Mehling.org: Isla Mujeres

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March 24, 2008

Isla Mujeres

3/24 (Monday)

Seemed that there was a massive (at least by our standards) tropical storm last night... It poured and poured. Even knocked out power for a bit. Hol was a little freaked out as it was pitch dark. I fired up the travel candle her mom gave to me years ago. We walked over to Manana (a little coffee shop and used bookstore) to get Hol something else to read - she had already finished the Amber trilogy she had brought. We needed to change some money and pay for our room, so we headed down to the HSBC branch across from the ferry pier.

After paying for another night, we rented a golf cart (carts are the main transportation on the Isla) for the day. We drove South past the airstrip and into the other "town" on Isla. On the West side of the island is a tiny aquarium and sea turtle conservatory. We stopped to see the turtles and read about how this group was helping the tiny hatchlings survive. We then drove around the bottom tip of the island stopping to checkout the beaches at Punta Sur and the water park "Parque Natural" at Playa Garrafon. We walked around the point for a bit and then headed north on the East side (there's a road on each side of the island). There are some spectacular views of the Caribbean ocean from some very interesting homes. Likewise, there's an shanty town built on the beach front property.

After driving around the main town ("Centro") a bit more, we returned the cart and headed back to the hotel to clean up a bit. with an hour before dinner time we walked over to Playa Norte and read on the beach while we waited for the sunset. It looked like a beach soccer game was forming, but only three guys showed up to practice shooting. We walked back through the town and picked our dining spot... A decent mexican joint with "2x1" drinks. Due to an "accounting error" I ended up with four margaritas. Four margaritas, three tacos, a platter of guacamole, two limonadas, and two enchiladas later we were back on Hidalgo trying to walk off the dinner and drinks. We went back to the metal sculpture shop we visited the night before. Eli was out tonight, but Javier (from Merida) was helpful and we picked out an Aztec influenced sun sculpture and tried to figure out how we would get it home. We walked down to the super market to grab some bananas and water, then across the town square to watch a choir (from Colorado) performance and league basketball game. We headed back up Hidalgo stopping to watch the Spanish guitarist, drum circle, jugglers and fire dancer before heading back to our room. There was a decent live band on the corner playing a number of classics and getting the crowd going -- they played us to sleep.

Photo Album:
http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+11/

Posted by ben at March 24, 2008 10:00 PM


« Dos por el Collectivo, por favor \| Main \| Heading West » March 24, 2008 Isla Mujeres 3/24 (Monday) Seemed that there was a massive (at least by our standards) tropical storm last night... It poured and poured. Even knocked out power for a bit. Hol was a little freaked out as it was pitch dark. I fired up the travel candle her mom gave to me years ago. We walked over to Manana (a little coffee shop and used bookstore) to get Hol something else to read - she had already finished the Amber trilogy she had brought. We needed to change some money and pay for our room, so we headed down to the HSBC branch across from the ferry pier. After paying for another night, we rented a golf cart (carts are the main transportation on the Isla) for the day. We drove South past the airstrip and into the other "town" on Isla. On the West side of the island is a tiny aquarium and sea turtle conservatory. We stopped to see the turtles and read about how this group was helping the tiny hatchlings survive. We then drove around the bottom tip of the island stopping to checkout the beaches at Punta Sur and the water park "Parque Natural" at Playa Garrafon. We walked around the point for a bit and then headed north on the East side (there's a road on each side of the island). There are some spectacular views of the Caribbean ocean from some very interesting homes. Likewise, there's an shanty town built on the beach front property. After driving around the main town ("Centro") a bit more, we returned the cart and headed back to the hotel to clean up a bit. with an hour before dinner time we walked over to Playa Norte and read on the beach while we waited for the sunset. It looked like a beach soccer game was forming, but only three guys showed up to practice shooting. We walked back through the town and picked our dining spot... A decent mexican joint with "2x1" drinks. Due to an "accounting error" I ended up with four margaritas. Four margaritas, three tacos, a platter of guacamole, two limonadas, and two enchiladas later we were back on Hidalgo trying to walk off the dinner and drinks. We went back to the metal sculpture shop we visited the night before. Eli was out tonight, but Javier (from Merida) was helpful and we picked out an Aztec influenced sun sculpture and tried to figure out how we would get it home. We walked down to the super market to grab some bananas and water, then across the town square to watch a choir (from Colorado) performance and league basketball game. We headed back up Hidalgo stopping to watch the Spanish guitarist, drum circle, jugglers and fire dancer before heading back to our room. There was a decent live band on the corner playing a number of classics and getting the crowd going -- they played us to sleep. Photo Album: http://mehling.org/gallery/v/travels/2008_mexico/Day+11/ Posted by ben at March 24, 2008 10:00 PM		Bookmarks Ben's Resume Ben's Lists Mehling Photo Album Flickr Photo Album Recently Archived Cozumal and Playa Palancar Akumal Desperately Seeking Lodging See you in nine days Sian Ka'an Coba Ruins Tulum Ruins Finally! Background Micro Credit Archives August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 Etc. Search: