What Next?

First the drug war fears is keeping people away from Mexico. We were hard hit during Spring Break and tourism is way down, to say the least.

And now this Swine Flu. People are starting to go crazy because of it. As I write this, the USA has basically told people to stay away unless absolutely necessary. Many other countries are following suit. Things are going to get tough around here and in all of Mexico if the tourist market drops off. That scares me more than the flu. No tourists in Mexico = no money = increase in crime.

It looks like the epicenter of this current outbreak did not occur in Mexico City. The first reported case here was to a 13 year old lad in the state of Veracruz, just across the border from Mexico City. By the end of today (Tuesday) the number of suspected cases here in Mexico should top the 2000 mark.

Almost every kind of public business or event in Mexico City has been closed down. Restaurants are serving only "to go" food. The footage coming out of there looks like a ghost town. Schools nationwide have been ordered closed until at least May 6. That includes la isla. (despite what many people think, we are not an extension of Disneyland but part of Mexico!)

Downtown today we noticed a lot of people wearing surgical masks. We have also noticed people have stopped shaking hands and there are only air kisses being thrown. No cheek to cheek kissing which is the norm here. We have had our first suspected case reported here, so this thing is spreading. I expected it to happen here. After all, we just came off Easter week when thousands of national tourists flock to our beaches...most from Mexico City!

Am I worried? No. Am I concerned and cautious? Yes. We've decided to practice "social distancing" for awhile. Keeping people at least 6 feet (2 meters) away when possible, avoiding the grocery store and using up our stores of food* and limiting our trips to town and interaction with people. We'll just see where this thing is going....hopefully away. But I doubt that.

* our friend, Lisa in Cancun, reports that people are making runs on the grocery stores there. Acting like WWIII is about to break out or that a major hurricane is on its' way. I guess I don't see the necessity for that kind of panic.

Bird Dog Cat Man

Visitors to the island will immediately recognize this rascal.



He is one of the musicians who wander up and down Ave Hidalgo, singing to the crowds for tips. He is best known for his signature song, The Little Black Dog. While singing it, he alternately imitates a bird, a dog and a cat. Very well too. I have seen him stop street dogs in their tracks when he does his dog imitation. I don't know his real name but I call him Bird Dog Cat Man.

Even though he is a very good singer, I rarely tip him. Why? Because his whole attitude pisses me off. Unlike the other wandering musicians on the street, he never solicits your approval before he starts singing away and making conversation very difficult. When he is done, he goes around with a little bag and acts totally disgusted if anybody dares not drop money into it. I didn't ask him to sing, he didn't ask to sing, he takes his chances then.

I do enjoy it though when his hugest drunken fan follows him around (pictured above), irritating him to no end by singing along and dancing. Now that is fun!

Pics Seen In Our Paper - Por Esto

UPDATE: The pictures of dead people, by popular demand, have been removed from this post.

I thought I would share some of the pictures that have been posted in our newspaper, Por Esto, recently.

As if we who live in Mexico didn't know it, they ran a story about Easter vacation being over. The gist of the story was that kids are now back in school. They posted this picture of two of the poor students now having to face their educations again.

Do you think they learn to pose like this in Home Ec?




Ultramar, the company that runs the ferry to and from Cancun has been heavily criticized lately for their safety record....or lack thereof. One of their boats recently arrived at the docks in Isla Mujeres going full speed. They ran into this boat with 11 tourists ready to depart for a snorkeling tour. Several people were seriously hurt but I have seen no follow-up on their conditions.



For those of you who are unfamiliar with her, this is our current Mayor.






There you go, just a taste of what Mexican papers will publish. Be advised that if you pick one up, you are likely to encounter pictures of dead people. Explicit, very detailed, gory pictures of dead people.

Tourist Police Revisted

I had to laugh the other day. There was an article in our local paper, Por Esto, that kind of firmed up in my mind what I think about them. They usually work the streets in pairs.

It seems that one pair of TP stopped a Candian woman who was driving her golf cart the wrong way on a one way street downtown. One of them told her she could pay her "fine" of 500 pesos directly to him on the spot. Which she gladly did. However, the partner, in his infinite wisdom, gave her a ticket anyway! (can you guess what is coming?)

The tourist was around long enough to actually show up in court. She complained that she had already paid her "fine" and that should be the end of it. The Judge ascertained that she was correct about paying, but that it was not a "fine". The end result was that both officers were fired on the spot. One for soliciting a bribe, the other for not reporting him.

Moral: If you are going to solicite and accept a bribe, don't give the person a ticket anyway!

I Got Troubles

Yahoo has decided that I am a spammer and is not allowing me to send or reply to any emails received at this address: islagringo@yahoo.com

I am trying to get this fixed. If you have sent me an email recently, I will get back to you, probably using a new address.

Please bear with me.

Latin American Bloggers Meeting - The End

On our final whole day in Merida, we all met at a super fancy restaurant for a breakfast buffet. The food table took up the entire length of the room! I think even the vegetarians amongst us got their fill! For dessert, Heather brought out all the fun prizes and we played the steal it game. Lots of laughter, stealing from each other and dice tossing around the table.

After breakfast, Theresa had arranged for us to take a bus tour of Merida! I've always wanted to do that. Two hours of driving around in an open air bus with our own tour guide. I certainly know the difference between French and Italian architecture in Merida now.





Heather had a good time. But then she is always cheerful no matter what is going on. Gotta love that gal!



The afternoon was again free time. More shopping, more napping!

The schedule called for us all to meet again where Paseo Montejo starts. We were going to the remate. It's kind of a food vendor fair and entertainment. After some initial confusion as to where we were to meet and the usual trying to keep a group together problems, we all ended up in the right place. Unfortunately, Paul and Nancy heard that it was cancelled so they never showed up. (we heard afterwards that they had a good time anyway!) Also unfortunately, our hostess, Theresa, was unable to attend either.

We had a great time. Wandering around the various food booths, sampling various goodies, avoiding the obviously not so goodies and sitting outside a restaurant drinking beer and gossiping, er, talking amongst ourselves!

The show was pretty good. The main event was a dance troupe who performed various folkloric dances from the Yucatan, Tabasco and Chiapas. Here they are in their Yucatan costumes.

The time in between was filled with various singers and bands.

The whole evening ended with a 10 piece Mariachi band. I like the big member Mariachi bands, but this one was horrible. They seemed a bit out of tune and they shouted, rather than sang, the lyrics. Oh well. Still had a good time!

Sunday morning found the whole crew enjoying another buffet breakfast at the Hotel Colonia on Avenue 55. With full bellies, we bid the crew goodbye and made our own way back to the hotel.

But not before Heather and Lisa dragged my butt all around a little flea market we passed on the way.

The perfect fit is everything.

Heather and I hitched a ride with Lisa in her Vocho. I am so glad we did not have to take that bus again. It was so hot that we took the back roof off the convertible. Lisa and I sat up front and were shaded. Poor Babushka Betty had to sit in the back.

Believe it or not, I have never taken one of those hold-the-camera-at-arms-distance-self-portrait type shots before. But I wanted to show you all how much fun we were having!

Here's a picture of our friendly, pretty and thoughtful chauffeures waiting patiently for Heather and I to return from our potty break. The car ain't bad either!

In summary, I am really grateful to Theresa for picking up the ball where I left it last year and putting this event together. She did an outstanding job and deserves a standing ovation from all of us who attended, or are living it through our reports. She was ably assisted by Jonna, Mimi and Lin who opened up their homes to us.

It was such a delight to see old friends and to meet new ones. I fully intend to keep in touch and to keep on reading the delightful blogs that these people produce.

So......where we will be next year? Playa del Carmen? Mazatlan? Stay tuned!

Latin American Bloggers Meeting - Day 2

Friday morning and Paul, Nancy and myself met at a sweet little restaurant across the street from our hotel, Cafe Club, for breakfast. I laughed out loud when I opened the bread basket to find these little homemade delights nestled inside.




We finished breakfast and headed over to Lin's house where the first event of the weekend was to take place. We all gathered around and listened to various presentations. I led off with Posting Digital Pictures to Your Blog...Why or Why Not? I was followed by Ellen discussing How To Make Money from Your Blog. (or not). We also had Theresa discussing Finding Focus for Your Blog and Paul on Finding Inspiration for Your Blog. Here's Ellen captivating the crowd.




Followed by Theresa.




I was sitting in the wrong spot to get a good shot of Paul presenting.

This is a shot of our hostess' backyard, complete with heated swimming pool. I am so jealous!





One of Lin's cats. Since I am great Siamese cat lover, this one made my heart skip a beat.





