Back to school....Mexican style

What that means is waking at 5:45, leaving the boat on a dinghy to school by 6:30, and even wearing a uniform!  And we thought getting to school on time at 8:20 was hard. Hah!  The kids are seemingly getting much more interested in speaking Spanish, asking every evening about what this or that means. It's fun to hear their stories about how strict or funny their teachers are.  It's also good to hear the complaints...about how hard the chairs are, how loud the fan is or how there is not a real lunch hour.  Makes me hopeful that they will be more respectful and grateful for school in back home in California.

We are still loving Isla Mujeres.  It is a peaceful, safe, beautiful island with whale sharks, octopus, gelato, clear shallow water, great restaurants, insanely interesting expats, other boat families, perfect sand beaches, internet, fresh guava, hibiscus and coconut juice and the kids can ride bikes anywhere or walk to a friend's place in 10 minutes.  We are so close (20 minute ferry) to Cancun where if we must we can see movies in the nicest (by far) movie theater, at the nicest malls I've seen or even shop at Costco.  Speaking of Costco, I'm off mass consumption and Costco shopping.   Now-a-days I would rather go without than stuff my cabinets with jumbo sized cardboard packaging of everything we never needed.  Crackers, chips, cookies, juice, and peanut butter for the year, or enough grapes to feed 5 families for a week.  I never would've noticed whether we really needed or used all that if I didn't have to live in, on, under and with it...literally packed into every nook of our little house (boat).  Nope, no more Costco, just fish from the fishermen next door, mangos from the market and daily tortillas, and just at the very moment, or on the very day we feel like it........mmmm I think we'll have fish tacos tonight now that I think of it..................!