Isla Mujeres

Sun, sea & snorkeling

Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast

of Cancun, it is the easternmost part of Mexico.

From 564 to 1516AD it was a Mayan province,

called Ekab.  Originally it was a sanctuary to

Ixchel, the goddess of weaving, happiness, the

moon, abundance and medicine.

One of the legends of its name is when it was

discovered in 1517 by Cordoba's expedition, they

found the sanctuary to Ixchel and a court of women.

And that is how it was named Isla Mujeres or

the Island of Women.

It has been home to fishermen, pirates, Mayans

escaping the war of castes.  Now it is for tourists.

As it rankles us to take "the tour" we hopped

on the local bus to Puerto Juarez and took

the local ferry over to the island.

It was a beautiful morning and we

enjoyed waiting under the palms

for the ferry to arrive.

The island has a rustic charm that is a nice

contrast to the high rises of Cancun.

We headed up to Playa Norte and dropped our

stuff in the sand, geared up and jumped in the

water.  We snorkeled along the coast seeing

sting rays, sea urchins and beautiful fish.

Four hours later we surfaced and

plunked ourselves in the sand

under a palm tree.

I love this bar where you sit on swings.

We hung out under the palms enjoying

the view with a bunch of young Mexican

guys who were eating the coconuts from

the trees.

Later we headed into town, enjoying

the colorful houses.

We dined al fresco on the main street,

watching the world go by and singing

Feliz Cumpleanos to the guy at the

next table.

We headed back across the water sunburned,

exhausted and ready to do it again.