Thursday, October 29, 2009

Playa Norte Webcam

You know how some people on message boards are always clamoring for the installation of a webcam on Isla? Well here I am -- the new webcam. I've been taking my job seriously, trying to make sure I don't miss anything!


Car ferry passing early morning!


Looking west Wednesday morning, the vendors have all the chairs lined up!


Snorkeling boat stuck on Playa Norte Tuesday mid-day. Paco (orange shorts/yellow shirt) and friends try to dislodge it. I particularly liked watching this one because he used to harass me endlessly on Hidalgo. (I hold a grudge -- ha!)


Sunset Tuesday night, Playa Norte.


Sunset Grill, open for business!


All the beach concessions in front of Ixchel ready to go!



Look closely! Actual Tarzan sighting! Cue the Tarzan yell!


Number of daytrippers increasing!


Beach party with couple dancing to mariachis Wednesday evening.


Looking back down Hidalgo at sunset on Wednesday.


Sunset Wednesday evening.


Wednesday shortly after sunset, Craig yelled at me from the balcony to come out and look. He thought there was a fire down in the area behind Nautibeach. Notice the smoke. We suddenly realized they were fumigating on a large scale basis. LOL Probably DDT! We got inside quickly.



Just call me Mrs. Kravitz -- your eye in the sky! : )

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bringing in the Bootie

Aaargh aargh. I got me mate to help do the dirty work on Tuesday morning's walk and bring in the treasures from the sea. Actually, I told him he was my seaglass beee-aaatch, but he didn't think that was very funny after the second time I said it.


We got in about 20 minutes of hunting before the deluge came. We ran to one of those white gazebos on the new malecon and waited out the storm there.


The rain let up and we headed back into town, but not before I noticed someone else's bounty from the sea!

Since we forgot to pack our hip-waders, we decided to walk down Juarez where there are curbs to keep us high and dry.


We soon realized we needed to make another trip to the mercado for our morning juice, so we cut back to Guerrero.


No need to keep using those Emergency C packets with all the fresh squeezed juices on Isla! Ten pesos a bottle!

By the time we got back to the room, the air was fresh and clean and the clouds had parted. So we sat down to breakfast on the balcony once again with fresh papaya, watermelon, bananas, and Bimbo from the mercado.


Soon after breakfast, another squall moved in. We quickly moved inside, and that gave me the time to examine the day's take. I can't believe how much we picked up in such a short period of time. Some really cool pieces of seaglass!


Craig and I both seized the rain delay to use the internet. Soon, the rain passed and we changed into our swimsuits to get some Playa Norte beach time. The water felt great today. A little choppy, but that didn't keep me from taking a few laps in the water. After a few hours on the beach, we decided to head back to the condo to clean up. Then the plan was down Medina to one of the waterfront restaurants for some fresh seafood.

We hadn't eaten at Mocambo since it was just Lancheros. It was nice and cool under the palapa. There's no better way to spend a hot afternoon than under a cool palapa watching the boats and activity down at the docks! I also get some kind of sick enjoyment out of watching daytrippers if they're being obnoxious. The couple next to us had a huge plate of ceviche in addition to each having a large entree plate and multiple drinks. Livin' large! But then the guy almost got himself into a fight with a necklace vendor who was understandably a little aggressive since he's probably desperate to earn some money right now. All it took from me was a polite 'no gracias,' but Mr. Potato Head had to make smart ass remarks to him about the quality of his jewelry, taking it outside the restaurant, etc...



We both ordered the catch of the day -- red snapper. I had mine breaded and Craig chose the garlic. They were both WONDERFUL! And that tartar sauce I swear is the best I've ever had. We both agreed we'd be making a return trip to Mocambo!


After visiting Ricardo at his new Fire Opal location, we headed over to the supermercado to stock up on snacks. A couple of items reminded me that Halloween's approaching quickly!


After loading up and checking out, we found ourselves in a crowd at the front door waiting for the latest squall to let up. I think you'd definitely call this a rain day, but we were able to work in a seaglass hunt, time at the beach, and lunch at the docks in between squalls! No problem! : )

For dinner, we walked back down Hidalgo and settled in at Viva Cuba Libre. Craig ordered the Cuban sandwich and I had the Green Salad. Both were huge and wonderful. I forgot my camera, so no photos, but we'll probably be splitting the other half of the Cuban for breakfast tomorrow. After our nightly stroll down Medina overlooking the water, we were in for the night!


