This never gets tired.

D has walked into town and I am contemplating the day. The breeze has died down and there are no clouds. Might be a hot one! To my surprise D has discovered how much he likes beachcombing saying that it is both relaxing and good exercise! I joined him for a while yesterday.

D made his fabulous ham omelets for brunch.

We were kicking around possibilities for the day when Boo & the Frenchman texted saying that they would love to come over again to sit in the shade and watch the waves. We went to fetch them in our golf cart and did exactly that.

D made cocktails. He and I were too hungry to chase down sunset so we went right to Brisas Grill. It was a busy place and we were lucky to get a table when we did. D had grouper and cilantro sauce and I had seafood pasta in a white wine sauce. We did not think that it was as good as when they were on the beach. We were home in time for a glass of wine and Suits on Netflix.

Kath’s quote: “When you make an omelet, as when you make love, affection counts for more than technique”.-Isabel Allende

Love never fails.

Later that same day we chilled on Luna De Miel’s Caribbean patio until supper with rums & freshly squeezed oj and nachos.

We love the colours of the sea on this side of the island, especially in the ever changing light.

But we also appreciate the  west patio too with the natural tree canopy and views of the bay.

Eventually we cabbed into Centro to Covi to stock up on some wine and met a wonderful couple from British Columbia. We have friends in both the communities of Pender Harbour & Gibson’s Landing in BC and this couple lived half way between the two. She spontaneously told me about a place that they had just discovered where they were delighted with food they had never tasted before. Turns out that they were speaking about Chiles Relleno from La Lomita, where I had my first meal on the island many years ago. They were so enamoured with everything about Isla, they even wanted us to see their little room at Hotel Casa Espana.

We then wandered over to Brisas Grill to have dinner with family members Don, Victoria, Kelly and Lorraine. Unfortunately, I had misinformed the latter and mistakenly they went to the former Brisas Caribe in Colonias. Eventually they found us but I felt bad.

In the end we had a lovely sunset dinner with our feet in the sand (see this link to read about it in more detail).

After dinner, we wandered Hidalgo with a stop at our favourite bakery truck for pina (pineapple pie). Unfortunately our friend Jose was sold out so everyone bought cookies and pastries instead. Our final stop of the evening was with Victoria and Don at their hotel-Roca Mar to fetch their leftover groceries and a last visit around the pool. They departed the next morning.

We are very much looking forward to our 2016 Isla visit, when we will not have to hail a cab or make the walk down the dark airport road after an evening in Centro. We will be spending half of our time at Villas San Miquel. We will have gorgeous sea views in a secure compound in the perfect location. On a day like Day 7 we will have saved all kinds of time and cash by not making our way back and forth to Centro. We cannot wait!

Since I have recounted this time earlier this year, I have been informed that Brisas Grill is closed. I do not know any of the circumstances but certainly hope that it all gets straightened out because we are very fond of the spot.

Kath’s quote: “Dinner is not what you do in the evening before something else. Dinner is the evening.”  ― Art Buchwald

Love-that is all.

This morning it is -36 degrees (with the windchill) and even though I was going to write about barley recipes this morning, I really need to go back to my time on Isla.

Even though I typically sit under a palm tree once I arrive at North Beach, I am always anxious to get there.  So on this second day, I pack up my Sudoku, book, sunscreen, etc. and head down to where I know that my brother and my Isla family will be accumulating.  There was a time when we would all be assembled at Sergio’s Playa Sol, a place where we met many of our Isla friends.  Now though, most of the gang gather at the back of the beach where the palms provide shade and they lug down their own beach chairs.  I played musical chairs for a while and then decided that I could not stand it anymore and headed to Chedraui (later that afternoon) to see if I could purchase one.  I did not stay long at the beach for fear of harming my freckled skin and instead wandered through Centro, checking out who had built or painted what.

This assessment takes me many days to accomplish.  You can likely see that my eye and camera is drawn to anything turquoise.  I am quite literally obsessed with the colour ever since I began traveling to the Caribbean many years ago.  My family is very patient with me as I have found a way to incorporate the colour into almost every room in our home.

I already know that I would like this mural size wave from Ikea for my birthday…….

The afternoon passes quickly with unpacking (I am always too excited to spend the time in my room on arrival day) and work that must be completed even though I am on vacation.  I am not complaining, having my own business gives me many more days of leisure than I deserve.

