Friday, June 27, 2014

Everyday People


This moto and cart with mom, dad, and baby girl was headed south in the colonias.


The two brothers are still playing for tips.


Passing Guadalupana, we noticed kids running out of their houses down the sidewalk and stopped.  Regalos! What a happy day! People in a cart (looks like it was decorated for the regatta parade?) were handing out toys.


They're young and it was raining.  What scares me is that they're barefoot!  Ick.


Strolling Hidalgo.


This man spent more than a day trimming all the coco palms where we stay.  Machete, rope, and a ladder. Fronds and cocos come down, then the cocos are carried away to sell.  The less desirable are laid out by the street and people on motos pull up, have a friendly conversation, and take one or two.  Late in the afternoon, we returned to the house and he was sleeping under the tree.  Hard work!


These guys deliver water garrafons.  Set the empty blue container out front on the porch with the correct number of pesos and they do the exchange.  Agua purificada.


Cute little girl headed up Juarez with mom.


A musician headed to a gig on the mainland?


Rainy day people.


Let's twist again, like we did last summer!


Ay yi yi!  Bet he gets dizzy riding that bull all day chasing that turtle!


Sunday, June 22, 2014

Sunday Scenes from El Centro



A maletero on Rueda Medina pedaling some poor soul's luggage to the ferry dock.


When we first considered visiting Isla Mujeres, a woman at the gym turned up her nose and said,  Ohhhhh. The backpacker island.  Isla's no longer known as the backpacker island, but backpackers are still welcome!


Peace out policia. 


The corner of Argentine Grill and Hidalgo.


 The former Manana on Guerrero.  They'll be open manana.  Manana may never come.  They're now at Frida's.


The K-Mart Blue Light Special is now located on Guerrero in front of the post office.  The only thing missing is the revolving blue light.


Looking towards the bay from Capitan Tony's house.


Flags over the French Bistro.


Moto swimming upstream.


Sunset on Medina.


Maybe the little truck delivers Coronita's?


Where the street meets the beach.  Ahhhhhhhh.




Friday, June 20, 2014

Red White Black

Isla's not all blue!  I noticed a recurring pattern in some of my photos, so thought I'd share.

I've had a lot of time to mull patterns the last week and a half.  We've had a hard reentry from Paradise.  We contracted the Mary Jane Super Strain at a birthday party a few days after passing through immigration. Most accidents really do happen less than a block from home!


Red, white and black with denim. Black and white stripes are really in this year!  The guy on the left is a friend of a friend known as Tiburon.  He's been a fixture in the Hidalgo shops since we first arrived on the island.


A friend showed me this spot years ago.  He loves to sit here on the stone benches in the late afternoon catching sun on his face and watching the boats.  It's behind the taxi stand on the docks.  Breaking news! They were drilling out the stone benches while we were there.  No more sitting.


Spot's siesta.  (Not to be confused with fiesta.)


I wanted to snap a photo of this car on the narrow cobbled streets in town, but no luck.  I hope he got the top up because it rained a lot!


Armada Day!  This officer was headed to the boats from the Navy base to join the flotilla.  This area of Medina was lined with dignitaries' cars and their drivers/security.


A malatero's trike.


A little Spanish lesson.  Buzon = mailbox!


The national drink of Mexico.  It's common to see workers carrying a 2 liter bottle with their lunch.


All I can say is I'm chicken and don't like pain.


I don't think I've seen this boat before.  Good marketing plan!

Two Z-pak's and 10 days later, we may wrap ourselves in yellow caution tape and leave the quarantined area for dinner tonight!  Maybe tomorrow I can join the flotilla in the pool!


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Confessions of a Clothesline Peeper

In analyzing this weird obsession, I realize now at the age of 60 that this problem must date back to my childhood when the gypsies stole all my mother's bras from the clothesline late one night.  While it sounds dramatic and farfetched, I swear on my coveted wheelbarrow of seaglass in the garage (that's another problem) that the story below is true.  

We had just arrived home from a long summer road trip to Washington D.C. in the mid-1960's and my mother, a teacher, decided to wash clothes at 10:00 p.m.  Her school year started the next morning, so she wanted to unpack all the bags and wash everything that night.  At 10:40 p.m., she discovered the family dryer had shot the craps.  All the family laundry had to be hung on a rarely used clothesline out by the alley. She rousted me out of bed to help her.

