Hammer Pants and 2 for 1 Drinks: Welcome to Isla Mujeres!!!

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2/17/10- Left the depressing Hostel Marpez and caught the Puerto Juarez collectivo in front of Chendraui supermarket
and decided to stay at the Pocna on Isla Mujeres. The cheapest way to get around Cancun is the collectivo.
They're half the size of the regular buses and cost 5.50 pesos!!!

I can't help but feel I may have worn the wrong outfit...dressed in a 70's Hawaiian print dress that comes down to my ankles and lugging around a backback and luggage on wheels. The humidity is more than I can bear and I'm sweating like a prize fighter. The citizens of Cancun are on their way to work and I'm on my way to lazy days with tragically hip hippies in lounging around in M.C. Hammer pants sipping cerveza and discussing, in slightly slurred speech, not entirely due to alcohol 😉, the problems in their respective countries.

The collectivo driver is nice enough to let me get on with my bags, but keep in mind the buses are usually quite rammed with people. I give the guy a small tip. Hell, it would've cost me $20 pesos to take a cab! The people are curious about this sweaty senorita and I offer a few cookies to a little girl. The mother thanks me and I begin practicing my Spanish. So far a good start. There are two ports that the driver will stop at. DON'T GET OFF OFF AT THE FIRST PORT! This is where the tourist boats are and they charge a ridiculous amount for a 1/2 hour booze cruise. Just take the collectivo to the end of the line which is the correct port...Puerto Juarez. The round trip ticket only cost $70 pesos and you can come back whenever you like. Remember that the ferry only runs from around 6 a.m. to 9:30 pm. in case you've got to make a flight.

Most of the people going to Isla Mujeres are on their way to work. There's a mariachi band that's travelling with me and a couple of them are very handsome. Arrgghh!! Why am I sweating like a pig! I'm going to skip ahead a little bit to when I arrive on the island.

How can I best describe it in a way that will compell you to go??? The smell of the sea, the pink, blue and purple pastel colored houses and Corona card tables with rickety chairs. There are no annoying touts here. Isla Mujeres is too laid back for such crap. The open air restaurants chock full of Mexican memorabilia, the taco carts with the sound of the meat hitting the grill and the onions...mmmm.....

It' about a 10 minute walk to the Pocna from the port. Okay, you've heard me give hints about the Pocna Hostel now I'm going to tell you why I think it's the best. As soon as you enter through their open air lobby you'll hear some chilled out reggae blaring from the many speakers. The prices are listed on the wall. It's so flippin' cheap! It's around 10 for a dorm bed mixed or separate and about $15-40 for a private Regardless of which room you choose, you'll get a free welcome drink. A few dorms have a/c, but you really don't need as the layout of the dorms encourage the flow of cool air. The rooms are spacious and basic. I'm not going to lie to you...my bed had sand in it and the mattress looked like it was bought in 1980. I didn't care as they give you sheets. So if you're expecting A+ service and brand new beds go to one of the many cheap hotels. This place is for the young and the young at heart. It's for the adventurous and beautiful. If your idea of a good break is to lay in hammocks all day listening to reggae, sipping on pina coladas and dancing till 5 a.m. and singing songs with your new found Spanish friends then by all means please come!

You can't cook your own food or bring in alcohol (yeah right) but you can take advantage of the cheap drinks. Only $40 pesos for two drinks all night! In fact the whole island seems to engaged in the 2 for 1 drink specials all night. There's a special undescribable magic about the nights at the Pocna.

As a female single traveller (can be shy at times) I fell in love with how easy it was to meet people. I went through the ritual of beautification with my Spanish and Israeli roommates. This humidity turns my hair into one big poofball unless I use a flat iron every 2 hours. One of my roommates plucked her eyebrows and the other sat on the top bunk writing postcards. The food the sweet old ladies cook up is tolerable...at best. Don't worry you're right around the corner from a charming outdoor cafeteria serving good food. One restaurant has Poc-Chuc in the title and serves up tasty pozole and poc-chuc to cure your hangover so you can get to the arduous task of snorkelling.

I'll sum up my passage with tips.

1. Take the collectivo to get to Puerto Juarez. Only $5.50!!!! Don't bring luggage on. The buses are really too small.
2. The Pocna's a 10 minute walk from the Isla Mujeres port.
3. Get a dorm bed for around $100-140 pesos. You don't need a/c...really.
4. The food at their restaurant..well..sucks. The drinks are killer though. For food go around the corner to the cafeteria or the many snack carts around the main square.

So far I've spent $200 dollars. $300 to go!


More to come....about the sinful nights on Isla Mujeres!

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