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Adios, Isla…until next time…but it might be awhile…

This will be my last post on this trip to Isla. As usual…it’s a little lengthy, but I didn’t want to divide it into two posts because my trip was kind of random so there wasn’t much of a subject matter. I was just about to post it on the Isla Chatter Board when I read rnwendyl’s post that one of the brothers who plays at Minino’s stabbed the other for tips. How incredibly sad. I have sat there many times listening to them. These people must truly be desperate to survive. I wonder what will happen to them now.

So, on that sad note, I will continue with what I was going to post…here are a couple of panoramics I took this time…several pictures stitched together. (You can click on them to get the full effect.)

I always like going through the market next to the loncherias. Lots of peppers…

And beef…

And chicken…

And beets?? Turnips?? What are these? Although I consider myself a pretty good cook, I’ve never used either, so that’s probably why I’m not sure what these are.

Out on Hidalgo, I could definitely see one of these on my front porch. Would have been kind of a hassle carrying it on the plane, though.

Colorful little characters…

Shells…

These little guys were hanging out at Bally Hoo. Look at that face on the left…I can just imagine what kind of character he is at home.

A long distance shot from Bally Hoo. Love the color of the boat against the blue sea. It’s usually “parked” at Picus.

Pier…

This is a deserted place along the malecon. Too bad…this would be a great location for a little loncheria or taqueria.

Laundry day next door…

So, one of the reasons I love Isla is seeing the regulars sitting out on their stoops. I took this as I was leaving the Maria Leticia on my way to the ferry.

I took this picture in September of 2006…my first time to Isla. It was one of my favorite photos of this same fellow…and still is.

And this one I took just around the corner from the hotel…another regular…

Same gentleman from the other direction in May of 2007…

And the rib guy. I’m glad they’re all still there.

Just some random shots as I bid adieu to the island…

One of my favorite shots catching the wind in a doorway…

This was new to me…didn’t check it out…

La Lomita has definitely freshened up their entryway…

A fixer-upper…contact Jim…

Door…with step…

Gotta love that red against the blue…

This graffiti has been here since 2006…I take a picture every time I’m on the island. Do you know where it is?

So, I checked out the Rooster Cafe on my last day for lunch.

I wanted the roast beef sandwich, but they were all out, so I had the veggie sandwich. Here it is…

Looks attractive with the colorful bread, but I was disappointed. I know this place has gotten rave reviews on the chatter board, but maybe I just made the wrong choice. It was extremely heavy and just kind of mushy in the middle…

The little side salad was good, though. I liked the touch of pecans and blueberries…that was nice.

And for my final restaurant review…Zazil Ha has reopened. I checked them out with a friend on my last night.

Chiles Rellenos. It was okay. The sauce seemed too “Italian” as opposed to Mexican. I know it seems like I’m too picky, but it was pretty pricey, and to tell you the truth…

I preferred my own version of La Lomita’s recipe that I tried at home.

I hate to disappoint my viewers, but I will have to say that Isla is losing its appeal to me. It seems that more and more foreigners are owning the restaurants there which, to me, takes away from the Mexican appeal. When a friend introduced me to Isla back in 2006, I was mesmerized and just wanted to come back again and again because of its charm. As more resorts overtake the island and it becomes more of a metropolitan meeting place rather than a Mexican fishing village, it saddens me and I don’t feel the connection I once did. And I’ve only been going there since 2006! I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I had seen it when all the streets were sand. But I wish I could have experienced it then. And then when I hear that an 80+ year-old man is stabbed by his brother for tips…how horrible is that? I know that crime happens everywhere…but I think we all hope that it doesn’t happen on Isla.

On that note, I will be moving on to some other adventures on my next trip. Not because of this crime, but because I guess I have a little bit (or a lot) of wunderlust and I need to see some new places. I suppose I got it from my dad who packed up my mom, me, and my three older brothers for a road trip through Mexico in 1960. Yeah…this is me after the spoils of a bullfight at four years old…

And I’m the sad one here. I think I must have thought this was a permanent situation…haha!

