Isla files: days 4, 5

Isla files: 1.11
Hooray! Hooray! We got our bikes today! They weigh about 50 pounds apiece and they both have kick-stands! I never thought that I would see Steve riding a bike like this. They are fantastic though and give us unlimited freedom on the island. We promptly rode downtown and got totally thrown on the one way streets. We kekpt going the wrong way but finally got oriented and made our way to Adrian’s internet. It was fun to get on-line and communicate with the outside world.
This island is the perfect temperature: between 80 to 85 during the day and between 75 and 78 at night. A cooling breeze is always blowing from the east side of the island. Our condo faces west so we aren’t in the direct sunlight until later in the afternoon. I imagine that later this spring it will get pretty hot out on our balcony later in the day. Oh well, we will just have to go to the pool or down to the beach when that happens!
Our beach is about 150 meters down a steep drive-way. At first glance you might think this place is abandon. “Indio’s.” I am waiting for Sunday to see if it is a local haunt. Today there were a few people on the beach and in the bar area. The pier is pretty rickety and looks as though it may be made from salvage wood. One of the pilings is just about worn through. Two egret hunt the turtle grass for small creatures and a third egret watchs from a safe distance. He seems to be an outcast or maybe a stray male trying to horn in on the territory. Egrets are incredibly graceful fliers. They look a lot like heron and have long black legs and super long black toenails!
Isla Files 1.12
This morning we were sitting on the balcony having breakfast and spotted a family of about 12 to 14 monkeys crossing the road!! Jose Luis says they aren’t really monkeys but did not know the English word. Macaws maybe. They have super long tails that stick straight up in the air. Apparently they are very savvy about the traffic and never get hit by cars or trucks. Sometimes they come around the condos looking for things to eat. I hope that we get to see them up close and in person. They are shy.
What other pets do we have? Lots of gekkos, iguanas, dogs, and a few cats. The dogs mostly live down on the beach at Indio’s Beach Club. Indio’s took quite a hit during Hurricane Keith and is slowly rebuilding. He has some beach chairs and a rickety doc. That is also where the egrets live, in his lagoon. I think there may be some good snorkeling out in front of his dock. Steve has had a sinus infection so we haven’t really gone swimming, diving, or snorkeling yet.
We rode the bikes into town today thinking that we could get some bar-be-que chicken at an open air grill that we keep going past. I will take a picture of it. This guy cooks about 100 chickens a day, maybe more. It smells terrific when you go past. He was just closing up when we got there. Saturday is a big night here and lots of businesses close early. We looked for the local bakery but it was closed, too. I think I will try making bread. At 78-80 degrees the kitchen will be a perfect place to raise dough. Otherwise it is Bimbo bread for us. Yuck!!
We rode back along the Eastern side of the island and stopped at Casa Las Brisas. They advertise “beer so cold it will make you teeth hurt.” Steve had to put it to the test! He was only able to check the temperature on one bottle though as it was getting dark and we do not have lights on our bikes. We headed home thinking that maybe we could get some chicken or fish at Playa La Lancheras (Fisherman’s Beach). They were closing up as well so it was back to the casa for beans and tortillas.
Isla Files 1.13
Lazy Sunday so we have decided to ride down to Na Balaam and check out the North Beach scene. The ride into town is easy and we don’t even get confused on the one way streets. North Beach is incredible. Where there once was a huge expanse of white sand now there is a small spit with handmade erosion jetties interspersed at the property lines. David at Na Balaam says that the beach had receded all the way up to the property line in November but has slowly returned “poco a poco.” We were saddened to see a new condominium project going in beside the Hotel Secreto. 69 condos really close to the water line, too. You just know they will not survive a hurricane like Keith 2 years ago. At one time we thought that this island was committed to low impact growth but that no longer seems to be the case. I think that the Mexican government pumped a lot of money into the whole Yucatan after Keith but perhaps with the caveat of reduced environmental standards.
The water off North Beach is still an incredible aquamarine and you can now walk out more than 200 yards and not be in water over your head. We spied coronet fish and bone fish in the shallows. About 20 boats, from lanchas to big yachts, were anchored and people were coming ashore to eat at the restaurants on the beach. English is definitely in the minority. Mostly Spanish, Dutch, and French spoken here.
We stopped by the chicken man “Chuc Khan Chen” on our way home hoping to score some chicken for dinner. He was out but we got “castillo.” I am not sure what that is and didn’t eat much of it. Steve said it was delicious. I think it may have been goat or mutton. It didn’t smell or taste like lamb but you never know. One time when I was here years ago I thought I was eating bat. Turns out it was some sort of deer but I always like to check. We got this whole sack of food for 35 pesos: meat, half an onion, some cole slaw (passed), cheese (didn’t eat that either), mole, and salsa.
We continue to look for the bakery. I think it may be closer to town but we will find it tomorrow. I am definitely going to make bread though.
Nellie and Veronica do not open the store on Sunday. I don’t know where they were all day but they just got back and trooped through the patio. “Hola! Hola!” They are always laughing and friendly.