Isla Mujeres 2022, Day 1-Late Arrival & Full First Day

April29
Ferry Lighthouse

You may know that we live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada where as I write this, we are still surrounded by snow. It has been an unusually cold, snowy winter but our original plans were to bi-pass the end of winter by spending March on Isla Mujeres. As we missed visiting in 2021 due to Covid, we were particularly anxious to get to the island. As (bad) luck would have it, we spent a very frustrating day and overnight in Calgary due to a equipment malfunction on an Air Canada flight. But now that the day is months behind us and we had such a long and amazing time on the island, the frustration has been forgotten.

We actually had a great sleep in Calgary as the night before in Winnipeg I was too excited to sleep. We caught a reasonably timed shuttle to the airport and then enjoyed movies, my book and snacks on board. We were delighted by the ease of which we made it through Cancun airport. D had befriended a lovely woman on the flight. She was traveling alone and was taking a bus to meet up with her son in Playa Del Carman. So we stuck around an extra while to ensure that she was able to make contact with her son.

Our room from inside looking out

When we finally arrived at the ferry dock, we found that we had just missed the 7 pm one and that they only run once an hour at that time of season/day of the week/time of day. As we were famished, D ordered tortas from the ferry restaurant. Unfortunately, they took so long to arrive, we ended up gobbling them down as our ferry arrived. Our lovely friends J and B met us at the terminal for hugs and kisses. We hopped into a cab, and had a nightcap under the stars.

As always on the island, we were so excited to finally be there, that we were awake before the sun and had enough time to make our coffee before our considerable wait for its rising.

Our first task that morning was walking to Chedrui with our provision list for breakfasts, lunches and snacks. I was amazed when we were able to gather beer, bread, peanut butter, limes, mangoes, bananas, mosquito spray, yoghurt, butter, eggs, ham, manchego cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, lime mayonaise, a baseball hat for D and two bottles of Chilean Merlot for $65 CDN. Just yesterday I bought fruit in Winnipeg to make a fruit platter for an event and that cost me $65!

One of the reasons we have stayed at Luna d’ Miel over the years is for the beachcombing. This photo is from our place to the south. Just to the right edge of the image is what I lovingly refer to as “our beach”. Even though there is a coral ridge right in front of us, there is a break in the coral to the south. Unfortunately the beach is not suitable for swimming but you can stand ankle deep in the waves and sift through gravel patches to find enough sea glass to carry home without paying a fortune in extra baggage costs. This is typically my past time while D is walking his Isla circuit or has his nose in a book. On this day and subsequent days, he joined me. The waves were strong and knocked sizeable rocks against our ankles. I was happy for his company in case I was bowled over by the surf.

The Cuban castaway boat that landed on Isla the month prior, still rested on that beach. Imagine making that voyage?

After lunch, I did something very unusual for me. I nestled into a beach towel, with a cushion and had a long afternoon nap on a lounge chair. I don’t normally indulge in naps because it means, I have to start my day all over again and sure enough I needed a coffee and a shower.

Another nice thing about our favourite room at Luna d’Miel is the separate living/dining room. The light is beautiful and I always try to open the curtains to let the glorious light fill the room.

I let my hair dry in the warm breeze

and by then it was almost time to crack our first bottle of vino tinto.

As the sun lowers in the west the shade from the buildings creates a shady/cooler place and we linger for as long as we can to enjoy it.

There was a time when we first started staying at Luna d’Miel that we could watch an unobstructed sunset from the communal patio in from of the suites. But the brush on the airport strip has grown high enough that we now have to walk a couple of buildings to the north, to get a better vantage.

We waited for a cab (which are fairly plentiful and unoccupied at that time of day) and made the pleasurable ride to Isla 33 ahead of our dinner reservation.

We walked the cliffs across the street from the condo complex. My first trip to the island , we stayed near Punta Sur and I have wanted since then to explore this neighborhood a little more.

Neal’s Irish Pub (click the link for all the details) was a lesson in our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. The cab ride “home” was a pleasure with the breeze off the water filling our senses. A lovely way to start our wonderful time on the island.

Kath’s Quote: “Vacation calories don’t count. Right?” – Unknown

The heart fairy struck the first time that morning.

Love-that is all.

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