Monday morning at 7:00 a.m., the family awoke to a crime scene.  All my mother's size 34 C white bras were missing from the clothesline!  

Why would I blame gypsies?  Every year in August when the county fair was taking place, a gypsy encampment consisting of a fleet of old Cadillacs and a bunch of tents settled in Little Park (named because it was smaller than the big park).  People in the town were warned to lock everything down and watch out for pick pockets.  

My father, wanting to take the embarrassing incident and run with it, immediately went to the local bank at 10 a.m. on his coffee break to file a claim with the insurance company for my mother's missing size 34 C bras.  The news spread like an Arizona wildfire and my mother's peers at the school were whispering and laughing by noon.

So, I've been destined ever since to document clotheslines.  I'm clothesline challenged here in this suburban HOA world, so all hell breaks loose when I'm in the Third World. Formerly, I couldn't pass a clothesline on Isla Mujeres without whipping out my camera.  Now I try to limit that behavior since there are often people behind the open doors and windows who recognize me from the last trip as the gringa turista who snaps photos of  their underwear.  


The first clothesline photo of the May/June 2014 trip was snapped around 11:00 p.m. on May 9 approximately two hours after we arrived on the island.  We stopped off at Rolandi's first for some fried calamari and a pizza. These people probably thought they were safe from the clothesline peeper at 11:00 p.m.  Not so!


These people have their clothes on lock down behind the gate.  Good idea!


  There's a bonus in this array of fabrics!  Is that a little bird in that cage on the wall?


These people are definitely sporty types who like blue and yellow!  Good choice!


Just sleuthing, but maybe we have a masseuse in this neighborhood?  Or does Queso Oxaca Man live on the island?


Line over Hidalgo.


Another upper balcony.  


Not a clothesline, but these roof dogs provide excellent security against rogue gypsies looking to do clothesline grabs on Isla!


Later in the trip, the Dulceria (look back to the first photo) had hung the good stuff!  Love love love clotheslines with embroidery!


Hanging kind of low!  Hope this doesn't signal sagging has invaded the clothesline world.


This little casa on the road to Chimbo's usually has a clothesline every dry day.

The clothesline pickins' were a little slim considering we were on Isla for almost a month, so maybe I'm a recovering clothesline peeper?  Let's hope!




Sunday, June 15, 2014

Good Times at Green Verde!


Green Verde headed my list this trip of new restaurants to try during our month on Isla Mujeres.  It did not disappoint! We loved the food, service, and ambience.

After hopping in a taxi and telling the driver Green Verde, I knew the man had no clue.  He'd never heard of it.  In my bad Spanglish, I directed Medina norte de Kash Keken.  He replied, El Centro?  No, near Construrama. As I tried to point the way from the back of the cab, the passenger in the front seat fortunately got involved.  I could tell he knew the location and started giving instructions in Spanish.  Soon we pulled up in front of Green Verde.


The door was open!  Tipycal Mexican Food!  Note they're open for breakfast and dinner Thursday through Monday.  


The view peaking through the kitchen window from the sidewalk out front.


We soon found a table in the garden at the side of the restaurant.  Green Verde has outdoor seating in addition to indoor tables.  The indoor tables came in handy another night when it was pouring rain!

We were quickly served tostadas with a really good salsa, and offered cups of tequila punch gratis as we perused the menu.  


One of my absolute favorite dishes at Green Verde was the mole enchilada plate.  The sampler includes three different kinds of mole sauced (green, red, and pumpkin) enchiladas.  Yum!  I liked it so much, I ordered it again on the second trip!

Unfortunately, my cellphone photos of other dishes and the interior weren't suitable to post, but all the items we ordered were wonderful.  The steak arrachera burrito and Azteca soup were other faves on our visits!

Put Green Verde on your list!

Green Verde is located south of El Centro on Medina north of Kash Keken.   The directions listed on Trip Advisor are Av. Rueda medina esquina Albatros | Junto a ConstruramaIsla Mujeres 77400Mexico.