Isla Mujeres

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Claire:

we hung about for a day or so in cancun (in the comfy little hostel that we stumbled across) to see how the weather was going to turn out over the following few days. the weather report told us cancun would have thunderstorms for another 3 days so we were considering another long bus trip to try and find some good weather. however the weather man was lying to us and the sun was blinding on tuesday morning; we decided to hang around the area and soak up the rays.

cancun was getting a bit too much for us (the tour touts and guys outside the restraunts can be a bit aggressive when trying to lure tourists in) so we took a ferry across to isla mujeres (the island of women) to investigate it a little. its only a little island, about 8km long, that lies 11km off the shore of cancun and is a lot more laid back than cancun. on the island we visited the beach, then the beach at sunset (soooo pretty!), a turtle farm where they bring up turtles that are taken in as eggs to save them from poachers, an iguana hotspot on the most southerly tip of the island, and the ruins for which the island was named (though we didnt go in as they cost a bit much - we just admired them from afar). the island was named after cortez landed here and found ruins with stuatues of only women here. he thought that originally this island may have been inhabited by only women and so he called it isla mujeres.

our spanish is improving a teeeny bit and were enjoying the more relaxed pace on the island (though i still want a golf cart, the bikes here really hurt your bum!).
the whole island is drink mad though and everywhere has 2 4 1 in happy hour on every drink imaginable; the sign outside one bar says "happy hour - 11am till youre drunk!" and all the bars seem to keep the same fabulous hours. so we got a bit drunk sampling the cocktails. at ross' brothers suggestion we started on the mohjitos (they were huge like fishbowls!) and then settled in a bar that has sol for 1USD(!!).

ross seems to be getting eaten alive by the mosquitos... he had about 20 bites at last count. the repellant and germoline regime has well and truly begun for him.
current mozzie bite score: ross 20; claire 1. yay claire! (poor ross!). i apologise for the number of ross' iguana photos, hes in charge of the photo uploading today so ive no idea how many will end up on here. after ourtrip to the iguana hotspot today his iguana obsession seems to be assuaged (yay!) but a new butterfly obsession has begun. blurry photos of butterflies soon to come.

we only have 3 nights left until we join our tour to take us down the coast so we're trying to decide what to do next. in the meantime we're off for some dinner and some cervesa. have fun x

Ross:

Not got much to add today; getting eaten alive out here, these island mossies have a taste for Scotsmen, my legs and feet are covered in bites. The bike ride to the south of the island was most envigorating dispite the heat. gona take it easy tonight then head back to Cancun and decide what we're going to do before we join the tour on saturday.
Cheap beer ahoy!

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Photos

playa norte bar
this bar had swings for seats. claire was excited.

the view from our hostel on isla mujeres
the beach was about 100m away. its the beachy loking bit in the middle.

south of the island
the ruins are the wall looking bit on the left of the land

ross at the south of the island
i thought this rock looked a bit precarious...

Comments

[Craig Webster]

You could have climbed that rock!
The precarious rock looks ace for bouldering around! Steal me a lizard? Craig x

[Willie]

Travel, Bikes and the world
Drunk in charge of a bike - or the other way round - a bike in charge of you - could possibly be an arrestable offence in Mexico but if the local "swally" is as good as you say it is then you wont be caring anyway. Photos are fab - really envious - weather here not quite as good as where you are but there are consolations - No mossies - and we are playing dodgems and races every 2 days with a car left for our use :-) - Sometimes we just sit in the drive and rev the engine - startles the locals and the horses. Keep up the commentary and pics - really entertaining - but hope you are managing to do these quickly and don't spend too long on them. Hope Ross finds a remedy for the mossie attacks - i understand there is a cure based on local female attention - oops bang goes that as a solution then :-) Places look idyllic bfn dad