Isla Mujeres 2009 ~~ Day 1

It's been quite a while since I've done any updating to my blog.....winter ended, we went to Mexico, my dad is doing well, and spring has finally arrived! Time just flies by like always. For many years, I have posted detailed trip reports on various message boards, about our holidays to Mexico. I will post them here as well, a permanent spot for me to look back and dream a little when the snow starts to fall again........and one of these days, I will post some highlights of the Chicas Only holiday from October '08!

Isla Mujeres 2009



“Pinch Me….am I really here!?!”

Well, I’m a little slower than usual getting this trip report started…..life just gets in the way sometimes! I was tempted to skip a report this year, but decided that after doing these for 10 years, it might be bad luck to stop. So, here goes…not a lot of detail as I did not take any notes at all. Hope you enjoy a little of our fun….


We flew with Alaska Airlines….used our Alaska miles and got our flights for a grand total of $204 for the both of us, Canada to Cancun return…awesome! We did have to stay overnight in Seattle on both legs but we always enjoy our short visits there and get in some shopping too.

Our flights were on time and we landed in Cancun…a bit of a wait at immigration, but that meant that we didn’t have to wait for luggage. Another wait as we have to load our suitcases into the x-ray machine and then….green light…woohoo! Now, we’re really here! Outside in the warmth, the AGI Tours driver is waving a card with our name and after a short wait for him to fetch the van, we are off. ( http://www.agitours.com/ )No wait for the ferry as it is there and we just make it on…whew….sorry that Vince is out of focus…he must have been giggling with glee….

As we disembark on the new dock, I notice that there is no click clack sound of the suitcase wheels…kind of missed that! As soon as we reach Rueda Medina, I take in the sights, sounds and smells….we’re home again. We quickly find a maletero to take all of our bags…hey, we’re here for a month, but I really do have to learn how to pack less! We are staying at Xbulu-Ha
( http://sites.google.com/site/hotelxbuluha/Home ) for our first few days and then moving to our home-away-from-home at Casita William, Villa Makax Townhomes
( http://www.villamakax.com/ocean.htm ). I’ll post photos of our room in a later report…I highly recommend Xbulu-Ha….clean rooms, convenient location and exceptional staff.

Super quick, we toss the travel clothes and get into our comfy Isla attire. Although it’s not really our favourite restaurant, it is our tradition since our first Isla stay in 2003, to have our first meal at Rolandi’s. So, there is no discussion about ‘where shall we eat’, as our feet lead the way to Hidalgo. It’s not overly busy and we find a table right on the street. Vino blanco for me, cerveza for Vince and a Hawaii pizza for two…..ahhhh, we’re here!








The service is, as usual…okay….the food is, as usual…okay…the fact that we are on Isla enjoying it….Priceless! It’s amazing how quickly we can get into the ‘Isla vibe’….there must be something in the air.

Tummies satisfied, we meander down to CoMoNo’s to see if Lee and Chen are there tonight….no luck, so we walk a few feet, feeling the magnetic pull of Miguel’s Pom Pom Margs, as I call them. Deadly but so sweet and yummy!














It’s great to see Miguel again…he puts on his game face, assuring me that he will not be telling Vince all about the fun that the Isla Bomba girls had here in October. Thank you Miguel! Whew! Not that we did anything that we shouldn’t have, right chicas?! We didn’t do anything like this did we?

















That’s why they’re two for one! No sooner do we get settled slurping away, when we see Kathryn and Bruce ( http://www.kathrynstravel.com/ ). And after another drink, or maybe 2, who comes along, but dear Cuzin Frank! He’s pulling his suitcase, having just arrived, and on his way to Los Arcos. Awww, c’mon back and join us Frank. Sure enough, in just a few short minutes, he is back…guess he just couldn’t pass up on some fun! And what fun we had!















It was a great way to start off our holiday! Back to our room much later, where we quickly fall asleep, dreaming of more fun to come….

