Isla Mujeres - July 2009 Part 3 "People"

As always,on the enchanted island of Isla Mujeres, we meet new wonderful people and reconnect with old friends. We did get to see Big Jim and hang with him, however, we were stopped in customs and all of the pics were erased. :) Just kidding, but it was good to see Jim and I didn't want to omit him. This, of course, is my husband, Gerald aka Mr. Wonderful and he's enjoying the first rum and coke of the trip poolside. And this is me, on a mission to seek out sea glass and shells. I love to walk along the beach in the sun. This is Marta and Anna Gloria. They were selling the beautiful Mayan headbands, bracelets, purses downtown next to Aqua Adventures and kindly let me take their pic. I saw Marta several times the rest of the week and each time she smiled and waved. What a cutie. Hanging at COOL with Rosemary and Dr. Pepe and friend. Looks like I got a little sun that first day. Patti and me. Patti was staying at Media Luna, also, and I knew her from the message boards. We had missed each other by a day or two on the island a few times, so it was nice to finally meet her. If you look up 'Cool' in the dictionary, Patti's pic is there. She is adorable, funny, smart and just plain cool. We enjoyed hanging poolside with her and happy hour/dinner out with Patti and the whole gang. Now I have to tell you a little story. One afternoon we were lazing around the pool at Media Luna, when we noticed some snorkelers off the beach. This beach is a pretty rough place, huge rocks and big waves. Not really a swimming beach. We watched as the snorkelers approached the beach and the man got out of the ocean, over the slippery, sharp rocks and made it up the beach. The woman, however, was having a little trouble. Her fins weren't helping. God bless her, we watched, cheering her on, her husband coaching her from the beach. Patti wondered why he wasn't going back in to help! Finally the woman emerged, fins in hand high above her head and approached the man. Was she going to smack him with those fins? Nope, all was well and we all sighed a breath of relief. They began making thier way up the beach toward us and started waving. Did I know them? Did they need medical attention? "Jana! Gerald!" they yelled. Then I realized it was Linda and Ali, who I have known for years from the message boards and we had planned to meet up since our vacations coincided! They knew where we were staying and what we looked like. We all had a huge laugh about it and Gerald was really mad that he didn't get Linda's escape from the sea on video. So, that's how we met Linda and Ali! The Gang - Mark and Donna, Me and Geraldo, Linda and Ali and Patti. Christine took the pic. We all enjoyed happy hour at Mark and Donna's and then went to dinner at Miguel's. Mark and Donna are awesome, as is their daughter, Christine (who's ability to nap and eat all day and stay skinny makes me mad, but she's so dang cute I let it slide...) They live pretty close to us and we wish we could all get together more often. Really, I wish we could meet up in Isla more often :) . They are a blast and they are our cosponsors for Nelsy, our college student who lives on the island. Not only are they fun, but Mark and Donna are some of the most generous and kind people I've ever met. Love those guys!!!! We were lucky enough to have the Dual Divas of Isla join us for dinner that night at Miguel's. Gerald and I had drinks with Inge the day before and were overjoyed that Inge and Carmita met up with us all that night. From front, clockwise: Patti, Mark, Donna, Christine, Carmita, Inge, Gerald, me. Linda and Ali had made plans to meet up with some friends for dinner, but joined us a little later. Christine Donna and Christine (look at those blue eyes!!) Sunday Ribs at Soggy Peso. Donna and Inge Rose (smokin' a stogie) and Chris from Reno. Super nice couple and lots of fun. The Pixar people - Andy, Renee and Lori (director, editor and assistant director of many of your fave Pixar movies! Cool, huh?) and Jeff and Jacques, two fabulous guys from Quebec. Jeff and the Virgin of Guadalupe Happy Hour Girls at Casa Sirena. Me, Rose, Kate and Natalie Mr. Wonderful rising from the sea Evaristo "Bubu" Gerald and I, enjoying dinner at Lolo Lorena Evaristo, Zina and Lolo. It was nice to finally meet Zina after 'knowing' her on the message boards for so long. And Margaret of Casa el Pio on the right Pierre, who we all just met that night. I think he was a friend of Margaret's. And Steve of Casa Sirena. Leo and Trisha! What a cool couple. We enjoyed dinner with them at Lolo's and earlier in the week at Rolandi's. A great couple with a wonderful sense of humor, we really enjoyed hanging out with Trisha and Leo. We also got to hear about their Isla house plans, which was a lot of fun. I rode down to Lolo's in a cab with Trisha and was BLOWN AWAY by her mastery of the Spanish language!!! She was amazing chatting with the cab driver. Dan the Man clowning in the Colonias. We got to meet Dan's new significant other and he was charming. Nelsy and her parents. They are so sweet! And their dog was adorable. More on them in a seperate blog Please don't forget my jewelry that I make from Sea Glass and shells collected on the island of Isla Mujeres. All proceeds go to pay for a college scholarship for a local Isla girl! Thanks! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6323072