Cancun and Isla Mujeres, Mexico

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Bienvenido a México

It's been said that no one believes in love at first sight more than the people of Mexico. Many travelers who sit on white-sand Caribbean beaches in the Yucatan feel that love. As do those who climb the steep Mayan pyramid steps or venture into the cool, lemon-lime hills of Chipas where 21st-century Maya embrace traditions that date back centuries. Both areas - sitting across the northern extremes of Central America - are convenient add-ons or gateway to a Central American journey.

Intro to Cancun and Isla Mujeres

Cancun

In the Yucatan, the beach-resort mecca of Cancun is a major gateway to the region, and sits convenient to better strips of sand or coral reef at Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, and Tulum. It's all packaged in a tolerable glitz, with towns (and visitors) unlike anything you'll see further south.

Isla Mujeres

Half a dozen kilometers from the mainland - and a planet away from Cancun - little Isla Mujeres (Island of Women) sports a locals-mingle-with-visitors vibe not found in other Yucatan beach towns. Turquoise water enevlops its skinny 8 kilometers, and offshore reefs are big draws for divers and snorkelers. A moped or bike ride along the rougher eastern shore is often in solitude. And the hostel is one of Mexico's best. It's easy to like it here. Both Mayan and pirates visited long before it became an unofficial "backpackers' Cancun" more than a decade ago. That status has changed plenty in recent years, spurred on by local tourism efforts (as an official carelessly said, "backpackers aren't profitable"). A more mid-range crowd pours in on day trips, but many bypass the town (and best beach) for the overpriced nature park on the other end of the island. The town is at the island's northern tip, where the ferry arrives. Avenue Rueda Medina loops around the island, connecting town and beach clubs to the south.

Our Experience

We made our way from the Cancun Airport over to one of the Pueto Juarez, and from there we ferried off to Isla Mujeures. We had a particular hostel in mind, but one of those people who ask if you need a hostel seemed pretty cool, so we stayed at his little hotel/hostel that his family ran. It ended up being the same price as the hostel we were going to stay at, but it was not a dorm 😊.

After getting settled in, we walked around the island for a bit, and after I struck out twice looking for a place to eat, we did finally find food (next to jackhammering). We then proceeded to completely pass out early as we had been up for about 36 hours at that point.

When we finally woke up 12 hours later, we decided to take our hotel owner guy up on his offer of a snorkeling trip that included lunch (we looked around and his prices actually seemed a bit cheaper than some others and it was not crowded; it was only us and an Italian couple on the boat). In addition to lunch and snorkeling, he also took us to a sea turtle farm.

After the snorkeling trip, we did our best to post more blog entries, but right when we were done typing the first one up, the internet went down, and all was lost. The we took a much deserved nap 😊. We woke up later that evening, enjoyed the sun setting on the island, grabbed some food at a great little restaurant, and relaxed.

The next morning, we got up around 6 am to catch the 7 am ferry back to Cancun to begin our trek to Chichen Itza (Mayan ruins about two and a half hours inland).

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Comments

[anonymous]

Enjoying your updates. Glad you are safe.