Beautiful sunny day. Walked along the sea wall south enjoying the Caribbean side of the Isla. Walked down to Madeira and had an amazing lunch of spicy shrimp appetizer and beef bowl. Also had a tasty spicy margarita.

Took a lazy walk back which included a couple stops to look for shells and sea glass on the rough side of the island. Had a little backpack along with a beach blanket so lazed a bit enjoying the sea, sun, and surf. Felt good to get an 8 mile walk in today as I’ve really fallen behind in my walking after the Camino ended.

So often when I am here I forget to eat tacos pastor (pork on a spit street tacos that are popular with the locals) so that is what I had for dinner tonight. Tres tacos pastor y horchata por 75 pesos.

Woke up early to watch the sunrise at the eastern most point in Mexico. So I guess you could say that we were the first three people to watch the sunrise this morning in Mexico. There are lots of clouds on the horizon so we didn’t get pictures of the actual sunrise but we did get pictures of the colors reflecting off the clouds. We also some very nice photos of the ocean at Punta Sur and watched someone catch a Barracuda.

We were just getting back to the hotel as my son and his fiancée were leaving for the ferry so we gave them a ride in the golf cart and I stayed to see them off and walk back through town.

The afternoon consisted of a great lunch at Cafe Mango and exploring the east side of the Isla.

Late afternoon was spent relaxing at Playa Norte as the sun was back out today.

Dinner at Muelle7 was a lovely Red Snapper by the water.

Spent most of the day with my son and his fiancé. Was lazy at the beach until noon then packed up and moved to Xbulu ha. One night left for the kids one week left for me.

Had a fun lunch at Tacos Humo and walked around Centro a bit. It was overcast all afternoon but we enjoyed sitting on towels and blankets watching the surf.

We all congregated at the newlyweds condo before dinner and then ate an Angelo’s.

Played a little late night chess with my son’s new onyx board.

Another good day.

December 20th started off windy. Forecasts indicated spotty showers and skies that would clear off by late afternoon. That is exactly what happened but when the final decision had to be made as to whether or not to have the ceremony on the beach the skies looked pretty ominous so the venue was switched to El Patio. It was a beautiful ceremony followed by a great Mexican taco buffet, great music, dancing and drinks.

Well it did not really rain today… But it sure was windy! We made the best of it and went out and had breakfast and walked around and bought a few things. Some of the group went down to swim with dolphins and some got massages and some of us just sat around enjoying the ocean and the company of family and friends. Unfortunately, the sunset cruise And snorkeling event had to be canceled. I was sad about that. My daughter and son-in-law bought us dinner at Rolandi’s instead and we went and listened to the band at El Patio. The same band who is playing at their wedding tomorrow. All in all it was a very good day. I sure am enjoying having so much family around!

Rainy windy day here but no such thing as a bad day at Isla! Was super stressed this morning when my son and his fiancé almost missed their flight but as it turns out I was confused with daylight savings time in Mexico and they were not as late as I feared. Great afternoon eating conch ceviche at Jax and reminiscing about the Isla with my son. So excited that my son’s fiancé loves Isla as much as we do!

We decided to rent a big golf cart today and visit the turtle farm and Punta Sur, the eastern most point in Mexico. We visited the turtles at the little aquarium and hiked around the trails at the end of the island. We had lunch at Punta Sur. Revisited the venue for the upcoming wedding and did a little shell collecting.

Different people are coming every day and quite a few are came today so we hung out at Playa Norte the rest of the afternoon and evening. The rain came in and was an impediment to the ferry travel from Cancun and we had to walk through some puddles to get to dinner and back but it was a good day!

Another lazy day on Isla! Could not be more lucky with the weather. Had some fruit and juice in my room and then walked through town to the bank to exchange cash. I ended up having to go to three banks. The first one I did not have my passport with so waited in line for 30 minutes to discover that and then when I returned with my passport the bank would only allow you to exchange US$250 a month, The second bank did not exchange cash at all, and then the third one, CiBanco, had the best rate (18) and allowed me to exchange as much as I wanted. It was across the street from the ferry pier and a bit to the left.

I noticed the generic Mexican blankets that we used to buy for the beach are quite cheap in a couple of stores 2 for 6 US dollars so I may buy a couple later for next week when I am at a hotel that does not come with beach chairs.

