The other side of paradise ....circumnavigating Isla Mujeres

The three crazy friends on their new yacht!

Salty turquoise water sprays over the side of the boat, soaking my hair and shirt, coating my skin with fine grains of sea salt.  

It feels great. We (let me amend that), Lawrie is now a proud boat owner in partnership with Richard Grierson and Chuck Watt.  

It's a twenty-six-foot panga, a local style of fishing boat.  Currently named El Quinto Sol (the fifth sun, not son), it will eventually be renamed to something more suitable for the guys.  All week, they have been bantering around names for the vessel. Personally, I am leaning towards Los Tres Amigos Locos. The Three Crazy Friends! 

Two car ferries, and the Thor Heyerdahl school-ship

I admit, the panga is a great way to see the island from a different perspective, up close and personal from the water. On Sunday, the six of us took it out for its first shakedown cruise.  After a few minor tweaks and fiddles with the fuel lines, we backed out of the mooring slip and into Maxak Lagoon. Then, pointing the bow north, we slipped along the western side of the island, past several marinas with a variety of boats: yachts, work boats, runabouts, and half-sunken wrecks.  

Interesting use for a ladder.

Powering along parallel to the shoreline, we slid past the Thor Heyerdahl, a topsail schooner that is used as a live-aboard training ship for young adults and teenagers from Europe.  

Then we passed the two car ferries docked near the naval base, and a large sailboat registered in Panama that had a quirky arrangement utilizing a regular ladder to access their dinghy and the swim grid.  

The north-western side of Isla 

The western side of the island is more familiar to us as we usually see it from the car ferries and the Ultramar passenger boats.  

The beaches in front of the Posada del Mar and IxChel were both busy with the Sunday crowd of day-trippers, baking on the beach in a variety of colourful bathing suits.  

We anchored in the shallow waters of North Beach for a short time while Chuck took a dip in the ocean, primarily to see why one of the motors kicks up when put in reverse. Apparently, there is a small piece - a metal pin - that is missing. It's an easy fix now that they have identified the problem.

Anchored beside the big guys at North Beach.

Pulling up the anchor, we motored around the northern point of Isla, into bigger waves, bouncing us around too much for me to focus the camera, and wouldn't you know it - we spotted a pod of dolphins cavorting in the waves, hunting for their lunch. I couldn't dig the camera out of my waterproof bag fast enough. They whizzed past and disappeared into the surf.  I completely missed that photo opportunity.

A bit wet when we were on the east side of Isla

However, it was still very interesting to see familiar sights from a different angle.  Houses and buildings that we walk or drive past on a regular basis look completely different from the water side.  

At the southern end of the island, the waves were coming at us from two directions as we cut through the swift current that runs along the island, past Cozumel.  And then we were around the southern tip, and into calmer waters.

Calmer, Punta Sur back to the west side

Brilliant sunshine, light winds, sea salt on our skin; it was a glorious afternoon.  As we headed back to our marina berth, we decided we should dock at our favourite island beach bar, the Soggy Peso, and pop in for an icy cold drink.  Sunday afternoon in high season! What were we thinking?

There was not a seat, a stool, or a place to perch anywhere inside the bar or on the lawn, so we took our cool beverages down to their private beach and sat on the loungers.  

Beach bums at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill

Huh! Different perspective again - sand between our toes, palm trees rustling in the breeze, the beautiful blue water to look at, and a soft lounger to sit on. Not bad.  I could do this again.

When we returned home, I downloaded the photographs and discovered that a number of them had a hazy spot or two. Dried sea salt obscured the lens in a few spots. Next time I will take my waterproof camera and a cleaner for the lens!

I can't wait to see what the guys name the boat.

Hasta luego
Lynda, Lawrie, Thomas, Sparky, & Chica

The new yacht! 

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

Nothing remains quite the same, Isla Mujeres Mexico!

It’s been ten years since we discovered Isla Mujeres. Ten years! That’s a mere slice of time compared to a number of our friends who stumbled upon this island paradise 20, 30 or 40 years ago.  We are relatively newbies to this island.  Looking back through some of our many photos, I thought it might be fun to share a few of the older ones. 


The first time we visited, we crossed the strait between the mainland and Isla Mujeres on one of the Magaña boats, the dank and smelly Caribbean Miss spewing diesel fumes as it laboured across the water. The after-sunset taxi ride from Centro led along a bewildering series of dark streets, curving roads, and a potholed-almost-not-a-road, eventually depositing us at our rental house at Villa Makax, Steve and Lindell Lehrer’s cute little casita.  

Our first view, a few days later, of the famed North Beach was stunningly beautiful, sugar white sand stretching across the top of the island, with an unobstructed view all the way to the Avalon Hotel. Before the IxChel One and IxChel Two condo developments, before the Privileges Aluxes Hotel, the only other tall structure at the north end of Isla was the old lighthouse next to Jax Bar and Grill. Smitten with the island, we returned several times, either visiting family or introducing friends to Isla, finally purchasing our lot in June of 2006. 

The changes we notice most are funny little things, things that have personal meaning for us. For instance, the palm trees at Casa Luna Turquesa now almost obscure the house. We and two Canadian friends bought the first two palms for that yard. We purchased two little sticks with a few feathery leaves poking out the tops at a garden centre on the island.  

We hustled the palms back to Casa Luna in two taxis, with drivers who were competing to see who could get their passengers back the quickest. Big tip for the winning driver!

New UltraMar docks under construction 2006

Other changes that have affected us personally include a much better choice of grocery stores. On the first visit, we could only see a choice of eating at restaurants or shopping at the convenience store, Mirtita, in Centro.  

By the time we had built our home in 2007, a St. Francisco Super X-Press had been built in Centro across from the municipal plaza and the church.  

Opening Day at Chedraui Super Store December 2011

A second Super X-Press opened in Colonia La Gloria in 2009, and the Chedraui Super Store with a great bakery department, decent produce section and a good selection of wine opened in December of 2011.  

We still venture to Cancun at least once a month to get the other extras that are not stocked on the island.  This week, when we were doing the Cancun run, we met at least a dozen islanders in Home Depot and the same dozen people in Costco a few minutes later.  We all had a good laugh about doing the circuit of Cancun.

But for me, the best change is the choice in passenger ferry boats, or as we call them, water taxis.  

Instead of enduring the rolling, bobbing, smelly Caribbean Miss, we can ride in air-conditioned comfort on the twin-hulled UltraMar jet boats and make the crossing in fifteen minutes.  

Thank goodness nothing remains quite the same.

Hasta luego

Lynda and Lawrie

Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

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Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky