Isla Mujeres; A Rundown on Hotels and Unicorns

No trip is complete without a near-death experience! This time we got to watch it unfold. Seven teenage American girls dragged a giant unicorn floaty to the beach. Based on their pale skin, it was their first day on the beach. Four of the girls climbed on the unicorn and assumed the sun-tanning position. We were standing out in the shallow water near the bouys. They floated past us and over the top of the bout line. We noted they were talking, therefore they were awake. The two moms were also talking and not paying attention to the girls who were now about 100ft past the bouys. The wind started picking up and like a sailboat, was taking them out to sea, they started futilely paddling with their hands. The moms were still oblivious. Now they’re just a speck on the horizon near the shipping channel… next stop—Cuba. A tour boat finally took pity on them and threw a rope to them, which they seemed to have a difficult time hanging onto for some reason. After several attempts they drag the girls to the shallower water and left them there. The unicorn turned its horn to the horizon once again… the girls were still unable to paddle in. Joe took pity on them and swam out to push them in until their feet touched the ground. Moms? Still chatting and oblivious.

Next year we are bring 10-12 friends and family back here. The search for the best hotel has been interesting. I’ll share my findings with you. I’m not going to give the prices to you because those fluctuate with the seasons. All of these are air-conditioned.

Playa Arena is on the beach and includes the use of their beach chairs. They do have a tiny pool on the terrace, but the water gets way too warm to be of any use. The garden is lush and well maintained. It’s a small two-story hotel with a restaurant on the beach. This is where we usually stay because of the location and the excellent service.

Cabanas Maria Del Mar is also located beachside. A street runs between its buildings with Bujo’s restaurant and the “Castle” on one side, and the “Cabanas” and “Tower” with the garden and pool on the other. The Cabanas are older with a gorgeous fragrant garden. The pool is in the garden. The entries to most of the rooms are shaded. The rooms are small and have traditional tile floors and doubles beds. Some rooms have king-size. 

The Castle is nothing like a castle whatsoever… It’s more like a modern hotel with an enclosed, echoing hallway. The rooms are spacious with a tiny balcony looking over the adjacent property. The Towers are also nothing like their name… three or four stories tall in a long strip. Bujo’s food is mediocre, but it’s beautifully situated on the sand with great airflow.

Media Luna and Secreto are next to each other. Both are very private, exclusive places. The ocean is rough on that side of North Beach as it’s on the eastern tip. If you are looking to be secluded and quiet, these look like they would suit that need. I walked through the lobby and was immediately impressed with the view. A small, pretty pool looks out over the ocean waves.

Na Balam is a large place on the most northern tip. It is on both sides of the road leading to the bridge going to the Mia Reef island. I walked around the grounds and was impressed with how peaceful it is. The only drawback is the water is very-very shallow at their beach… the northern side, between them and the little island with Mia Reef, is a knee deep lagoon. Around the western side is waist deep for probably a hundred yards at least. Great for little kids though. The restaurant facing east is beautiful, but oddly limited in wine and beer choices. They had one red wine and it was terrible. They used to have good fish tacos (back when they had good wine), but we didn’t bother eating there this time because of the beverage choices.

Mia Reef is an all inclusive located on a tiny little island like a dot at the tip of Isla Mujeres. They have a bridge and a guard. I’ve never heard anything negative about it.

Hotel Villa Kiin is somehow built amongst the Na Balam hotel. Either they are one place with two names or Na Balam wrapped itself around Hotel Kiin. Anyway they share the same review from me since I can’t tell where one begins and the other ends. 

Nautibeach/Mayan Beach Club is right next to Playa Arena. It’s difficult to figure out where this place begins and ends. I’ve wandered around a little bit and all I can say is it’s popular. It’s a bustle of activity. The Mayan Beach Club restaurant  is one of our favorite lunch spots. They have swing-set chairs at the bar and the Baja Tacos are scrumptious. We ate there probably 3-4 times a week! In the evening they clear the beach chairs away and set up white tablecloth dining on the sand with tiki torches.

Chi-Chi’s and Charlie’s is an old place. It is pretty well situated at the curve of the beach. They have a restaurant and a uniquely organized layout. It appears they are expanding right now. A large building is being built at its backside. I understand it’s pretty cheap… it looks kind of dumpy.

