Turtle Hatchings in Mexico

 

It is funny how some of the best moments in

life can be the simple things you just stumble upon.

 

 

We were taking a pre-breakfast stroll along

the beach this morning and noticed a large

sea turtle nest conservation corral.  A worker

from the resort invited us to come in to

witness the dig of one of the nests.

 

 

People were digging in holes and bringing up

 the baby turtles and some eggs that haven't

yet hatched.

 

 

The eggs are soft and rather rubbery, not at

all like a chicken's egg.  The hatchlings are

so adorable that generally everyone present

was oohing and ahhing ~ it was a special moment.

 

 

Look at them all!  Tonight at 8pm they will be

released to the sea.  It is best when they go to

the sea at night since there is less chance of

predators in the dark.

 

 

The hatchling's flippers are constantly in motion, I

suppose it is instinctual to move to the sea.  The help

from conservation groups hopefully will allow many

of these babies to reach maturity.  For the females that

survive, they may return to this same area in a few decades

to make their nests.  There is a little claw on their flippers

so they could move very quickly, even on our skin.

 

 

 

Best of luck Babies!

 

I think this may be the highlight of our trip!

 

 

 

 



 

 

Under the Sea

 

 

Mr. Wonderful gave me an underwater

camera for my birthday and I have been

playing with it all week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it's good-bye to bikinis and flip-flops

and back to coats and scarfs...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Dinner

 

A while back, Mr. Wonderful asked me

what I would like to do for my birthday.

I said I would like to have Mexican food.

I did.

By early afternoon on my birthday we

were on the beach in Cancun.

 

 

And I got to have Mexican food.

 

A Pico de Gallo salad.

 

 

Goat Cheese Ravioli in Sweet

Corn & Poblano Cream.

 

 

Avocado & Oaxaco Cheese Flautas

 

 

Chamorro in Red Mole a la Parmentier.

 

 

Not Birthday Cake, but still delicious.

 

 

Now spending time here, watching the

waves and the sky.  I could make this

my new office.

 

Thank you Mr. Wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isla Mujeres

Sun, sea & snorkeling

Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast

of Cancun, it is the easternmost part of Mexico.

From 564 to 1516AD it was a Mayan province,

called Ekab.  Originally it was a sanctuary to

Ixchel, the goddess of weaving, happiness, the

moon, abundance and medicine.

One of the legends of its name is when it was

discovered in 1517 by Cordoba's expedition, they

found the sanctuary to Ixchel and a court of women.

And that is how it was named Isla Mujeres or

the Island of Women.

It has been home to fishermen, pirates, Mayans

escaping the war of castes.  Now it is for tourists.

As it rankles us to take "the tour" we hopped

on the local bus to Puerto Juarez and took

the local ferry over to the island.

It was a beautiful morning and we

enjoyed waiting under the palms

for the ferry to arrive.

The island has a rustic charm that is a nice

contrast to the high rises of Cancun.

We headed up to Playa Norte and dropped our

stuff in the sand, geared up and jumped in the

water.  We snorkeled along the coast seeing

sting rays, sea urchins and beautiful fish.

Four hours later we surfaced and

plunked ourselves in the sand

under a palm tree.

I love this bar where you sit on swings.

We hung out under the palms enjoying

the view with a bunch of young Mexican

guys who were eating the coconuts from

the trees.

Later we headed into town, enjoying

the colorful houses.

We dined al fresco on the main street,

watching the world go by and singing

Feliz Cumpleanos to the guy at the

next table.

We headed back across the water sunburned,

exhausted and ready to do it again.

Could This Be Heaven?

At the Hotel El Rey del Caribe

in Cancun, Mexico I had a heavenly

experience this morning.  In a beautiful,

tropical garden with soothing music,

scented candles and oils, I had a deep

back and leg massage.

In typical Murphy's Law fashion, I have

irritated my sciatic nerve ( while on vacation)

and I can barely walk.  So I went to Julii

and had an extremely good massage.

I hope this helps...

Update to this story:  Julii worked wonders on

my back and by the next day I was all better and

the pain was completely gone.  Fabulous!