Cancun & Isla Mujeres... The lovely Caribbean Sea!

 It has taken me awhile to get around to doing a blog post because, being with a traveling companion, I find I have much less down time. Of course this is a wonderful change from the usual solo journey I am so accustomed to. My friend Julie--from Alberto, Canada--is a wonderful companion and roommate. I enjoy our conversations, explorations and the relief of being able to share expenses. Furthermore, my standard of living has been up-leveled as we can afford a bit more luxury in terms of our accommodations. 

We met on Sunday, November 15th, at the Cancun airport: I flew in from Oaxaca, and she from Canada. What a wonderful reunion! We took a bus to our Airbnb--a charming and quaint little place but unfortunately rather moldy....not unusual for these sorts of humid, tropical locales. 

However, when we relocated to a second Airbnb--this time, a condo in quite an impressive high-rise complex--our lives got considerably more interesting. 

Our total time in Cancun---way over-priced, commercial and touristic, as was expected--was only 6 days. We then took a ferry boat over to the closest island, known as Isla Mujeres, where we have been for the past week. Although still quite touristic, it is much less so than the mainland, and a tad more affordable. Here, we have bidden our time most pleasantly: strolling around town, swimming at the beaches and taking a cycle tour around the island (I believe only about 6 miles long from end to end, and perhaps about a mile wide) and a boat ride/snorkeling tour out at sea. We met some delightful "gringo" neighbors from Utah, Michelle and Lee, with whom we have greatly enjoyed hanging out. 

The following photo segments are of Cancun and Isla Mujeres, respectively. 

Cancun: great food, great company! Enjoying the less touristic places:

The night following our rendez-vous at the Cancun airport, Julie and I dined out at a local place near our first Airbnb. Strangely enough, for the first time since my two months in Mexico thus far, I actually ate what I have always thought (erroneously, it now appears!) was a traditional meal: enchiladas and chili rellenos. It was a substantial amount of food and QUITE delicious! We shared both dishes. 

 

Our Airbnb host was quite artistic! Besides sculptures and paintings in our small apartment, he also did this beautiful design on his truck!

Front entrance to our quaint, charming first Cancun Airbnb in a residential district. We purposely avoided the high-priced, commercial and overly touristic hotel district of Cancun. The down side was that we were far from the beach...but we enjoyed a swim in a neighborhood swimming pool. 

After three nights at the first Airbnb, we splurged on a fancier Airbnb in the high-rise complex you see here. The best feature was this monstrous swimming pool they called the "Dream Lagoon", and indeed it was amazing! Probably an 1/8 of a mile in length, it was clean and well maintained, and both Julie and I had the time of our lives going for daily swims in this man made lake! (We are both passionate swimmers.)

We landed in Cancun at the tail end of a hurricane and subsequent storm brushing the coast on its way to Central America....hence, we witnessed a great drama unfolding here: incredibly powerful wind gusts, torrents of rain and magnificent clouds. We often swam between the rain drops! 

View out the window of our 8th floor condo on one side; the lagoon was on the other. Unfortunately, it is apparent that tract housing has taken root in Mexico as well... did they get this from the Americans?! If so, what a shame! 

The view of the lagoon from my bedroom window! 

On day five, we finally made it to the beach and the famous hotel strip of Cancun--it took us 25 minutes via Uber to get there from our condo. As you can see, the beach is tragically filled with high rise hotels, barring the way to the most pristine beach areas. The only patch of beach we had access to was next to a pier--a small area open to the public: namely, low-end tourists like ourselves and the Mexican locals. 

The water of the Caribbean is a gorgeous turquoise; unfortunately, too turbulent and murky from the storms to be clear. The locals, however, were thrilled, as they rarely see real waves on their beaches in Cancun. It was quite entertaining watching couples and families playing in "Las Olas"... and of course I enjoyed the experience myself! 

Couldn't beat these phenomenal skies and color contrasts...

A scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds" descended on our beach when we were swarmed by a flock of sea gulls swooping amongst us beach goers! I also saw several pelicans diving for fish--quite impressive!--and one even landed a few feet away from me in the water! 

Thankfully, they were only interested in riding the wind currents and not dive bombing human heads! 

I greatly enjoyed watching this cute little girl playing by herself in the sand, while a gull kept watch overhead! 

One of the most palatial of the opulent hotels on the horrifically touristic beach strip 

Needless to say, one day at the Cancun beach was enough; next day, we jumped on a ferry boat and high-tailed it for the less opulent and slightly less touristic Isla Mujeres. 

Julie, with her fair Canadian skin, opted for maximal coverage out in the intense, tropical sun of Quintana Roo (the Mexican state where Cancun is located, in the southeast part of Mexico.) 

Approaching the island 

We pulled into a harbor full of VERY nice sailboats, yachts and other impressive craft.