Following the presentations, we walked a very long and hot 3 blocks to our lunch place. People, it was over 100F every day while there! We dined at a botanas bar. If you are not familiar with the concept, every time you order a drink, usually beer, you are brought plates and plates of free food to sample. Adding to the fun was the fact that everybody had to eat from the same plates!

Here's part of the group.




Just some of the array of food brought to us. l to r, starting at 6 o'clock; mystery item, pickled carrots, fish ceviche, pickled cucumbers, moving to tortilla chips and below that another mystery item. There was also guacamole and pumpkin seed dip and, of course, freshly fried pieces of pig skin.

The mystery item up close. Want to know what it is? Pickled pig's ear. I did not partake. I see no need to put animal spare parts into my mouth.

Afterwards we had a few hours of free time. I shopped a bit and then took a much needed nap!

We all met up with Theresa at the main town square for a walking tour of the zocolo area. I must say, Theresa knew her stuff and was an excellent tour guide. I have been to Merida many times before and thought I had seen it all. But I was in for a surprise. Look where she took us.

We were all like "an underground parking garage? why are we going down here?" Unbeknownst to any us, in the back of this garage is the entrance to an underground tunnel system! It was dark, humid and totally fascinating. I am grateful to Theresa for showing us this little known gem.

We also walked through the outdoor gallery of the Musuem of Contemporary Art. I am not a big fan of Modern or Contemporary Art, but some of the jun, er, art, is interesting. Take these for example.

Other than the tunnel, the highlight for me was finding a stand that sold salchipapas. A word derived from combining salchicha (hot dog) and papas fritas (french fries). A mound of delicious deep-fried goodness. I have loved this particular snack since first discovering it in Costa Rica. The vendor thought it funny that I wanted a picture so he insisted on getting in it too!

A close-up of the deliciousness.

During our tour we passed the Cathedral all lit up in her night time glory.

After the tour we headed out to a restaurant on the luxury street called Paseo Montejo. We had a rather less than mediocre dinner but our main purpose in being there was to listen to the band. Since the place was called Los Cubaneros, the band was Cuban. Great salsa music was enjoyed by all. Some of us even got tipsy enough to get up and show off our dancing skills. There will be no mention of names here!

Tomorrow: Saturday's entertainment, great mix-up and the goodbyes on Sunday. Stay tuned!

Blogroll Note

I have not linked inside my posts to the idividual bloggers. Instead I have added them to my blogroll. Go check them out. Look for the word (merida) after their blog name for the new ones.

Latin American Bloggers Meeting - Let's Go!

The Second Annual Latin American Bloggers Meeting was held this past weekend in Merida, Yucatan. It was organized and hosted this year by Theresa, aided by Jonna, Mimi and Lin.

I had made plans to meet Heather from Playa del Carmen at the Cancun bus depot. We were going to ride together on the same bus as we were also staying at the same hotel. Things did not get off to a great start.

First, the ferry I was taking over to the mainland was late in leaving the dock here, then the taxi I took to the bus station got stuck in traffic due to a lot of road construction. I was starting to get really concerned that I would get there in time to catch the noon bus. But I made it, with 15 minutes to spare. But where was Heather?

She was having some of the same type of problems with her bus out of Playa. She texted me with about 10 minutes left before our bus was to pull out. She was almost there. Unfortunately, her bus also got stuck in a bit of traffic. She pulled in exactly 4 minutes after our noon bus had left the station. Oops.

We ended up exchanging our tickets for the 1:oo PM bus and were on our way. The ride normally takes around four hours. But we were not done with our transportation problems.

Wildfires are burning out of control right now all over Mexico. The Yucatan Peninsula is one of the areas hit. Three times we were forced to come to a complete stop because of wild fires burning next to our across the freeway. The air was filled with the stench of burning and burned out ashes. This was the view from our bus window the first time we stopped.



The second time was a bit more dense. Nice view, huh.




The third time we could actually see the flames. As we moved forward through the smoke, the flames were actually burning right beside us. Closer even than these. I was not frightened, having driven through fires worse than this. Still, it was aggravating to be delayed. Not to mention the fact that the jungle was burning.



We finally made it to our hotel at 6:30 PM. Our first event of the evening was due to start at 7 PM, so we had to do some scrambling to get checked in and on our way. Also delaying us was the fact that I gave the taxi driver the wrong hotel name! Thankfully, our real hotel was only a block away!



