Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Isla Mujeres; Arrival and Advice


Hola!

We’re back on Isla Mujeres. A lot of reasons for that, the most important being that we’ve planned it for a couple of years. This is my first vacation with my sister. She’d never been out of the country (USA). It was pretty cool to help her plan for it—passports, swimsuits, packing lists, etc. Her husband, Herb, was equally excited, albeit not as obvious. Now we’re all here, along with our friends the Wards and the Mettlers.


I'd begun to get a little nervous about whether or not Deb would like this type of vacay. Isla is like a mixture of a weekend street market and a state fair. I finally asked her if she would be happy going to such a laid-back rustic place. She assured me she was a hillbilly and would be fine.

Our first hiccup was a change in flights. American Airlines gave us only 40 minutes layover in Dallas! The plane boards 30 minutes before its flight! Have you ever been to Dallas Airport? It’s huge. Add to that Joe’s back injury he got a week before our trip… he can barely walk, let alone walk fast. Anyway, we made it—last ones on the plane.


Cancun’s customs is a breeze. Masks are required, which is a bizarre experience. It was a strange experience to walk up to a customs officer with a mask on. After baggage claim there’s a contraption you have to walk through that mists you with some chemical to kill covid, and probably me.

We use AGI transportation, which I highly recommend. AGI will be waiting outside the airport doors to escort you to your van. They take you to the Ultramar Ferry dock and hand you your prepaid ferry tickets. If you have time, grab a beer or whatever from the bar located at the entrance for the ferry. You can carry it onboard the ferry. Head to the top deck if it’s not pouring, that way you can treat it like a 20 minute excursion. Once you get to the Isla Mujeres dock, head straight toward the street and look for your AGI rep (the van driver will give you his name). This is your prepaid taxi ride to the hotel. Don’t worry about whether or not your suitcases will fit in the compact taxi—they have lots of bungee cords. Now look around and relax for the few minutes it takes to get you to your destination. As an added bonus, AGI does offer a yacht ride over, if your group is big enough. I’m guessing the cost of the individual ferry tickets eventually equals the cost of a yacht. We had enough people for a yacht ride, but the weather didn’t cooperate.

A quick note about taxis… they are very cheap here. We took one to a nearby restaurant (maybe two miles away) and it was 60 pesos. At this time that equaled 3 dollars for four of us.


Once we arrived at the hotel and got settled my sister and hubby showed up at our doorstep super excited to be here. It was dusk and they couldn’t see the ocean but could hear it. I offered to guide them to the beach—forty feet away, but they didn’t know that. :) When they realized the hotel is literally on the beach, they skidded to a stop and Herb said, “What the…?” Deb threw her arms around me and said, “This is just like a movie!” Then she went right into the water.


The weather had been continuously overcast with sporadic downpours for the first couple of days. Lovely temperature. There was actually some good wave action to play in, but today dawned calm and flat. The yachts that hang out near the beach are back. Admittedly, I prefer them not to be here because of the blaring music (Cancun Sailing is the worst—foul language rap music), but I love the idea of it meaning the economy is attempting to make a come-back. Covid shut-downs here are life threatening—it’s not an economic hardship, it’s starvation. Everyone living and working on the island wears a mask to help visitors feel safe. It’s pretty laid back as to whether or not the tourist has to wear a mask. It seems to be up to the individual. If you are fearful of catching it, it’s perfectly okay to wear a mask. Some guests wear them continuously.


So, now I will write about something I rarely write about, but troubles happen to all travelers. Joe incurred an injury while running right before our trip. We made the decision to travel anyway. The pain would be the same anywhere in the world. Here are some tips for making it work: Take your time and go at your own pace. Request assistance—the locals are very accommodating. Get a wheelchair at the airport if needed. If at possible, make sure you have a way to email or private message your physician before you leave the US. It’s been very helpful for us to be able to chat with our doctor while here. There are several pharmacies here, and most prescriptions can be replicated here… usually considerably cheaper too. 

For meals take taxis to any of the many restaurants not located on the pedestrian street (Miguel Hidalgo). If you can walk 200-300 feet then get a taxi to the closest street corner to the restaurant on the pedestrian street. If you are wheelchair bound, inspect your hotel carefully. Not to be disrespectful, but the Mexican’s idea of disability compliant and yours are vastly different. A huge number of the restaurants have street level seating—some have covering to protect you from the frequent downpours. You will ride through puddles. Your seat cushion will get wet. Either protect it with a plastic covering or bring an extra cushion. (In case you are beginning to think Joe’s in a wheelchair—he’s not, but we’ll get one for the airport) I hope this answers some of your concerns. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

Random Art

Next mini disaster is I got food poisoning. I bring various medications with me, so I took an Imodium AD. I drank lots of water. I will admit it’s the sickest I’ve ever been, but I do look better in my bikini than I did, so there’s an upside. One thing I didn’t think of was bringing something bland to eat while my stomach was recovering. Fortunately I’d brought some granola bars because the airlines don’t feed their guests anymore… otherwise I’d have been in trouble.


As of writing this, half our group has returned home. We have Larry and Lisa all to ourselves for several more days, then we’ll be on our own. I’ll continue to go for my morning walks, hang out on the beach, and walk into town to get food to go. We’ve decided to make the best of dinner in the room by watching a DVD series we’ve never seen—Lord of the Rings. We’re on the third one now. All in all, it’s a different vacation from our usual adventures, but still an adventure. Never give up. Fight to keep the old man out, as Clint Eastwood says.

I’ll write again before we leave. Right now the crystal-clear turquoise ocean is calling.

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