I know I live on an island that is a tourist mecca. We get lots of them from all over the world. Some nice, some obnoxious. Some respectful, some totally oblivious.
I was sitting across from the coffee shop the other day in my "office" when I spied these chickies prancing down the street. They then entered the very busy coffee shop.
IMHO, this is no way to cruise the streets. This is beach attire. Not street wear. Not restaurant wear. Not grocery shopping wear. Not coffee shop wear.
It is disrpectful of not only the local residents but also of the customs of this land and just common decorum. Cover up ladies.
The same goes for you guys who think it is ok to stroll the streets wearing nothing but ill fitting Speedos and flip flops.
I would really love to get some comments on this issue. If you've never spoken up before, now would be a good time. What do you think about this issue?
40 comments:
By YOUR CHOICE,you live in a very small comunity where tourism is the major industry and supports the paradise you have come to love, or hate (jury still out on that one).
If it weren't for the tourists filling the white sandy beaches and restaurants, there would be no Isla, no coffee shop, etc., and so on.
While it may not be socially acceptible to the point you find it offensive, I think you have to bite the bullet on this one and go with the flow, or stay out of the coffee shops and off the streets. Tourists spend money, lots of money. And it is money that keeps the island "paradise" afloat.
Look at it this way: it all adds to the scenic beauty, beauty being in the eye of the beholder! This may just be the price you have to pay for living on an island with nice beaches.
I think it depends upon how far away an establishment is from the beach. Personally, I think just adding a pareau (is that how you spell it?) wrapped around the waist would make all the difference. Still casual but a little more dressed up.
I like jams they just look like shorts and with a tee shirt are good enough, but speedos? really? yuck!
regards,
Theresa
That's nothing. Come to Connecticut and see the short shorts that 13-15 year-old girls wear while out grocery shopping with their mothers or while out waiting for the school bus.
The scantily clad, under 25 years of age, should be stoned. Have you considered organizing a citizens' brigade to put an end to the immoral and polluting influences? OTOH, it may be easier just to shake your head and write them off.
I totally agree. I cover up before I step off the beach, even if it's only a few steps back to "home".
I even have my 17 year old daughter trained to do the same, having explained to her that it shows respect to the locals!
You are TOTALLY on (and not a prude or fuddy-duddy). This should could on facebook.
I vote with you
I'm with you. I don't think it takes much effort to throw on at the very least a pareo when one is taking a break from the beach.
It's discraceful. NONE of the 4 people in the photo are wearing SOCKS!! I think everyone should wear SOCKS at all times. Thanks for pointing it out:-))
carl/debbie
I'm with you Wayne - If the shop entered is on a boardwalk or facing the beach I can be a bit more lenient, but to stroll town, at the least a coverup of some sort....
But then I'm in my 50's now, and probably did the exact same thing when I was young and fit!
We ARE fuddy duddies!!
I wore short skirts, short shorts,halter tops, went braless...and now find those looks less than pleasing....
I think those two women in the photo look fantastic. I would encourage them to continue, now if you posted a picture of less visually pleasing women I would have a different opinion. May God bless Isla Mujeres and all it's occupants whether they be temporary or permanent.
I agree with you wholeheartly! But I think it's the way we were brought up ( only a few years difference in our ages!) i vote for the at least a pareo or tshirt when you leave the beach area.
I find it in poor taste whether it is a man or women.
Don't they usually stand up in line as soon as you walk in the door and call out their name in order?
Yep, sounds like you are an old fuddy duddy....this is normal, I am told that even more immodest stuff is done on facebook and Utube, so with that as the new standard, what do you expect?
I do not handle change very well, so what was not proper in the 50's and 60's is now acceptable. The picture was adequate although it could have used about one stop of more exposure and better resolution so that I could blow it up more and enjoy the view.....Yep, you're the one who moved to a beach blanket Babylon....
I totally agree with you! Girls throw a wrap on and guys wear a shirt!
I bet Ivan didn't complain.
But I'm an old fuddy duddy too.
Totally agree with you...unless your toes are in sand, cover it up...even if you are cute and fit! Would you do that at home? Part of traveling is respecting the people that you are visiting.
