" when given a choice during travel by foot, bike or motor. 

Given this bit of biographical history, it should be no big surprise that my first move after arriving in Cancun on this trip was to travel by boat to an island.  Or that my first recreational activity once aboard Isla Mujeres was a bike ride around the perimeter of the island to enjoy the rocky shore, surf and sand scenery.

So what is left but a boat ride to get out on the water  itself?  

My boat journey started the day before my trip by researching the various dive and snorkel outfitters in town.  I have no experience with scuba diving and am not interested in taking up that learning curve and expense right now. My goal was simply to get out on the water for a tour from the sea, and a little snorkeling would be a refreshing bit of exercise as a bonus. 

The first outfitter I visited was in an air conditioned office with an English speaking Caucasian woman behind the counter. Her outfit was geared toward American tourists and was offering snorkel gear and a three hour cruise to the underwater sculpture dive spot for $45. 

Next, while walking through town to the beach, I passed a small storefront that looked like many others offering snorkel excursions. 

 

I went inside and spoke Spanish with the  local man who turned his fan to point at me while he explained in great detail about the two stops for snorkeling, the gear included and the stop for fish lunch but no drinks included all for $25. Better, I thought. 

Later that evening while looking for a place for dinner, I was hailed by a vendor who had a snorkel excursion booth on the street.  Looking for info, I stopped to hear his pitch. He had much the same offer as the 2nd place, but his price was $35.  Hmmmm.....

So I returned to the lowest bidder, confirmed his offer and placed a 200 peso deposit for a seat on his boat tomorrow at 10:30AM. 

Next day, bought my breakfast from a local woman selling cut up fruit on the street. 

 

I bought a mango and was really glad I crossed paths with her since our excursion lunch came much later than noon. That one mango made a big difference! 

I arrived at the rental spot at 10:30 as directed and met a French Canadian couple who also spoke English and Spanish.  We followed a young local man a 1/4 mile or so to a second storefront near the docks area where we were instructed to wait fifteen minutes, so I backtracked a short distance to a Farmacia to buy some sunscreen.  When I returned we were led to the dock area on the beach and instructed to wait some more. 

 

By now I figured out that the place I rented from was not the actual boat owner but part of a large funnel system used to fill one of many excursion boats each day. 

After a shorter than advertised wait, we were  introduced to Skipper and his first mate who I'll call Miguel in honor of my Mike and the super swimmer Michael Phelps. They invited my group of three and another group of five locals who were waiting for us under a nearby tree to come aboard. Eight passengers total on a relatively small boat. Perfect, I thought with no idea about the actual business plan.

 

I enjoyed the next move.  Skipper drove the boat slowly along the public beach area - La Playa Norte -that I had been enjoying from shore since my arrival on the island three days earlier. 

 It was fun to see the shorebirds and the swimmers from the perspective of the sea.  We anchored outside the bouy line in 3-4 feet water depth near several other commercial and private boats and were invited to get out and swim for 15 minutes. No problem. Very nice air and water temperature allowed for a pleasant bit of aerobic exercise for me. 

When Skipper hollered "vamos" we all got back in the boat and he motored slowly back to where we started and picked up 7 more people. A couple from Germany with English but no Spanish, another couple I never talked to and parents with an elementary aged daughter who looked like vacationers from the mainland.  Now we were 15 plus two crew and I was the only native English speaker on the boat.  

I grabbed the large empty sunbathing spot in the bow of the boat since it was available because the others chose the cooler bench seats in the shade. From my perch at the front of the boat I was not crowded, could see both the island shore sights and across the 3 mile channel to Cancun, and avoided some of the spray sent by the bow into the rear of the boat by motoring into the wind on a gently rolling sea.

The one disadvantage of my deluxe bow seat on the boat was that I could not hear Skipper's tour guide narrative.  Since he was speaking native Spanish and I caught only some of the words anyway, I elected to relax and enjoy the view, picking up tourist clues with my eyes, and following the other passengers moves. 

When the boat left the dock for the second time, fully loaded now, Skipper motored slowly moving southward along the western shore of the island which offered up  a nice view of a part of the island I have not been covering by foot. 

Skipper slowed and idled for five minutes or so outside the "Swim with the Dolphins" tourist attraction.  Here was a football sized fenced in area of water along the shore with perimeter sidewalks attached to the inside of the fence where the paid guests could walk and stand waist high in the water while watching the staff reward the Dolphins for doing jump tricks and giving short bareback rides to willing guests. Note to self for visiting the island. Skip the Disneyland sized entrance fee and view the dolphins for a minute from a snorkeling boat!

