Saturday, November 26, 2011

From the Hammock - Final Thoughts and Reflections on Isla

Well we're now home and back to reality and I have a few reflections to share.

Reflection #1

Playing mermaids is not as much fun when you don’t have your little sister to play with. Mr. Granny pants was just not into it. I did, however, love how agile and graceful  I could be in the water and yes…I did pretend to be a mermaid.



Reflection #2
Tourists can be idiots. I don’t know how many times I saw creepy tourist ladies reaching out and touching little local Mayan children, stroking them as though they were some kind of exotic creature. The poor kids were frozen in terror and their parents were too polite and meek to tell the old yellow teethed dragon ladies to back off. 
Reflection #3

There is never, ever a right time to wear a banana hammock…ever. But definitely do not wear a banana hammock if:

  • Your banana is past its expiration date 
  • When looking down you cannot see your banana
  • The elastic in your hammock has lost its elasticity and your banana is in danger of escaping










Reflection #4
Watching a spectacular sunset never gets boring




In a Nutshell:

This has, by far, been one of the most relaxing vacations ever. The majority of the time we had our hotel completely to ourselves. We actually got annoyed when people had the nerve to show up. Luckily they were only there for a day or two and we would then have our private villa to ourselves. I even did something very naughty. 

I swam naked in the pool one night. I haven’t done that in a very long time. I loved how my boobies floated ever so nicely. They haven’t been that perky in a very long time.

Oh...And I could very easily live in a house that exploded out of a crayola box....preferably a hot pink house with lime green walls and a purple ceiling. 




Sunday, November 20, 2011

From the Hammock - DayWhatever

Hola! I know I have been lazy with daily updates but to tell you the truth there really isn’t all that much to say. Island life is very slow and relaxing and we are becoming quite good at it. We have absolutely no urge or desire to do anything other than swim, eat, and play in the ocean. I think it is something we really both needed.

We did attend the cultural festival one night but it certainly wasn’t what we expected. It is funny how Latin cultures can be so very different. In Cuba, the minute music is heard, people are up and dancing…young, old and everything in between. Here, chairs were set up in front of the stage and everyone sat just listening, not even any chair dancing. Eddy Santiago, salsa singer extraordinaire was a no show, having cancelled so a Columbian salsa singer/band took his place. Let’s just say we didn’t stick around after the first song and discreetly slipped away. We did, however, find ourselves at a little bar down the road that had a small band that played amazing techno jazz. This was definitely our grown-up night and we stayed out until 11:30 pm, sipping Havana Club and just enjoying the music. We were definitely the old farts there.
We’ve had our golf cart for a couple of days now and enjoy just toodling around the island. We visited the turtogranja (turtle farm) today and saw lots and lots of turtles. We had our own personal guide, a little toothless man, who took us all around. He kept picking up turtles and sticking them in my hands. He was very sweet and very enthusiastic. There was one pen with these poor turtles who were born with deformed shells so just live there in their little sanctuary pond. We also say baby rays and a baby shark and some seahorses which were kind of cool as I had never seen them before.

Well I am off for a dip in the pool so I leave you with some pictures of our toodling around Isla and the Tortugranja. Adios amigos y familia!

Albino Turtle


Crayon House





Not all homes are pretty in pink
our cab drivers would always make the sign of the cross when driving past this






Tuesday, November 15, 2011

From the Hammock - Day 6

We have now moved rooms and are one step closer to the sea and the pool with a new view. Mostly we have the place to ourselves and feel almost intruded upon when other people show up. A couple came wandering in from the main road, in search of a pirate’s cave they were told was on the rugged beach below us. Who knew?  Yesterday we spent a few hours on the beach then picked up a couple of Cuban sandwiches from a place I had read about called Qubano’s. While waiting for our sandwiches, we chatted with a young couple that had just arrived. Being seasoned Isla-ers after six whole days here we happily shared our  island wisdom. Back at our hotel we dug into our sandwiches and they were everything everyone said they would be –yummy!

