A taste of the South Pacific in Isla Mujeres, Mexico
We arrived at Isla Mujeres, Mexico after a one night sail north from Belize.
Isla Mujeres is just offshore from Cancun in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
As we approached the island, a peek out the porthole
gave us a hint of the beauty we were in for...
Joe and Michele of Peregrine made the entrance alongside Espiritu
We dropped anchor in the comfortable and sound anchorage, then
went ashore to check in and have a look around the island.
The El Milagro Marina and Suites adjacent to the anchorage kindly let us
use their dinghy dock and WiFi as long as we used their laundry services.
This view from the top of El Milagro shows the anchorage in the distance
El Milagro also has a cool ping-pong table with maps of the Carribean and other far flung locations lacquered onto the playing surface. We've whiled away a few happy hours here...
It was time to hop on our bikes and ride the mile-or-so road up the shoreline into the main village.
Like most Caribbean tourist destinations, there are many bars here. This American
fellow sitting outside a watering hole was very. Very. Very. Drunk.
This souvenir shop offers everything from Che Guevara to the Virgin Mary...
and apparently nothing in between. LOL...
We were stuck aboard Espiritu for a few days while a blow came through. We drug anchor and had to pull and reset in the midst of the wind and waves. When we pulled up the anchor, we found we had gotten tangled up with a large piece of sheet metal! Yikes. Anyway, we reset and have held without problem.
During the dark night of the worst of the blow, we watched s/v Invincible drag, pull anchor and try unsuccessfully to set their anchor, over and over again, weaving in and through the anchorage. They are a family of 9 aboard a 41 foot sailboat! Plus a dog and a cat. We could see the oldest teenagers and the dad running around on deck in the blackness, yelling directions to one another as they tried and tried to get their anchor set in the midst of the storm.
This is three of the nine members of the Hogan family, of the sailboat Invincible. They're sort of a mix of the Swiss Family Robinson and the Von Trappe Family Singers. Except they're from Texas. Anyway, they're adorable! They've just started cruising, and we wish them well as they continue southward, deeper into the Caribbean.
After the blow passed through, a couple of days later we hopped on our bikes again and headed to the other side of the island with our new friends Tom and Rose of Sojourn.
At the top of this hill we found this amazing view across the bay to Cancun
We continued out of the city to the isolated southeast end.
The view from the southeast end of Isla Mujeres
We were stunned by the views
There are some small Mayan ruins here, and lots of trails to explore all over the area
Rose and I climb the trail into a hidden cave
Our new BFF's Tom and Rose from Minneapolis. They're big Twins fans,
but we forgive them -- for they know not what they do. ;-)
And here's our own touristy shot, for proof that we were actually here
The Mayan ruins prove the adage that waterfront property has always been in big demand
Well, that's it for now. We should be in Isla Mujeres for another week or so as we wait for a good weather window to sail north to the Florida Keys. Hope you had a happy Easter. Much love, Liz and Chris
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