Picture perfect day on Isla...

Today was GORGEOUS!  Low humidity and scorching hot, the water on Playa Norte was so lovely, very calm, like blue glass.  We went to the beach early and stayed a couple of hours...

 Maria, the pepita lady, who knows how long she has been selling her delicious nuts on the beach, but she is a sweetheart, I love it when she says, "caliente, limon?" I always say yes and she sprinkles the pumpkin seeds...so good!

We walked back to town to stopped at Tres Minares for a drink to see Tracey, the owner and Dobie her little dog...love that dog, she played in my handbag for about an hour....

It seems I must have one! Almost talked Graham into it when we get home....tee hee.. we left and went to Superexpress in the square and bought some fruit and other stuff...had to have my mangos, I ate two immediately!  Came back to the house and went up on the roof for a swing in the hammock and an afternoon siesta.  Later we walked into town and stopped a couple of places then ended up at Taquiera Medina for they're Al Pastor Pork tacos con queso of course...dinner for two $6!  Gotta watch the pesos now...came back home and watched a couple of Law and Orders I had downloaded before we left.  Finished the evening with a long sit on the balcony in the soft breeze and listened to the see...slept like a baby.

Great day!

Well we met with Joe Mendez and the builder Pablo along with Domingo, architecto from the Municipality here.  We cannot renovate this property too many foundation issues.  We had a discussion with Joe who owns Pearl Realty.  We are going to go forward with a new build! Very exciting...

We are going to build a two story structure with rooftop palapa.  Obviously many many details to come, permits, planning, taxes and demolishing of the existing structure.   Sketchy details at the moment but basically we will have kitchen/living/dining on the first floor with outside terrace and small infinity pool.

Second floor will be all master bedroom with large balcony and bathroom.  This all subject to change, in the coming months we will be going over plans and fine tuning details of house fixtures and fittings.

This is a huge undertaking for us and a giant leap of faith but we are ready...I think :-)


Yesterday went to Rooster Cafe for breakfast...so good...had the steak benedicto...absolutely wonderful!

Only a few days left here on Isla then we head off to Merida for three weeks and Chelem for two weeks on the beach, Gulf of Mexico....we come back to Isla on April 3 where we hope to close on the house and begin tearing down the current structure....stay tuned...loads more to come!

Our Casa!

Well we signed the ernest money today and spoke to our broker about some details.  They have recommended two builders, one of which we will meet tomorrow.  Our original thought was to tear it down, but we are rethinking that one.  We love the floor plan in the house and are hoping it can be remodeled.  Of course if the foundation is bad then it will be a tear down.  We can't help but think about all the families that have lived in this little house.

It is basically three rooms and a bathroom.  You walk in and it appears to be the living room right when you open the door. Then there is a step down to a larger room which we think was the dining room.  Turn to your left and in this little alcove is the kitchen.  Very small, there is a sink and a flat space on the concrete counters that I am sure had a small propane cooktop.  We actually turned on the faucet and water came out!  We totally did not expect that, this place hasn't been occupied in years and years. The next room is the bedroom which is another step down. I love a quirky houses! Then there is the VIEW!!!!! Omg, its really spectacular.  There are only two little windows in the bedroom.  Can you imagine?

This house has personality! Its got good energy and is very cozy.  Graham says the whole house is not more than 700 square feet.  Perfect!  We will be quite happy with that.  We are also going to put a palapa on the rooftop and maybe some cement furniture and of course hammocks!

We love it! Even in its crumbled state...

Oh I forgot last night as we were walking into town we have to pass by our house and we stopped and were talking about the facade and what we would do to the front of the house and this lovely little mexican man came from the house next door, then his wife, then daugher and baby.  They were chattering away most of which we could not understand and he was saying "se vende" and we were like "si, mi casa" and he started smiling and spoke to his wife and she came over and said who know's what...hahaha...but they understood we were going to be his neighbors and was smiling and shook our hand and gesturing to his house to let us know he lived next door...so nice and we were laughing, Graham was gesturing and speaking his spanglish, he is so good with people they always love him immediately, same as when we travel anywhere.  It was a really good moment, made us very happy!