Dolphin discovery completed, Skipper motored on through a sheltered lagoon where he pointed out the handiwork of a frugal and environmentally minded resident ( Google Richart Sowa)  who has created an island using recycled plastic bottles as base floats. He built a house and is growing plants on top. Tour books suggest you can go aboard his island, but my current Google search and our drive by today suggest this too is best viewed from a boat. The island is his private residence, after all! 

 

Continuing on through the lagoon back out onto the 3 mile wide open water channel between Isla Mujeres and Cancun, we soon arrived at another oat dock where Skipper suggested we make a pit stop and get something to drink during this 15 minute stop. It was really hot on shore, and I was not 100% sure of our purpose on this stop, so I kept my eyes on the boat and when I saw others going aboard, I joined them. 

 

When Skipper took off, we were five people short.  I discussed this fact with the Canadians, but took no action to recover the missing passengers - we were off toward the snorkeling destination in growing swells. Skipper offered life jackets. 

My camera went deep in the bag and Skipper offered to put my bag under his helm to protect it from sea spray, so much of the remaining trip is a photo in my mind. I'm hoping you will create your own picture from my words. 

After about 10 minutes of travel into the swells at the maximum speed Skipper could manage without completely soaking his passengers, we approached the downwind end point of our upcoming snorkel adventure - a narrow reef island about 30 yards long with a small lighthouse sitting on top. The instructions started coming at us fast and furious in Spanish. We would be taken upwind to where the bones of a metal ship were stuck in the shallow water.  

 

We were to jump out of the boat, explore the sunken ship reef, then follow Miguel along the bouy line back to the lighthouse island where Skipper would be waiting with the boat to pick us up. See small reef islands in the distance in the picture above. 

Snorkel gear and old-school orange life jackets (meant to be warn around the neck but for this activity were simply tied around the waist) were distributed. The water was clear and warm. The bones of the sunken ship offered shelter for  plenty of several species of fish. So far so good. 

After 10 minutes or so, Miguel shouted "vamos" and started across the open water toward the yellow bouy lines with his orange life saver ring tied to his waist. All 10 of us followed, I think, but it was hard to identify who was in our group because there were three other boats in the area with their passengers snorkeling the same area. I swam along the surface with my goggles and air tube (did I mention we were not issued flippers?) And enjoyed the fish and the sandy bottom sights.  

Miguel led us to the first small reef island along the path to return to the lighthouse island.  I was going along just fine until I realized there was a strong tidal current pushing me away from Miguel. He saw me and several others being swept down current away from him and started waving his arm and shouting "el otro lado" (the other side) of the reef, presumably because the snorkeling was better on el otro lado.  I tried to follow his lead, but el curriento was muy fuerte and in the end even Miguel went with the current to get around the down current side of this small reef island and continue on the journey back toward the lighthouse island. 

 

Once clear of this exciting reef obstacle, I swam upstream in a more gentle current to grab hold of the yellow bouy line that connects the entire snorkel area and has a couple large "rest stop" bouys to hold on to along the way. I let the tide current push me downstream along the bouy line all the way back to where Skipper was waiting with the boat.  Only five of us climbed back in to the boat at this point 

 

because the others had already surrendered to the current and been picked up by Skipper along the way. We got applause when boarding.  I can't help wondering if Skipper had a good head count and picked up everyone he started with!

The final snorkel adventure was different. This one was in open deeper water with no bouy lines for security. This time I checked in with the Canadian for his Spanish translation, but after he gave it, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say "I guess that was what Skipper said"

We were invited to go with no life jackets because this attraction was a neighborhood of underwater sculptures on the sea floor 15 feet below, and the life jackets would keep us from being able to dive down for a closer look. Based on our last experience and the rolling surface, everyone chose a life jacket!  

The swells were not breaking whitecaps, but they were definitely exciting.  I could see the sculptures fine from above at the water line. They sculptures were several groups of different sized pieces consisting of a square foundation for lifesized humans in varied poses. The art was commissioned in 2009 to form a complex reef structure for marine life to colonize and inhabit. (Google www.musamexico.org for more info).

Miguel also led us to a nearby sunken VWBug - reminds me of what I once tried by accident to do to MY blue bug in a the NID ditch at Dollies house. This bug, however, was now colorless and covered with sea life.  There I watched scuba divers swim along close to the bottom, and saw Miguel dive down deep with no scuba gear just because he could.  

After this second dive Skipper took us back to the same dock where we lost the group of 5 earlier in the day. We were all reunited at a long table in an outdoor but shaded food court area where they served us a tasty fresh fish lunch with rice, side salad with veges and tortillas.  I ate the whole thing!

 

During the meal I befriended one of the missing five passengers. Speaking in Spanish I learned they were from Cancun, out to the island for the day, had been there before and had not paid for the snorkeling leg of the journey.  All is well after all with these five. 

