Growing up in north Texas I never had a chance to go to the beach, but as a young man I discovered a love for the beach that has stayed with me all of my life. My first experience on a tropical beach was when I was 19. I had a chance to go to Hawaii, and I still remember how exhilarating it was to walk on white sand and wade into clear blue water with the hot tropical sun beating down on me, all while surrounded by sunbathing girls wearing only tiny bikinis, suntans, and smiles. Over the years, my passion for tropical beaches has remained just as intense as it was in 1969.

I felt the same way that morning when Ritsuko and I stepped out onto Playa Norte. Often, in my head, events trigger a mental concert of some of my favorite music. A tropical beach brings to mind lyrics of a song by Cream entitled “Tales of Brave Ulysses”.

You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever,
But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun.

Wa wa, wa wa wa...wa wa, wa wa wa, wa wa,wa....

(Okay, so my wa wa wa doesn’t even come close to doing justice to the guitar mastery of Eric Clapton.)

And the colors of the sea find your eyes with trembling mermaids,
And you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses.
How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing
For the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white lace lips.

And you see your girl’s brown body, dancing through the turquoise;
And her footprints make you follow where the sky loves the sea.
And when your fingers find her, she drowns you in her body
Carving deep blue ripples in the tissues of your mind.

Yesterday, when we came to Playa Norte, we were on a quest. Today we were there to chill, tan, float, and observe. I think that a beach brings out the best in people...mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Mentally, the serenity gives the mind a clean canvas upon which to construct positive thoughts and ideas.

Spiritually, to me the beach seems to be a portal into the heart of the earth, through which one can connect and become more aware of our connection to the universe.

Physically...people (especially women) just seem to look better on the beach. Maybe it is because everyone looks healthier when they are so happy, maybe it is because of fewer clothes...I don’t know why, I just know that it seems to be that way.

I had read on the IM message board that rather than taking a beach towel, carry a bedsheet. What a great idea that was. We had brought two king size bed sheets with us, and spread one out in the shade, and the other in the sun. That was like having a condo under the palms. We spent the morning sunning, swimming, splashing around in the crystal clear turquoise water, playing with the school of little fish that nibbled at our feet, and watching the parade of people.

At around noon, we felt like it was time to pack up and seek food. I remember the day that we arrived, the aroma coming from a restaurant near the ferry dock was very appetizing, so we headed over to the Miramar restaurant. We sat at a table under the edge of the palapa, and watched some fishermen cleaning their morning catch, feeding the entrails to a group of happy pelicans. One of the fishermen came up to the wall encircling the sea side of the restaurant, and handed some filets to our waiter.

“Our lunch?” I asked.

“Si,” he replied, smiling from ear to ear, sensing our enthusiasm.

What a wonderful lunch it was. Grilled fish, fresh grilled veggies, rice, steaming hot tortillas, and cold cerveza Superior. We savored every bite as the entertainment continued at the water’s edge. More pelicans had arrived, stiffening the competition for the last of the handouts from the fishermen. The pelican show continued as we finished our lunch, bid our gracious host good day, and went on to explore the town.

Before we had left home, I had exchanged some money at our bank, but our peso supply was getting low, so we went across the street to the bank to exchange some more dinero. Then it was off to look around the town a bit.

Saying that Ritsuko is a shopper is like saying that a Ferrari is a car. I watched her as we walked down the street. She was making a mental map of the shops of Isla; not seeming too interested as she walked by, but taking inventory and cataloging it inside her pretty encyclopedic little head. “Don’t worry folks,” I thought to myself; “She’ll be back”.

We made our way back to the super market across from the square for some unfinished business. Even though it would have been a chore to haul it all that morning, I had tried to purchase some beer at about 7:30AM. I had found that you can’t buy beer until 9AM on Isla. So we loaded up as much cerveza as we could carry, and headed back via the seawall/beach route to the hotel.

Our room had been cleaned to perfection, and the housekeeper had found her tip, which I had enclosed in a folded piece of paper onto which I had written the words “Propina ... Gracias, Bob y Ritsuko” along with a couple of cartoon smiley faces, one with long black hair, and the other with almost no hair and glasses. Secreto is a very pretty hotel. The rooms are small, but exquisitely decorated in all white with a minimalist look. Every time we walked into the room we found that we liked it better and better. It was really getting hot outside, so we decided to wash the sea salt off of our bodies and take a Siesta.

When we awoke a couple of hours later, I walked out onto the roof to feel the full effect of the strong sea breeze, and to look out over the town. One thing that we really liked about the construction of Secreto is that part of the roof over the second floor is adjacent to the third floor hallway in such a way that it would make an excellent rooftop patio. From there you have a great view of the town. Enjoying a couple of cervezas, we watched as a flock of frigate birds were hanging in the wind above, the ever present breeze blowing in from the Caribbean. Man, I am starting to really love this place. The sun was hanging at about mid afternoon, so we decided to make our way toward Sergio’s Playa Sol for another sunset.

As we walked down Lopez Mateos, we passed by a little taco stand next to the shop of a papier mache sculptor. Adjacent to the counter was a small charcoal grill where several succulent pieces of chicken were cooking to perfection. The aroma of grilled chicken was so overpowering that I could almost taste it as we walked by. We put that place on our short list of places where we must eat within the next day or so.

When we arrived at Sergio’s, the bar was almost deserted. We talked to the bartender for a while, had a couple of beers, but were getting hungry again. The kitchen was closed that afternoon, so we walked over to Jax’s. Jax might not have the beach, but it is a great place to hang out in the afternoon. We loved the decor and the feel of the bar. I particularly liked the way that voices echoed inside the place, especially laughter. With Rocio tending bar, there was plenty of laughter. We found her to be completely charming. We each had a cerviche, some chips, and several beers as the sun went down. That day our view of the sunset was inside Jax, watching the colors change in the sky outside and watching the colors change inside as the light reflected from the sky, the beach, and the street into this beautiful little bar, with the echoes of the laughter of Rocio and a few happy customers, Ritsuko and myself included, echoing off the concrete and tile.

As dusk turned to night, we made our way back to Secreto. We needed to take a break from our afternoon beer drinking, rehydrate, and rest a bit before going out again. While walking down Hidalgo Ave earlier that day, we had recognized the names of some of the nightspots I had read about on the message board. The first night we were too tired, but tonight we were well rested and ready to go out to see Isla at night.