Stormy Paradise

It has been hot here lately. Really hot. Temperatures in the high 90's with humidity to match. Heat index of 110F some days. No wind to speak of. Air so thick you feel like you can't get enough oxygen out of it.

But Saturday that all changed. Some kind of front is whipping up bad weather everywhere. When I call up the satellite image for the Caribbean, it is almost impossible to see any land masses underneath all the colored spots. It's everywhere and I fear a bad hurricane season this year. This is what was still sitting on top of us on Sunday.




It rained, nay, poured tropical torrential downpours all day Saturday. Not surprisingly, the pumps they installed underground in the new drainage system on Ave Hidalgo failed to work. The streets downtown filled with over 2 feet of water almost instantly. The new street has been constructed to direct all water to the intersections. The water had no where to go. It's sense of gravity had been changed and it no longer just flows out to sea. Needless to say, almost every business downtown was flooded and there were a lot of unhappy shopkeepers and restaurant owners.

During one of the few breaks on Saturday, I got this shot of the stormy sky and water. Our traditional blue topaz color gone.




And yet, in the evening it cleared off a little. It amazes me how such bad weather can turn around and produce such a beautiful sight.




Sunday, as I write this, the sun has come out but the skies are still a murky gray. I think there will be more to come. Thankfully it did clear up for a bit.

Tomorrow I will tell and show you how storms like this can hit close to home and cause no end of problems.

More Stranger Kindness

Jennifer Kelly from Austin, Tx was here visiting the island last week. She is also a reader of this blog.

Jennifer had read the entries about our Project Warm Hearts charity for the children in Veracruz. She wanted to help. I highly encouraged it since every bit anybody does is of great value to this project.

So look what she packed and dragged down here for me in her luggage.




That's 15 pounds of yarn, after the air had been sucked out of that bag! Impressive.

Thank you Jennifer. I guess now it's my turn to put that gift to good use and make up some more hats!

Drive Through

** This post is not intended to be read by golf cart renters on the island! **

There's a new business on the east side of the island. It's the new Corona/Modelo distributor building.

As part of the design they now have a drive-thru area to purchase beer from your car.





Actually you have to get out of your car, but you are guaranteed a shady spot to park! The inside is lined with coolers filled with 6-packs of that distributors brands. Brands like Corona, Modelo, Modelo Especial and Pacifico.

You just pick out which cold one you need, step across to the teller, pay the nice person and you are on your way!





I think it is a great idea. I wish the Superior distributor would do this too. As it is now, it is hard to find a spot to park and you have to carry your case up and down steps to get back to your car.

Good thing I only have to do it every couple of days!

So Quiet

I had the opportunity yesterday for some quiet time. I wasn't feeling too hot so I did not go to town with B. Darn, missed another chance to go to our little grocery store.

Around here, alone time is hard to come by. One of the sometimes bad side effects of being retired is that we are always together. Most of the time I love that, but once in awhile it is nice to just have alone time. Time to think. Time to plan. Time to remember. No music, no TV, no having to maintain 1/2 of a conversation. I normally hate being alone, but sometimes the soul just needs it.

I sat for awhile on our front porch. Watching the ocean and listening to the sounds of the neighborhood and the water. Except there weren't any. It took me a bit to realize how absolutely quiet it was. It was an exceptional time.

The ocean was just plain lazy and acted worn out and old. The occassional wave would come to shore, flipping over at the last moment to expose its' white belly before disappearing without a trace or memory of it on the shore.

The piercing call of a blackbird could be heard. But not very often. It sounded like even they could not get enough oxygen out of the humidity laden air to even bother to announce their territory.

The road out front, usually a busy highway between the south and north ends of the island, was almost deserted. A few golf carts, laden with surprisingly quiet tourists, meandered past. Just lazily driving along and enjoying the tremendously blue and clear water of the ocean. Rocks were clearly visible just below the surface, creating darker blue blobs amidst the blue topaz of the water.

Locals drove by on motorscooters. They are normally fast little machines, buzzing by at breakdown speed. Their owners and riders always with a purpose and goal at the end of the road. Even they were different yesterday. It was like nobody had the energy to turn the throttle up high. Or any great desire to get where they were going.

I watched the lazy scenes unfolding before for as long as I could take it. Then I took a nap.

