I know, it's been awhile. I am just starting from today though as I am so excited about the new mural on our Tortuga. Since the day we picked her up I knew I wanted a mural on the fake windows in the front, I even knew what I wanted. A Caribbean beach with a turtle up on the sand and our macaws in the trees. I have looked at a lot of people's work and almost went for a couple but they really didn't look like what I had in my mind. I was afraid I'd never find anyone to paint it.

Last week I was at the bi-weekly fruit and veggie market here in Akumal and there was a guy selling oil paintings. I went to look and it hit me that he had exactly the look I've carried in my mind all these years. I loved his palm trees and he got the exact color and look of a Caribbean beach. I asked him about it and he said sure, no problem. That night I was talking to friends and they told me that he had done the beautiful murals on the side of their building. They said he was reliable and fast.

So, this morning at 9am Sergio showed up and started on Tortuga. I printed some pictures of our 2 macaws, Jolly and Mike and also a picture of Mimi's Severe Macaw Gertie that died a few years ago. He looks at the pictures, he paints, it looks just like our birds. It's uncanny.

He took a long lunch while I printed the bird pictures and he was done by 1pm. I don't think I can tell you what he charged, we added some to it because it was so small. Now I'm thinking of having him paint a mural on the wall of our deck, maybe the Mayan goddess Ixchel. Mimi had to stop me from having him paint a toad on our jeep and bringing the sat dishes down for him to paint as well. Hold me back!

Other than that, we've been relaxing at the beach, hanging out with friends, going into Playa for dental work, and planning a trip we're taking next week to Merida. I'm meeting with an architect to get some ideas and costs for a kitchen and bath remodel that I want to do here.

The pictures from the top: Sergio about an hour after starting, Gertie, Mike and Jolly, the whole mural up close, our friends Paula and Sandy with Mimi admiring the work, Sergio with the finished mural