We walked into town and went to to the new aussie bar Tres Minieras? Spelling is wrong I am sure.  The owner is Tracy, really nice gal.  We have been hanging out there recently.  She was super excited for us when we told her we bought a house, same as everybody we meet here.  This is the place where we met the two baby chiuaua's, she has the female.  There was a lady there that was holding the female, don't know it's name.  She stood up to go to an outside table and fell smack on the cement with the dog in hand!  Omg! That poor dog, it got partially smashed by this women, she was ok but the dog was screaming in pain like it broke its leg or something but turned out ok.

We left there and walked around seeing what we fancied eating.  Graham was not that hungry so he grabbed a taco from the guys in front of the super express in the square.  I picked up a Rueben from the NY deli and we sat in the square and ate our food and watched the little kiddies play in the fountain...love love love it here...so peaceful. Ok that's it for now...

WE GOT IT!!!!!!!

Well we just heard...we own our piece of paradise on Isla Mujeres!!! Now the real work begins! We go sign papers tomorrow, speak to builder, attorney, etc.  I have some pics of the lot and the structure on the lot which will be coming down soon I hope.  Never thought we could own a piece of property right on the caribbean!!!!!! Here are some pics of our lot and view.

Our view out the windows of our ruin....

and the larger picture of what we will look at day after day after day...

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Malecon walkway to our house...

Gorgeous day and HOT!

Spent the day at Playa Norte today...so beautiful!  Nothing too strenuous..lots of walking, man what a workout walking on the sand....hahahaha..the water was divine.

Just can't get over the color of this water...we spent a few hours then walked to our favorite loncheria and had the Enchilada Suiza's...wowo...they were fantastic!

Had an appt with Julie the realtor to look at a house in the colonia's.  It was lovely but small and overpriced.  We have another one we are hoping to offer on very soon, there is already another buyer that has made an offer so hope there is no bidding war.  They went home already and hope they forgot al about it!  This place is in town on the water and needs to be demolished and a new house constructed.  It is a tiny lot but the VIEW! Too Die For!  We would build just a one story to begin with...ohhhhh its soooooo exciting, can't really believe this is possible! Its quite the roller coaster.  Hubby has gone into town to pick up my new bracelet...can't wait to see it.  Got it from Ricardo at Fire Opal in the town.  Hubby bought me a ring there last year and wanted something to match it. I will post a pic of it later.  Fat Tuesday celebration at La Luna tonite...may head into to town later, much later....

For now I sit here dreaming of our little casa to be....hopefully...already thinking about what to name it!

Loving every minute!

We had a lazy day here at home yesterday...oh and by the way, the lovely house/property we found is no longer available!! Wahhhh....oh well, what's meant to be is meant to be!  We will find something here on the island or somewhere!

We met friends for dinner last night at Olivia's.  So good and so inexpensive.  This place is a local favorite, great food, great ambiance, garden setting and wonderful service!  Graham had the Moussaka as per usual.  It was divine!  We have spent alot and I mean alot of time in Greece and this was truly the best!

 I had the Shashlik, grilled chicken thighs on a skewer with hummus and some sort of cilantro cream...really really good.

I did take pics of our friends meals but they were too blurry..still haven't got this camera down yet.  I took pics of the dancers on the streets and they were the same...damn thing! Here are a few though, great cross dresser singing and dancing on Hidalgo last night. I think I like Carnival better than New Years here which is hard to beat.  All the Mexican families out with their kids all dressed up in there costumes, big trucks going by with beautiful girls dancing and loud really good music.  They just stop the truck and they all hop off and just start dancing randomly where ever and you are definately encouraged to join in.  We were at Jack's having a drink before dinner and Graham went across the road and started doing his moves...which included straddling a palm tree and the girls loved every minute.  I walked over and one of them immediately pulled me into the dancing..what a blast!

