Three Days in Paradise

This weekend the girls and I traveled to an island off the coast of Cancun called Isla Mujeres. Isla is a small island, bikable in an afternoon, with lots of 'off-the-map-tourism' as we called it. Thursday after classes the we set out for our long drive of 6 hours to Cancun, and a 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We got to Isla around 9pm, quickly found our hostel called Poc.na, then went to the main shopping area for something to eat. We could immediately tell the hostel was amazing. It was recommended to us by Fernando who works at the hostel here in Campeche. He said it was the best hostel he's ever been to. It was many of our first times staying at a hostel so we were a bit nervous as to what it would be like, but it turned out to be amazing! The main lobby is outside in a gazebo like form, and two steps away from that is a private beach the hostel owns with its own beach bar!

Our first day was spent walking on the beach, laying in hammocks, spening lots of money on traditional Mayan crafts (for outselves, and others...), and eating delicious food. Our $13 a night also included a small breakfast, so we only had to buy lunch and dinner. We were walking around the island looking for a good place to eat lunch and many people suggested a place called Santa Susana. We found it pretty easily and enjoyed delicious chicken stuffed with ham and cheese with rice, salad and a complimentary soda. It was so good! After some more shopping, walking around and swimming that afternoon we found another cute place for dinner that had a special of a baguette and two beers for $55 Mexican Pesos (approx. $4 American). Then we went back to the hostel for the beach party. The bar had such a laid back feeling - everyone who was there was just there to have a good time after a day in the sun. All were welcome, whether they were guests of the hostel, other hostels/hotels, or locals.

The nexy day Andrea, Amber and Madeline went swimming with whale sharks (the biggest type of whales), while Alysse and I had a similar day as the one before: beach, shopping, eating. When Alysse and I were swimming the in the morning I found this amazing shell that was in the shape of a tuplip. I liked it so much I took it to a jewler on the island and he made it into a necklace for me. I told him everytime I put it on I'll think of Isla Mujeres. For dinner we were walking along the shopping area and saw a sign that said 'free mojitos' - we couldn't pass that up! The retsaurant had a Mediterranean theme with delicious pitas, salads and hummus. Just by the food we thought it was a great decision to stop here. The two waiters kept offering us more mojitos, and we thought there was some sort of a catch, until they offered us free shots too. They kept saying, recomend our restaurant to everyone you know and come back. We are planning to return to the island before we leave Mexico, and will definietly go back to visit them! They even came to Poc.na that night to the beach party.The restuarant is called Comono, if ever any of you find yourselves on Isla Mujeres, go check it out! After dinner we returned to the hostel and danced the night away on the beach with a mixture of Latin American, and North American music - with people from all around the world.

This weekend was an experience of a lifetime. I have a need to return to see the beauty of the streets, water, and people of Isla Mujeres many times. The feeling we had on the island was so incredible; we were in paradise for three days.

Poc.na's beach...

Our amigos at Comono...

Isla Mujeres from teh ferry...