Island Paradise Day 39

When the water is not pristine for snorkeling and the easterlies are blowing, it is a great time to walk the length of the south shore. Today our friend Tigra (actually her name is el tigre but we call her Tigra) accompanied us. She has decided we are her humans, and she follow us everywhere. Last week we walked the mile to Neptune’s to catch the ferry to Utila town, and when we came home to Jack Neal beach Tigra was not here. We did not see her for three days. The next time we went to the ferry, there she was. She had stayed there waiting for us and had somehow missed us when we returned that day. When she saw us, she ran up to us wagging her tail and started crying. She had waited there for us for three days! We brought her home and she has not left our side since.

She runs ahead of us chasing crabs and iguanas, and whenever she does Stephane yells out "squirrel!"

Mostly our walks involve stopping to admire the scenery along the way: beautiful flowers and creeping vines, shady passageways through the forest, beach rocks, and of course new houses being built.

After our walk we were invited to go to town to a gathering of xpats at "Blue Bayou" a rustic bar in Utila. There we met a couple who were headed to Ajijic (Lake Chapala) to house sit. That is where we are headed next - to house sit as well, so we exchanged emails and will get together next month. They said they are leaving here after 8 years because they think it is too expensive. They found Lake Chapala less so - which is strange since we found it cheaper here than in Mexico. However, the town of Lake Chapala is more local Mexicans versus Ajijic where we will be which has a larger expat community. Our experience has been that the more xpats, the higher the prices - for everything.

After the get together we went out for sushi - only I had ravioli instead (Mango Tango has a varied menu), and it was the best I have ever had. Sweet potato with a creamy walnut sauce. It was amazing.