I am always so excited to be on Isla again, that on my first full day I wake up before the sun.  I love this time of day- the birds are singing their little hearts out and Islanders meander to the ferry or to their place of work.  

These were all taken before the sun came up-to the east

 

The car ferry goes by

To the north

ta da….sunrise on Isla

D likes to put on a pot a coffee and then head out to buy fresh tortas (buns) from the Supermercado and provisions for the day.  While he’s away I write, read and get my daily suduko fix in (gotta keep the brain young-dontcha know).  Upon his return, we drank up the coffee pot on our balcony and counted the blessings which had been strung together so that we could enjoy another piece of time on the island.  

Above the palms

These guys blow crazy little whistles, ensuring that we don’t sleep the morning away

We have a very interesting vantage from our balcony-looking down upon the palms and being next door to the Naval Base makes for lots of interesting goings on.  From our perch we can also hear the “paper man” shouting out “La Pressa”.  D picks up his USA Today from the docks in the early morning and ensures that he has booked time in the hammock to read up before our day begins.

Once the rest of the gang is up and about, we have a quick breakfast of yoghurt and trail mix and get organized for the beach.

 We were very sad when Sergio’s closed and were really wondering what the beach would hold for us.  We headed to the Caribbean Queen which was just to the south of Sergio’s and arrived before the day-trippers.  We were immediately greeted by a young and friendly waiter by the name of Hasiel.  He helped us get settled under a palapa and we pretty much stayed put for the rest of the day.  This beach club has the same guidelines as the others and there was no charge for chairs if we ordered our drinks from them.  

No worries, because buckets of iced cold beer on Playa Sol is one of the many pleasures of spending vacation time on Isla.

 

Do you think the Newbie looks content?

How about now?

What about Daughter #1?

How about D?

We enjoyed a picnic lunch of manchego cheese, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and lime mayo on those fresh tortas.  By 3:30 or so we figure that we should take it easy on our first day in the sun, so we head back to the hotel for happy hour. On route the guys stop at the taco table set up on the zocolo.  We share these accompanied by drinks around the pool.

We strategically chose a dinner location so that the guys can get caught up on the NFL footballs games and scores.  We recognized Sancochos from previous visits and were delighted to be plunked in front of their big screen while we perused their huge menu.  We all ended up ordering soups to start:

Azteca

Chicken & Lime

Chicken Vegetable

Then Daughter #1 and I shared a seafood marinara pasta.

Our Newbie had this chicken dish.

The Son tucked into this kebab.

And D enjoyed his fresh fish with herbs and flowers.

Their 2 for one beverages were much appreciated too.  By our calculation they served the cheapest beer on Hidalgo.  The place appears to be run by a Mom and her daughters.  The service was expert and we knew that we would return.

We meandered Hidalgo and then headed home to our books and reflections on the day.  

Kath’s quote: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
Groucho Marx

 

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