What have we been up to?.....

Well, it's been a little while since my last post...sometimes life just gets in the way of doing fun stuff!

What we've been up to...

...suffering through what seems like a long, snowy winter...

...enjoying the cold instead of fighting it...skating in the sunshine at Silver Star  www.skisilverstar.com

...realizing that we do live in a beautiful and scenic part of Canada...that's valley fog that we got above when we were at Silver Star

....celebrating our middle son Jason's 20th birthday..

...and of course, a lot of our time is spent hoping that my dad will make a full recovery from his esophageal cancer surgery.  It was only 2 months ago, but it seems like 2 years ago....a long and bumpy road.  Dad had his esophagus stretched for the second time this past Thursday.  He was unable to eat or drink any fluid by mouth.  He is still on his tube feeding but has now lost a total of 20 pounds.  Luckily, his mental clarity is much improved.  Today, he can eat soft foods and liquids...I am almost envious of his diet of ice cream and pudding!  He is having his esophagus stretched again this Thursday in hopes that it won't be back to the size of a pen refill again.  The 'connection' site does not have very good blood flow so the tissue is not healing well and staying stretched.  They will continue to do these stretches in hopes that he won't have to have a surgical procedure to correct it.  We just don't want Dad to have general anesthesia again if we can help it.  There's the concern of mental deteriorations that comes with that but also the chance of more heart attacks.  So, we'll keep hoping that the stretches will help so he can have some freedom from the tube feeding and enjoy eating a more normal diet and gaining back some weight.  Here's a great photo of him from Jason's birthday on Jan.27....

...and in between all of that, we continue to plan for our holiday to Mexico.  We are scheduled to leave in just 11 more days!  Yikes!  Haven't even begun to pack so it will be a last minute dash to get ready....all depending on how stable my Dad is.  For his sake and my mom's, I hope he is doing much better after this next procedure.  They deserve a holiday too!

So, that's our life in a nutshell lately.....thank you to all of our good friends who continue to be so kind and supportive for the past few months...we so appreciate it!

Let's hope the sun keeps shining on this road of life that we are on!...

Speaking of shoveling......Snow, Snow, Go Away!

This winter seems to be going on forever and it's only January!  December was filled with record-breaking low temps....-28C, and now we are having snow, snow and more snow.  I can't remember a winter like this in quite a few years.  Sure wish it was white sand that we were looking at instead of white snow, even if it is pretty and pristine.  

A view from our home...

A few days ago our son Jason went snowshoeing on some nearby hills....

His view....

One good thing about all this snow...it means the water reservoirs will be full and we can water the lawn this summer.  But, I'd still rather not be shoveling!  Oh yeah, that's what hubbies and kids are for!  Get back at it boys!

How many more sleeps until Isla Mujeres????

Canadian Junior Hockey Team Wins GOLD Again!!!

Every Canadian eats, drinks and sleeps Hockey at this time of year.  Once the snow shoveling is done, there's nothing better than curling up by the fire and watching a great hockey game.  As kids, we all grew up skating on the local ponds and lakes.  I did figure skating for a few years and Vince was a hockey player in his waaaay younger days!  :)   As teens growing up in a relatively small town, the exciting thing to do on the weekend was to head to our local arena and support our first rate hockey team.  Those were the days when Ken Holland was a player with the 'Vernon Vikings'.  Little did we know then that he would grow up to be the GM of the Detroit Red Wings!

So, it's been an exciting few days while we watched our junior team inch closer to the medal round.  These young players play with such energy and for the most part, it's all about the sport and not about hitting the other guy.  On Saturday, we were on the edge of our seats as Canada and Russia battled it out with Canada winning in a shoot out.  Tonight was exciting too, but not quite as stressful as we beat Sweden with a resounding score of 5-1.  That gives Canada the gold medal for the 5th Year in a Row!!!   

Way to go Canada!  Congratulations!!!

Ok, back to shoveling snow......