Privelege Aluxes is big and white. Otherwise I don’t know much. It seems to be set back from the beach slightly, but not really a problem. It looks expensive.

The Hotel Paradise Suites is super cool looking. The rooms are works of art, not the most functional bathrooms I’ve seen with no counter-space but gorgeous. The grounds are spread out over a large bit of property, which is enclosed. It is located about fifty yards from the beach. A lot of sculptures are strategically placed everywhere. They have a decent sized pool, and I think they have a gym too. I’m pretty sure it’s an expensive hotel.

Poc Na is a super cool youth hostel. A bulletin board towards the front gives the times for all the activities and sports, like beach volleyball. They do have private rooms with AC, but most are shared 4-6 people (prices range from about 12-35 bucks a night). 75% of the grounds are sand. It has a popular bar, which I imagine is pretty noisy and rowdy.

I hope that was helpful :)

Isla Mujeres, Lazy

Our days are mostly spent laying around like iguanas. Exercise is adjusting my beach towel without getting off of it. I don’t know if floating on my back is considered exercise? But we do often walk in the water, slowly, among the anchored yachts. Does eating fish tacos while sitting on a bar swing count? But, honestly we’ve been working out every morning before it gets too hot… speed walking, swimming back and forth in the ocean, and yoga.

The beach merchants are quite interesting and polite. They sell sarongs, jewelry, hats, baskets, tattoos (Izzy and I got henna tattoos), cigars, popsicles, t-shirts, their first born child, anything you want. The shops in town vary. I’ve put the staff into three categories: jerks, smart alecks, and nice. The jerks start really-really nice and get pissed if you say you need to need to think about it. I do not go back to those places, even if their price is the lowest. The smart alecks are usually the younger ones and they like to lie through their teeth to see how much you’ll believe. They also like to say in Spanish that it’s free if you speak Spanish… this is my personal favorite. It’s all meant to be fun, and if you call them on their fibs (like saying they are from China or Canada) they laugh and give you even better deals. The nice ones are nice. Here’s your guide to getting the best prices: 1) after getting your quote ask, “Es lo Menos?” – “Is that the lowest price?” 2) just finger your item and look wishful… say you need to think about it… say you can’t afford it… the price will drop to less than half 90% of the time. 3) Simply say it’s too expensive.

There are two types of streets here; the main pedestrian street where you can’t walk twenty feet without a salesman trying to engage your interest, and all the other streets. Just one street over is quiet and more shaded. Night time is fun to go down main street to see all the activity and street performers. Otherwise go to the side streets.

It turns out Izzy and I share a weird passion. We like cemeteries. The cemetery at north end is fascinating. We found some graves dating back to the 1800s. Lots of them are little tiny ones with babies adorned with stuffed animals. I love the ones with the angel statues with their finger to their lips asking for respectful silence as the world noisily bustles outside the walls. Iguanas stare languidly at you as you cruise around the tombs.

Yesterday was Election Day. All of the stores had the alcohol displays covered with blankets. The bars were forbidden to sell alcohol at the bar. The only way to get a glass of wine or a beer was to eat at a table… you couldn’t even sit at a table to order alcohol without ordering food. It’s against the law on Election Day. Apparently they think people vote more reasonably if they’re sober. I like it. It is a sober decision.

I’ve picked up three quotes here that I like: “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi. “Great things never came from comfort zones.” Mogagua Café. “Be calm, you’re on the fun side of the wall.” T-shirt. There’re a lot of shirts with sayings I won’t be repeating here.

We have eaten at so many different restaurants, I don’t know where to begin… so I won’t. Come here yourself and eat. There’s not a bad place, including the street vendors. Just try everything. That being said we had a couple of repeat places; Dopi’s with its grass-fed organic beef. The Filet Mignon was delish. Muelle Siete is excellent and gorgeous. We went back there for our thirtieth anniversary. I think they make very good Mole Negro. We told the waiter it was our anniversary, so he surprised us with a slice of chocolate cake. After we left we went to Lola Valentino’s for a glass of wine (Great selection of wine) and the server brought us another huge slice of chocolate cake! Ooff… too much sugar for me, but Joe and Izzy chowed down… well, so did I but it was too much. The best meal was at Casa del Tikinxic (Tick-en-shick) on the south side of the island at Playa Lanchero. Get a taxi, or rent a golf cart and bring your swimsuit. Tikinxic is the indigenous plate for Isla Mujeres. It’s a kilo of fish prepared with a specialty rub and cooked in an open kiln. It is delicious and feeds three-four people.

