The Best Part of Waking Up . . . .

I used to hunt seaglass every morning on Isla Mujeres.  Since I have a wheelbarrow full of it in my garage at home, I've switched to snapping photos on my morning walks.  I love capturing the island as it wakes up each day.

The morning Coca-Cola delivery to OXXO on Hidalgo.

 

The fruit and vegetable lady setting up for her morning sales.

This man's carrying at least twenty-one dozen eggs.  That's what I call a tricky delivery!

 

Navy guys returning from their morning run.

 

 

A double tasker strumming the guitar on his morning walk.

 

 

Dad with Mini-Me on his shoulders taking a morning stroll down Hidalgo.

 

 

Large group headed to Playa Norte on a Sunday morning.

 

 

Getting ready for the day in the lobby at Poc Na.

 

 

The orange juice man starting his day.

 

 

The pan man with a full load to sell.

 

 

Vendors sweeping water off Hidalgo after a morning shower.

 

 

 

 

The Sunday Lost and Found

I keep getting 5 a.m. text messages on my phone from Yahoo with on demand passwords that I'm not requesting.  Like many people, I have a long abandoned Yahoo email that I created years ago and someone's evidently trying to hack it.  Early this morning when the text alarm once again woke me up, a mental flashcard with Flickr on it raced across my brain.

I wonder what happened to those Flickr online albums?  I think that's why I created the Yahoo account.  Would I still be able to access my old photos?

Why yes.  Here's a blast from the past from the Isla Mujeres lost and found.

This lavanderia is still there.  Can you guess where?

 

This house has been repainted and many people pass it on their way to Playa Norte.

 

 

This casa on Juarez had a brand new paint job.

 

I'm not sure if this shop is still there.  I'll check on my next trip to Isla Mujeres!

 

A tienda in the market.

 

Look how empty the docks were!  I think these pics were taken in November 2009.  The port was closed for days with a small craft warning, and then this happened.

That's the boil from Hurricane Ida -- another 5 a.m. wakeup alarm!

 

 

Holbox Sunset Show

I'm not sure why, but Holbox sunsets seem even more spectacular than Isla Mujeres sunsets.  I wonder if it's because the sunset view is over the Gulf as opposed to land?  Or maybe it's the novelty of a new locale!  Whatever the reason, this was our favorite time of day on Holbox.

Rustic Holbox Charm

 

Need a hammock?  I think these people sell them!

 

 

Love this shuttered window with the palapa roof.  Notice the faded Coca-Cola advertising!

 

 

This is Cafe Colibri (colibri = hummingbird) on the corner of the downtown square.  We ate there one night (good!) and I snapped the photo below from my table.  Talk about charm!

Love the local fruteria's exterior paint job.  It's another one of the old wooden buildings that make Holbox so charming!

 What can I say?  The Coco Moto has had a hard day!  Love the palapa roof!

More Favoritos

I'll post just a few more of Holbox's murals before I move on.  The sprinkling you've seen here have to be a fraction of the many on the island. You'll find them everywhere, even on structures washing away with the tide and a local bar's banos.

I just happened to look behind some buildings and see this one.  There's nothing like a Frida!

And I love mermaids!

 

Love how these fish are swimming behind the window shutters.

 

A rabbit gone fishing?

 

The eyes of a child.

 

Since the area is known for flamingos, they're featured in many murals throughout town.

A decorated foundation at tide's edge.

 

 

And yes, a mural on a bano!

 

 

More Holbox Paint

I bet you thought I was teasing when I said Hasta manana yesterday!  I've decided to surprise you and use the literal translation of that phrase.   It's Sunday (tomorrow) and I'm already back!

I wanted to walk every sand street on Holbox to find every mural.  That just wasn't possible since the weather turned steaming hot while we were there, but I'm not exaggerating when I say you can't go a block without noticing another mural.  Here are Sunday's pics!

On our cab ride to Chiquila from Cancun, our driver kept asking us if we'd noticed the all seeing eye in any Mayan murals or even signs along the road.  I'm glad he mentioned it because I found a quick example in a Holbox mural shortly after we arrived.  Soon after, we passed another eye, this one crying.

