A pretty uneventful sunrise.

My Valentines lilies were monsters by this time.

I dropped in to visit my friends at Dulzara Argentinian Bakery to thank them for their beautiful cakes we bought for the Twins’ birthday and order an additional cake for another birthday that was coming up.

As I came down the stairway from the bakery, I saw and was fascinated by this sign outside the barber shop. For 1. the pic kinda looked like John Travolta in Grease, for 2. I think my Bro K had just gotten his hair cut in this style and for 3. I realized that by switching the top portion of the board to additional hair styles, you could show your barber how you wanted it cut without being misunderstood. So it was a perfect place for gringos to get their hair cut as desired, with no language barriers. Ingenious!

My palm was waiting for me on Centro Beach again.

So I joined K & L for a visit. But, Carnival had commenced and soon a speaker system had been rolled in , thumping out impossibly loud noises that reverberated off of our diaphragms.

With permission, I took this lovely pic of some tiny dancers. I loved them all but especially the sassiness of the one with her two front teeth missing.

I got to see them in action as I packed up my beach stuff and headed to the apartment. I couldn’t concentrate on my book or hear my family talk to me so it didn’t make any sense to me to stay put.

I had always enjoyed Carnival time in Cuba and when I first started go to Isla but as I grew older I just got grumpy about the noise and traffic. Truth.

After a break from the music, D and I enjoyed a fantastic early dinner at Sardinia Smile. If you missed reading about it in an earlier post, click the link above.

One of my favourite pictures of the holiday.

We met at a favourite spot for our family-the pier at the corner of Centro and North Beach.

We have watched many sunsets there as a family. We were celebrating another birthday-that of our NIL (Nephew in Law) D from Australia, pictured here with his wife and my niece and Goddaughter (they were married on the island). They travel back and forth between Australia, California and Lester Beach. Wandering nomads indeed. We love them dearly.

Speaking of family…our Mexican Family (who we also love dearly) wanted to host us for a visit and a snack. See that enormous bowl? That is Hortencia’s idea of a snack.

Kath’s quote: “Don’t forget: Beautiful sunsets need cloudy skies…”-Paul Coelho

Love never fails.

The morning of Day 8 had a twist. After sunrise I got organized to meet D for breakfast at Green Verde. Click here for all the delicious details.

When D and I met up, I read him a listing that I had found on FB Marketplace about a fabulous rental opportunity on North Beach. Before I was finished reading the unbelievable details of the unit, he said “Book it”. I was so happy about his enthusiasm because it seemed too good to be true. You probably already know the outcome. We spent the rest of the morning, visiting the property and researching the fellow that had posted the listing. Everything rolled along until he asked us to transfer the payment in full to his private bank account. We had been scammed! The good news was that we had proceeded cautiously and hadn’t given the imposter a single penny. The only thing we had to endure was him berating us that we would not trust his integrity claiming that we could ask anyone of the island to vouch for him. When we did ask friends who were in the know-not surprisingly, no one had ever heard of this guy. Lesson learned.

That evening we joined Sister #2 and her family for dinner at their rental. Sister #2 is famous for gathering us together for dinner. She often does so at our lake where they live full time. She also has on other locations on Isla. One year when they stayed at Mar y Sol, we pulled a table up to the bed and that was where half of us sat for supper!

So this is us. Back row: SIL L, Bro K, BIL M, my D, me. Front row D and D from Australia, Sister #2 and Sister #3.

Day 9 another solo sunrise. You get the drill…

My Valentine flowers opened beautifully. This one was about as big as my head!

Another stunning day on Centro Beach.

That evening we were back on our favourite corner for an outstanding dinner at Jax. If you haven’t already read about it, click here.

Day 9. Yada, yada, yada…

Sister #2 had driven to Centro in a golf cart. I hailed her down on Medina as she was looking for a place for a quick breakfast. She chose Ruben’s because there was reasonable parking for her golf cart in the vicinity. I hadn’t been since I lost my dear friend Ruben during the pandemic. If you had met him, I am sure that you would agree that the world was diminished by his passing.

By the time we convened at Hortencia’s, we met up with Sister #3 and SIL L. Hortencia’s is an honorary sister of the Kapilik brood. We ordered many beautiful things from her and then took advantage of the golf cart by heading up island (or is it down?) to the Woman’s Beading Co-op. We had given Sister #2 pesos for her birthday and they were burning a whole in her pocket.

Once we were deposited back home, Sister #2 asked us if we wanted a lift to Garden of Frida where we had planned on lunch. Have you tried their tasty fare?

Previous to dinner that evening, we wanted to take Australians D and D out for Happy Hour as it was the former’s birthday. We met them at Fish & Gin before their dinner reservation at Olivia’s.

We caught the tale end of sunset and wandered home for an evening on our own.

Kath’s quote: “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life”. -Lisa Weed

Love never fails.

Day 5 was Superbowl Sunday! D didn’t play tennis so we enjoyed a sleep in and missed the sunrise. This was the first of many enjoyable Sunday mornings at Jax for church with Ken Wanovich.

Shortly after this photo was taken, it clouded over and rained again so we stayed put at the apartment. The hammock that we brought from home for the beach worked great in the apartment, so we took turns napping and reading in it.

When it cleared up and we went out for a stroll, we came upon Marea, the restaurant at the former Poc Na now Sirena Hostel/Hotel. We enjoyed the game there and loved the food! Check out the full story in the Marea link above.

The morning of Day 6, I was back to my solo sunrise and yet the solitude provided space for me to count my blessings and all the things I am grateful for in my life.

It was another gorgeous day on Centro Beach with family and friends.

On the way home we passed the fruit carts on Medina that make these beautiful creations out of mango and other local fruits. There are many artistic craftspeople on the island.