Oh and we have to try one of these Tamali's on the grill on Playa Sol...

Our friends Becky and Bob from Seattle arrived on Isla and joined us for dinner at Olivia's with Janis and Grant from BC.

Carnival!!!!

Wonderful day yesterday, there was dancing in the streets and a great reggae band on Playa Sol.  We hung out for a couple of hours listening to them...it was such a beautiful day...we are so loving and living every minutes, we feel very lucky to have so much time here in Mexico!!!  Here's some random pics..

and my most favorite pic of all...this just screams Mexico...love the half mannequin on the floor and of course the doggie...

and a short video....

Love in a bucket!

OMG! I tried this ice cream last year bought it from Super Express in the square on Isla.  So when we went to Chedraui I was on a mission this year to get more...this is no gourmet ice cream, not even gelato..its cheapo Nestle Ice Cream but I tell you what its like frozen chocolate mousse in a bowl.  It is also scoopable right out of the freezer...unbelievable!  Oh and its like $1.50 a bucket....This is a quick post...gotta get more...

Breaky at our casa...

Property Hunt

Well yesterday we were out for about two hours looking at houses and land here in Isla.  We discovered that we do really want to buy a house here.  We have always wanted to but it seemed that might not be possible as it is more expensive here and were going to concentrate on Merida and the Gulf Coast.

BUT, it seems it might be possible.  We saw 5 homes yesterday, and two we will go back to see the inside of as owners were not available to show.  We saw one that we fell in love with immediately.  I will not post pics of this property until it seems possible we can actually purchase this, don't want to jinx it!

Needless to say, we both went WOW!  Graham are lucky in the way that we are very much in sync on what we like, it was the same with our house in Seattle.  I remember when we were walking up the stairs in our house to see the second floor and we both turned around and looked each other and said silently to each other "this is the ONE"!  Same thing here...if its meant to be its meant to be! Great believer in that...

After our search our real estate lady dropped us off in town and we had a lovely lunch and Picus and we both sat there silently for a moment, we were both thinking the same thing...could it really happen? Could we possibly own something here so beautiful? Its like a dream.  Of course we are already designing the inside, what we want and where.  You know when that happens that its the one.

Apparently this property which has the most magnificent view of the caribbean has been vacant for a couple of years.  It does have a two story shell on the property at this time. The possibilites are endless as far as the design inside which is very exciting in itself.

We got back to our Casa at 3pm had a sleep then at 5pm we left with Grant and Janis, the couple that are renting the other apartment next door to us to Chedraui, the big new grocery store here on Isla.  Omg, what fun! We shopped and shopped and then hauled all of our bags on to the tiny golf cart and away we went.  It was a very warm night and a blast whipping down the road in the dark to bring back our goodies.

We sat outside with our new friends until midnite chatting and laughing and having a great time.  They are super people and we are so lucky to meet them.

Here is a pic of the sunrise this morning....beautiful!  We are so lucky here, sunsets on one balcony and sunrise on the other.  We love this place!

Stuff!

We had breakfast/lunch again at Alexis & Giovannys at the mercado...omg so frickin' good!

Graham had Huevos...again! I had the breaded fish fillet, it was sooooooo good...total cost with cervesa and watermelon juice $11!!!!

Some pics in the square for you Leslie...I will do loads more....this lady had a basket of what looked like fried tortas and many many toppings..20 pesos...they were gone in minutes! Oh I had the breaded fish fillets in honor of Albert aka El Huffo...tee hee...

Casa Flamboyan Isla Mujeres Mexico

Finally a decent wifi connection....well after two days at the Francis Arlene Hotel in downtown Isla Mujeres we are in our lovely villa for the next 17 days!  This place is wonderful, really really nice owners downstairs, Harriet and Dick. Gorgeous views, fantastic roof deck, balcony overlooking the caribbean and front balcony with water views and sunset watching.  There are so many places to go! We have ordered pizza delivery tonite, fancy a cozy night in listening to the sounds of the sea!

