Isla Mujeres: Island of Women
03 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Mexico, travel Tags: beach, Cancun, Cuban sandwich, day trip, Garrafon reef, Henry Morgan, Isla Mujeres, Island of Women, Ixchel, Mayans, Mexico, Qubano, toston
No, I’m not writing about some crazy porn flick set in a tropical paradise! I’m writing about one of the greatest little islands off the coast of Cancun that I have ever been to. We took a day trip there when we were staying in Cancun and it was my favorite day of the whole trip.
Isla Mujeres, Spanish for Island of Women was originally named Ekab by the Mayans. The island served as a sanctuary for the goddess Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of fertility, reason, medicine, happiness, and the moon. (She must have been a busy woman.) In 1517 Francisco Hernandez Cordova, sailing from Cuba to procure slaves, discovered the island. He found many female-shaped idols representing the goddess, thus Isla Mujeres was named. It remained uninhabited for three centuries only having its shores graced by the likes of famous pirates like Henry Morgan who, rumor has it, buried their treasures under the white, sandy beaches. After the Mexican Independence, a small fishing village grew and that is the way the island remained until 1949 when the Mexican navy established a base there. In 1967 the Mexican government installed a purified water system and the island has continued to blossom into what it is today.
We had heard about the island from some people staying at our resort, and we thought it would be a great day trip. To get to the island you have to take a ferry which leaves every half hour from about the middle of the hotel zone. The cost is $15 roundtrip and it takes about 15-20 minutes. It can be a bit of a rough ride at times so if you are prone to seasickness take meds and sit up top. We headed out after breakfast with our beach bag and a small travel cooler I had packed with the beers from our room fridge. We hopped on the bus to catch the ferry and were on our way.
Ziplining over the ocean.
Once we got to the island my immediate thought was that it reminded me a lot of Key West. The town was small and quaint and everybody was driving around on scooters or golf carts. Immediately upon leaving the ferry area we were greeted by people wanting to take us on tours or rent us a golf cart. We wanted to explore on our own so we found the guy with the best deal and followed him to pick up our golf cart. The town is located at the northern most point of the island and located at the southern point are the Mayan ruins. We headed sound soaking in the Mayan charm and snapping photos along the way. At about the middle of the island is a sea turtle sanctuary that we toyed with the idea of visiting, but decided to continue on. As we continued further south the island began to rise up from the ocean and we began to have magnificent vistas of the awesome turquoise waters between the island and the shores of Cancun. We stopped along the road to watch people zipline from the cliffs to posts out in the water. There were also many snorkelers in the water as this is where the Garrafon reef is located.
Check out the giant iguana!
We moved on to Punta Sur or south point where the Mayan ruins are located. Here we were greeted with an enormous iguana statue. As we began to walk around we encountered many iguanas just hanging out on the cliffs soaking up the Caribbean sun. After taking more than our fair share of pictures of the stunning view, we heading back north along the east side of the island. The people that had told us about the island also mentioned a great Cuban restaurant they had heard about called Qubano, so as we headed back into town looking at all the great houses along the way, we decided to look for the restaurant to get some lunch.
Very interesting architecture.
Awesome house with an even better view.
Loved this sign.
With our bellies full, we headed out to find our spot on the beach for the rest of the day. The north end of the island is where the beaches are located along with most of the hotels and resorts. We quickly found a spot to park our golf cart and headed down to the water. The water was very invited mainly because it was blazing hot that day, but also because it was much calmer than the water of our beach at the resort in Cancun. I was wishing I had a raft and I could’ve taken a nap.
After spending a few hours enjoying the water, it was time to return our golf cart and head back to the main land. I reluctantly packed up our bag and slowly walked back to the cart, gazing back every few seconds at the water, not wanting to let the image fade from my mind.
One day was truly not enough to take in all this island paradise has to offer. I plan to return to Isla Mujeres again, and I am hoping to stay at one of the charming hotels located on the north beach. I can’t wait to write a post about that trip.
My hubby and I staying cool in the water.
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Fiesta Americana Condesa- Cancun, Mexico
23 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Mexico, travel Tags: All-inclusive resorts, beach, Cancun, Fiesta American Condesa, Mexico
Well, I’ve taken a couple months off from writing, but now I’m back and have plenty to share with you. We did a lot of travelling this summer, so I have quite a bit to share with you on our many adventures.
Fiesta American Condesa
At the end of May my husband and I, along with another couple spent five relaxing nights at the Fiesta Americana Condesa in Cancun, Mexico. FAC is an all-inclusive, four-star resort with all the right amenities. We were looking for a relaxing stay with not a lot of hassles and that is just what we got. FAC is not a huge resort, but it is not small either. In my opinion, it is just the right size to have a relaxing time, but still have activities to keep you entertained.
There are two pools, one large one that includes the kid’s pool cordoned off on one end, the sports area with a volley ball net, and the ever popular pool bar. This is where you could find us if we were not laying by the beach. The other pool is on the upper part of the pool area and is more quiet and relaxing with an infinity edge water fall spilling over to the pool below. Foam rafts are provided to enhance your tanning experience, and there was never a shortage of lounge chairs to get lost in a good book in with your fruity, umbrella drink.
My birthday surprise from the servers in the Asian restaurant
Four restaurants are housed on property which included Mexican, Asian, Italian, and the buffet. The only one I was not impressed with was the Mexican restaurant. Besides the buffet, you can expect to spend at least a couple of hours for your dining experience as no one is in a hurry to get anything done. But I guess we are just used to the hustle and bustle of the US. We ate at the Asian restaurant for my birthday and the servers were kind enough to personalize my dessert, sing to me, and bring me a very yummy tequila liqueur shot.
The beautiful beach
The beach was absolutely beautiful with the soft, white sand and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean ocean. We usually started out in the chairs under the shade of the palapas before venturing out to play in the water. Here again there were always lounge chairs available. The resort was not crowded, but we were not there during peak season either. A lot of people would drag the chairs down to the water. If you needed a drink, you usually didn’t have to wait long because there were always servers coming by. There was a bar on the beach, but it was not open when we were there, probably because it was the off season.
The lounge in the lobby always had people sprinkled through it. Most nights they had live music. It was a great place to meet up with people that you chatted with at the pool during the day and have a night cap with them before turning in for the night. This was also the meeting place where you could meet up with the people from the entertainment staff and they would take you out to the clubs until the wee hours of the morning. We chose to pass on this particular activity.
If you are looking for a place in Cancun to get a relaxing vacation, FAC has what you need. These are just a few of the many things I enjoyed about our stay. I hope to find myself again one day enjoying a mojito on the sandy beach of Fiesta Americana Condesa .
Check back for more posts on my adventures this summer including Disney World, Panama City Beach, FL, and Lake Powell, Utah.
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