Island Life on Isla Mujeres!

Our second stop in Mexico was Isla Mujeres (which translates to the Island of Women). 

We flew from Mexico City to Cancun, got a transfer from the airport to the ferry terminal, took the ferry across to Isla Mujeres and walked to our apartment - it was a fairly long day!

The humidity hit pretty hard and my hair has pretty much been out of control ever since.

As soon as we checked in we were ready to check out the local area.

Isla Mujeres is a pretty small Island and we were staying in the Central Town - all the main bars, restaurants, tours and beaches were all located within about 5-10 minute walk from our apartment.

We walked to Playa Norte (North Beach) on our first night and had a dip in the water - because it's summer (the hot and humid season) the water was really warm. Also, it never got far below 28 degrees, even overnight. 

Playa Norte is absolutely beautiful - with the white sandy beaches you see on postcards!

We caught a pretty cloudy sunset - nonetheless, when the sun starts to set the water begins to look this beautiful shade of baby blue :-)

The following day, we decided to rent a golf cart and explore the island a little more. 

Although there are cars and taxis on the island, it is so small that golf carts and scooters are a really popular way of getting around. 

This time Michael got to drive on the right hand side of the road. 

Yep, our little yellow golf cart was a Jeep!

The whole island is only about 7-8km long, so it only took us about 25-30 minutes to drive from one end to the other, which is the first think we did.

At the opposite end of the island is Punta Sur - the south point. This is also the eastern most point of Mexico and the first part of Mexico in which the sun rises everyday.

We had our first iguana experience - on the left (he is yawning and blending into the wall) but since then we have seen them everywhere!

Punta Sur features a small Mayan Temple and a sculpture garden but is mostly known for having stunning views of the Caribbean sea.

How amazing is the colour of the Caribbean sea!?

We spent some time wandering around the cliffs and along the small walk ways at Punta Sur - generally being amazed at how beautiful the sea was.

Like I said, my hair was basically out of control by this point - we attempted to take a few selfies but it just wasn't happening.

It was so beautiful - it was hard to stop taking photos!

Next stop on our golf cart journey was Tortugranja.

This literally translates to 'Turtle Farm' but is actually a turtle sanctuary focused on turtle breeding and conservation. 

We only paid a small fee to enter (which goes directly to turtle conservation) and upon entry we got to see turtles of various ages and sizes in tanks - they grow here until they are big / strong enough to be released into the wild. 

They also rescue and care for hurt, mis-shapen and albino turtles, all of which would easily die in the wild (albino turtles have sensitive shells and can't tolerate the Mexican sun).

Look at all the tiny baby turtles!

Unfortunately, not all of them survive but they have a much higher chance of surviving here than they would in the wild.

There are about 4 different turtle tanks indoors and after that you can head indoors to see the bigger turtles (such as the one above) in slightly bigger tanks.

I loved the turtles - they are so cute!

Finally, there is a small roped off section of ocean in which the biggest turtles (nearing release I presume) get to swim around. These turtles seemed to be having a pretty chill time. 

Note: there are also small sharks swimming around this area!

There is also a small sectioned off area in which turtle eggs are buried and left to hatch - they are all labelled, so I assume the workers know when the turtles are likely to hatch.

It was really cool to be able to see all the different stages though - from eggs in the sand, into grown turtles in the ocean.

After a half day golf carting adventure, it was time to relax on the beautiful Playa Norte. I had been missing the beach SO MUCH after several beach-less years in London so I could not wait to relax by the ocean.

As you can see, the beaches on Isla Mujeres are pretty much flawless!

The water was calm, warm and beautiful to be in!

Also, since this is the low season (Sept-Oct) there were very few other people around. This season is typically known for a lot of rain but we got very lucky and experienced mostly sunshine while we were here.

Beach day = time well spent!

We also spent more time walking / wandering along the beach at sunset. Playa Norte is supposed to have really nice sunsets - some lovely tourists offered to take our photo here. 

Another day, another sunset :-)

The best, most memorable, once-in-a-lifetime thing we did on Isla Mujeres was SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS!

Sounds dangerous but whale sharks are actually completely harmless to humans - in fact, they really couldn't care less if humans are around and just carry on doing their thing (swimming and eating). They are actually the largest fish in the ocean - which makes them sound even more placid. 

 We jumped on a boat with four other tourists and traveled about 45 from the coast of Isla Mujeres - we were basically waiting for our tour guides to spot a whale shark.

After about an hour - it happened!

Above is a whale shark (kind the left) with two of the people from our boat chasing after it - they actually move a lot faster than you might think!

We jumped in to swim with the whale shark in pairs - you are obviously not supposed to cause any disturbance to them but they really didn't seem to care too much.

Our turn.

Yes, not the greatest photo but it's really hard to keep up with a whale shark and take pictures at the same time, this was my first attempt and the best I could do!

Also, apologies in advance for the visibility being pretty average!

Whale sharks are supposedly a slow moving (didn't feel that way), filter feeding shark - which basically means that they swim along with their mouths open and feed on small fish.

Michael and I rocking the snorkel gear. 

The water was really warm but it was compulsory to wear a buoyancy device - we opted for wet suits rather then bright orange life vests.

Second swim - my photography had slightly improved.

I also managed to take a short video - it's nothing special but it gives you a bit more of an idea of the experience we had: https://youtu.be/Vp42dfzvEdQ

Our guide and some snorkelers trying to keep up with the whale shark - you can see it's nose gliding along the top of the water on the left of the photo.

On our next swim - Michael had the camera and definitely did a better job.

Pretty decent shot by Michael - myself keeping up with the whale shark.

The whale sharks we swam with were about 6-7m long - giants! They make me look very small in comparison.

Another good shot alongside the whale shark :-)

Definitely one of the most unattractive photos of the two of us - but nonetheless, feeling pretty energised after swimming with whale sharks!

After our exhilarating whale shark experience, our guides dropped us off by a reef for half an hour of snorkeling.

Michael - looking super cool.

Again, the visibility wasn't amazing but there were some pretty cool fish swimming about this area.

I chased this poor fish around trying to get a photo - they move fast!

Absolutely no idea what kind of fish this is but I liked its bright colours.

A whole school of fish!

Michael doing some snorkel exploration!

Isla Mujeres is a beautiful and quiet island off the coast of Cancun, we had a fantastic time here - from lying on the relaxing beaches to a fast paced whale shark adventure. 

From here, we got straight out of our wetsuits and headed for our next destination: Playa Del Carmen. This was actually a huge bust - it poured with rain for the entire three days we were here and we didn't really get to leave the apartment much, so I took very few photos and don't have a whole lot to report about this coastal town. 

My next blog will be about the small coastal town of Tulum, still along the Caribbean coast of Mexico :-)