Isla Mujeres non diving trip report

[Giggi]

Well, I went and I didn't get to go diving. El Norte had some powerful winds going, and I never made it over to Cozumel. I suppose I will be strung up by the dive community for saying this, but I have to say that in spite of being so close and not diving, I had an absolute blast and didn't really miss out by not diving!

We stayed in a very modest, single bedroom apartment for $35US per night.

We ate nearly every night at Sancocho's which is undeniably the best restaurant on the island (or so we were told). Alex and Maggie are locals who run a top notch restaurant, which also doubles as a sports bar where we spent most of our down time in the evenings.

I'm a horrible travel reporter, btw, as I don't really keep travel journals.

Breakfast at the Bistro is phenomenal.

Aluxe's coffee shop has the best coffee and banana bread on the island.

Right across from our apartment was a little shop where a sweet lady named Hortensia made me a pair of pajamas.

There are a couple of really good restaurants on the coast, where we ended up going when Sancocho's was closed.

For dancing, Bamboo II opens around 11:00 p.m. and it's a beautiful place with swings and large hand carved chairs all over the place.

The beaches were fantastic, but there were several dead fish washing in, I'm presuming due to the surges created by El Norte.

Dead fish identified: 1 spotted cowfish, 1 puffer, 1 queen angelfish, 1 yellow bar jack, and a plasticsackfish that I had originally mis-identified as a jellyfish.

Needless to say, I can't give much more of a trip report than that because what happens on Isla Mujeres STAYS on Isla Mujeres, hahahahaa.

 

[livewire]

That was freaking hilarious. Okay, so for those of us who have never been to Isla Mujeres, what's it like outside of the the restaurant and the dance place and the sweet lady who made your pajamas? Is there a town? ruins? other sites to see? Can't ask you about the diving unfortunately, but you can fill us in on the other things to do and sites to behold.

 

[Spratman]

Actually, that was a great report! You took a bad situation and made a memorable trip out of it. Yeah, some of us would have been bummed the entire time, but you just cannot waste the opportunity. Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[Giggi]

That was freaking hilarious. Okay, so for those of us who have never been to Isla Mujeres, what's it like outside of the the restaurant and the dance place and the sweet lady who made your pajamas? Is there a town? ruins? other sites to see? Can't ask you about the diving unfortunately, but you can fill us in on the other things to do and sites to behold.

Well, I suppose for entertainment, you can sit on the beach and watch the pod people come in off the party boats, get shuffled in to the beach restaurant, walk up and down the streets looking confused.... they are easily spotted by their harsh sunburns, braided hair, and glazed look on their faces as they are shuffled around like cattle.

I have heard that there are a lot of touristy things to do, such as a turtle farm, and swimming with the dolphins, but I don't like doing the touristy things. I'd much rather sit and get to know the locals around a few beers.

Walking down the main coastal street on Isla Mujeres, you'd think you were walking along the main drag on Cozumel, without the diver statue, and the beach goes much further out, but that's due to Wilma's terraforming. Apparently, the beaches were much longer on the other side, and much shorter on the mainland side...now it's just the opposite.

Sorry it's not much of a trip report, but I hate to think of all the things I didn't get to see or do in such a short time there. Other than go diving, I got to do everything I wanted to do. Next year, I'm riding a bicycle around the island, and I'm definitely staying long enough to do a day trip to Coz for some diving.