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Wally Pryor

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  1. Someone mentioned earlier that Texas Monthly is doing solid reporting. Many good reads on its site. Doesn't seem to be a paywall. https://www.texasmonthly.com/
  2. We got back yesterday and thankfully moved from PDC to Isla in advance. The former beaches continue to be a mess. There is nothing that is "looking better" with sargassum in IM. It was beautiful and continues to be on pretty much all sides of the island with very scattered seaweed, at worst. You'll be fine. When we got way out in the water to swim with the whale sharks we saw big brown blobs heading toward Cancun / PDC. But that was it - their problem, - Most everyone (san very tiny places) takes credit cards and for those that "don't" just ask them, as they likely will. They want your business. Preference is to avoid CC fees but at the end of the day they'll take customers. - Don't worry about carrying around some MXN cash in your pocket, stowing it in your towel, or whatever. The biggest lawbreakers in Isla are the locals on scooters who occasionally ignore Stop signs. No one is going to steal anything from you unless you openly ask for it. I trust Mexicans infinitely more than people here - they're hard working, happy and trustworthy. - To exchange USD for MXN, we've always used the little bank right after you get off the ferry in Isla, to the right. Exchange rates vary around the island but nothing material. - Go swim with the whale sharks - pretty incredible. They're up to the size of a school bus, 20 - 40 tons and a mouth as wide as your 9-year old is tall. Majestic, mammoth, filter feeders who couldn't care less about you as they glide around while you get up close. Get a private boat vs. the cattle call tours. It's an extra $250 or so for your (small, up to 4) group, a captain and a dive lead. Well worth the spend when you get out to the sharks and there's 20 other loaded boats to deal with. We did ours with Carey Dive and it was great. That first go into the water when you're almost face to face with the biggest fish in the world and one of the largest animals on the planet is a bit daunting but very cool. Have always wanted to do this and it was a one-of-a-kind experience. - Past experience and we continue to get our golf carts at Ciro's. Buried downtown in a tiny shop but the cheapest and pretty easy to deal with. Their carts are also the fastest. Can be good, or bad, depending upon how you handle the onslaught of speed bumps. Taxis are plentiful and probably cheaper if you do the math for being out and about but the carts are great for instant availability, exploring when / where you want, etc. - Good rec above on the (somewhat) new Secreto roof top. Meh food but the beer was fine which is hard to mess up. End game is the sunset view which you can't beat. - There's plenty of good food on the island but Yayo continues to be one of our favorites. Hole in the wall with mostly locals and a staff that speaks very little English, the best of signs. Food starts with a tray of 6 different salsas and chips and the food goes well from there. Breakfast or lunch. Your bill comes and you think it should be twice as much as what you're seeing. It's really good. - Beach club... Tuturreque by Playa Arena. Right in the middle of the north beach. They ask for 500MXN spend / person for a chair, umbrella and food. Most others are asking for a food spend and another for a chair / umbrella / bed. Not this place. They'll situate you in a nice spot with good service and the kicker is that they (in both our trips there) charged us just for our food and drink total, which was less than the minimum spend they were initially asking. Pleasant surprise(s), just add'l reason to tip the good servers even more. Not sure if this is across the board but we saw this same spend deal on two visits. - Capilla de Guadalupe...whether you're Catholic or not it's a beautiful site....tiny church with an altar that almost sits on top of the Caribbean. The cathedrals in Europe have their own, justifiable places as landmarks in the world. But you could get married pretty much anywhere and it would be hard to top this place. (Mango Cafe right across the street has a rooftop and really cheap beer / decent food.) - Panteon - Take your cart along the east side of the island to see nice, secluded beaches (stray dogs will share umbrellas with you) and you'll run into this cemetery...very, very colorful, interesting displays of tombs. - Chadraui (Isla HEB) - go early or late if possible, otherwise it's a mess with really long lines. We've never explored the other stores but perhaps we should at some point. - Punta Sur never disappoints. Just so well kept and maintained and views that you'll see nowhere else. The easternmost point of Mexico. Just when you think you've seen all shades of blue the Caribbean can offer you see another while walking around it and dodging the iguanas. The water never gets old - just simply gazing at it is an experience of its own. if you're up for it (literally 6AM) go sit in the benches there and watch the sun rise Well worth it. - If you stay to the right along the coastline upon leaving Punta Sur, about a mile up on the right is a gravel road, take a right on it and get off the beaten path in you cart for awhile to explore the homes that sit on the water. Nice little 15-minute side trip that not many undertake. - And to tuck in your back pocket...Dr. Loren Robertos is great if you ever need him and it does happen....will come to your hotel room, prescribe medicine, etc. Speaks solid English. +52-999-263-4161. $100USD for a house call. He was in our room within 30 minutes of calling, on Sunday. Hard to beat. Enjoy.
  3. As long as you know the difference between Yield and Stop, have at it.
  4. 1/2 of the population still does not know the difference between Yield and Stop. Maybe more.
  5. Open or not, never enough good things to say about HEB. https://www.kxan.com/independence-day-floods/why-texans-are-calling-h-e-b-the-fema-of-texas-after-devastating-floods/
  6. Contributions toward relief have topped $29MM. Good read. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/early-support-for-texas-flood-relief-efforts-tops-29-million
  7. Fair points. Those of us from shag that shoveled, swept, carried, shoveled more and everything else in Wimberley over a day / two can attest that it was physically and, just as much, emotionally challenging. The things you see will be forever burned into your mind. They still are 10+ years later. But when you drive away in the evening(s) just completely sapped physically and / or mentally everything else is secondary knowing that you've helped in some little way in a situation where a lot of littles add up to something pretty big.
  8. Yep, the first thing I thought of when the missing list began to grow was Wimberley and not ever recovering all of the bodies. Just one has been recovered in the last 24 - 48 hours. You can only cover so much ground or dig so deep. It's hard to think about how many bodies will never be recovered. No closure that will just shatter the families even more.
  9. The sobering and grim reality of the search effort: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/10/us/kerr-county-texas-flooding-search-efforts
  10. Llano / Mason area getting hammered - 2-3 inch / hour.
  11. https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/h-e-b-pledges-5-million-for-texas-flood-recovery-mobilizes-immediate-community-support-san-antonio-kerrville-hunt-ingram-food-water-supplies-relief#
  12. That is one strong and amazing man. Thanks for posting.
  13. So comical but yet so very sad. Come on, man. Really? Dear fucking lord.
  14. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2025/07/08/h-e-b-flood-aid-texas-flooding-victims-free-recovery-kits-leander-liberty-hill-burnet/84502448007/
  15. No doubt. And the additional, sad fact in this situation is that there likely will be bodies that are never found. A final gut punch - no chance for a final goodbye, no chance to lay a loved one to rest. This was the case with with the Charba and McComb families in Wimberley. The bodies of their young children were never recovered. And the number of bodies involved with this tragedy is obviously much greater than what we saw in there so this additional, unimaginable fate will likely be a reality.
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