The Beach

I love taking these panoramic shots using the photo stitch feature on my camera. The only problem though is that they just don't post well. To really see the detail, you are going to have to click on it.

An Unwelcome Visitor

For several days last week I noticed a new addition to the top of our wall in the back patio. I remember thinking, "I hope that rascal doesn't come down on this side!" Well, guess what? He did!




I was not too pleased to see him out there. They have the most vile poop, they eat your potted plants, they startle the heck out of you if they are hiding behind a pot and you disturb them and, finally, I was not sure if they would hurt the cats.

I certainly didn't want to touch him and I really didn't want to hurt him either. I had the brilliant idea of spraying him off the tree with the hose. I say brilliant, but it really wasn't. I sprayed the heck out of him, trying to make him let go and scurry on out of my patio and life. To no avail. Never underestimate the power of those claws.

Finally one of the cats came outside. He spotted the cat and made a flying leap off the tree and under one of the pots that is slightly elevated. For the next few days I could see his tail peeking out so I knew he was still there. The cats quickly determined that they would not get him out so they lost interest.




I have not seen him or evidence of his existence for the last few days so I am hoping that he safely found a way out and back to the wild.

Where He's Gone

If you were a fan of the restaurant Seso Loco's, you may have been wondering where he's gone. Although not yet open and remodeling is still underway, I thought I would give you a quick sneak peek of his new place.

He's located on the bay side of the island as you head south out of town. To help orientate you, what you see in the picture below is the street just before you get to the turn off for the Yacht Club. That two story building is the Honda sales shop. Seso will be located on the right where all of those trees are.



Here's a quick shot of the front. Looks like he is going to have some nice outdoor, covered seating.



Once he opens up for business, I'll be doing a complete article about his new place.

Fast Boats

If you drive south out of town, just across from the Naval station you'll see this line up of fast boats.




Usually there are only two or three of them moored there. Recently the collection has been growing and growing.



Now where in the world could have all these boats, outfitted with three super-size fast motors, have come from? And what could they have been used for that they would need these powerful motors? Seems pretty obvious to me.

On Sale Now

I think because the economy is doing so poorly here on the island right now, our local grocery store has been running lots of specials.

While I was in there picking up a few things I needed the other day, I noticed that limes were on sale or 1.99 pesos per kilo! That's 7 cents a pound for those of you metrically challenged! I was on the scooter that day and had limited carry space, but I still managed to pack about 3 pounds into my under the seat storage area.




Aren't they pretty. So nice and green.



I juiced them all and will use the juice for futures of homemade limeade. Ah, refreshing!

Seaside Cliff Views

Plastic Island

Remember when I took you on a tour here of the guy who was building an island made entirely out of plastic bottles?

It looks like he has now found a permanent home in the lagoon out on Sac Bajo.

Take a look at what he has accomplished.

Invasion Of The Creepy Crawlys

Even greater (and perhaps even more realistic) than my aversion to sharks is my aversion to all things slithery. SNAKES!, earthworms and centipedes all make me shiver worse than if I were naked on an ice flow. I mean I am just creeped out by those types of things. If you were to ever hold a SNAKE! or earth worm towards me and threaten to touch me with it, you better be prepared to die. Seriously.

So to discover that those black, inch long disgusting centipedes are back almost gives me nightmares. Worse yet, they are coming up from the shower drain! It's a wonder I am not a disgusting dirty mess. Every inch of that shower gets inspected before I step a naked piece of my body into that area. But shit happens.

Every once in awhile, through soap filled eyes, I will spot one squirming its' way up through one of the holes in the floor drain......while I am in there with it! I'm sure the shriek heard throughout the neighborhood is akin to the one uttered by Ellen when she was told she had to wear a gown to host the Oscars.

But I have my creepy crawly killer at hand. It is a long handled squeegee kept in the shower to facilitate squeegeeing every drop of water off the floor once one's shower is concluded. We can't have water spots in the shower, doncha know. Squeegee tightly in hand, down it comes, WHAM! and there is one less creepy crawly in the world.

Still, I step out of the shower to dry off, leaving the squashed black spot to fend for itself. And I live to kill another day.

The Busts Of Isla Mujeres

No, not this kind!



This kind.

Hide And Seek

Can you see what I almost stepped on before carefully backing away?






Here's a closer look.

