Isla – dia seis

Okay, so I got mixed up on my days.  Yesterday should have been dia cinco, so I’ve change that day, and today is day six.  Sheesh, when you’re not working, you lose all sense of time.  Which is a damn good thing in my humble opinion. 

The last two days have been pretty lazy, but that’s what happens when you’re on Mexico time.  I’ve read a whole book just in the last day and a half.  It normally takes me weeks to get through a book because I mainly just read on my lunch hour if I’m not going out with friends.  Now I feel like I have all the time in the world which takes some getting used to.  When you’re used to doing something all the time, it’s hard to just sit back and relax.  But I’m trying my best.  By the time I get the hang of it, it will be time to go back to work.  *sigh*

This morning’s breakfast was at the Bistro Francais.

Here’s my view to the left.  The guy on the bike is selling newspapers.

And to the right…

And here’s breakfast.  It was okay…the prices are pretty reasonable.

Then a walk to work off breakfast.  (It doesn’t take much in this heat.)  Hemingway’s is still going strong…they were hopping when I walked by one evening.

I think the Hotel El Caracol has changed colors every time I’ve been there.  It’s always vibrant…no pastels or earth tones on this baby.

I was sorry to see that Manana is closed.  I liked going there for breakfast every once in awhile.  I like how they painted the “For Sale” sign on the side of the building to match the decor.  Very tasteful.  I hope someone can make a go of it there.

I took a picture of this structure on my first trip to Isla back in 2006.  (It was a much better picture than this.)  I can’t believe it’s still there…and I also wonder what those empty windows looked in on and what the original structure looked like.  Just curious.

Just some more colorful places around town…

I normally don’t like bars on windows, but if you have to have them, this is what they should look like. 

This must be like a “to go” version of the Rooster Restaurant?  It’s on Carlos Lazo…

Along with this place.  Is it a new bar?

Since I was there at the hostel, I walked out to the east side of the island to see if I could find any sea glass.  This side is much rockier and is not a good swimming beach.

This fellow was keeping an eye on me.

I have found pieces of sea glass in this area before, but not one single piece could be found today.  It’s kind of amazing how different one side of an island can be from the other.  This side has much courser sand and when you step into where the water meets the shore, you sink down about six inches.  That doesn’t happen where the sand is soft and white. 

Back up to the malecon…which is pretty much deserted, which is so sad because it’s such a beautiful view.

I happened to find a photo that I had taken after all the “improvements” were made several years ago with all the new benches.  What a shame that they are all gone and there’s nowhere to sit other than on the ledge.  And why did they face them towards the town instead of towards the sea?  That never made any sense to me.

 

Much further down the malecon, you can see the backsides of the houses that I posted on the fourth day…a couple of which were for sale.  The thing about this area is that there are nice, new houses that are right next to old houses that have probably been owned by families for years there which may never be sold.  Besides that, they are on such a small plot of land, that there is no room to put in a pool.  Since you can’t swim on this side of the island, if I were going to buy a home there, I would definitely want at least a dipping pool considering the heat of the summers. You never know why they’re for sale. 

Like this one.  Yes, it has a nice view of the sea, but there’s a very small patio and no green space.  Plus you have the disadvantage of having tourists, residents and golf carts traveling back and forth behind your house. 

Interesting paint job on this one…

Here’s something you might be able to get pretty cheap.

And this is what it looks out onto.  I’d be curious to know how much they’re renting it for.

On a side note, when I fell and broke my wrist a few months ago, I became very paranoid about where I walked.  I would nervously watch the ground and look for any signs of twigs, sand, rocks, etc., so that I wouldn’t accidentally slip on anything.  After a couple of months, I kind of relaxed about it, but now that I’m down here, I’m back to being paranoid.  Isla has probably the worst sidewalks I’ve ever walked on and I spend most of my time looking down when I’m walking around town.  I’ll admit that I’ve tripped or stubbed a toe a time or two here on previous trips while obliviously taking pictures, but not this time!  No, sirree…no more broken wrists for this gal.  Here’s my proof…