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Monday Monday

The song should go -- Monday Monday, bizarro day. Monday, we saw a few strange things. While sitting on Playa Norte Monday morning, we saw schools of fish flying out of the water. Craig explained they do that to escape predators. Earlier out in the water, he'd sworn he saw a huge fish -- so that must have been the predator! We've seen rays flying in and out of the water off Cabo, but this was a first on Playa Norte for me.

Craig came in off the balcony in the afternoon and said most of the people on the Albatross anchored off Playa Norte were buck-ass naked. Of course, I had to get the binoculars immediately! Sure enough -- buck-ass naked! The crew of the boat were up on the front looking away from the exhibitionists. I guess it was a nude cruise in addition to being a booze cruise! What's that Jimmy Buffet song? Why don't we get drunk and . . . . Later, they attached people to a parachute and were swinging them off the back of the boat. I grabbed the binoculars again, but this time Donnie Dangler had donned his swimsuit!

Later at Bally Hoo for fish and chips, we ended up with great breezy seats for the Cuban/Caribbean concert taking place over by La Tigrena. And the fish and chips were very tasty!

We saw more people on the beach Monday, so I think traffic is picking up a bit! And there were daytrippers on Medina. Good news! Here are some of my favorite Isla watercolors from our Monday.


Entrance to Playa Norte by Ixchel


El Centro at Sunrise


Oleander on Juarez.

Orange and white umbrellas.


Another scene from the mercado mural.

Mercado wall.


Yellow boat.


Isla clothesline.

Chi Chi's sign.


Monday, October 26, 2009

Sunday Afternoon

After breakfast on Sunday, we changed into swimsuits and headed down to the beach. Doogan would have been thrilled because the two women who plopped down right next to us on the loungers proceeded to strip and hang the chi chi's out to dry. If you've got it, flaunt it? But if the girls are saggin', they'll be a draggin'! Their coconuts didn't hang lower than their skirts, but it wasn't all that attractive. Tee hee. Sorry Doogan. No pictures.

We hung out for a couple of hours. I swam a few laps up and down in the water. The water temp is great right now. Not bathtub water by any means, but very refreshing. Around 11:30, we decided to head back to the room, shower, and try the ribs at the Soggy Peso.

We arrived out there a little too early, following instructions I'd read on the message board about the need to arrive around 12:00 p.m. in order to get a table. For anyone interested, after 1:00 p.m. is more accurate. Manuel took our drink orders and we settled in. This really is a cool bar!


Local Fauna







The bouncer.




Believe me, I didn't lift the lid to look in the mirror!!!

Manny let us know shortly after 1:00 p.m. that the ribs were ready and we ordered. We decided to split a full rack. Another group came into the bar about that time. Jim and Carmita along with a couple who looked very familiar but I just couldn't place them. Duh. It was Cancun Tom and Suzy. They invited us to join them and we took them up on their kind offer. Once our ribs arrived, Craig and I swiftly inhaled the plate before I even thought to take a photo. Tom and Suzy were kind enough to let me photograph theirs!


Yummmm!




And is Suzy cute or what!

At one point, Mr. Bo came in. He looks like he's enjoying his new life on Isla, and his old Texas license tag is hanging from the palapa roof! After several hours of good company, we decided to head back to the condo for a little afternoon nap. We were going to take a cab, but decided just to walk back to town in an effort to burn off some of the calories.

I stopped several times along the way to take a few more photos.





The restaurants seem to be getting very creative!

Looks like an old boyfriend?

Reminds me to order lobster one of these nights!


The look back at the walk home!

Sunday seemed pretty busy on the island, but I think a lot of the people were Mexican daytrippers. Lots of boats dropped anchor off Playa Norte. Once evening came, the crowds seemed to have filtered away, back to Cancun on the ferry. Our walk around town on Sunday night reminded me of the first time we visited Isla in 2002 after Easter. Pleasantly slow. Arriving at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening, the traffic on Medina was almost non-existent! Muy tranquilo! I told Craig to enjoy, because the island will be crowded once again soon.