On the island--Isla Mujeres: 

Our Airbnb on the island: 6 charming rental units, with a view out the backside of the ocean....also where we met our dear, new friends (and upstairs neighbors) Michelle and Lee. 

Mural inside the restaurant where we ate our first island dinner: an unimpressive burrito. 

View out the back window of our Airbnb. To the left, you can see the boardwalk, or "malacon", that leads north to the most popular beach area. As you can see, it was frequently stormy during our stay... this was the rough side of the island, facing into the wind. The other side--where we came in on the ferry--was much calmer. 

Famous for its fine, white sand, we definitely have been enjoying barefoot strolls along these amazing beaches. 

Everywhere I have been, the Mexicans honor their beloved "tortugas"! And rightly so... 

Not sure if just a work of art or representing a goddess of the sea...but loved her regardless of why she was there alongside the malecon! 

Playa del Norte, or "north beach", in the early morning, before being swamped with beach goers. If you look closely, you can see the large piles of seaweed washed ashore from the storms. Large crews of city employees came in the mornings to haul massive amounts of seaweed away, leaving the white sand beaches clean and pristine once more! 

On Tuesday-- one of the first clear and totally sunny days--Julie and I rented bikes from a local shop and rode down to the southern tip of the island. It was a pleasant, breezy ride: a sweet young couple here on their honeymoon took this photo for us.

The southern tip boasts of its lighthouse, scenic walkways down to a small structure touted to be a Mayan ruin, and numerous bold iguanas! 

Presumably the island got its name of Isla Mujeres-- "the women's island"--because Mayan women came here to propitiate the sea goddess of fertility. Rumor is that it worked! (how could it not, with voluminous breasts like these?!)

Amazing walkways followed the curve of the coast, weaving in and out of some wonderfully interesting, eroded cliff walls. 

There were no signs, no guides... so one could only guess at the structures: Mayan cistern, perhaps? 

The ruins themselves...pretty against the backdrop of sky and clouds, but otherwise quite unimpressive, me thinks...I am a tad dubious about their authenticity. May just have been a way to collect the entrance fee from gullible tourists! 

Unbeatable views of ocean on every side... 

A tad hard to read in the photo, but this sign indicated that we were standing at the most easterly point in the entirety of Mexico. It mentions that, if one were to be at this point at sunrise, one would be the very first to see the sun rise in the entire country! Rather charming thought, indeed...

Erosion of the cliffs from the salty sea air made for some spectacular textures in the rocks as well as some little caves. 

Mascots of the island, so it seemed! This lovely iguana seemed perfectly happy to pose for me! 

This guy, however, clearly was the granddaddy of them all! Majestic, regal.... the ruler of the rock, to be sure! Here, seen overseeing his dominion....

My favorite reptile, beyond all doubt! Clearly well-adapted to this terrain. 

Off in the distance, across the water: the Cancun skyline. My iguana friend surveys it all, oblivious of--or at least entirely unconcerned about--the myriad tourists taking his photograph. 

After our rigorous bike ride, we could justify hearty tostada-style "burritos" at the Mango Cafe in the center of the island town on our way back. It was as delicious as it looked, albeit a tad under-spiced for my taste (not uncommon in the touristic areas--it seems to be a common, erroneous assumption that gringos cannot handle ANY spice at all, unfortunately!)

Next day: off on an all-day "snorkel tour", in a boat, off the calmer coast facing the mainland. We had 3 "dives" to see the fish and some weird statues that had been "planted" in what the Mexicans called an underwater museum. After so much hype around the wonders we would see, it was largely disappointing. The fish were sparse; the closest we came to a "school" was when our guide threw bits of tortilla into the water...this resulted in a swarm of Sergeant Major fish coming to feed around him. They were indeed beautiful, as were the few fluorescent parrot fish we saw. There were a smattering of others, including a few barracuda. All in all, though, the waters were sadly barren of both fish and vegetation...no doubt the result of too much tourism, over fishing, environmental damage and the like. I am sure it is much the same everywhere these days. 

We were a happy lot: one couple from Minnesota, the older couple (and our new friends/Airbnb neighbors) from Utah, myself and Julie, and a couple sweet guys from Mexico City. 

The shoreline from the boat was quite pretty.... 

There were a few large hotels along the shoreline, but thankfully far fewer than back in Cancun. 

Amazing colors...postcard picturesque, indeed! 

The lovely turquoise of the water never fails to astound and delight! 

A storm descended as we returned...quite dramatic, as always...hard to see, but there was a faint rainbow under those clouds off in the distance. 

Friday night farewell dinner with our friends: Julie on the left; Michelle on the right: she dearly loves her mojitas! 

This island restaurant had a lovely ambiance, but we were disappointed that the live music they had advertised wasn't happening this night. 

A jolly lot we were, to be sure! 

Next up: back to the mainland manana--Cancun, then catching a bus down south, along the coast to Playa Del Carmen.