I spent some time wandering through the cemetery before heading back to the condo. The graves are packed so tightly that I always think there’s not room for more but every time I come back there are fresh dates on many graves.

I bought a large bottle of water and headed down to the beach. It was such a delight to watch my son-in-law’s nephews snorkeling and getting buried in the sand and playing in the ocean.

Decided to eat lunch at Chimbo’s . We have eaten lunch at Chimbo’s since the first time that we came here over 20 years ago. My daughter loves their club sandwiches. Clearly they had a new thatched roof but we did not realize until today that they had a whole second floor up there now. They asked us if we wanted to sit upstairs and of course we did. Then they came up and took our picture as their first customers. They said they had started building it a couple of months ago but today was the first time they used it.

Spent the afternoon at the beach and then went back to my condo for a shower and a siesta. Walked down Hidalgo tonight and had some shrimp ceviche. It was a relaxing day!

Woke to another beautiful morning on Isla!

Ate fruit on my balcony for breakfast. Then went for a stroll through town to see what changed and what is still familiar. I got a text from my daughter that everyone was going to Roosters for breakfast. Roosters is an excellent choice for breakfast but I wanted to go to the municipal market (Mercado Municipal) to get some ingredients to make salsa later. I ended up buying six Roma tomatoes, a red onion, several Serrano peppers, a lime, cilantro, and two avocados for about 70 pesos (under 3.50 US). Then I walked back to Roosters to meet everyone. We discussed our various plans for the morning and mine included going to the artisan market. The artisan market sells more or less the same things as the shops on Hidalgo but is often a little bit cheaper and less negotiating. I also like the people that sell things there a lot. It gives me an opportunity to practice my Spanish as their English is certainly better than my Spanish but we both (the venders and I) are still trying to learn the others’ language. I ended up buying two sarongs. One with a peacock design and another with lovely shades of blue. You could argue that I don’t need another sarong but they were two for 380 pesos and sarongs are so versatile that I almost always bring one with me wherever I travel.

Strolled around the island a little bit and took pictures of some murals. Some Mexican tourists were taking pictures of themselves by the Isla Mujeres letters so I asked if they would take one of me as well. Took a couple of pictures of some iguanas that were living across from the mercado municipal.

Spent some time in the ocean and under the umbrellas on the beach. It was just us women today as my future son-in-law took the ferry into Cancun to meet his twin brother, nephews and their grandmother arriving from the states. We all had lunch at the Restaurant associated with our hotel.

Received a card earlier from a woman on the beach about massages. I had only gotten my first massage a few years ago but it was an excellent massage in Malaysia that made me realize the relaxing benefits that I had been missing. The next year I had one in Italy and this last summer I enjoyed one in Spain. Comparing it to the one I had in the states, they are so much cheaper, so it’s become somewhat of a tradition for me now to get a massage when I travel. It was a lovely massage with different lotions for every part of my body and included a facial mask. It was 600 pesos for 70 minutes. I left a 20% tip. Money well spent!

After the massage I went back to my condo and changed for dinner. The knives at the condo are not incredibly sharp, so I made very chunky Guacamole It was actually sort of a combination of pico de gallo and guacamole. Went to the corner market for a bag of chips. There was a welcome bottle of red wine in the condo when I got here so I took that and the salsa to the future bride and groom’s deck where we were all congregating before dinner.

Dinner was at Angelo’s Pizza. A good choice for brick oven baked pizza and a variety of Italian options. I had the Arrabbiata, which was tasty.

After the beach and massage and all the food I was very relaxed and sleepy so called it an early night. It seems like I go to bed quite early on the island and rise early as well. That’s why I’m writing these blogs the morning after each day.

Well, this is not a walk, but I thought if you enjoy traveling vicariously as much as I do you might enjoy a few pictures from Mexico. Traveled to Isla Mujeres. This is the north-eastern most point of Mexico. To travel here from my home involves a two-hour drive to a major airport, a four-and-a-half hour flight, a thirty minute van ride and a twenty minute ferry ride, All of which I have done many times to visit this picturesque little island in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The purpose of this particular trip is to celebrate the wedding of my beautiful daughter. Day one was an excellent collage of sights, sounds, sun and satiation!