We went to bed ridiculously early last night. The intention was just to nap and then get up but I could not drag myself out of my comfortable spot. Of course, I was up at a crazy early time as a result. I will need to force myself to stay awake until at least 9:00 so I am not awake and raring to go at 4:00 am.

During one of our walks around Isla we came upon a cemetery. What a striking contrast it is to our cemeteries back home where the only color you may see is the odd faded bouquet of flowers left by a grey gravestone.  This cemetery, in typical Mexican fashion, was a kaleidoscope of colors. As one friend put it when I showed her a picture, “I want to play there;” that pretty much captured it for me.  The grave markers varied from being small and simple to being over-the-top ornate. All of the graves were above ground and it was very crowded. Making my way around, I was careful where I stepped as I did not want to be disrespectful.  Each of the graves was very personally tended to, many with fresh coats of paint. The graves had gifts left for the deceased, personal items and even the odd bottle of something or other. I’m not quite sure how to describe the feeling you get here but one thing it is not, is sad.  Even though we did not see anyone else when we were there, you just knew that the cemetery was visited often.
November 2nd is Day of the Dead or All Souls Day and on this day burial plots are decorated and special foods are prepared and taken to the departed, along with various alcoholic beverages. This would explain the empty glasses I saw at many of the plots.

I have always balked at the thought of being buried in the ground and having family and friends feel obligated to visit me. The Mexicans have the right idea. Good food and booze in a happy little community is the way to do it.

Monday, November 14, 2011

From the Hammock - Day 5

We didn’t do too much yesterday. It was pretty overcast and there were a couple of downpours so we stuck close to home. Mr. Granny Pants cooked us a delicious Sunday morning breakfast and then the rest of the day was spent reading and lounging and just enjoying our surroundings.

I find myself in rhythm with the island now and a typical day begins with waiting for the sun to rise, coffee, blogging and then breakfast, served on our patio by our lovely hostess. Then we just wait for the day to unfold as it is meant to.  I love having no plans or agenda.  We also have a resident iguana. I have named him Pepe. He used to hide as soon as we came out onto the balcony but he has now realized we mean no harm and even poses for me when I whip out my camera. He is a very handsome and macho iguana and I usually leave him any left over food we may have from breakfast.
 We ventured out about three o’clock and headed down to El Varadero, a small restaurant on the lagoon. It is known for its Cuban food. Mr. Granny Pants had the Chicken Fricassee and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Later we headed over to the Soggy Peso, a place popular with the ex-pats.  We wanted to walk along the road by the lagoon but an encounter with a massive Rottweiler changed our plans. As he stepped out into our path, we stopped and wondered if we should just keep moving forward. A man stepped out from his house and gestured that we should turn around. He made some motion with his hands which I interpreted as “the dog will eat you” so we played it safe and veered back to the main road. The Soggy Peso was packed. This had to be the busiest place in Isla Mujeres; filled with North Americans enjoying the Sunday special of ribs which they had run out of by the time we got there.  We had a couple of margaritas and then headed into town. It was now my turn to eat so we stopped at Rolandi’s, a restaurant I had read about. We sat out on the street and watched the parade of people and I devoured a yummy rib eye steak.  Then it was time to head back to La Joya where we watched an episode of something or other on the netbook and went to sleep. We are usually in bed between 8 and 9 and up around 5. We are not big party animals and really just enjoy getting the most out of the days. We enjoy nothing more than going out for dinner and then coming back to our little hotel to enjoy a couple of drinks on our balcony, with only the sound of the ocean.
Okay. Off to enjoy the day. Here are a few random pictures of this and that.
Our room














The view from our bed

Our Bathroom

El Varadero, Cuban Lagoon Restaurant
High tech security.
Who needs barbwire when you have embedded glass?

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Day 4 Continued....

