Photos of Shell House - A Mermaid's Welcome Part Two

Photos of Shell House…A Mermaid’s Welcome Part Two

March 14, 2010 Sunday Morning

oh ‘bout 9:30AM

Thank you Mr. Octavio Ocampo for creating a masterpiece of island and worldwide recognition. I spotted this house on HGTV in 2004 and always wanted to see this house up close. As this is my ninth visit to Isla Mujeres and I have taken many a photo of your creation over the years and vowed that before my eyes see heaven,I would love to spend at least one night here. My dream is now a reality. I thank you for your talent; your hospitality and making an everyday woman feel extraordinary…if only for six days.

We stand proudly on the grounds of The Shell House. All the planning, saving and e-mails with the owner Raquel have come to fruition. I am a happy camper and I notice that Kodi has begun her version of the Happy Dance. We wait, I sing “Hola su Casa”(“Hello the House” – I got that from John Wayne in The Quiet Man) .

As we wait for Raquel to answer the Call of the Catz, I take in with my trifocals, my camera’s super zoom and regular lenses the creative genius that is The Shell House.. I am loving the Shell Wall with inlaid, hand-picked shells that are placed throughout the entire stone wall, on both sides. That was a labor of love. The blue sky & clouds put the house in a beautiful repose -the outside is a sort of creamy white concrete/stucco material (which is used inside and out) that has withstood many a hurricane with hardly any damage over the years. It gets a new paint job every couple of years – aren’t shells prettier when weathered by the weather so to speak? The windows – 2 have hairline cracks in them right now due to super cold to the island (mid 50’s) weather one day then 80 degrees the next. Charm I call it. There are white curtains in the windows so no sneak peeks for us at the moment. Keeps the anticipation at 3,000 light speed. I am already in love with The Baby Shell. I have no clue what is on the inside since the website only describes the Big House. From our vantage point near the front door we have an awesome view of the Caribbean across the street. An open field in front gives us a perfect field of vision. If I walk closer to the pool and look across the street to the left, I can spot Jim & Caramita’s place Casa de Morgan. Jim is gonna skin me alive when he finds out I’m across the street. Well, I could stand to lose a layer.

The swimming pool is a freeform shape surrounded by succulents, brain coral, shells of all shapes and sizes. Two lounge chairs for tanning like I need it, a bistro table with three chairs near the entrance for cocktails, lap-topping and shade in mid-day(yeah, that’s more like it). The pool is shallow at one end, just my speed and drops to almost six feet at the other end – great for Kodi to dive. Gonna be heaven for Nady when she comes tomorrow- she was all about the pool.

To this a bubbly woman in her fifties, I’m assuming five foot tall (if), a smile like the rising sun and the energy of a toddler, comes skipping from the house on the left of The Baby Shell. “Hola – Catzee?” “Si Senora Raquel!!” We hug like dear old friends. We’ve been e-mailing & getting things in order on the internet since August 2009. I LOVE YOU RAQUEL!! She had made arrangements to have cots available for the original six in the group that would have blown the Eight Syllable thing – more like Thirteen Syllables – doesn’t have a rhythm to it – like I said Fate…

As Kodi and I stand outside the haven we’ve been dreaming about, Raquel opens the sliding glass door with keys, that of course have shells attached as key rings – is this kitschy or what? Raquel stands back as the Power of the Shell, shell, shell embraces us full force. Oh…MY…GOD! This place is magnificent and that’s just walking in the front door!

The outside was enough to blow my cockles into Saturn’s outer rings – the inside has to be seen with the naked eye. Walking through the sliding glass door that has white sheer curtains pushed to the left...we behold. Funny, but the second thing that strikes me is there are no corners in this house.