Reader Shots

Today's shots were sent in by ArizonaKelly. She is a friend, frequent commenter here and part-time resident on Isla. I think these are gorgeous and calendar worthy. My highest praise.

If you like them, let her know in Comments.

Out And About

I certainly did not waste any time yesterday sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Once the guests next door arrived, and after the telephone guy was here to de-static our line, I hopped on the Honda and went for a drive.* I hadn't been out and about like that for awhile.

As I headed towards the south end of the island, I looked to my right and felt the bile rising in my throat. I hate that this monstrosity is being built here and that it is visible from this side of the island.



It's not all that pretty from up close either. I think they have been working on this thing for two years now.



As I was pulling away, I stopped and looked back. I bet those balconies are going to have a fantastic view over to Cancun though. Looks like they may have changed their minds about the design or something. Witness the filled in area on the side.



Just down the road from the above, they are now building another set of 18 condos. Who do they think is going to buy all of these???





* I haven't been out on the Honda lately because it wouldn't start. I finally took it apart, bought a new battery, installed it and put the bike back together. Works like a charm now. And this, despite opinions to the contrary, from someone who does NOT have little markers on his tools that same hammer, screwdriver, etc!

On The Fly

Now here's something I haven't done in a long while. Compose a post on the fly the same day I post it. I wonder how that happened?

Normally I spend Sunday afternoons putting together my five posts for the week. All neat and tidy, ready to go at 6:05 AM every morning. But yesterday, after mowing the lawn next door in preparation for the arrival of guests there today, we decided to get cleaned up and go downtown.

We started out at Brisas Grill, which has a happy hour all afternoon. We were disappointed that the band was not playing and that we were the only guests. We shared a delicious shrimp ceviche and then were unexpectedly joined by a couple of friends.

That led to moving to the local bar next door. Just a tiny street side affair that does not draw tourists. They do serve a mean bowl of Chilichole though. (not sure if that is the correct spelling) You have to order a beer or beverage to get it though. Much like a botanas bar. So, just for good measure, I had two! While sitting there, another friend passed by and joined us. This place also does ribs on a charcoal burner placed on the sidewalk out front. Ok then, let's have a couple of orders of ribs too!

From there we decided to go down to Playa Sol and watch the sunset. They have 2 x 1 also. The sunset was disappointing but the beer was cold! And the conversations rapid and entertaining. Sergio was not serving food so we decided to head back downtown and get fish fingers at Bamboo.

While there, we hooked up with a couple of more friends and it really turned into party central! It was really hot in there though so after awhile we decided to saddle up and walk down the street to Adelita's. By now the band was playing at Fayne's and everyone was in a silly, happy-go-lucky mood. Even Fireboy was there to perform. We had a round a drinks there and then everybody decided it was probably time to put a cap on it and head for home. I was quite pleased with myself for having contributed so much to the local economy!

So now you know why I have no posts ready for the week, am composing on the fly and, most importantly, have a killer headache this morning!

He's Back!

NIght Life?

This photo was taken last Sunday night downtown on Hidalgo. It was about 10 PM. At least service is really good now.

Reader Shots

The following picture was sent to me by Mary. It was taken at the Temple of Ixchel on South Point.




Here it is after I tried to enlarge it for posting.




While this is a very fine picture, it illustrates one of the problems I run into a lot with pictures send me. They are either too big (which I can deal with) or they are too small. This photo, as submitted was only 3.65 kb.

In order to look good on Blogger, I have discovered that a photo needs to be at least 800 x 600 pixels and/or 82 kb. So if you would like your pictures that you send in to appear as nice as possible here, please bear that in mind. Thanks and keep them coming!

New Bas Relief

Took a drive out to South Point the other day. I wanted to see how much progress is being made out there. They are in the process of modernizing it and making it safer for dumb tourists who can't stay away from the edge of the cliffs.

Here's a few shots of the statues they are integrating into the wall they are building around the place. Except for the first photo. That's just for artsy-fartsy purposes!

Dia De La Marina

Today is Day of the Marina, which includes all things aquatic. Booths have been set up on the town square to celebrate it. The Ultramar ferry and the Navy station here on the island are represented.

As part of the exhibition, there is a kiosk with old pictures taken on the island. Some of them are really old showing the sand streets and all. Very interesting.

But one side of the kiosk really caught my attention. The one dedicated to fishing. Can you guess why?