When I was in Merida during this trip, I ran into an American guy on the street who helped me with directions. We got to talking and he told me that he had been an engineer in the United States. After a board meeting one day, he left, said “that’s it”…and moved to Mexico. He lives in a small town outside of Merida and loves it…and would never move back. He was taking pictures of doorways in Merida to help him decide on what kind of door to put on the house he was building. After my post on doorways in Merida, I realized he had a lot to choose from. I told him that I had been to Mexico nine times in the past six years and he said it’s time to move and threatened to take my passport…haha! Hmmm…maybe he’s right, though.

Anyway, Isla is a wonderful place and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It certainly has its share of beautiful sunsets…these were taken from Zazil Ha.

But it’s time for me to move on. Adios, Isla…and viva Mexico…

Posted by EditorDeb | May 8, 2011 | Categories: Isla Mujeres | 17 Comments »

Isla Mujeres Spring Break 2011 – Part IV

As usual, I had no agenda on Isla, so these posts will be random.

I was happy to see that Nutter 2 was still happy, fat and sassy…

As was this little guy who is located across the street from Manana. I really don’t know if it’s a male or female, but “it” is really sweet and humble. Last time I saw it in December, it was wearing a little sweater. No sweater this time, but still as sweet.

Everyone knows where this guy/gal is located. Since we only get to see its head when we pass on the malecon, we’ll never know if it’s a girl or boy. Anyway, he/she is becoming a landmark.

Another character along the malecon…

And here’s another healthy feline on Hidalgo…probably good friends with Nutter 2.

This guy seemed a little mangy to me…but he obviously belonged to someone…

Okay, so on to the rest of the post. I actually did a crazy thing and rented a golf cart to visit the south end of the island…WITHOUT MAKING SURE THAT I HAD GOLF CART INSURANCE FIRST!! OMG, call me one crazy woman. Well, to tell you the truth, most of my friends actually think I am a crazy woman because I go to Mexico by myself, but you know what? I aint’ gonna stop doing it in the near future because I’d rather be crazy than never experience the adventures I’ve had.

This is the church close to La Bruja. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been in the area, so I haven’t seen this before. Beautiful!! Sure it doesn’t have the history, but I thought it was just a really sweet, pretty church.

So clean and new inside…

With pretty windows…

Maybe I’ll have to try my hand at another stained glass window…

I’ve heard about the “floating island” before, but never stopped by. This time I did. I wish I could have gone on board.

Here are the aged signs on the pier in front…

Then I stopped by El Pueblito for lunch. I’ve never been here before and I’m always anxious to try new places.

View uphill from my table…

The peek-a-boo view of the sea from my table…

And my chicken fajitas. They were very tasty and just the right size for my appetite…

The next morning, I had asparagus crepes at M&Js. Do you think they intentionally make it look like a face??

They were good, but it was a little too much dough for my taste. They always use white asparagus which is fine, but between the cheesy sauce and the dough of the crepes, it was a little too heavy.

I was eating with a friend who had one of the casuelas…unfortunately, I can’t remember the name. I didn’t take a bite because I was so full from my dish…but it does look good!

Next…on to some changes on the island. They are finally tearing this place down. I wonder what is going in its place??

This place is being remodeled. I also don’t know what’s going in…

This is a new loncheria right next to the Hotel Las Palmas. I never tried it out…

But kind of like the look better when it was this…

This is the first time I’ve seen this while I was on Isla…Army guys patrolling through the middle of town.

When I was there in May of 2008, the president of Mexico was scheduled for a visit on Isla, so there were many soldiers all over the island. Even then, I didn’t see them walk down Hidalgo, although I did see Federales around town and soldiers posted here and there.

But these guys just came out from nowhere and were very unexpected. As you can see, the tourists weren’t too affected by their appearance as is evident by this happy guy in the photo…

In fact, I was talking to him and his wife and then he suddenly got up and went into the Suites los Arcos hotel. Next thing we know, he appeared on the balcony of one of the rooms. His wife said, “What are you doing up there??” I said, “What are you doing in my room???” (Which it wasn’t but I was giving him a hard time.) Haha…those crazy Canucks. I guess it comes from all that cold and the snow…haha!