I love everything about Mexico, the people, the food, the climate but what I love most about Mexico is its explosion of color. Everything is just bursting with vibrant and rich colors. Mexicans love color and I love Mexicans for loving color. How can you not fall in love with a culture that paints their houses hot pink, magenta, turquoise, lime green or all of them combined.

It was an idyllic day yesterday. The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear; just heaven. We have been doing a lot of walking and exploring. Our calves are killing us! We are at the very south end of the island and it is pretty hilly so we are definitely getting a work-out.

We ventured into town yesterday morning and had breakfast on the pier at Bally Hoo’s. Breakfast was delicious and the view made it that much better. After checking out our map we decided to scope out some future restaurants and while we wandered around town I snapped pictures of all the pretty colored houses and shops.

We are becoming more mindful of our budget and yesterday we just made tuna wraps for dinner and hung out at our hotel. We spent a bit of time down by the pool and I really loved it down there. There are two rooms that open up right onto the pool which overlooks the ocean. You feel like you have your own private villa down there. We need to move rooms on Tuesday so we are going to see if we can get moved down there. And now onto the pictures. I am only posting a few pictures at a time as it is a slow and painful process because the internet connection is so slow.  I hope you enjoy Isla Mujeres In Technicolor.


























From the Hammock Day 4

Yesterday we decided to walk along the coastal road to the supermarket. It is amazing how different the sea can be from one side of the island to the other.  Where our sidewas calm and tranquil with lovely shades of blues and greens, the other side was dark, wild and untamed, waves crashing fiercely along the rugged coastline, equally as beautiful.

About three quarters of the way into our walk I decided I had to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later it became a matter of urgency. No worries, right? There was bound to be a little restaurant or something along the way where I could stop….not. By the time we got into town I was in tears. Poor Mr. Granny Pants was running around asking people over and over again…”banio? Donde Este banio?”

We were met with blank stares and hand gestures pointing in various different directions; directions that led everywhere but to a banio. We kept wandering and did find ourselves in some interesting places, including a local market. Normally I love these happen-upon moments but at this point I was in way too much pain to appreciate it.  Mr. Granny Pants was starting to really feeling helpless and decided our best bet was just to go to the supermarket. They were sure to have a banio. We headed over there and found a store clerk and asked, “Donde este banio?” He looked at us blankly and said “banio?”

He then went to another man and said a bunch of things which included the word “banio”. This man was obviously in a position of authority so he contemplated the question for a moment and then rattled off some instructions. The young clerk took off towards the back of the store and I obligingly followed, happy that relief was soon at hand. He headed up some concrete stairs at the back of the store and as I went to follow him I was stopped by a security guard.  I backed down from the stairs and tried to explain that I was going to the banio but he just looked at me blankly. My new best friend, the store clerk had disappeared upstairs so all I could do was stand there and wait.
 At this point all the store employees were staring at me, probably wondering who this crazy gringo lady was and why was she trying to seek entry into the secret upstairs sanctuary of their store.  Finally my clerk friend came back down, exchanged a few words with the security guard and I was given clearance to enter the sanctuary. I must of taken those concrete stairs two at a time and finally….relief.  I didn’t care that the washroom was a holy mess. I didn’t care that it smelled like a sewer.  I was just so happy to be there. When I was finally done I went to flush the toilet and…nothing happened. I lifted the lid and the tank that holds the water was empty. My humiliation was about to get a whole lot worse. I left the bathroom and saw a sink with a bucket and figured out that this must be for flushing purposes. As I went to reach for the bucket my little clerk friend emerged from the shadows and gestured that he will take care of it…yup…my humiliation just became a whole lot worse.  When I came downstairs there was Mr. Granny Pants waiting for me.  He told me that I had caused quite a stir and as I looked around I could see the quizzical expressions on the employees’ faces. I think I brought a little excitement to an otherwise ordinary day.