We even had a beautiful pool available for our use.




Arriving at Jonna and Mimi's for the Meet and Greet party, we were greeted by this delicious spread of botanas set up. Tasty little spread. All the beer, wine or soft drinks you could possibly want too.



We got to tour their lovely house but, as usual in my house, the guests almost all congregated in the kitchen! Here we see, l to r, Heather, Jillian and Theresa.




Another shot of Jillian. The red eyes are not from drinking. I just don't have a program that will erase red eye. Sorry. But it does give you an idea of how pretty she is.




Paul and Nancy from Mazatlan were on hand also. It was pure joy to finally meet them in person. One of the side benefits of these blogger meetings is to get to meet in person the people whose lives we follow daily.

I'm not sure what is going on here really, but it sure looks like Paul is getting impatient for somebody to open that bottle of wine!



I spent a lot of time talking to and laughing with Nancy. Her wit and intelligence only add to her charm and likeability. I wish these two lived closer to me.

Last picture from me of the Meet and Greet. Nancy, Heather and Jonna.




Tomorrow we'll get into the actual meetings and who all was there. Join me then!

Shower Time, Isla Style

I'll be putting up the first post about the Blogger Meeting tomorrow but thought you might enjoy this while you wait.

I do a post every once in awhile about the tasteless tourists and the way they dress here. But only how they are in public places.

This gal I find entirely appropriate. She's on the beach and is allowed to run around with just her (wet) bikini on.

I like this shower too. It is located beside the bar at Playa Sol. Water comes out of a pipe and is gently diluted by that conch shell. A nice way to wash the salt water and sand off. Bet it's cold though!

As The Sun Sets....

...over Isla, I'm out of here. Or off here.



I'm off to Merida today for the Second Annual Bloggers Meeting.




I won't be back to posting until next Monday.




Theresa has done a bang up job of organizing this year's event. Bigger and better!




I will be leading off the presentations on Friday morning.




My topic is about putting photos on your blog...or not!




So enjoy your weekend everybody. I sure will enjoy mine!

Yet Another Fair

When I heard that yet another Oaxacan fair had hit town, I was a bit excited. Even though we had just had a rather crappy one here, I thought this one might be really good. Like the one that was in Playa del Carmen lately. So we decided to give it a look see.




The first thing we saw was the Oaxacan cheese booth. It was a treat to watch him separate the cheese into the traditional Oaxacan style and then wrap it into a ball. Reminded me of making a ball of yarn!




Chapulines. Remember that word if ever in Oaxaca....or at a Oaxacan fair!





A closer look reveals what they are. Dried grasshoppers! I must say, I have never tried these in all the times I have visited Oaxaca. I just don't see the need or sense in purposely eating bugs.






There was a great stand selling different types of moles and thick sauces. We bought some of the green Pipian and I can't wait to try it.






Colorful little toys were abundant. I wanted to buy one of each to send off to Xico. And I would have too if I could have gotten the salesman to stop texting or playing games or whatever the *X(#%% he was doing on his cell phone. I finally gave up and walked away in disgust. Sorry kids.





The handmade fabrics at this fair were far and away a better class of workmanship than at the last one. Look at the quality of the hand embroidery on this top.





And here. This was very well done with no gaps in the fabric at all. These things are truly pieces of art.






Being a crocheter, I really appreciated this one.







A closer look shows you the quality of the tiny stitches. They must have used like a -5 hook or something!





I thought this purse was cool. The beads are on an elastic band so one size fits all.






Candy and food was plentiful also.





Evidently all of it handmade in Oaxaca!





From 7 to 9 PM everynight, there are folkloric dancers. I haven't had a chance to stop by and see them yet.





Undoubtedly my best buy that day was this hand loomed rug. Just the thing I needed for beside my bed! Negotiated a pretty good deal too!

They even had a restaurant area with handmade goodies.

We had just been served some warm quesadillas and empanadas when we suddenly had to take flight. We got a call that the alarm at our house was going off. Meaning somebody was trying to break in!

Running to the car, stuffing food in our faces at the same time, we made it home within 15 minutes of getting the call. We saw nothing unusual outside so unlocked the doors. What we found was one very upset cat inside! Simon had evidently hidden somewhere and after we left, he woke up and set off the motion detectors inside the house.

At least we know they work!