Another Solo Journey -- October 2007

When I started looking back through old photos, I was a little shocked to find two solo trips in one year.  How'd I get away with that?  Maybe I justified it as a birthday present since I left the day after in October 2007.  

I always suffered from a bit of buyer's remorse on my solo trips and tried to find economical lodging. All that being said, Craig was usually traveling himself.  (I distinctly remember him being in Orlando, Florida on one of those trips.)  In February 2007, I stayed at Plaza Almendras on Hidalgo and never acquired that state of relaxation that I get from staying on the ocean, so after noticing really low seasonal rates at Luna d'Miel on the airport strip, I booked there.

The rooms were very nice, but in need of maintenance.  That and I was the only person staying in the place.  I spent one sleepless night when I couldn't get the back sliding door to latch properly.  After that nightmare, a friend loaned me a broomstick for backup security in the slider track.  The hot water heater also wasn't working, so cold showers became the norm.  And then there were the bugs!  The place had a front door you could walk a dog under, so when I'd return at night and switch on the light, the room was crawling with creatures. I guess the can of Raid on the kitchen counter should have been a clue!

All that being said, the view out the back door was drop dead gorgeous, and the location was seaglass central.  So I could put up with a bit of rusticity.  In the late afternoons after walking home from the beach, I'd relax in the hammock on the back patio listening to the waves.

Sunsets from the front patio were also gorgeous.  The past few years I've noticed the place has new front doors that touch the floor, so I may check it out for future trips.  It's a great Caribbean front location within walking distance of town.

Playa del Sol became my favorite beach spot that trip.  Around the corner on Playa Norte, the beach continued to erode while Sergio's beach continued to expand.

 

Notice how close Buho's is to the edge of the water in this photo.

By 2007, Ixchel II was completed and towered over the cemetery.

Privilege Aluxes hadn't been built yet, so the sand was a wide vacant expanse between Posada del Mar's beach and the Caribbean Queen.

Rosemarie's original Cool was the place to hang out.  

Loved the paint job on this lavanderia back in 2007!

And I loved this shell of a building and decaying door across from Captain Tony's.

La Esperanza had a yellow motif that year.

Elaborate altars were set up on the zocalo to honor loved one's during Day of the Dead.

Petey was holding court at the French Bistro.  That bird always made me a little nervous when my back was to him.

These t-shirts were very much in vogue.  She wears it well.

I spent a lot of time that trip sitting on Juarez with the gang in front of the Fire Opal.  One day this peddler stopped by selling purses.

I kept a friend's bike at Luna d'Miel and rode round the island a few times snapping photos of the views.

The guys sang One Ton Camaro for us at Rolandi's one night.  The going rate was 50 pesos a song.

After living in the Arizona desert for a full year, I was enthralled with the bright colors of this funky Caribbean island and the fresh salt air.  In fact, I'm still enthralled!  Sometimes I wonder why we're still sitting here in Arizona.

Maybe one of these days!

High Season -- February 2007

2006 was a year of change in our household.  Craig accepted a job in Phoenix in August 2006, so we packed up and moved from Bellevue, Washington, where we'd lived since 1987.  Saby, who moved in shortly after we returned from Isla in May 2006, accompanied us on the long roadtrip to our new life in Arizona.

Despite everything new going on in our lives, my compass still pointed due southeast towards the Yucatan.  On a last minute whim, I found a frequent flier ticket on Continental Airlines in late January and headed to Isla the second week of February.

Pulling into the dock, my eyes focused on changes to the Isla skyline.

The Navy base had been expanded, the ugly frog was dead ahead from the ferry dock, and Ixchel II construction was in high gear.  As a fellow traveler on the ferry put it, that little island may sink  if they add any more new buildings.  (We all know that didn't happen.)

Ixchel II construction looming over the cemetery.

Erosion was also starting to eat away at Playa Norte, especially in the area of Maria del Mar.

It was high season and the island was packed!  Where you ate any given evening was determined by which restaurants had any tables left.  Hidalgo was crammed shoulder to shoulder with high season visitors cruising the street.  Carnaval was also in full swing.

These women from Holbox came over on a Saturday afternoon to dance.  I love the expression on the woman on the right's face.

Most days, I joined the party at Playa del Sol.

Remember the boat planter?

At lunchtime, a friend and I would migrate to Bally Hoo.  It took me a few trips to discover the place.  Who'd think the views and food could be so good behind a gas station!

