We had two primary goals on this leg of the travel adventure: explore more of Mexico, and explore Colombia for the first time. Lots of searches for flights in/out of Colombia led us back to Cancún where there’s a very cheap non-stop to Bogotá (and return). After flying into Cancún we took the ferry to Isla Mujeres for a few days. It’s a border island just a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland.
It has the whitest sand beaches I’ve ever seen. A soft fine powder that’s so bright in the sun it hurt my eyes. The water is warm and calm and shallow. You can walk out a couple hundred meters and still be only chest deep. But, alas, it’s touristy and crowded. Lots of folks make the easy day trip from the mainland and for good reason. The beaches are incredible and it’s a fun scene.
We stayed on the main strip at the north end of the island just a five-minute walk from the beaches. The island is several miles long, so to explore it, we rented a golf cart for a couple of hours one day. The southern tip of the island has some nice trails with a nominal entrance fee that goes towards support for the native turtles.
And though we didn’t see any turtles, we saw plenty of iguanas.
Looking north on the west side of the island.
The southern tip of Isla Mujeres.
Beware of sharks.
The food on Isla Mujeres was really good, especially the ceviche at a mid-island spot called Don Pino that we visited during our golf cart outing. We also went to Ballyhoo a couple of times. It’s a nice spot on the beach near our place. Sunset from the dock at Ballyhoo.
After sunset, as we were getting ready to order some dinner, we started chatting with two couples at the next table. Their table had gotten several fish platters – grilled fish, fish tacos, and fried fish – and they let us know that it was a Mahi Mahi that they’d caught that day. The fishing trip had returned to the dock in front of the restaurant, and the restaurant will happily prepare your catch of the day. Well, they had too much food, which was a nice problem for us. They were kind enough to invite us to share in their bounty. So good! After we’d had our fill, they consolidated the remaining food (still plenty) on one platter and took it out the the boat crew that was still on the dock tending to the boat. You could tell by the body language that they were super happy to partake.