While I was sitting there, I noticed this little guy walking around who obviously belonged to one of the shop owners. By the way, I’m not a Croc lover, but I love the coordinating camouflage look between the Crocs and the shorts here…

He occasionally messed with the trinkets on the neighboring vendor’s table. This little girl meticulously replaced everything he got out of order. These children live in a different world than American children. Our children could definitely learn a lesson from them.

Here’s the new street on Rueda Medina. Very nice with much wider sidewalks…and no holes…

And here’s my favorite photo from this trip Yes, it’s been Photoshopped without the statues. But this is the way that I think Punta Sur should look…au natural…

Posted by EditorDeb | May 1, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

Isla Mujeres Spring Break 2011 – Part III

So, when I first got to Isla on this trip, I started out at the Suites los Arcos. I didn’t get any pictures of it, but I was not impressed. It’s average at best, and overpriced at $98 a night. Maybe it would have been better if I had had a room with a balcony overlooking Hidalgo. At any rate, I left after two nights and spent the next night at the Rocamar…better priced at $72 a night. I’ve never stayed here before, but how could you go wrong with a view like this? The rooms are very stark and basic, but very clean. It’s nice to be able to sleep with the door open so you can hear the waves.

Like I said…stark and basic…

Looking the other way. There’s a safe and a fridge in that cabinet on the right. This room had one of those see-through bathrooms.

I can see why they added the curtains. This would be WAY too much information if you’re traveling with a friend.

It’s such a welcome view every time you walk into the room…

Not to mention the sunrise in the morning…

They didn’t have a room for my last two nights there, so I set out walking to find something else. I’ve always heard good things about the Maria Leticia, so I stopped in to see if they had a vacancy. I didn’t expect them to because I know they have quite a following of regulars who book way in advance to stay here. But luck was with me and they had a room for both nights…at $350 pesos per night. You can’t beat that with a stick.

Again, very basic, but I really felt at home here. I loved the windows that offered a cross breeze and didn’t even use the air conditioning at night. The beds are comfortable and I also felt very safe here. (Although I’ve never felt UNsafe on Isla.)

Nice little kitchen area with a full-sized fridge and coffee maker. This was the only place I stayed at on this trip that had de Pelicula on TV…the station that plays old black and white Mexican movies. Sweet.

Small bathroom but everything worked great and the water pressure was fine.

The little courtyard is nice with all the flowers and palm trees. The owner is very watchful and you feel like he’s very protective of his guests. I would highly recommend the Maria Leticia…it’s convenient to everything, yet you feel like you’re off the beaten path when you are in your room.

Walking down Rueda Medina, I had never noticed this before. Where have I been??

I can never remember what they call these things…

I love checking out what the fishermen bring in in the morning. Quite a catch, huh?

Imagine how many fish have been filleted on these tables on the beach…

I went shell and sea glass hunting along the malecon. I walked along most of the craggy beach there which is no small feat because some of that area is very rough and rocky.

I didn’t see much of anything in the way of shells or sea glass. But I WAS fortunate enough to find a seahorse…

I checked out Vivian’s Qubano this time around and had the Cuban sandwich. Delicious as always.

This was the first time I had a watermelon water, though. Absolutely wonderful! Definitely get one if you go there.

I didn’t even know she had a back patio area. I always prefer eating outside. Cute, colorful little area.

Bally Hoo has become a favorite place to hang out because it’s just so relaxing and always has a nice breeze. It’s a perfect place to watch all the boat activity.

This little guy belonged to a some people who had a boat on this dock. His owner would walk down the pier and this sweetie would hurry behind him trying to keep up. But his feet were so small, he keep tripping on the spaces between the boards. You can get an idea of his size by comparing him with the foot in the upper left-hand part of the photo. It was definitely one of those “Awwwww” moments.