Look carefully.  Do you see the sunset in the eye?  Lots of symbolism in this mural!

Don't you love these roosters on this old wooden mechanic's shop?  One of the many things we loved about Holbox was the preservation of so many old wooden frame palapa or tin-roofed buildings.  Some modern structures have been built, but you'll see a lot of the older traditional dwellings in the village area.

 

The seagulls are all lined up on this wall!  This reminds me of something else we loved about Holbox -- the wildlife, including raccoons.

 

 

We were surprised to hear there were lots of raccoons on Holbox.  We realized a few days after we arrived that they loved the hotel pool in the wee hours.  One night we awoke to what sounded like a cat fight.  I stepped out on the balcony and there they were -- a family of raccoons lolling around in  the shallow end of the pool.

I think I'll go loll around in a pool now!   

 

Hasta luego!

 

 

The Saturday Threesome

My life has changed a bit in the last few years and I've almost abandoned the blog.  Since I still take lots of photos when we travel with no place to display them, I'll try posting a few photos at a time here.  That should not be too taxing!

We recently returned from another trip to our favorite island, Isla Mujeres.  We wanted to mix it up a bit since we've spent so much time in one place, so we traveled to Holbox for a few days.  The island was a photographer's dream!

While I love the murals that were painted on Isla Mujeres several years ago, artists have left few walls on Holbox untouched.  Love love love all the murals on that island!  Here are three examples for my Saturday pics!

Hasta manana!

Why Not?

Since returning from our last trip, we've been getting lots of questions from neighbors about our travel habits. Why would you want to go anywhere and stay a month?  Why do you like to travel so much?  Why do you even have a home? 

What I'd really like to say in response is why not?  Travel is all about seeing and experiencing new cultures, new people, new things. 

As my aunt always said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Huichols in the village of Yelapa, Mexico.

 

Fire dancers in Bucerias, Mexico.

A vendor in San Pedro, Belize carrying her wares on top her head.

Beach vendor on Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres.

A woman selling fruit in West Bay, Roatan.

 

School girls and a local delivering beer on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

 

A young woman walking down the street in her 'hair/fur skirt' in El Centro, Isla Mujeres.  A friend told me this is the typical dress in Chamula, Mexico, another place I hope to visit someday!

One of the girls from Chiapas who sell Guatemalan woven goods on the beach on Isla Mujeres.

 

A little boy who marched as El Presidente in the Dia de la Revolucion parade on Isla Mujeres.

 

A Rastafarian with his kids on Caye Caulker, Belize.

One of the bullfighters of small stature (they refer to them as midget bullfighters) waiting to perform on Isla Mujeres. 

Mariachis leading a December procession through El Centro on Isla Mujeres.

 

 

Crazy woman on top El Castillo at Chichen Itza.

 

Recently on Roatan, we boarded a boat for the short ride to West End late one afternoon.  It wasn't a licensed water taxi -- just a guy returning from West Bay who wanted to make a little money on his way home.  While I was looking at several inches of water in the bottom of the boat wondering if we needed to start bailing, Big John struck up a conversation.

 

He wanted to know where we were from.  After giving him a short 411 on us, I asked him if he was from Roatan.  He said generations of his family had always lived on Roatan, and he had never left the island except for one short day trip to Utila, the next Bay Island over.  I'll admit that blew me away since Roatan is only 30 miles offshore from mainland Honduras and many people go there to shop.   He owns boats and runs fishing and snorkeling tours out of West End.  He said his sister wanted him to come to Boston and live there, but he had no desire to leave his home and life in the Caribbean.  And really, why would he want to trade the life he knows and loves to work multiple jobs and shovel snow in Boston!  We talked about the beauty of Roatan and how lucky he is to live there.

 

We ran into Big John several times, and he introduced us to his wife and happy little boy who loved to run down the dock and greet us with the latest version of hand slaps.

 

And that is why we love to travel and stay for more than a day!