One morning on my daily walk, I ran into the Navy headed to the zocalo for a ceremony.

This house on Juarez never seems to change.  We saw the owner touching up the paint in November.

The candy store across from the school on Juarez.

Pelicans on a boat in front of Picus.

Puppets lined up waiting to be adopted.

Other days, I'd head to the Posada del Mar beach to visit Chapoy and have lunch.  I was addicted to Pinguino's chicken tacos.  I evidently ordered the dish one too many times because I haven't eaten there in years.

Loncheria Chely across from the market.

One day, a couple of friends talked me into riding along on a golf cart tour of the island.  I later suspected I was recruited as the designated driver since everyone knows I rarely drink alcohol.  I actually think you need a drink to look at this ugly Ixchel at Punta Sur.  I'd never noticed it until this trip. 

It was a beautiful day, as evidenced by the turquoise views out at Garrafon.  That day was a progressive tour with cocktails at the Cuban place on the boat channel, a late lunch at Casa O's, and Happy Hour at the Almar Lounge.  I hadn't driven a golf cart since the teen years, but I took over after El Veradero.  Talk about a learning curve!  The only prescription glasses I had were sunglasses, so after sunset cocktails at the Almar Lounge, we had to decide whether it was better to drive blind or drunk.  Blind won out, so I drove the cart back to town in the dark wearing shades.

Sunset from the Almar Lounge.

Sadly enough, one of the two friends from that fun golf cart day died suddenly a few years later of a sudden massive heart attack.

Another  valuable lesson learned.  Seize the day because we're all just passing through.

28 Sunrises

Actually, I'm only posting one sunrise here, but April 2006 marked four weeks of glorious sunrises from our bed in the upper south studio at Casa Luna Turquesa!

Sometimes things happen for a reason.  After being restructured out of his job, Craig ended up with the time to spend most of the month with me on Isla Mujeres.  The trip I'd planned as a solo turned into a month in paradise for both of us!

I don't remember a single rainy day.   Nothing but sunrises just like this and blue skies!

A friend loaned us two bikes we used to pedal all over the island.  Remember the vendors who set up tables at Playa Lancheros?  Pictured above is the pareo hut.

Craig loved the seafood tacos at Pinguinos then and swore they were the best on the island.  We'd sit on the porch and watch the beach across the street as the car ferry passed.

Someone will have to tell me whether this photo was taken at Picus (my vote) or Mininos, but the brothers were slightly younger and cordial to each other back then.

One evening sitting with a group of friends at the Posada del Mar beach, the cotton candy man came walking down the beach.  This is one of my favorite beach photos from Isla.

Our trip lapped over into May, so the regattas came to the island.  Love this photo of a red, white, and blue sailboat passing my lounger.

Some evenings we met friends at the Playa del Sol palapa bar to watch the sunset.

This little hut's been torn down since, but it stood next to the artisans market across from Poc Na.

Gate to the ocean on Juarez across from the Navy base.

The lifeguard palapa on Playa Norte was still standing, but rarely manned.  And that brings up an interesting question.  Does Isla still have lifeguards?  I know there's a white lifeguard stand just north of the Posada del Mar beach now.

One of Craig's favorite pastimes that trip was fishing from the dock at Playa Indio's.  He'd ride the bike out early in the morning and return before noon.  After grilling a couple of fish at Luna Turquesa for lunch one day, he started leaving his catch with Indio.  And no, he didn't bring the rock home. 

Kayaks for rent at Playa Indio's.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Wilma destroyed his dock, so he wasn't getting much business in 2006.

I loved this little hut.  It sat at the east end of the path behind the houses at Punta Sur.  I'm not sure when the house disappeared, but it's no longer there.

Remember the little mariachis?  Wonder where they are now? 

Loungers on Playa Norte.   I hear people say that Wilma eroded the sand from Playa Norte, but look how wide it is in 2006.   I think the erosion started after that.  This photo was taken somewhere in the area west of Ixchel I.  The second tower hadn't been built yet.

This boat sat alongside the road in front of the old Hotel Garrafon de Castilla for a few years.   Newer construction blocks this view now.

Craig left five days before our month was up to fly back to Seattle for a job interview.  I stuck around for all 28 sunrises.  On the last night, I sat with friends at the Posada del Mar beach for one last sunset.

2006 marked the first time we were able to spend an entire month in paradise.  Sometime in the near future, I'm hoping to extend that to the plural version of month(s)!

17 more sleeps!