We said goodbye to Tulum one week ago. I felt nervous as we boarded the local bus to Cancun and I couldn't figure out why. I guess heading to another unknown destination for a month had me feeling uneasy. You never quite know what you're going to get when you book an Airbnb. And a month can be such a long time if you hate a place.
Buuut turns out, we love it here on Isla Mujeres. We may even stay longer. Rent's cheap, food's good and the skies are spectacular. Not to mention the beautiful Caribbean water that surrounds this place is off the chart!
Isla Mujeres is a small island 13kms off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. It's only 7kms long! The island is well known for its snorkelling and scuba diving. It's also home to one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Playa Norte.
We're staying mid island and the local food in our colonia (neighbourhood) is pretty darn good. It took us a little while to feel settled here, mainly because it's so busy. I'm definitely happy that we're residing away from the main tourist hotspot as it's crazy hectic up there.
My Spanish is improving. I can now order tacos, pay for tacos and give my huge thanks for said tacos, all in Spanish.
Here's a look at some of the things we've seen so far:
Picture turquoise coloured water and soft white sand. That's Playa Norte, or North Beach. This beautiful beach is rated one of the best beaches in the world. Most nights, you can catch a stunning sunset from here, with a Corona in hand. It's a busy place and it's easy to see why.
This is our local beach. It actually doesn't have a name on the map but Rocky Beach sounds fitting don't you think? There are so many cool rock formations on the Eastern side of the island and our local is no exception. We've spent a lot of time swimming and snorkelling here this past week. Most days we have had the beach to ourselves too. And I've been having a lot of fun messing around with longer shutter speeds on my camera.
I love that I'm able to watch both the sunrise and the sunset over the water. There's just something so romantic about island skies. They're always so dramatic. The other night we watched the full moon rise up over the ocean, and then some lightning showed up too.
Take a look at all this colour! There's so much street art, plus most of the businesses and homes are painted strikingly bright colours too. It's so nice to walk around and check them out. Sure beats grey!
Isla Mujeres is so full of life. Each colonia more chaotic and vibrant than the last. Locals running businesses from the windows of their homes and live music fills the streets each and every night.
From the tourist packed Northern end, to the rocky shores of the South, I look forward to showing you more of this beautiful island. In the meantime, I'm off to eat more tacos.
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to know more about my story and my path to full-time travel, please check out My INTRO