Graham got a bad sunburn the first day here, on the roof top.  It was slightly overcast and very windy, he is crispy!  We had a wonderful meal last night at Freddys.  Graham had the fillet of grouper with garlic and it was fantastic.  I had the baked chicken mushroom and cheese fajitas.  We love Fredy's.  He is such a character, great sense of humor and and his wife as well.

Our fist night here we tried Lola Valentina's.  Lola used to be partners in the Mango Cafe in Salinas.  We have eaten there and the food was wonderful, unfortunately the meal at Lola's was just ok, kinda bland...oh well plenty of other yummy places on Isla.  I have been totally remiss on the food pics! I have so occupied with getting it down my gullet as fast as possible that have twice now remembered to take the pics after the plate is clean..my bad.  We had breakfast twice at Alexi and Givonnys place at the local mercado.  Family run, cheap as chips and really really good. First morning ham and cheese quesadilla's and today cheese omelete with that lovely gooey mexican cheese which I need to find the name of.

Graham has had huevos rancheros both days and can I say the EGGS!  They are orange yolks, like they should be and so tasty!  I had to laugh at my nephews when they said they don't like the eggs in mexico because they are a funny color.  I said "what do you  mean", they said the yolks were too orange, I was like "THATS THE WAY THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE"!!! Not those bland, pale yellow imitation of an egg like we get in Seattle.

We went to Playa Norte today to wait for our Casa to be ready and went straight to Chi Chi Charlies and looked for Tomas, our favorite bartender and they said he didn't work there anymore.  We walked down the beach and asked at the next bar and they said "the next bar" so two more down we found him and he gave us a big hug! He has lost tons of weight and I asked him how and he said "too much "cuchi cuchi".  Hahaha...he sat with us for awhile, then we left to walk back to town.

Went to Picus on the waterfront and had a couple of drinks, they have wonderful food here and they are sooooo nice.  We love sitting here and just watching the fisherman and the boats.

Adios Seattle!

Next stop Isla Mujeres!

Three days to go!

We are getting close to take off!  I have been off work since the 26th of January and you would think I would be all prepared, but NO! So of course I have waited until the last days before we leave to clean and pack and pay bills I can't pay on line...or not...ha!

I did get my haircut yesterday..woohoo...told him to hack it off, last time I got a haircut in Mexico, it looked they put a bowl on my head and cut...not this time.  Mind you it was only $5! Going for pedi-mani today as well..I always look forward to this because it means we are leaving!!!!!

I went to Target yesterday and managed to spend $300, only got a couple of tops for myself and a very cute pair of sandals that I love.  Mostly got stuff for hubby and supplies for the house.

Ok now going to post photo of sandals...only the ladies appreciate pics of shoes!  Ok gotta clean the laundry room now...later....

Oh almost forgot, steak tacos last night!

My beautiful mom...

Today we had a celebration of life for my beautiful mom who passed away the day before Thanksgiving. She was an amazing mom, full of life, loved music, sang like an angel and was the most unselfish person I have ever known.  A truly amazing woman and I am so proud she was my mom.  We had a ceremony at Washelli Funeral home to put my mom's and my dad's ashes in their niche.  It was rather surreal.  I looked at those brass boxes and they said born 1933 died 2011 on both of them...I just couldn't believe it.

Mom,
The day you died I kissed your face four times
After you died I held you close to me
I knew it would be the last time I held you for the rest of my life
You were so sick, in so much pain
That is no life
I know you were afraid to die
I hope you have found comfort
Do you remember how I held your hand and lay my head on your shoulder
Even at that moment I couldn't imagine life without you
People talk about broken hearts in songs or movies
Until that moment I had never known a true broken heart
Over and over I thought "How can I live without you?"
I watched you live, I watch you die
Everyday I look up at the sky
I know you are waiting for me
I miss you
Lesliexxxxx

Isla Mujeres - FOOD!

Hi, thought I would share some of the fabulous food that we have experienced on Isla...it is varied, inexpensive and one of the main reasons we frequent this wonderful island..enjoy!