My mobile office for week #1 (so don’t cry for me Argentina).

My adventure at Chedraui was an interesting one.  I decided to walk there and it was a long and hot one.  When I arrived, I will admit that I was a little bit grumpy.  I headed to the spot where I knew that beach chairs had been in the past, crouched very low and lo and behold, found one solitary chair at the back of the shelf.  I set it up, right then and there, to ensure that it was in working order and then wandered off to make my next purchase of an alarm clock for our room at Casa el Pio.

I love that time has little or no meaning for me on Isla.  I can usually judge the time of day by the height of the sun or the grumblings of my tummy BUT I do not enjoy waking up in the middle of the night and not knowing if it is an hour after I turned off the light or 4 or 10 in the morning!  So this purchase was intended to enhance my sleep, not disrupt it.  It too, was the last one on the shelf.  In fact, I had to put the “floor” model in my cart, as they had scads of the make that cost almost 4 times the price, but only one at what I would deem a reasonable price.  So I determinately head to the check out, pleased with my seletions.

When it comes time to ring up the chair, there is much discussion amongst the clerks that there is no price tag on the chair.  A number of them go to the shelf to acquire what they explain to me is the code in order to ring it in.  They return with a supervisor who tells me that it is impossible for me to buy the chair and says that in fact, the chair is not for sale.  Well for 1) I have trekked down here in the hot sun and am in no mood to be denied, for 2) I do not want to spend two weeks stealing brief sits in a chair while others are swimming or off to the bano and for 3) the chair is right here in my hands!  After literally a dozen staff members are involved in the dispute, half of them taking my side and smiling brightly to reassure me that they are going to help me buck the system and buy the prize, I am successful in purchasing the chair.  And for a great price-less than the rental of a beach chair for a day on Playa Norte.

As I triumphantly leave the store, I decide to treat myself to a cab ride back to Centro.  On Isla, the cab drivers give you a brief and friendly honk of their horn to inquire if you are wanting a ride and this occurred as soon as I stepped out of the store.  It did not deter him that he was on the far side of the street, headed in the other direction, he simply spun around to make my loading the cab with packages easier to accomplish.  Unfortunately, when I emptied my cart, it started rolling down the incline at the front of the store.  Luckily, I was able to snatch it before it ended up in the traffic on the street but not without consequences.  Someone else’s empty cart, also started to roll and was headed right towards the cab.  I was already occupied retrieving my cart and could not stop this one and the cab driver was furious at me because the cart chipped the paint on the car (even though I had successfully prevented my cart from causing a major vehicle pile up).  So my feelings of triumph were short lived and all I wanted to do was get back to my casa and open a cerveza.

By the end of the afternoon, I was feeling better and wandered down to the shore.  I always try to capture the sun going down on the island.  The sunsets themselves are magnificent but it is more than that.   I can understand how the Mayans lives were dictated by the sun and I suppose that this is my way of acknowledging and respecting this.

When evening arrives, we have to make our most taxing decision of the day-where to go for supper? Sister #3 and I have debated which place on the island has the best frutti de mare pasta.  In her opinion it is Angelo’s but in my mind, the winner is Brisa Grill.  So, we head there for the test.

Our friend clinking cervezas with me here, is named Donna back home but on the island we call her Dona.

I do admit, that I remembered the seafood as being more plentiful.  Sister #3 is not disappointed, just content with her preference of Angelo’s.

In the mean time, I was more than pleased with my choice of pesto shrimp linguine.  I savoured the meaty prawn at the forefront of this photo and sliced into into to so many forkfuls, that it was like eating a baby lobster tail.

Others in our group sampled the coconut shrimp.  We informally perform an assessment of the Island’s best of this dish too.  I give Brisa’s Grill high marks for their unusual presentation.

My brother who is not as avid a seafood eater, opted for the ribs.  Quite honestly, he was still hungry when he finished eating this portion.  I suppose we should not fault a restaurant built right next to the ocean and the shore, to do a mediocre job of ribs.

I cannot specifically recall what we did that first evening but I would imagine that it involved a stroll down Hidalgo to wave or chat to friends.

Kath’s quote: “Sometimes I pray to Cod for the veal-power to stop playing with my food words, but I fear it’s too bread into me. For all I know, the wurst may be yet to come.”-Mark Morton

Love-that is all.