Isla Mujeres 2015 ~~ Day 5 ~ 6

Isla Mujeres 2015

Day 5

Everyone is up to enjoy the sunrise today….

We enjoy the views while eating a quick breakfast…Vince and Jason are off on a snorkeling trip with Captain Tony Garcia this morning.

Shortly after 8 they are on their way to see the fishies.   They are followed by these nice fellows…okay, not really being followed!  At least I hope not!

While they’re gone I do some tidying and maybe just got a bit lazy and just sat and enjoyed the view some more….never get tired of it!

Shortly after 11 the boys are back….had a great time with Tony, as always.   Vince and I head off to Playa Norte and Jason arrives in the usual spot just a little later.

  

It’s another beautiful day….still not super hot, but very comfortable and much warmer than at home, of course!  The boys go for a swim….the water is still very refreshing…ie it takes them a while to get in!

  

We laze away the rest of the afternoon and then guess who’s hungry.  And guess what he wants…”Mom, what time does Olivia open?”  Yup, one more time! Jason must be Olivia’s biggest fan…next to us!  Off they go, arriving back a short time later with still-warm parmesan bread with tzatziki and an order of pastilla…chicken in phyllo. 

I seriously doubt that anyone has had a delicious picnic on the beach like this!!  Jason is definitely in his happy place here!  And with our yummy snack, we get to enjoy a beautiful sunset movie….

Another wonderful day in paradise….

When the sun has disappeared we wander home and then somehow, Jason is hungry again.  Off to Hidalgo where he decides to enjoy some grouper at Asia Caribe again.    I decide to have my favourite once again, California Special Rolls, while Vince has the pecan-encrusted grouper and Jason has the herbed grouper.  While we’re waiting for dinner I’m chatting with Cori of Caribbean Casa on FB.  She says to say hi to Annelise and Peter.  Of course I do that and then we find a fun way for them to say hi back!

Food arrives and it is delicious as always…..with 2 bottles of water, the bill is $495 pesos plus tip.  And it’s our lucky day….we are treated to a complimentary coconut cheesecake dessert….oh my…soooo light and yummy!  We’ll have this again for sure!  Gracias!

We wander home and take a few minutes to see the crowd at the zocalo where Carnival is underway.   Jason and I play a game of backgammon while sipping on kahlúa and ice.  Just around midnight we hear some rumblings out on the street…sure enough, it’s Keith and Elisa!  Our downstairs neighbours for the next 10 days!  Great to see you again amigos!

Day 6

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

My last sunrise from the sofa bed…it’s actually quite comfortable but I am looking forward to settling into the upstairs master suite today.  Sad for Jason to be leaving though, as we’ve enjoyed sharing our Isla with him.

Jason is flying out this afternoon so he needs a hearty breakfast….they head off to M & J Cazuela at 8:30. 

I stay behind and start moving our things into place….stopping to enjoy the view many times of course!

One last time to Playa Norte for Jason…..he finds a chica along the way…

It’s another really gorgeous day…..

This tree shall henceforth be known as ‘Jason’s Tree’!  haha….

Too soon it’s time for Jason to head to the ferry.  He’s enjoyed his time on Isla…a nice break for him.  As I write this he is busy planning a 5-week hiking trek through France and northern Italy.  He definitely has the travel and adventure bug!  Adios Jason!....hasta luego!

Since we’re in centro, we do a bit of shopping and Vince picks out a nice flower bouquet for me….aw, thanks sweetie!

When we arrive back at Caribbean Casa, our amazing house cleaner, Fatima, surprises us with her own homemade flan.  Wow….it is incredible….sooo very good!  That was so nice of her and greatly appreciated!  She does a wonderful job keeping Casita Isladise spotless!

We spend the rest of the afternoon lazing on our balcony, reading, with Maná playing in the background.  Isladise perfection!

We enjoy another wonderful sunset….the sky is on fire!

We had made reservations for Valentine’s Day at Olivia’s for the 2 of us, but when we found out Keith and Elisa would be on Isla then, we asked them to join us.  Just after 8 we walk together and are warmly greeted by all the staff.  Poor them…..they will be so tired of seeing us by the time we leave!  Just kidding….they are all so amazing!  We enjoy another wonderful dinner in the garden….

