By the Sea

We took a tour today and will rate it with one of the worst ever, but with a good ending. I have always wanted to go to Isla Mujeres, the isle of women, north of the Cancun area. So we finally got to go and found it to be a day that could have been spent better. Our mini bus picked us up in the morning and we made one stop and then drove to the top of the Cancun strip. We got to a beach club where they tried to sell us drinks and did sell us a tour. Turns out our tour was only the boat over to Isla and then there were several choices once you arrived. We chose to take a boat tour around the island and promised to see many wonderful sights. The other choices were swimming with dolphins which we have done several times and snorkeling.

We stayed on the large catamaran and bounced around in the windy seas seeing some nice homes and hotels along the coast. They served drinks like tequila shots and sugary sodas.The one interesting sight was a destroyed temple to Xel and the namesake of the island. We looked at it from the boat and then encountered very rough seas as we approached the south end of the island and open seas. The captain decided, wisely, to turn around and we headed for the swimming portion. We were taken near a beach and anchored about 50 feet offshore. There you could jump into the water. It was not warm and I decided I would never be able to get back on board, so decided not to get wet. After a half hour of boredom we headed back to the beach club and our free lunch which was mediocre. We hung around on hammocks and swings and watched the dolphins and pelicans for a while. Finally it was time to leave and an hour of shopping in the business part of town. This place is really poor and kind of sad. A few jewelry stores and restaurants and lots of markets with cheap clothes and islands souvenirs. The big attraction was to rent a golf cart and explore, but alas we did not have time to do that. So we hung around until it was time to leave. Jeff made a doggie friend who was starved for attention and really liked Jeff.

The boat ride back was really fun as the crew went all out to entertain us with a party. We drank tequila and danced and laughed all the way and got off deciding it wasn't so bad after all. I did get to see Isla Mujeres and will probably never go back.

We ate dinner at the Mexican Restaurant and went to sleep early. Another day in Paradise.