A Tale from the Hammock

Or should I say -- one more thing a man can do to exasperate his wife! Let me just start by saying we are loving our stay at Villa La Joya on Isla Mujeres. The view from the room is beautiful and peaceful looking over the turquoise blue water of the bay back toward the night lights of Cancun. And the lapping of the waves on the shore is a wonderful sound to lull you into an afternoon nap in the hammock. And that's just what I did this afternoon.

We'd returned from a lengthy trip to town where we'd hunted seaglass, stopped for an oatmeal cookie at the Island Bakery, rented a golfcart, and then lunched at the Mango Cafe on the way home. Since I'm still a little punk, I decided to take a nap in the hammock while Craig took one of the kayaks out for a spin. I was just about asleep when

this a-hole (pardon my French) came speeding past fairly close to shore. I realized I'd just seen Craig in that location in the kayak, so I grabbed the camera to get a snapshot in case the boat had hit him. After taking the photo, I jumped up and grabbed the binoculars from the table to locate Craig. There he was in the water hanging onto the side of the kayak waving his arms and paddle frantically at me. OMG! What do I do? It's not like I have a number for the Mexican Navy! I took off on a dead run, out the front door of the room and down the series of steep stairs that lead to the pool and the beach below. I tripped on the lower set of stairs, ripping all the polish from two of my carefully pedicured toes. Ouch ouch ouch, but I regained my balance and was on down the last set of stairs to the beach. Craig, still hanging onto the side of the kayak, waved again.

Wading out into the water over the rocks up to my knees, I wondered how the hell I was going to get him in. I'm a fairly good swimmer, but the water's not all that warm and he's a big guy. I yelled, "Are you hurt? Do you need help?" And he, of course, replied, "I'm fine. I was just waving at you!" He'd been using the kayak as a buoy while he snorkeled out in the water, and the speeding boat had not knocked him out of the kayak.

I won't tell you what I yelled back at him, but what the heck?!!! I would think wildly waving your hands while hanging onto the side of a kayak would strike most people as a universal distress call?

After spitting out a few more kind words, I limped back up the flights of stairs, trying to ignore the questioning stares of the two couples on their balconies who had witnessed the strange woman barreling down the stairs to the beach. By the time Craig got back to the room, I was trying to glob some polish onto my broken toenails.

It's all water under the bridge, but this incident is being added to my list of stupid men tricks! Meanwhile, here are a few snapshots inside the walls of Villa La Joya.

I've been sitting on the balcony wondering if my yacht has arrived. The other thought that comes to mind is whether there's someone with a large telescope watching me from that large boat! Craig thinks the windows don't look quite right for a yacht, but it's dropped anchor out there and hasn't moved since we arrived.

A tiny beach and the kayaks (known to some people as snorkeling buoys) are accessible by stairs leading down from the hotel.

The hotel has lots of Mexican pottery decorating the nooks and crannies.

And beautiful bouganvillea decorating the grounds.

More gorgeous tropical vegetation.

A tile mural down by the pool.

My favorite mix of Mexican colors -- yellow and blue.

Craig launching his kayak yesterday. If he pulls that silly trick on me again, I might launch that paddle upside his head. Just kidding!

View of the neighboring docks.


Sunset view from the deck.