"I look at the sun emerging gently from the clouds, before beginning my morning walk, from sand to the rocks, the rocks to the sand... I try to imagine the beauty... I take the time to take the time," wrote Canadian Renee Wathelet on her blog Thursday morning. Later that day, she was found dead. Police say she was stabbed more than two dozen times.
The former Montrealer updated her online journal, En direct des Îles, on a regular basis, and it was widely read.
The last posting from the French blog is translated, roughly, into English below:
A nomad in Montreal, I adored the outside. Walking to Mount Royal in the morning, the nomad that I am exchanged the mountain for the beach. To walk while becoming aware of the new day beginning is important to me. It does not matter that my soles mark the ground or sand…
Some walk to go from point A to point B. But not me, not at all.
I walk because this is my pastime each morning - one of the rare ones that I have always taken with me, from one continent to the other, from one isle to the other…
The sky is pink to the horizon, it is not a completely new day yet. With my eyes closed, I gently carry it, descending the stairways and borrowing a moment by the road at the edge of the sea, before my journey toward the beach.
I take a few steps, and, with my feet in the water, I look at the sun emerging gently from the clouds. Before beginning my morning walk, from sand to the rocks, the rocks to the sand, without leaving the idea that Isla Mujeres was once just a reef of coral, I try to imagine how beautiful it was when it was only first discovered.
With the passing of my thoughts, I arrive to the small creek where, every morning, I take the time to take the time. At this moment, I stretch, and I let my body breathe to the beat of the wave's rhythm. This is the moment where I look towards the North, towards Montreal - holà everyone, yes I think about you every morning!
On return to my house, I begin the day. I look at Netvibes, Twitter, e-mails, and … I'm beautifully surprised as I discover a very pretty portrait that my friend Mary Julie did for me on her new blog... She knew so well how to portray the life of a nomad.
Others had the kindness to talk about my blog, and I thanked some of them. It is always special to me when I receive a small list of questions. It touches me every time. I combined all of these links on a new page that I have left for you to discover. It is entitled 'Nomadic One.'
Wathelet split her time between Montreal and Isle Mujeres, a small island near Cancun. A retired investment counsellor, she described herself as a social media consultant and nomad. Her decision to remain in Mexico on a more permanent basis is explained in another recent blog posting.
José Joaquín Palacios Garza - seen by neighbours with a bloody knife - has been arrested in connection with the crime.