Sunset is usually a gathering time in the tropics. When we've stayed on Kauai, people gather in groups at the beach waiting for the sun to go down.
In the Poipu area, people line the sidewalks and lawn at the Beachhouse Restaurant to take in the above view.
On the North Shore, there's a party atmosphere on Hanalei Bay. Local families congregate at Hanalei Beach Park to picnic, play music, and watch the sunset. Little kids take turns jumping from the pier. Some evenings, a Hawaiian man appears and sounds a large conch shell as the sun descends into the water.
Some nights when we were too tired to drive into Hanalei, we'd get lucky from our location on the northeastern side of the island. I took this picture of sunset reflected in the clouds from the deck of our studio on Moloa'a Bay.
Sunset on Isla Mujeres is also a time to get a drink and watch the show. When I was there in December 2005, sunset was early, so I would take a stroll down Medina to admire the view.
I thought I'd give everyone a little mood music to go with the tortilla soup, but I'm afraid Luis Miguel is a little more exciting than the soup.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
I've had a chicken tortilla soup recipe that I've used for years, but recently I decided it needed to be modified. We were tired of the same old soup. My favorite Mexican joint in this area, Casa Blanca, has a chicken tortilla soup to die for. I didn't think I'd succeed in talking them out of their secret recipe, so I decided to take my recipe and modify it to be more like theirs. I tried it last week and we both loved it, so I thought I'd post the recipe. It's easy and quick.
1 chopped onion 2 minced garlic cloves 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast 1/4 to 1/2 c. dry white wine 1 1/2 t. ground cumin (to taste) 1 t. Worcestershire sauce 3 14 oz. cans chicken broth 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (any Mexican variety with added peppers) 1 can tomato soup 3 sliced carrots 2 potatoes cut into chunks 2 stalks celery sliced 1 zucchini, squash, or anything similar chopped Crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips Chopped avocado chunks Shredded cheese (three cheese Mexican blend)
Saute onion and garlic in Dutch oven that's been sprayed with olive oil. Add cans of soup, tomatoes, wine, cumin, and Worcestershire to pot. Once the soup base comes to a boil, add the chopped vegetables and shredded chicken. Allow soup to simmer about an hour. Ladle soup into bowls, topping with tortilla chips, cheese, and avocado chunks. (I sometimes pop the soup into the microwave to melt the cheese, then add chips and avocado!)
When we first moved into our house two years ago, one of the most annoying morning sounds was the blaring horns from catering trucks. The slang down here for the trucks is Roach Coach (because of questionable sanitation), and one in particular has a horn that blows "La Cucaracha." When I first heard THAT horn, I thought it was pretty comical.
I first heard the cockroach song in Miss Spangler's high school Spanish class and thought it was just a song about a household pest. And frankly, if Miss Spangler knew it was about anything more, she didn't convey that fact to us. Bless her heart, but she was a lousy Spanish teacher. I remember a Spanish Club meeting where we all brought food (we were culturally challenged there, so the meal probably consisted of a 'Spanish' casserole with 'Spanish' jello and 'Spanish' chocolate chip cookies?) and listened to "La Cucaracha" over and over on a record player.
When we were in Cabo, one of the waiters at Pancho's took me on a tour of all the restaurant's murals and gave me an explanation of the cockroach on the wall (I was amused by a restaurant with a cockroach mural)! According to him, the women that followed Pancho Villa's army (soldaderas who cooked and provided other services) were called 'cucarachas'. And one version of the song does made reference to them. Other explanations are that cucaracha refers to Pancho Villa himself or even his car. A lot of versions came out of that period during the Mexican Revolution.
So I had no idea that "La Cucaracha" was so complex and did some internet research! The song is a corrido, a traditional Spanish folksong. Like Yankee Doodle, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (The Burning of the School), On Top of Old Smoky, and many other folk songs, the verses have been constantly changed over the years to suit new situations and new generation's purposes. AND, one of the most popular versions actually is about marijuana -- MOTA! Now I'm wondering if we were listening to the Cheech and Chong version in Miss Spangler's Spanish II class! HA!
La cucaracha, la cucaracha Ya no puede caminar Porque no tiene, porque le falta Marihuana que fumar.
English translation:
The cockroach, the cockroach Can't walk anymore Because it doesn't have, because it's lacking Marijuana to smoke
And now I'm also wondering if that catering van that blows "La Cucaracha" up and down the street everyday might be selling more than energy drinks, chips, and tortas! I found this on YouTube. I think these boys must have produced this for their Spanish Club project! And I'm betting THEY get to eat tacos at their meetings! Really, after watching the entire video, who KNOWS what they're eating (smoking, drinking) at their meetings!