I don't think you're being a prude....this is about manners, respect and etiquette....all that stuff that kids (some, not all) don't seem to know anything about these days :(
Then again, if I looked like that, I'd probably prance around too! ;)
Doris
Mmmmm. Should have done this one as a poll! Finding the comments very interesting. Especially the thread that it is not alright to walk around like this....unless you are young and have a great body. What your body looks like should have nothing to do with it.
Although I personally would prefer some things be left to the imagination, I suppose it should be left to the owner of each establishment to make the dress code rules for his own place. You would never see this in Veracruz.
Seriously, you have lived on Isla for years now and this bothers you ? The farthest one has to walk from the beach to the middle of Centro is 4 to 6 blocks. I don't find it bothersome at all. Obnoxious drunks, Nascar driven Golf-Carts, Arrogant Cab drivers these things are bothersome. Girls walking around in bikinis on a "tropical" island, nah !
There is a reason "beachwear" is called beachwear. It is for the beach!!!! DUH
Besides her butt is too big to wear that suit lol lol.
Sorry, I don't think it is appropriate whatever country you are in.
There is a reason for "no shirt, no shoes, no service" signs in restaurants.
Personally I don't like being served by waitresses with their bellies hanging out in between their shirt and pants either, just does nothing for my appetite. Yup, guess I am officially a fuddy duddy.
Show some respect for others around you.
My stinkin password isn't working.
There are some people posting who I think are missing the point....
Before moving to Cancun, I lived 1 hr from the NJ beaches. And EVERYWHERE you go, you are NOT allowed to enter any establishment that serves food or drinks without being covered up...including shoes. It's tacky and also unsanitary.
It has nothing to do with what someone looks like vs respect for other around you and inappropriate things ending up in your latte. GROSSSSSS!!!!!!
I believe in covering up after leaving the beach also. Aluxes Coffee Shop is blocks from the beach, so they would have had plenty of time to throw on a cover-up, pair of shorts, or a pareo. I feel the same about guys' bare chests in stores. Just put on a tee shirt.
Uhhh... What coffee shop?.... What was the question?... Sorry, I was distracted....
Sorry buddy, in this case it might just be you...
It has not stopped raining since we got home. I would rather be on Isla! There is no danger of seeing women dressed like this on our beach!
Living in a beach town, I share your concern. However, our town likes the money tourists -- mainly Mexicans -- leave. If they wandered around naked, no one would care -- as long as they had a place to keep their purses at hand.
Of course, the local girls are so modest they swim in shorts and blouses. The very sight of a bikini causes my neighbors to believe the wearer traffics in rough trade.
I'm with you Wayne! If they're at Buho's ordering a drink -- fine! But put on some kind of coverup before you walk down Hidalgo and into the shops. I saw a lot of middle-aged women in similar attire in the evening wandering down Hidalgo in October, some even without shoes. And then there was shirt man back in October 2004. He strutted around nightly with muscles flexed without a shirt. One night he forgot and wore a shirt to Fayne's. This is the God's truth. He left his wife and kids at the table and strutted back in 10 minutes later minus the shirt again.
Personally, I try to keep my mumu on at all times just out of respect for everyone's eyes!
For me the issue is more of a sanitary one - especially in an eating establishment, so put me firmly in the fuddyduddy category.
hmmm
they have flip-flops/shoes
their hair is ok
they look clean
SO, a tiny bit more fabric is want we're wanting, right?
I would prefer that too, but I agree w/another poster that there are worse 'violations' including:
(vulgar,insensitive language, loud & obnoxious music; litter, rudeness
Did you see the run today? http://fondoyucateco.blogspot.com/2010/05/carrera-dia-de-la-marina-isla-mujeres.html
I wish they'd had the concovatoria out earlier...Looks like a fun and pretty run...
Hey I think I know the girl on the right. She looks like a friend I used to work with, IN A BIKINI, on a boat.
