Isla Mujeres #tbt

This cold weather has gotten to me... BAD. 

I've been daydreaming about traveling somewhere far, far away... and possibly never coming back!

While daydreaming, I got to thinking of my last tropical vacation... FAR TOO LONG AGO... in Isla Mujeres. It was quite possibly the best vacation ever. I started and finished five books while we were there... that's a lot of beach time, a lot of relaxation, and a lot of words. :) I love words.

EVERYTHING about this trip was so gorgeous. We'd wake up in the morning and sit out on the porch with our feet in the pool and be surrounded by these gorgeous flowers. We'd then stroll down the street and buy huge mangoes or grapefruit or avocados from this beautiful little old woman who sold fresh produce on the side of the road. 

Here's Tina with a softball sized avocado. It was the best avocado any of us had ever had. 

Our days consisted of laying on the beach, oodles of photos, reading, strolling the streets of town (it's a pretty small island, so this didn't last too terribly long), playing in the waves, scuba diving, snorkeling, EATING, drinking cold coco-loco's, exploring the different beaches and waves and rocks, and hunting down cheap tequila! (Apparently there isn't any if you're a woman, but Tina's uncle was able to find quite a steal!)

Tina's my right-hand-woman when it comes to any and all things creative. I've lost count of how many photo shoots she's joined me on and they've turned out so much better than they would have without her thanks to her creative eye and driven nature to jump in and adjust things without being told to. She's seriously so wonderful. I wish I could tell you how much fun we have together and how crazy the creative juices get when conquer projects together.

Book #1.

Paradise, I tell ya.

One of my favorite things about traveling with other families is how they interact with each other. The Hackbart's are a true team. They're all always up for an adventure and ready to go at a moments notice, but they also know how to kick back and just enjoy the moment. 

It was tooooooo hot not to oblige when the cabana boys would offer us drinks... plus, look how pretty they are!
(Book #2.)

Sharkbait, OOH AH AH.

At night we usually made a habit of finding a good restaurant and enjoyed the local eats... and mango margaritas. When in Rome, right?

During one of our explorations, we came across this incredible building... Tina and I decided that we could easily run an interior design and photography company from it... maybe even a yoga studio! I wonder if it's still available...

What's not to love?! Corner lot, SO MANY WINDOWS, gorgeous everything, my favorite color...
AND IT'S LOCATED RIGHT IN DOWNTOWN PARADISE. 

There's not one thing that would give me reason not to go back.

This lil guy actually wasn't so little... he was the size of a small or medium dog! 

Washed up coconut.

Island of sunbathing iguanas.

¡Viva Mexico!

¡Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay!

Wordless Wednesday

Coco Loco

As I sit here in in my room of 62 degrees, the anticipation of my roommate(the heat-Nazi)'s return builds and I can't help but reminisce a year ago, gearing up to unwind on the warm, sandy beaches of Isla Mujeres. 

Ah, life is good there. It seems that physically distancing myself really enables me to let my cares go.

I was always warm. My skin was a gorgeous shade of gold. Cabana boys constantly offered cold beverages to keep us hydrated! Ah, such a nice time.

Hmm.. I have to wonder if a little fiesta accompanied con mis amigos y uno (o muchos) coco locos would ail this chill and ache for the warmth of Mexico?!

I'm thinking once mis amigos (yes, the heat-Nazi... and her sister,) return, we shall attempt to conquer the chill from our very own kitchen!! 

Coco Locos, welcome to Iowa!! :)

Coco Loco

Ingredients:

2 oz silver tequila

1 oz light rum

1 oz gin

2 oz pineapple juice

1 tsp simple syrup

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1 fresh coconut 

Create:

Saw off the top of the coconut and pour the coconut water into a glass. Add a cup of ice to the coconut and pour in all other ingredients (including the coconut water). Squeeze the juice of your lime. Stir well. Add a straw and pretty paper umbrella. Serve and enjoy! 

(You can also skip pouring out the coco milk/water and adding the ice and just add all the ingredients and chill for a bit by sticking it out in the snow... like we did... probably what we'll be doing since it's already plenty chilly here today!)

Dont' forget to include the happiest face you can make from the fruit you have on hand! (That was always my favorite part.)

What I'm about to share may seem to come across as contradictory to what I just shared at the beginning of this post, to some it may be, but for me, it was an excellent accompaniment to the goal of unwinding from the stress I allow myself to carry around in my day-to-day life and the escape from all of that this trip was intended to be.

While in Isla Mujeres, my friend Glenda and I attended this beautiful haven by the beach housing yogis to guide us in yoga. Our instructor both sessions was a man named Lal. He was a gorgeous old man from India. He shared his life story with us how he remembered as a young boy spending time in the temples while his mother weaved. He came to America where he started a family and became a big-deal business man in New York. He made a good living and had a large family. When one of his daughters became ill and died, he realized none of what he had created and was living for was worth the lack of peace and contentment. He was so unsatisfied chasing his desires that he dropped it all. He left for a period of time and found himself led to Mexico where he now teaches others how to be present and find peace. I tell you what, I could have sat and picked his brain for hours. 

Lal is one of those people you instantly relax around. You trust what you say is safe and that he genuinely cares for you and your well-being. Speaking with him reminded me that that is something I'd like people to pick up from a conversation with me. 

There was more. :) The physical practice was pretty incredible too. There are different poses I hadn't been able to reach before because I hadn't allowed myself to fully relax (constant struggle for this girl!) The class had just three students, so Lal was able to really focus and assist us to improve what we specifically were lacking in. Glenda had broken one of her wrists a few years back and he provided adjustments for her to participate without hurting herself. The next day, she said she could tell she had worked it, possibly even strained it, but that it felt stronger, which she hadn't had since the break.

At some point, I'll figure out how to incorporate photos of these sorts of practices so that you have a visual to help you try the pose for yourself. 

Until then, I encourage  you to check out the website for Na Balam and daydream of how beautiful it would be if you were in the open hut learning from Lal. :) 

 Namaste.

Isla Mujeres

Welp, we made it! After a long day of uneventful travel, my friend Tina, her family, and I have all made it safely to the island of Isla Mujeres.

It. is. BEAUTIFUL.

I just have to share one happening with you before I forget (as I forgot to pack my journal, you may be seeing a lot of updates!)

We're renting a house for the week and just returned from the grocery store/supermarcado for some staples. While we were there, we stood in the bakery section debating between their Bimbo/Wonder packaged bread OR fresh baked bread from the bakery section... Haha. It didn't take long before our decision was unianimous.

While taking it all in, looking at all the different pastries and such, we saw an employee of the store accidentally drop a loaf of bread on the floor... look up to see if anyone had caught him... MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH US... give that silly little five-year-old guilty grin, brush it off on his uniform.... and, get this, PUT IT BACK ON THE SHELF. Oh my goodness. It was SO comical. I couldn't help but crack up. I know I shouldn't have encouraged him, but the way he pulled it off was histerical!

That wasn't even the best part! I felt like we should have Bob Saget alongside us to commentate the events. Right after witnessing this old man act as if he was four-years-old, a two... maybe three-year-old little Mexican girl with beautiful black piggy tails and a striped top, waltzed her way through Tina, Dani, Glenda, and myself to check out the pastries for herself. She made three trips looking, smelling, and, yes, you guessed it, dipping her finger in the frosting of the pastries. Tina was the first to catch it. When she had all of our attention, she made her selection and got a good finger-full of sugar-laden yumminess and licked it off like only an adorable toddler can do. She really made great use of her time, because by the time she'd consumed a decent amount of sweetness, her mom realized she was missing. Ah. It was priceless.