Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen

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We’ve been in Mexico just over a week now and we’ve been having a really good time. We started off in a hotel in Cancun just to make things easier to get over the jetlag. Our room was slightly weird but clean and comfortable. The hotel was really quiet so when we went down to the beach there was hardly anyone on there. It was really good just to have a day to completely relax because we had both lost the plot a little due to the jetlag. We also didn’t have a clue how much the Mexican pesos were compared to the pound as we never looked beforehand! Our first meal on the day we got there was in some tacky Americanised shopping and eating complex and was expensive and rubbish but it did the job.

The second night we went to Downtown Cancun where it is more of a city than a long strip of hotels and had some ceviche (fish, prawns, octopus with tomatoes, onions, lime juice and coriander) it was really nice but probably wasn’t the best choice as Rich had had a dodgy belly and bum all day! The buses to and from the hotel zone were brilliant. They had air con and went like stink al for the price of MX$17.00 return (Less than £1). See I know what I’m spending now!

The next day we left our hotel and treated ourselves to a taxi to the ferry port. Looking back we should have just got the bus as it really wasn’t that difficult to get there and we probably would have had enough time to still make the ferry. The ferry took only 30min to get to the Isla Mujeres (Woman Island). The island had a much more laid back feel about it and is much more authentic Mexico. We stayed in a hotel in the town centre for 3 nights. Good value but really , really hot! It was also noisy but I really enjoyed hearing the daily sounds of the island and the bar nearby played great Cuban style music! Drinks and food were a lot tastier and much better value than Cancun. It’s a really touristy area of Mexico but most people just go to the island for a day trip so it’s not too bad in the evening. Also it’s the beginning of the low season so the island was really quite quiet. There were lots of people selling trips and we decided we wanted to snorkel with Whale Sharks. Spent some time bartering with the touts and booked ourselves on.

It took 45min to get out to where the Whale sharks were feeding. On our boat was an Austrian guy wearing solely speedos who Rich befriended. His name was Igntz (still not sure how to pronounce it) and he just loved sitting back with his legs apart just working those speedos! Found out later Aussies call them dick stickers! Igntz (apart from the wardrobe malfunction) was actually a really nice guy who had loads of knowledge about diving.

We were worried it was going to be hardly any sharks but loads of boats which would have been really horrible for the sharks but it wasn’t like that at all. There had to have been at least 100 whale sharks! We couldn’t believe how many there were. There were plenty of sharks per boat of people. We had a guide with us who let four of us jump of the boat at a time when a Whale shark came past. As soon as you jumped into the water you could just swim along beside it, it felt really tranquil under the water with them. Some swam faster than others, but the slow ones you could keep up with. At one point I was swimming with one, then heard Rich shout look behind you and there was another one coming right at me! As soon as they see anything in their path they seemed to move to avoid it so I didn’t feel like I was going to accidently get munched! After the whale sharks we got to snorkel on a reef where we saw loads of fish including a parrot fish. What I found strange about the Mexicans is that on one hand they are trying hard to be environmentally friendly (there are turtle farms, they have also dropped big ‘fish houses’ into the sea to encourage coral to grow etc) but on the other hand there are tons of little stalls selling big conch shells and starfish which have blatantly been plucked out of the sea so it must be legal or people are just turning a blind eye to it.
That night we watched a beautiful sunset and then I got bitten twice by some insect, I suspect a mosquito (more about that later). I like to think of it as yin and yang.

The next day we hired a golf buggy and drove around the whole island (approx. 8km long). We decided not to bother paying to look at the Mayan temple (looked like a load of rubble). We then sped around the island at the extreme speed of 10mph! We rocked up at a good scenic point looking at the sea and made ourselves some tortillas for lunch and washed them down with a couple of bottles of Sol.
On the way around the island we saw an entrance to what we thought was a lovely idyllic beach spot. We parked the buggy and wandered over. When we got a little further we first noticed some dog poo, then a stagnant pool with up turned plastic chairs in (alarm bells should have started ringing) then four dogs were barking at us. We decided that the beach was actually rubbish and started heading back which was when we got attacked by a swarm of mosquitos (there was me thinking I was safe in the day) and we both ended running and slapping mosquitos off each other. We both ended up with about 15 bites each after that! Later that evening I noticed my head had started swelling where the mosquito had bit me the previous night. I took some anti-histamine and applied various creams and went to sleep.

The next morning my face had started to swell so Rich decided to call me Quasy. We were also supposed to be going on a snorkelling trip but I couldn’t face putting my head in a mask so we postponed it until the next day. Rich told me to take well over the RDA of anti- histamine tablets but the swelling was growing so I just kept taking them! (I haven’t noticed any side effects yet!) Eventually decided to go to the pharmacy at ask advice, they looked strangely at me as if to say ‘a mosquito did that?’ and then rummaged around their shelves and found me something with some steroids in as well. Moved hotel that day as saw a hotel with air con and a sea view for $40 (US) so decided to treat ourselves and stay there. That night we stayed in as I felt like Sloth from The Goonies, had some pizza and some beers. Despite the new meds I woke up the next morning and my eye was swollen shut, (new nickname, Rocky) so again postponed the snorkelling as couldn’t see the point in going and not being able to see anything. I spent that day in the pool at our hotel and Rich spent time doing business stuff in his overseas HDL office. We worked out we could buy a bag of ice and beers from the supermarket and make a sink fridge to keep them cool.

The next day my eye had gone down considerably so we went on the snorkelling trip. It was great but the wind had got quite strong so it was quite choppy in the water but the visibility was still great. We saw loads of fishes and corals. Two km off the island there are loads of sculptures which they have sunk under the water which we went out to see. The sculptures are only 10m deep so you can see them snorkelling. There was a stone VW beetle and loads of sculptures of people just looking up at you. Rich actually dived down to look closer and managed to touch them. After a while of looking at them the swell was so bad that I did start feeling sick so was glad when we finally got back to land.
After that we picked up our stuff from the hotel and got the ferry back to Cancun and then a bus onwards to Playa del Carmen (only cost £2 each) which was about 50 min South. That’s where we are now, it is much better than Cancun. There are still a lot of big hotels along the beach but it is a lot more authentic and Mexican. There was a massive thunder storm last night which was apparently the tail end of hurricane Irene. We were getting wet sat in the restaurant and there were torrents of water running off buildings and into buildings. There was also loads of lightening. For the first time in a week I was actually cold! Along the main strip the restaurants are fairly expensive but off the main drag there are loads of cheap eateries. We got our breakfast opposite our hotel today for about £1.50 each. Mexicans really know how to eat breakfast we had huevos Mexicana (eggs scrambled with tomato, peppers and onions) vegetable rice and frijoles (refried beans). Rich hates refried beans and thought he was going to puke when he saw them. I told him to man up. Spent the rest of the day walking along the beach checking out kite launching spots and listening to Rich grumbling about how expensive it is to hire the kit. I told him either to accept the fact it’s an expensive sport or give it up. Booked ourselves on a trip to Chichen Itza and found a great Italian restaurant that did the best beef carpaccio. Rich said he wanted a break from Mexican food and then ordered the pizza Mexicana! So, off to Chichen Itza early doors tomorrow and then heading South to Tulum the day after.

Sorry if it’s a bit waffley I can’t be bothered to proof read it 😊
Adios amigos
Linz x

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Photos

Snorkelling trip
The rusting boat behind was after the island was devastated by hurricane Wilma 6 years ago.