We went to the South Point Park. This is a must for anyone who can walk an easy paved trail and steps. The trail wraps around the end of the island within feet of the water. They have a cool walk-through tunnel of sorts that looks out over both sides of the island… great photo op! This area is famous for being the furthermost eastern part of Mexico. They have a little amphitheater here to be the first person in Mexico to watch the sun rise. 

I chose this place to spread Aunt Judy’s and Leo’s ashes. I think they both would have loved it here.

Last night we walked out to our favorite bar (because it’s on the windy side and in the shade), The Tiny Gecko. The band talked Izzy into getting up on stage and shaking the maracas and singing one word, “Man.” It’s amazing what she’s willing to do. For someone who is labeled as shy, she sure is daring.

Well goodbye for now. We leave tomorrow. I’ll finish the last blog on the plane about hotel choices for Isla Mujeres. So expect one more post about mid-week.

Isla Mujeres, one week down!

Today finds me planted at a café called Mogagua. It’s on a busy little corner in the middle of town. I just downed a double-shot macchiato and have jittery fingers, so excuse me if this blog post seems a little intense! I should probably eat something. Izzy is writing a book, so she’s scribbling away on a notebook we bought at the grocery store.

Every morning we go for a speed walk. The other day Izzy and I decided to go past the little airport and loop around it to extend our walk by maybe twenty minutes. That turned into a two hour and fifteen minute walk… turns out there’s a lagoon past the runway. We kept expecting to be able to cut across the island, but it just kept going and going. Finally we cut across somebody’s dirt yard. We were a little lost, so we followed a Chihuahua and found our way to the other side.

Today on our walk we noticed the roads were closed along the ocean avenue. I asked a photographer what was happening. He answered in detail... I think. I didn’t understand a word he said. There’s certain accents that are so rapid and warbled it’s almost impossible to understand, and when you say you don’t understand, they just repeat themselves the same way. For example, Izzy and I got a taxi to the super-mercado mid-island—3 bucks. On the way there we chatted with the driver the whole way. Coming back our driver chatted the whole way, and I just stared at him in bafflement. The only thing I caught was that he is 100% Mayan and a boxer. Anyway back to our walk… It’ turned out to be a children’s 5k run. The parents and teachers lined the street, but I managed to catch video of the start.

Joe just showed up. Time to eat. After laboring over the menu I decided to stick to Mexican food and ordered enchiladas suizas. It’s a chicken enchilada with green sauce… yummy.

I’ve discovered stuffed animals this time. I’ve seen them before, but this time they have more. I’m in love with this little lion. The jewelry is gorgeous here. We came across an artist who macramés necklaces with local stones in them. Just beautiful. There’re a couple of shops with very good leatherwork: handbags, belts, and wallets.

We’ve discovered a few new places to hang out (besides this coffee shop). El Patio has a comfy bench seat with cushions and is known for its live music. Our official favorite is the Tiny Gecko. It’s on the windy side about halfway down the ocean walkway. They have beer at half the price and very cheap tacos. We order guacamole.The other night a skinny old dude who looked Amish stopped and introduced himself as the musician performing in a moment. I could imagine what he would play and how he would sing. I was wrong. He started by playing Sweet Home Alabama on an electric guitar and substituted Alabama for California.

Then he attached a bizarre mustache and beard, and played ZZ Top! He was actually very good, and of course being ten feet from the crashing waves wasn’t too bad either.

The guys here are smitten with Izzy. They keep trying to sneak conversations with her when Joe’s looking the other way. We were in a shop the other day and I could tell the salesman was liking Izzy. Pretty soon he asked her if she was buying a present for her boyfriend. She said no she doesn’t have a boyfriend, as she tossed her blonde ponytail. He whispered in her ear, “Do you want a boyfriend?” She laughed at that one. Guys in America aren’t that brave.

This chair cushion is killing me… I’m calling it quits for now.