The Caribbean blue will leave you breathless!

View toward Manchones Reef and Cancun.  

Giant sea turtles, dolphins, rays, whale sharks, and exotic fish of every description swimming in sapphire-blue water; that’s the main attraction to Isla Mujeres. 

You can swim, snorkel, scuba, or, if you are experienced, free-dive like the locals. 

MUSA - Glass-bottom boat, Cancun

A unique subaquatic site is the MUSA, Museo Subacuático de Arte, an underwater museum situated on Manchones Reef between Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The MUSA was started in 2009 in an attempt to divert divers away from the over-visited natural reefs. The project currently has over 500 concrete statues that were lowered to the ocean floor by ship-mounted cranes.

MUSA Manchones Reef - X-treme Sports

The MUSA is within easy diving depths and reasonably visible to surface snorkelers, or via the glass-bottom boat tours operating out of Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The underwater statues feature unnervingly realistic houses, furniture, cars, pets, and people, fabricated out of porous concrete that encourages aquatic plant growth and provides a friendly habitat for a wide assortment of sea creatures and fish. 

Turtle, Punta Sur, Captain Tony Garcia 

Another great diving location is just off Punta Sur, or south point, near the Garrafon Natural Reef Park. 

There is usually an abundance of sea turtles and barracudas passing through. A number of our friends drift dive in this area. 

But watch out for the strong currents!

Diving on a wreck - Seahawk Divers

Or if you are interested, there are shipwrecks to explore. Who knows, you may find a galleon from the era of Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba, the Spanish captain who discovered Isla Mujeres in 1517. 

Or perhaps you’ll come across a corsair that could have belonged to pirates such as the Lafitte brothers, Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf, or Fermin Mundaca.

Beautiful fish, Kara Stansfield photo

Along the eastern side of the island is the Great Maya Barrier Reef, the second-longest reef in the world. 

It runs right past our house all the way to Belize and is very accessible for scuba diving or snorkeling.

There are a few other secret gems, like the cave of the sleeping sharks and the mysterious hidden cave.

We’re not divers and haven’t seen the caves, so even if we were bribed with muchas cervezas frías or a copa de vino tinto, we still couldn’t divulge the locations, but we know a few people who could …..

Group heading out to scuba dive - L Lock photo

Just ask any one of these folks:

Seahawk Divers: http://www.seahawkislamujeres.com/

Captain Tony Garcia: https://www.facebook.com/CapitanTonys

Mundaca Divers: http://mundacadiversislamujeres.com/

Carey Dive Center: http://www.careydivecenter.com/

Aqua Adventures: http://diveislamujeres.com/

Casa del Buceo: http://www.casadelbuceo.com/

Squalo Adventures: https://squaloadventures.com/

Hyperbaric chamber Isla Mujeres, in Centro

If the worst happens and you experience decompression sickness, the bends, when resurfacing, Isla has its own hyperbaric chamber to help with your recovery. 

Primarily used to rehabilitate deep-diving lobster fishermen, it is also used to promote healing of leg ulcers in diabetic patients or speed up the repair of badly fractured bones.

On a humorous side note, apparently Hollywood A-Listers have discovered the wrinkle-reduction benefits of time spent in a hyperbaric chamber.

So, now you can explore our watery underworld and get a facelift all in one vacation.

Cheers

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Max

~ 

Isla Mujeres Mystery series