These photos aren't 25 or 50 years old, but they picture the vintage Isla I fell in love with eight years ago. So much has changed in a short period of time. Our last trip to Isla in May 2008 wasn't one of our favorites. It should have been relatively slow on the island, but we were shocked by the traffic and development. The traffic on the streets has doubled, tripled, quadrupled? Huge concrete structures have appeared, obscuring views and marring the quaintness of the village. And God knows when at least one of them will ever be finished. The municipality tore out the old zocalo and replaced it with a new one -- ugly and poorly designed. And Playa Norte's been ravaged by nature the last few years. Hopefully, the restoration projects will help bring it back to its former glory. Please don't shoot me for saying it, but Isla seems to have suffered the 'perfect storm' in the last few years -- a combination of the ravages of nature and man. Definite growing pains. But it's the age old story. Paradise gets discovered and then overwhelmed by development.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone,
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot . . .
Here's the old arrival skyline. No large ugly frog!
Remember the big angels and the clear background view in the cemetery before it was marred by condo construction?
And I loved the old wooden paned gates.
Playa Norte circa 2004! Look at the expanse of white sand and all the palms. A clean beautiful stretch of sand!
I also loved the old Hotel Garrafon dock. The last time I was there, it was stubbed off at the end of the concrete. Hurricane Wilma was the final straw for that dock.
And the old Fisherman's Cantina was one of my favorite buildings. I was shocked to see it torn down in December 2005, post-Wilma.
8 comments:
I feel so sad when I think about what they've done here, especially the cementary view. But the old Fisherman's cantina has been replaced by a very nice cafe that I think you'll like - Cafe Mogagua. The place fits well into the corner, and is warm and inviting. I haven't been there yet but it is on my list.
I walked by that cafe when we were down last month. Didn't go in, but looked very nice. And the beach seems to be coming back a little at a time. There are many changes I don't like,but we still love travelling there & will continue to for ( hopefully ) years to come!
I'm glad they finally put something on that corner! I'm sure we'll be back to Isla again to see friends, but I sure hate all the new concrete highrises and speeding traffic. Especially the unfinished monoliths that block views! Progress -- grrrrrrrrrrr.
I know what you mean. I am slowly accepting the changes on the island and trying to get over the fact that no one consulted me on what I wanted. I have decided to just try and roll with it. It's hard...I still wish my kids were two years old sometimes, too.
We haven't been to Isla since '04 pix look normal to me LOL but alas I have seen the photos of others esp. Wayne's blog the other day. Crap I haven't even seen the Ixchel Condos and I personally believe that this EVIL structure is the germ that caused the virus that has infested Playa Norta. I know it won't stop us from returning because we've seen a lot of change since the 80's. I remember people discussing moving on to somewhere less busy in the early 90's.
Jeanie, some Islenos actually have a theory that the Ixchel condos changed wind patterns and caused the erosion. Sounds way far-fetched, but before Ixchel residents started the beach restoration, that was actually the most eroded area. It had turned into a half-moon shape. Isla, especially the skyline, looks nothing like those 2004 photos now.
Moonie, I'm sure we'll go back, but we're just not totally enthralled with it anymore. There are so many other places I want to see.
Major bummer!!!
Thanks for sharing those, Beck. I really wish I could have seen Isla way back when. Even the short time I've been going there since September of '06, there have been major changes.
Sad but true blog. You seem to have hit the nail on the head. There have been some good changes made to the square downtown, which I will post next week. Not enough though to make it appealing. I mourn for my island every day.
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