We were blessed with a great first night’s sleep and so we were up before the sun. In fact, the moon was still out.

A beautiful shot of the villa that we would move to mid-week.

The gorgeous Villas looked even more lovely in the rising sun.

D had everything set up i.e. coffee and chairs for sunrise that first morning from the roof at Villas San Miguel.

We realized that we must have been sitting in someone else’s chairs and sure enough we met Milly and Kim from Minneapolis. We hit it off immediately. They emptied their surplus holiday supplies with us. We walked them to the ferry. There was an entourage of many people I know saying good-bye to Cousin Frank.

The view out of our kitchen window.

The gate that is locked and secure at night. I love seeing the shock of the blue Caribbean!

Every morning that I am on Isla I go beachcombing for treasures.

This was my haul the first day. Do you see the green marble in the middle of my stash? I sometimes find one over the course of a couple of weeks. I have never ever found one my first day!

The kitchen at Villas San Miguel was perfectly set up for light meals.

That morning D had a fancy for a homemade breakfast of Isla ham and eggs.

We had a lovely breakfast around the pool.

Then we walked to North Beach for a brief dip and to hook up with Bro #3 and all the gang. In addition, were Margaret & Andy and Margaret’s brother Wilf and Arlene as well as my second cousin Sandra, her husband Tim and their friends Carol & Gord.

A quick trip back to the Villas San Miguel for a shower.

That evening I had tried to arrange an Islaholic meetup. We walked down the west side of the island to Sergio’s (now closed).

We were familiar with the beautiful setting at Sergio’s.

Sunset was mysterious.

Our family made up a portion of a larger group. My husband D is besides me. In front is our family friend Dona in red. Sister #3 is in between D and I and Bro #3 is behind Dona. Our Sis-in-law is in the middle.

Coconut Shrimp

Whole fish

Fish tacos

There were 15 in our group that evening at Sergio’s for dinner. Which was great, except I already knew every single one of them. There were problems with the food coming out of the kitchen. Many people ordered the Parmesan fish that we all remembered from Sergio’s Playa Sol.

I had herb fish and

D had a tough time chewing his Octupus.

Bro #3 enjoyed his wings. Unfortunately Sergio wasn’t around to have a visit with. In the mean time long time friend Ziggy tried his best to make us feel welcomed.

Kath’s quote: “Octopuses have hundreds of suckers, each one equipped with its own ganglion with thousands of neurons. These ‘mini-brains’ are interconnected, making for a widely distributed nervous system. That is why a severed octopus arm may crawl on its own and even pick up food”. Frans de Waal

Love never fails.

When we stay in Centro our favourite spot for sunset is Playa Sol. I love the setting sun on the local’s boats on the shore.

The silhouette of the palms is one of my favourite Isla sites.

Playa Sol is a special spot where our family loves to congregate for sunset.

As we walked past the cemetery, the angels hushed us.

We chose Abuelo’s for our first dinner where I indulged in bacon-wrapped shrimp

and D chose lobster stuffed fish.

Friends and relations (my second cousin) were dining at Abuelo’s too. I couldn’t resist also taking a photo of one of their meals.

We have enjoyed dining at Abuelo’s since it was a three table spot and loved watching as the family succeeded and re-invested in their family business.

As would prove to be our Isla routine, we walked the beach and then Hidalgo. I was surprised that we were still awake at 9 pm when we had been awake since 4 that morning.

Kath’s quote: “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”-Rabindranath Tagore

Love never fails.

The flight was a piece of cake Then we flew through the airport and caught the 12 noon ferry. We were met by Sister #3 and Dona and they accompanied us to Villas San Miquel. (I wrote a more extensive post about the villas, right after we got home, in this link)

The view from our first room-the pool courtyard is quiet and gets both sun and shade throughout the day.

The arches and the architectural attention to detail certainly impressed.

The kitchen was so well equipped with everything you might need for a short or long stay.

The artistry of the building, furniture and decorative pieces was top notch and you knew that no expense had been spared  for your enjoyment and comfort.

Our first look at Villas San Miguel was fabulous!

Sister #3 & Dona joined us for fish tacos (mine was garlic broiled not deep fried) at Bally Hoo as is our Isla tradition. We met Jan and Michelle from PEI who we befriended the year prior at Luna D’Miel. They were on their way home. We had a lovely visit.

We headed back to Villas San Miguel so that D could have a nap and then we ventured out for groceries, beer and wine. Since the Villas are just across the zocolo from the Supermercado, shopping for supplies and running them home was as easy as pie.

We tried to hook up with the gang on the island but had no luck. So we had our own Happy Hour on the rooftop of Villas San Miguel.

The next weighty decision was trying to decide where to catch sunset and our first dinner of the trip. Sat-tuned!

Kath’s quote: “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”  ― Anita Desai

Love never fails.

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I was up early so that I could enjoy my last Isla sunrise.

And then before I knew it, the time had come to leave the island. There were friends waiting for me at the ferry dock to wish me well.

Sister #3 had prepared my lunch to eat on the plane complete with the little notes that she likes to stick into loved one’s lunches.

She also wrote one that said “Relax, close your eyes, and remember Isla”. I have been doing just that and these blog posts have brought it all back to life for me.

We leave for Isla again in 4 1/2 sleeps. I am so excited that I am having a hard time concentrating. We are very much looking forward to staying in Centro at Villas San Miguel. Pictures will be plentiful. Stay tuned.

Kath’s quote: “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again”. -Joseph Campbell

Love never fails.

I always spend at least a portion of an afternoon at Centro’s cemetery each time I visit Isla. The raised graveyard is  place of beauty and peace.

I spent a wee bit of time back at Hotel Isleno before meeting my family for at Minino’s for sunset and dinner.

It was my first time at Minino’s and it won’t be my last. The setting is gorgeous and the view from the second floor is unsurpassed.

This is my lovely sis-in-law. She is typically the photographer but I turned the camera onto her for a change.

A helpful traveller at the next table took this picture that we were all included in.

Cervesa, wine and coconut shrimp-all delicious. A lovely way to spend my last night on the island.

The evening included this glorious sunset -perfection in every respect.

Kath’s quote: “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”  ― Rabindranath Tagore

Love never fails.