Keith, goofing around with his sweetheart!...

We share parmesan bread and tzatziki…I can’t get enough of this stuff!  I order my usual, beef kebabs…Vince and Keith have ribs in beer sauce…Elisa has pastilla…

We share a nice bottle of cab sauv and our portion of the bill comes to $670….very reasonable price for a wonderful meal!  Guess what…we’ll be back again many times!

Tummies happily full, we wander to the zocalo where dancing is in full force...

We continue walking home and then finish off our evening with an iced Kahlúa and maple walnut ice cream. 

Around 1am we fall into the super comfy king bed in the master suite.  Ahhh….now we’re in Isladise!

Isla Mujeres 2015 ~~ Day 1

Well, it's taken me a bit of time to get going on the trip reports for our 2015 holiday.  Sometimes life just gets in the way!  Here we go!….

Isla Mujeres 2015 ~~ Day 1

“Isladise, Here We Come!”

3:30am finds us driving to the airport in a fierce downpour.  Scary drive but at least it’s not snow! 

Why is it that we never get any sleep before we leave?  Airport silliness ensues….

Actually, he’s just trying to copy our son Jason, who left a few days ago and is already on Isla….

Vince is hungry and I suggest having breakfast now as we won’t have any more food options until tonight when we arrive.  White Spot brekkies hit the spot….although this will soon be a bad decision….

6am and our Horizon prop begins to taxi….before we even take off Vince is asking for ‘the bag’.  What bag?  I can’t get to the carry on right now.  No, not that bag, but the airplane bag.   Oh brother!  He does this every time!  Sure enough as soon as we’re airborne, he spends most of the flight in the bathroom.  He just can’t handle the bouncy little planes.   He’s still looking gray when we land in Seattle.  We only have 45 minutes to get through immigration, grab luggage, go through customs, drop luggage and go through security.  I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that Vince can make it.  What a way to start a holiday!  3 or 4 trains later we arrive at our gate only to find that it is delayed for about 20 minutes.  Whew…give us some time to rest.   I pick up some water, pepto and altoids…all at a premium airport price!  Vince is finally starting to get some colour back….think we might have to forgo any more prop planes in our future!

Our Alaska Airlines flight takes off at 850am….woohoo….now we’re really on our way!   Plug in the ear buds with Maná and we try to snooze most of the way.

We land in Cancun at 450pm to sunny skies….yippee!!  Love that smell when you exit the airplane….humid air, diesel fuel, a bit of mustiness….love it!   There is absolutely no line-up at immigration and we breeze through there but then have to wait a few minutes for our luggage.  Get the green light and we are out in the sunshine in record time.  The CARM rep is there to greet us and directs us to wait in a certain spot.  We end up waiting for 20 minutes but still make it to the ferry just in time for the 630 ferry and a sunset….

Happy smiles are on for the next 35 days!!!...

Isla Mujeres comes into view…..even if I don’t like the new concrete monstrosity that is the new ferry terminal, the sight of Isla is so amazing!   We quickly haul the suitcases to a taxi and we are off to Caribbean Casa, Casita Isladise….  Caribbean Casa

Up the stairs, we open the door and hear the sounds of a ukulele….Jason, we’re here!!  Jason asked for a ukulele for his birthday, which was just before he came down here and he has been happily strumming away in paradise.  Jason is a Physics professor at Selkirk College so he’s enjoying some relaxation on his reading break.  It will be fun to share some time with him as he hasn’t been back to Isla since 2008.

We quickly change clothes and then head off to our traditional spot for our first night dinner….Rolandi’s.  We start with a salad, some strawberry margaritas for Jason and me, and a Leon for Vince…

Vince and I share a Hawaii pizza and Jason has ricotta pasta…

It’s not very warm tonight but it’s fun to sit on Hidalgo and people watch.  Walking off our dinner, we wander the entire length of Hidalgo and then head for home….we haven’t slept for who knows how many hours now, so maybe we should seek out our pillows.  We’re letting Jason stay upstairs in the master suite and Vince and I crash on the 2 sofas on the main floor.  As I close my eyes around midnight, I realize that I will have a front row seat for sunrise without even getting out of ‘bed’….can’t wait!....