Now onto the pictures and no, there will be no pictures of banios .
This place was massive
Another huge place
Nice colors
A community amid the opulance

The famous sea shell house



Friday, November 11, 2011

From the Hammock - Day 3 on Isla

Good morning campers! It's an overcast and windy day on Isla today. We have been living a bit of the high life since we've been here but it's now time to tighten the purse strings a bit and get some groceries in so we are going to venture out to the supermarket. I love visiting supermarkets in different countries. It can be a real adventure. La Joya has a really nice kitchen. I think Mr. Granny Pants will enjoy cooking for me there.










Yesterday we headed out down the road to have dinner at a restaurant we had passed the night before. It was closed so we kept on walking.Now keep in mind that when Mr. Granny Pants is hungry he gets extremely cranky so the walking included a lot of grumbling. Finally we came to a small, worn sign - Maria's Tik Nik, with an arrow pointing down a dark gravel road. "Let's go," I said to Mr. Granny Pants. "I'm not going down there," he told me.  With soothing words, I encouraged him to embrace his inner adventurer, telling him "you never know, there could be a real treasure down there." Oh what a treasure it was! We followed a long path into an open-air restaurant. We were the only ones there. A waiter appeared out of nowhere and seated us in front of the infinity pool which was in front of the ocean. The twinking lights of Cancun before us and the sounds of soft jazz surrounding us, Mr. Granny Pants found his Nirvana and when Mr. Granny Pants is happy I am happy. I didn't have my camera with me so you will just have to take my word for it - this place was stunning. They also have a small beach club there and the waiter assured Mr. Granny Pants that jazz music plays during the day as well. Mr. Granny Pants loves jazz.

 Now I am going to leave you with a few more pictures from yesterday. These were taken around town and by the docks where the fishermen come with their daily catch to clean it.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

From the Hammock Day 1 and 2

Hola! Let's go for a walk. As we head out onto road we are going to take a left. Our destination is Playa Luncharo, a beach restaurant for dinner and these are just a few shots along the way.











 
We finally reached our restaurant and this was our view.










Had a bite to eat and it was off to bed. It was a long travel day.










The next morning we were served breakfast on our balcony











We then headed down to the pier and watched the fishermen clean and deal with their daily catch.

Bronze Goddess?

We are now happily nestled in our Hotel in Isla Mujeres. The weather couldn’t be more perfect and there was a full moon last night. Yesterday was a travel day so I will not bore you with airport pictures and stories .There is nothing really to tell. I do, however, have a little tale about my tanning experience so read on. . I will be back later with pictures and stories of our first full day in Isla.

 After hearing and reading about how bad tanning beds were for you I decided to give spray tanning a try. I had asked a friend, who I knew had done it, how she found the experience. "I didn't like it," she told me. I asked her why? She couldn't remember. This should refresh her memory.
How it went in my head and how it actually unfolded were two vastly different experiences.

In My Head:
I would slip into the booth and allow the gentle mist to spray over me and I would emerge a bronze goddess, somewhere between Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

The Reality:
It all began with a 10 minute instruction by Miss Cute-and-Perky, who was probably thinking to herself  "what is this old girl doing here and who does she think she's  kidding." The instruction went something like this - first get naked, next - put on shower cap, next - spread blue stuff all over your body, next -  sit on chair and put barrier cream on heels and soles of your feet, palms of your hands and all your nails. Make sure barrier cream is good and thick. Next press 30 second button and enter booth. Position yourself like a sumai wrestler ready to pounce, press button and get sprayed. When done emerge from booth, wipe barrier cream off hands and use special fuzzy gloves to wipe off tanning spray. Wiping must be done in a  circular motion so as not to streak. You  must be fast so it doesn't dry before you are done wiping. Sounds simple enough, right?

