An easy walk around to the bus station then on a direct bus to Chiquila to catch the ferry to Isla Holbox. The bus arrived just in time for the next ferry so in no time I was heading across the Gulf of Mexico to my next destination.

Arriving on Isla Holbox it was clear that there had been a lot of rain recently as the dust roads were flooded or very muddy in places. Best to keep to the pavements where ever possible! I checked into my hostel (getting a top bunk - booo!) then headed out for lunch and an afternoon on the beach after paying the balance of my whale shark trip the next day. The ceviche was really good and a huge portion and served with the ubiquitous tortilla chips. The sand was not as soft as at Tulum - hard under the feet but still very white. The water was also very shallow around the island and much calmer than the Carribean.

Had a good chat to the rest of my dorm who were mostly first language English then went out to try to find some food. I tried to have some sushi at a place around the corner but when I got up to read the menu under better light they gave my table to someone else so I walked out and had Mexican food truck food instead before returning for an early night.

Next morning was another early start to be at the dock for 6.45am to get on my whale shark boat. It took a long time to sort out who was on each boat and I ended up on a boat with only Spanish speakers who didn't even bother to speak to me. My conversation that day was confined to the crew and the wildlife! The journey out to the whale sharks was over 2 hours long and when we arrived there were loads of boats - not just from Isla Holbox but also Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.

We each got 3 turns in the water with the sharks who were enormous and gentle although when you get in front of them and they opened their mouths the sight was slightly worrying. Our guide made sure that we only went in 2 at a time and that we stayed a good distance from the sharks - not always easy when they turn without warning - although other tourists were not so well behaved and one got sent out of the water for trying to touch the whale.

While we were there we also say mantarays which are huge and look very like flying saucers as they soar through the water hardly moving their wings.

After a good viewing session we headed away quickly to out run a storm passing some dolphins and turtles before anchoring for snorkeling and lunch. After lunch we headed to a lagoon where we saw flamingos and pelicans before heading back to Isla Holbox.

That night I ended up in a small restaurant where there was a family of guitar players drinking wine and playing for their own enjoyment while the rest of us ate. They asked me where I was from and I foxed them a bit by saying Wales but they decided Yesterday by the Beatles would be a fair compromise to make me feel at home. Walking back to the hostel I ran into the rest of my dorm and three of us went for a drink in a very chilled bar before heading back for sleep.

My last full day on the island was spent at the beach where I hired a sun bed and sunbathed and swam the whole day before returning to the hostel to change and finally have my sushi at the restaurant around the corner.

Next morning there was time for a few more swims and a bit of sunbathing before showering and heading to the ferry port to get the boat back to the main land. Getting to the other side I decided to go for the transfer option for the sake of speed rather than hanging around for the bus so I arrived in Cancun at a reasonable time in the afternoon.