Today we decided to head to Isla Mujeres which is a small island off the coast of Cancun! We woke up in time for breakfast at the hostel - not a whole lot of sleep was had but it's all good! And after packing up our possessions we caught a taxi to Puerto Juarez where we caught the ferry to the island... Guaranteed people are having a good laugh at my big suitcase and gigantic hand luggage!! Haha I am so not suited to travel in Central America but there's not much you can do when traveling across time zones and climates!! At least I'm getting some exercise in an attempt to lose what I've named "the Boston Bulge" haha...
The ride to the island was just stunning... We were surrounded by that insanely coloured sea for miles! Our hotel was literally a 2 minute walk from the port and we were able to check in well before check in time... Such a friendly man at the front desk! Only wanting to please- it actually makes you feel bad!! We connected to wifi and caught up a bit on news from home and then we set off to explore this gorgeous little island! It has got such character and we immediately fell in love with it! The Main Street is Hidalgo Street and it's just got the cutest shops, restaurants, ice cream spots, bars etc... So gorgeous and characteristic! I finally settled on a hat to buy (think I'm now ready to take on Central America haha) and we stopped at a sweet little place for lunch called Barlito! It seems to be owned by a southern American couple who appear to have chosen this island as their retirement spot and opened up this cute fresh sandwich and salad cafe... We then walked through the town (tiny!) and settled at the most popular beach known as North Beach! We have literally just swum in the dead calm sea, read our books, I've updated this blog and snoozed to my hearts content! I cannot believe how fortunate I am to be experiencing this... A few prayers of thanks have gone to the big man upstairs and I've tried to send on the positive energy surrounding me to those who need it more... My Giugy kooks and our darling Eugene... (Sounds hippy-ish but I don't care!)
We sat on the beach right until the end of the day... The sun started to make its way down to the horizon and it was just magical. We honestly just watched in awe as the colours of the day changed- going from stronger and brighter oranges and yellow to softer and paler pinks and blues... The sun itself was so prominent and it steadily dropped below the sea... It was so peaceful! That was the show we had waited to see and we then packed up and walked back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner. After having an amazing shower (thank you to the review mentioning the strong water pressure!!) we took a walk along Rue Medina (the main road on the island) and checked out the restaurants... When we had decided which one we wanted to try out, we were unfortunately notified that it was closed (8:50pm- no Cancun let me tell you!) This new fact narrowed our choices significantly so we had to eat at the only one that was still open ;) I had some delicious red snapper fillet - our setting was so rustic- plastic table and chairs with our feet in the sand right by the port facing Canun! We took it nice and slow and then finally called it a day and headed back to our room.. We needed to book our accommodation in Tulum so after a full hour of research and comparisons we settled on a rustic spot called OM Tulum! The guarantee of a hammock in our room sold us ;) There will be no electricity in the hotel from 11:30pm to 8am - in line with most solar-paneled hotels along the "beach strip" and I am so so excited to experience this all-natural part of Mexico that comes so highly recommended! But still one more day of exploring this lovable island awaits... Until tomorrow then...
Lesson of the day: Always carry a spare hair tie:
Moment of the day: The setting sun over the Gulf of Mexico <3