For me it comes down to this. You get TOURISTS visiting your island. As infrequent travelers they are unknowledgeable about THE FACT that other CULTURES HAVE CUSTOMS(kids dont learn geography anymore it seems) and behaviors that are and are not acceptable. As American Tourists, they could give a shit about another's customs or respect for them....
All I can say is...you want to see some skin walking around everywhere, the stores, restaurants, go somewhere like Akumal where they herd Italians and other SPEEDO wearing fat guys, AND skinny fat guys and gals too, into a giant corral on the beach perhaps in an attempt to control how far the speedos get.
I see these two in the pic and all I can think is OBLIVIOUS. COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS.
On an island that is JUST a beach resort, beach wear seems to be accepted. The local guys aren't going to complain!
This is a tough call. When Americans are fully dressed their ass cracks show and their tops are very skimpy. So what they hey? Live and let live?????
I'm a big fan of "no shirt, no shoes, no service."
Nice figures or not, cover it up when off the beach. A good rule of thumb should be: would you want to be seen in this place wearing JUST your underwear? If the answer is no, then the same rule applies to swimsuits.
An over-sized T or a pareo would be all it takes to turn this fashion-don't into a fashion-do. (And I'm a late-40's female who used to have that kind of figure but the good sense to cover it up.)
My 19 year old niece puts them to shame in her bikini and she knows to cover up when leaving the pool or beach. She would never walk around like that - be it a tropical island or a beach town.
I can't decide,can you post more pictures?
This reminds me of the short story "A & P" by John Updike...
I agree with you. Tourists should respect local customs and attire. In my humble opinion, If local residents are not prancing through business in bikinis, then the tourists should not either.
I enjoy reading your blog. Cheers from Baton Rouge!
It's the middle to lower income, boorish, mostly poorly educated north american tourists who've rarely been out of their own back yards that are the worst. The ones who delight in all-inclusive packages and cruises that ill-conceived and largely unsustainable resort economies invariably must cater to in order to squeeze a few more seasons of revenue from, that dress and act like the trashy pop-culture they perceive as reality and try to emulate. Most of Yucatan is now reminiscent of pits like Benidorm overrun with tasteless north European louts. LOL, they fancy they're on a quality beach in the south of France. Disgusting.
WOW- IO missed al lthis the other day. Here in Tulum it is a bit different because our town is far far far from the beach. There should at least be somesort of wrap. It si easyto do and simply more respectful.
There are a number of things that I do that people do not like- but I do not shove it in their faces.
It would have been better if they had put a cover up on- that is why they call it that. Again- if the coffee shop is across from the beach- then yeah okay but otherwise... come on.
I have a pretty okay body and I am pretty open and free and I still would out on a wrap.
ummm, have you noticed what the locals wear in town or at the beach? The muffin tops, the sprayed on shorts and jeans for girls, the speedos on middle aged men with paunches? Sure, there are some that go swimming in t-shirts and skirts but that is in the rural areas. The average city slicker from Mexico has about the same taste as the average US or Canadian beach tourist with the huge exception that they are much more likely to sport that too tight speedo. Oh, they aren't as likely to wear black socks with their sandals though. That's the one that makes me want to go up and yell at them.
So, yeah, I think you are being a prude.
Hey, I used to walk around like that when I was young. Just because I don't look like that anymore, it would be easy for me to critize them. I just smile and say to myself, remember when??? There could be much worse offenses in life...
Another fuddy-duddy weighing in. Maybe weighing wasn't the best word to use. It takes less than 30 seconds to wrap something around you before you step off the beach. The worst I ever saw was at the ruins in Coba, at the site of a temple, girls (their language indicated a European country of origin) running around in skimpy bikinis no where near a beach and in a place that is sacred to some.
Mexico is a conservative, modest country. It's rude as hell not to observe the customs of the country you're visiting. On the beach, fine, teeny bikinis, toplessness (which is not a Mexican custom, but one that Mexicans overlook in favor of tolerating the customs of their guests from other countries), whatever. If you step foot off the beach, cover up, at least on the bottom.
I think the girls are cute and look good in their suits, it's not a criticism of their appearances, and I'm sure they would be mortified if they knew how rude they are being, but they ARE being rude.
Post a Comment