Our last full day turned out to be much more relaxing. We woke up early to take a walk. The people next to us wanted to find a way to get to Solmar Beach, so we walked through the marina area and on up the hill. The only way we could find down to the beach was through a gated all-inclusive resort, so we walked up to the gate. I greeted the guard with 'buenas dias' and the gates opened. The beach down below was definitely worth crashing the gate.
Cabo San Lucas Marina
Solmar Beach
We walked all the way to the rocks at Land's End that separate Solmar Beach from Lover's Beach.
On the way back down the beach, a security guard from one of the all-inclusive's started following us. We were ready to leave, so decided to head back up the way we came. The only problem was -- we couldn't figure out which complex we cut through to get there!
Full-speed ahead! All of the complexes had to exit to the street. Inside the resort, the security guard continued to follow us. We made one wrong dead-end turn after another. The other couple was worried that we'd been busted! (Goosey travelers!) Finally, I just turned and asked the guard which way out. He laughed and pointed the way. Crisis averted. But as we cut through the lobby, the female timeshare shark latched on. When did we check in, what was our name, and what was our room number? We ignored her and continued on, but she was in hot pursuit. I finally gave her my name (Mrs. Smith) and told her we were hungry and just wanted to go down to the marina for breakfast. We'd talk to her when we got back! By this time, we were out the front door and she was still chasing us. We walked on and left through the front gate. The American female shark reminded me of the aggressive timeshare concierge who manned the lobby the only time we stayed in Cancun. (And I fell for the official act then.)
Later that day, we headed for Medano Beach. Most of the group had plans for a kayak trip to Lover's Beach. I decided to hang back because of my motion sickness. The kayak trip once again turned into a competition. No one bothered to stop and look at Lover's Beach. They just made a U-turn in the water and raced back. I think these people definitely need a lesson in stopping to smell the roses! Craig was in a one-man kayak, so he was naturally faster than the others with two people. But this time, he wisely hung back and let the owners glide in first.
After a quick lunch, everyone piled into the Marieta for a water taxi ride back to the marina.
After a quick cold shower (brrrrrrrrrrrr) at the hotel, it was time to head back to the marina for a sunset sail on the Pez Gato II. This was another challenge for me since I have problems with motion sickness and they were headed into the Pacific to do some whale-watching. I bought some of those cheap acupressure wristbands at Walgreen's, and miraculously, they worked perfectly. A few others on the boat were nauseous for most of the cruise, but I was good. As we headed out of the marina, we got into some boat traffic -- the Banana Boat and a cruise ship.
The sailboat headed out to Lover's Beach where we paused for pictures, then on around the arches that mark the entrance to the Cabo harbor. We wound through the large monoliths to see some of the local fauna.
Once we rounded the curve to the other side of the rocks, we headed out into the open Pacific and cruised for a half hour or so. As sunset neared, we noticed a lot of boats headed in our direction. A pirate ship, dinghy, small pangas, etc....
And then the main attraction made an appearance!
We hovered in the vicinity of this and another breaching humpback for about a half hour, then headed back towards Cabo for our evening dinner.
The sailboat booze cruise was a very nice ending for the trip. I'd seen orcas up close from shore in the Northwest, but had never seen humpbacks. And truthfully, I never thought I'd be able to take a boat ride like that without getting sick. Once again, there was no choice, so I had to go. And I discovered I could do it. So one more 'can't' marked off my list. I think the number one thing I learned in Cabo San Lucas is that sometimes you just have to 'buck up'. I'd never choose in advance to sleep on the world's hardest bed, take ice cold showers, hang from a cable over a 400 foot canyon, or risk getting sick on a boat in front of a bunch of people, but there was no choice. And it all worked out! What doesn't kill you probably DOES make you stronger!
April/May 2006 was our hands down absolute favorite trip to Isla Mujeres. My husband was footloose for awhile, so we flew off to the island and spent an entire month in an upstairs studio at Casa Luna Turquesa overlooking the blue Caribe. Every morning was a new sunrise! One day melted into the next, entertaining ourselves with repeated evening trips to the balllpark for tacos, days spent lounging at the pool or fishing off the dock at Indio's, afternoon naps listening to the sound of the crashing waves, and morning bike rides memorizing all the sights from Punta Sur to Playa Norte. The month flew by, and I hope we can have that experience many more times in the future.
After switching computers last year, I couldn't locate my pictures from that 2006 trip. So I felt like I'd won the lottery this weekend when I found my backup picture C.D.'s from my old computer! Here are some of my favorites from that month on Isla.
Airport Strip Sunset, Isla Mujeres
Sunset over Bally Hoo, Isla Mujeres 
The sailboat headed out to Lover's Beach where we paused for pictures, then on around the arches that mark the entrance to the Cabo harbor. We wound through the large monoliths to see some of the local fauna.