Skipper and Miguel acted as our food servers during mealtime. When we are all fed, Skipper called "vamos a la bota".  Fully loaded now, the return trip to the original dock was peaceful as we were headed downwind.  Skipper did a good job of surfing the boat over the swells we were riding so nobody got wet from spray. Some passengers looked a bit seasick anyway, but I enjoyed the ride thoroughly.

Back at the dock I expressed my gratitude to Skipper in my adequate Spanish:  

Gracias por no perder a nadie!  

(Thanks for not losing anybody). 

He laughed. 

17.05.14. When in Mexico, use pesos!

I returned to la Taqueria la Cueva de la Cherna today for the 2nd time. It is a casual sidewalk taqueria on my path to the beach.  

Yesterday I just needed a late afternoon snack.

It was good so today I came back for an early dinner. While waiting for my food I witnessed a transaction that made me glad I am learning Spanish and working with pesos. 

An Americano couple had just received their food and asked how much was the bill. 

Yesterday I spoke Spanish with the waiter  and learned he was light on English, but wanted to improve, so we agreed I would speak Spanish and he would speak English ( a good idea ).  Anyway, back to the Americano couple....

Cuánto cuesta la comida, por favor?  The waiter responded 220 pesos . The couple handed him a $20 bill, asked him if it was about $15 US,  told him to keep the change, and walked away asking each other if that was right.   The waiter said nothing. 

I use OANDA.com as a currency converter, but after my initial learning curve am using this simple conversion in my head:  

220.  take the pesos amount 

110.   Divide by 2.                

 $11.  Drop one decimal place

~$12 round up a little-  close enough for me

So they got a delicious meal for two for about $12 and left a generous $8 tip. 

I'm sure they enjoyed their meal. I know I did! I left an appropriate tip on the table and am taking home leftover chips and guacamole for an evening snack:). 

 

17.05.10-11. PocNa a Posada Isla Mujeres

I enjoyed two days at the PocNa hostel.... 

Breakfast in the common area each morning.  I met Ricardo who is from the US but spoke good Spanish, so I got practice with the basics (where are you from, how many times have you been here before,etc).

 

 I chose to actually participate in the sandy morning yoga class

 

( rather than take the easy way out and watch from a hammock like some guests did)

 

I went to the public beach, a 1/4 mile walk through town and had a 20 minute swim in the afternoon, but didn't spend much time in the sun - don't want to burned right at the beginning- the sun is hot!

 

The nights were rough, though.  From my room I enjoyed knitting and listening to the live music from the common area downstairs until 11:00 PM, but then they turned on the electronic "noise" which played until 3:00 AM for the younger crowd. So when my luck with the private room ran out after two nights, I moved to a new hotel - Posada Isla Mujeres.

 

Here I have a corner room on the second floor with good airflow so I do not need the air conditioning.  There is street noise, but nothing like the hostel night music, and I can listen to and watch Spanish music videos at a reasonable volume on TV.  

I got settled in my new room by 12:30 

 

so I rented a bicicleta and gave myself a tour of the island. It is about 6 kilometers from my north end lodging in el centro to the less densely populated south end 

 

where I toured the island's Mayan Ruins 

 

saw the Statue of Ixchel who was the principal Mayan goddess of water, the moon, abundance, fertility, love and medicine. 

 

and enjoyed the beautiful Carribean Sea crashing onto Punta Sur

 

17.05.09. Cancun a Isla Mujeres

I was fortunate to get an appointment with the family dentist in Cancun - Dr. Hugo - this morning for a cleaning. 

 

I now call Dr. Hugo my international dentist because this is my second visit - Mike and I both saw him last year when we were here, me for a simple cleaning when we came for some crown work Mike needed.   This year I will return later for some crown work of my own. 

Claudia gave me a ride to the ferry terminal after that where I bought a round trip ticket to my next adventure..... Isla Mujeres.   

 

It is a short ferry ride out of Cancun and across the channel to the island.

 

Being the whiz I am with Google Maps, I knew it was a short 1/2 mile walk to my hostel, so I found the shady side of the street and stopped along the way 

 

to eat my cooler lunch from home ( I always am sorry to eat right away after getting my teeth cleaned, but it is inevitable!)

Upon arrival at PocNa Hostel I was fortunate to upgrade to a private room for two nights and went straight to the beach side hammocks for the afternoon.  Shade, swing, happy feet!

 

Being the baseball fan I am, I started the SFGiants game on my MLB at Bat app before dinner, then, in honor of Mike and my habit, went down the street to the corner sports bar, Matamoros, and finished the game on ESPN Español.  Poor Giants lose again - this time to the NY Mets. 

 

I had fajitas for dinner at Medina Taqueria , about a 1/4 mile walk from "home" and went back to my room to listen to the live music from the comfort from my own bed. Perfecto!