 I already knew this was way too much work and that this would be the first and last time I do this but what the hell, I already paid for it. Before leaving, Miss Cute-and-Perky asked me if everything was clear. Was it my imagination or was she speaking extra slowly?  I told her I was fine and off she sashayed,  leaving me to my own devices.
First I got naked and then sat down in the chair. Oh goodie! The chair was positioned directly in front of a full length mirror. Ugghh. Next I started applying the barrier cream and put it on the soles of my feet nice and thick just like I had been told to do. Crap. I forgot to put the shower cap on and there it is...across the room...on a little table. I sat there for a minute wondering how the hell I was going to get across the room with the barrier cream already on my feet. Ah no worries, there is a dispenser by the shower cap that says barrier cream. Naked fluffy lady in the mirror grinned back at me. I gingerly made my way across the room  and finally was able to place the shower cap  jauntilly on my head.  I then proceed to try and fill the thimble -sized container with more barrier cream. Crap. The dispenser doesn't work. Carefully, I hobbled back over to my chair, trying to salvage what little barrier cream was left on my feet.  And there she was again - naked fluffy lady, now with a spiffy shower cap on her head.  Uggghh.   At this point I just want to get this whole thing over with,  so I empty the thimble-sized container of its barrier cream, spread it where it needs to be spread, press the 30 second button, hop in the booth, position myself in my best sumai wrestler position and pressed the button. Crap. I forgot to close my eyes. Three seconds later and 10 seconds with the fan on and I am done. Out I step and park in front of the mirror and what I see scares the bejeezus out of me! Brown stuff is dripping off of me like rivers of mud. I panic and grab the fuzzy gloves and start madly wiping the stuff off of me. Crap! I forgot to wipe the barrier cream off my hands. Once that's done I frantically start wiping but I can already see streaks of brown drying on my legs. Panic has now set in and I am wiping and rubbing as though my life depended on it. At one point I realized I was completely dry so whatever was there I was stuck with. As I go to put the fuzzy glove down I see my little thimble-sized container of blue stuff, the stuff that is apparently really important for moisterizing your skin and helping the spray tan set nice and even. Crap. I forgot to put on the really important blue stuff. I have now had enough and just want to get the hell out of there. But I can't just leave the blue stuff sitting there untouched. Miss Cute-and- Perky will know I screwed up. I grab some paper towels and wipe the blue stuff out of the thimble-sized container and toss the paper towels. There...the evidence that I am a total spray tanning moron is gone. Now to get out of the salon quickly. Just as I am about to make my escape Miss Cute-and-Perky calls out to me and asks me how it went. I mutter something and she leaves me with some parting advice.

"Whatever you do, don't go swimming in a pool with chlorine or your tan will be immediately gone."

Right then and there I could have jumped over the counter and planted a kiss right on Miss Cute-and-Perky's  pouty little pink glossed lips. Next stop....hotel's, hopefully well chlorinated,  pool!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Dongles and Doohickies

I am now in last minute kerfuffle mode. It didn’t help that when I got home yesterday my neatly packed suitcase was all unraveled. Seems Mr. Granny Pants was in desperate need of Gravol due to self inflicted over indulgence from the night before. So now not only do I need to reorganize my carefully packed suitcase, I now need to shop for Gravol.
Getting ready to go on a trip never used to be this complicated.  Pack your suitcase, make sure you have your travel books and off you go. Not so anymore. I have spent the last three days just getting all my electronics sorted out.  Right now my home PC looks like some kind of science fiction project with all the gadgets extending out of it. There is the digital camera being charged, the ipod being synced, the external hard drive being loaded with stuff and the Netbook and e-reader being charged and updated. In order for all your electronics to work you have to remember the dongles and the thingamabobs that hook into the whatchamacallits.  And whatever you do, don’t forget your Doohickey or else you may as well just leave everything at home.
 You also need to make sure you have all your apps. I remember when all you needed to get by was your little pocketbook translator. Not so anymore. Now you need your apps. You have apps to translate, apps to convert currency, apps to track your flights, apps to tell you what attractions are nearby, etc. etc. etc.  Need to know when it’s time to go to the bathroom? There’s an app for that.
My next few blog entries will be brought to you “From the Hammock” so check back often. Adios!