That evening was another fabulous dinner out at Grill Garden. Click here for the yummy details.

Sometimes I have a hard time decided which sunrise pic that I like best. As was the case the morning of Day 7 which was Valentine’s Day.

D and I were grateful to spend the day as VIPs at the Amazon Beach Club. Did I mention food art? Check out these creations.

We had so many leftover fixings from our previous meals out, that D made Sister #3 and I a beautiful dinner of surf and turf with shrimp. The white lilies (my favourite flower) were from D too. I hope he knows how much I cherish him.

We decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream for Valentine’s dessert and strolled up Hidalgo. While we waited for our choices to get scooped into cones, we enjoyed the merriment of others celebrating along the street.

All these special occasions were made even better because we were on the island with our family and our Isla family and friends.

Kath’s quote: “The only thing we never get enough of is love, and the only thing we never give enough of is love.” -Author unknown

Love never fails.

Another beautiful sunrise on an equally beautiful day-the day my twin brother and sister were born 65 years prior.

Have you ever been on Centro Beach when the car ferry went by? It seems that it travels dangerously close to the shore where people frolick in the water.

This was the view from the hammock that day-swaying palms and impossibly blue sky!

The beach was huge and there seemed to be room for everyone.

Just after this pic was taken of my handsome guy, the clouds that you can see to the right edge of the photo, started rolling in. We got back to the apartment in time, but soon after, it started to pour. On Isla when it rains heavily the streets flood in Centro making it impossible to keep your feet dry as you hop scotch among the puddles. We wanted a perfect evening as we were celebrating the wonderfulness of those newly senior twins!

I cherish all my siblings. K and K are closest to me in age. I have always been proud of my handsome brother with his keen sense of humour and his athletic abilities. I watched many of both his hockey games and practices in the olden days, when they weren’t always in indoor arenas. In Manitoba, Canada that’s love.

Sister #2, Sister #3 and I have always been magically close-acutely feeling each others’ pain and mountaintop experiences. The bond between three sisters, like three chords or rope, are not easily broken.

Here is the eldest of the twins with her husband and daughter. The latter traveling all the way from Australia to be with us on this day.

Here’s my D with Sister #3 and our SIL L. We are family who happen to be friends and friends who happen to be family.

Fredy too, is an important part of our extended Mexican family and we couldn’t imagine celebrating anywhere else. To read about many other visits, click this link. He put aside a table far from the rain, allowed us to decorate and ensured that he had stocked up with our families’ favourites-his pork chop above and shrimp below, along with ribs, Mexican platter, chicken fajitas, etc. etc. All prepared beautifully with flavours that we dream about from one season to the next. In fact Sister #2 and her family hadn’t been on the island in six years and I think she yearned for Fredy’s shrimp that entire time!

Fredy also gave us permissions to bring in desserts prepared by our lovely friends at Dulzara Argentinian Bakery. One was a tropical fruit cheese cake and the other a chocolate and coconut concoction-both rich, decadent and perfect for a very special occasion like this.

You can see the fun that we have as a family.

Fun that continues, even after the smoke from the blown out candles has cleared.

Kath’s quote: “With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come.”-William Shakespeare

Love never fails.

I was getting pretty use to these solo sunrises. They are better when shared I must admit. But pretty darn good on my own.

Sometimes the colours of the sunrise sky go on and on. On this morning I could still enjoy them from “home”.

Sister #3 and I were off on an adventure. We took the bus to check out a restaurant new to us, near Punta Sur. We passed the entrance to Little Garrafon (as we always called it). The gorgeous blue of the water was even more beautiful against the red of the Coca Cola truck. Boy, the locals sure love their Coca Cola!

Sister #3 enjoying the wonderful cocktails at Rancho Capricho. Click here to read more.

After our delicious lunch, we got back on the bus and headed back to Centro. We met a lovely woman from Scandinavia who was travelling alone. She had many fascinating ports of call on this side of the Atlantic and it was a pleasure to meet her and have a quick chat about the world.

The bus stop we got off at, just happened to be right by our favourite liquado and popsicle store. We sat on the wall in front of this fabulously painted building and enjoyed our dessert-a lime popsicle for Sister #3 and a pistachio one for me!

By this time. it was definitely the hottest part of the day and I needed some cooling off. D was already on the beach. He was pretty easy to spot as we take down our own chair and hammock and don’t line up at the water’s edge with everyone else. We claimed the space just off of the sidewalk where there are still palm trees (some of them impossibly small) to string our hammock and luxuriate in the shade.

As the afternoon wore on we headed home for showers and then headed right back with cocktails to enjoy the setting sun.

People love to see D come by as he volunteers to takes everyone’s pictures so they don’t have to wrestle with selfies.

The sunset was a beauty and we were grateful anew to always return to this special place.

For dinner, we decided to dine in our little apartment. We often buy these chops that are half ham/half pork chop when we are on the island, so we cooked them up pastor style with salad and orzo. Delish. We always intend to dine in more often, but get pulled by the lure of being with family and friends and visiting the many fabulous restaurants within walking distance of Centro. Besides, I had already dined out once that day.

And when we don’t spend on supper, that means….churros! Everyone has their favourite carts. Ours is Churassic Park! They don’t taste greasy, are made to order and we love the cinnamon and sugar sprinkle.

By this time, we wear getting weary and with D playing tennis every morning before sunrise, it was time to get ready for a new day.

Kath’s quote: “Churros are like long Mexican doughnut sticks that have been fried or dipped in cinnamon sugar or, as the sign tells me, strawberry sugar. They smell like God’s footprints. I’ve never had a real churro, but halfway down the promenade, I make a decision to give up on everything: finding Alex, finding another job, the meaning of life. Just give me that sweet fried dough”.-Jean Bennet.

Love never fails.