Isla Files 1.20 and 1.21

Isla Files 1.20
The wind changed directions last night and now we have a gale blowing from the south. Where last week the curtains billowed into the bedroom now they are sucked flat agains the screen. Steve is posted on the balcony with the binoculars. He reports huge waves hitting Cancun. The port is closed and the only boats are the 2 ferries that provide access to the island. We will stay in today and read. We could watch TV but the only programs we are able to find are Spanish soap operas. I suppose that if I watched them for long enough I would eventually be fluent in the dramatic language of lost love!
Speaking of fluency, Steve and I forgot to bring our Spanish/English dictionaries. I was able to pick one up at Manana Café yesterday. Here is the problem: the dictionary was last edited in 1977 and the type face is about a 4. We can’t even read it using the magnifying glass! Also, the price for the new copy of this in 1977 was $3.95 and I paid 80 pesos or about $8.00 yesterday! It serves me right. I should have at least opened it before I bought it. Up til now the only dictionaries at Manana were English/German, German/Spanish, and Japanese/Spanish. We are going to Cancun later this week and we will locate a bookstore with a more modern version. Maybe I can even get one with Reader’s Digests size print!!
We are beginning to make friends with the vendors at the Mercado. Yesterday one of the women that we frequently trade with gave us 3 free tangerines and Steve’s favorite vendor sold him some chayote and told him how to prepare it with onions and potatoes. He also talked us into buying some fresh tangerine juice. We must have looked hot and tired but the juice was incredibly delicious!
I am making a bath mat out of 2 utility towels. Our linens are few and our bathroom floor is marble which gets slippery when wet. The yarn shop was closed yesterday but I think I will just use regular thread. Maybe if I make another one for our “guest” bathroom I will get more fancy!
I am thinking that we should ride our bikes into the gringo bar at the north end of town and catch a little of the Patriots--Chargers game today. I need to scope out a good spot to watch the Super Bowl in 2 weeks.
The afternoon has continued rainy and windy, too windy to ride our bikes to town. Steve and I read, play on our computers, make Jell-o, and take naps. Typical Sunday activities. By about 4:00 I am ready to go adventuring. We haven’t really been out of the house all day so I suggest a walk up to the Casa del Suenos Spa to check on prices for pedicures and massages. I am looking out for fun activities for when friends come to visit. We start up the road but are immediately are side tracked by a “se vende” sign for the hummingbird hide-away. We take the path to the left and are immediately on the other side of the island. I don’t know where the hide-away is but it must be almost as small as a hummingbird’s nest. The island is less than a half mile wide here so we just start up the road on the other side of the island, headed south.
The wind is howling!! Great big rollers are coming in off the Caribbean. The water is an incredible green color with massive grey clouds dipping down to the surface across the sea. Definitely no possibility of spotting Cuba today.
We take a path to the left as we reach the south end of the island “Punta Sur.” This takes us to a limestone cliff jutting out over the ocean. We are about 100 feet above the breaking waves. As they crash against the jagged rocks below, great globs of foam are wafted sometimes more than 100 feet into the air. The wind at this point is so strong that I have to lean into it to remain upright. The power of the weather is fantastic!!
We make our way back to the casa along the west side of the island. We are amazed to see people dressed in hats and jackets. It is about 75 degrees but the wind-chill makes it about 65. This is the coolest it has been since we have arrived. I have on my only long sleeve shirt but we are both in shorts. We have had to give up on our hats as they are constantly being snatched from our heads. Our outing has left us breathless but energized.
When we get back to the casa Steve starts fiddling with the TV. Voila! Presto!! Que Milagros! We have the Pacadero/Giganto game live from Green Bay! Of course it is in Spanish. We are shocked by the horrible temperature and feel pretty lucky to watching the game from 3,000 miles south! The Spanish announcers are fantastic. “Incompleto!” I have learned some new football lingo.
Isla Files: 1.21
Still raining but less windy this morning. The clouds are like partially drying stucco obscuring Cancun, the sky, even the channel. After our Monday morning run around the south end we decide to head for Cancun. We need to stock up on some things we haven’t been able to find on Isla. We have a great cab ride into town and tell our driver that it is OK to pick up extra people. We end up taking an older woman into one of the neighborhoods that line the harbor. We have not been here before. There is so much tucked away on this island.
Our experience today takes us to La Plaza de las Americas on the north edge of Cancun. It is amazing how much NAFTA has leveled the playing field as far as shopping is concerned. Adidas, Nike, New Balance, iPod are everywhere, just like in Boise. In Chidruai, the major grocery store, you can buy everything from tires to tequila. We get a bathmat, some glasses, a drainer, and some placemats then sit on a bench outside the store to do a little people watching. It is a great way to spend an hour or 2!
It has only taken us a few hours to complete our errands so we decide to take in a movie. There is an 8 screen Cineopolis in this mall. Some of the movies are in Spanish and many are in English with Spanish subtitles. We choose “Soy Leyende” (I am Legend) starring Will Smith and are entertained for a couple of hours. The movies cost 38 pesos (about $3.50) if you go before 5. They have great caramel corn. We split a mediamo for 31 pesos and call it lunch.
We are astonished by the huge puddles in the street when we drive back to Puerto Juarez and again on Isla when we get off the ferry. It easily must have rained a couple of inches while we were inside. A good day for the movies!