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

Bonnie and Ariel the faces behind Sea Hawk Dive Shop & Suites

Ariel - a few years ago

“Do you ever take a day off?”  I asked Bonnie Hamilton early on a Sunday morning last week. 

She flashed her high-wattage smile and said, “In hurricane season,” which probably meant, we do if it is raining like hell and the weather is too rough for our boats; otherwise, no, we don’t take a day off.  

   

Bonnie Hamilton, Ariel Barandica Dec 2015

Well-known islanders Bonnie Hamilton and Ariel Barandica met on Isla Mujeres in 1985, when Ariel was operating his Sea Hawk Dive Shop from the beach near what is now Fenix Restaurante. Every morning, he stuck a colourful umbrella in the sand, and placed a dive tank under the umbrella, then added a sign proclaiming Sea Hawk was open for the day. His boat was either anchored in the bay or tied to the bridge that gives access to what is now the Mia Hotel.

Diver and turtle - photo by Tyto 

Originally from Veracruz, Ariel arrived on Isla Mujeres in the late 1970s. He had been working the oil rigs near Campeche for a few years before deciding the work was too dangerous and there had to be a better way to make a living.  

Ariel originally operated his business from another beachside location at the south end of the island, before it was designated as Garrafon Natural Reef Park.  The snorkeling was outstanding with thousands of nearby fish inhabiting clear blue waters.  By 1981, the reef was beginning to show signs of decay, with too many boats dumping effluent and people carelessly walking on the coral, not realizing how delicate it is. Ariel and friends petitioned the government to protect the reef from abuse.  It’s an ongoing problem.

Eagle Ray - photo by Tyto

Married in 1987, Bonnie and Ariel’s two adult children have dual citizenship - Canadian and Mexican.  

Their son Jerson is an engineer by trade, but an award-winning soccer player by passion.  He learned to play five-a-side futsal on Isla Mujeres, utilizing sand lots, streets, basketball courts, soccer fields, and beaches.  

Any level space would do. He is currently the Head Coach of the Women’s soccer program at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, and a coach for the White Caps High Performance Academy.  Also well-educated, their daughter Leira enjoys traveling the world and helping out at the dive shop whenever she returns to the island.

Omer & Avital, Israel swim with Whale Sharks

By 1999, Bonnie and Ariel had built their current Sea Hawk Dive Shop & Suites facility on Avenida Carlos Lazo, near the Convention Centre and just a block off North Beach.   Their cozy little hotel has six rooms, allowing guests easy access to snorkeling or diving tours, diving lessons, and trips to swim with the beautiful whale sharks. 

The cool thing about booking a whale shark swim with Sea Hawk Dive Shop is that they supply wetsuits for all of their customers.  Wearing a wetsuit in place of the mandatory and clumsy life vest provides buoyancy but a lot more flexibility when swimming. 

According to Ariel, here in Mexico, we have the largest congregation of whale sharks in the world, and it is very interesting to compare the prices for a day trip to see these gentle giants.  Australian tour boats charge between $600.00 and $650.00 USD per person per trip, while the tour companies that arrange trips from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to see the pod that congregates near Isla Mujeres charge between $300.00 and $400.00 USD per person.  If you deal with an island tour boat, the cost is typically $100.00 to $125.00 USD per person.  Shop local!  Save money!

Zephyr & Megan from USA, Roberto & Tyto

Marine biologist Tyto Morales is the dive master, and Roberto Leiva is the boat captain at Sea Hawk Dive Shop. The two guys work hard to make your experience fun and informative. 

A number of the gorgeous photographs on their Facebook page and in this blog article were taken by Tyto.  

Daniele & Assuna, Italy

Bonnie and Ariel are busy, community-minded islanders who donate a lot of time, money, and energy to the betterment of the island. 

When she isn’t working at their businesses, Bonnie might be practicing dance routines for the next Carnaval parade, typically held in February or March, or perhaps teaching yoga in the evenings at NaBalam Hotel. 

Some evenings, you might find her live-trapping feral cats to be spayed and neutered, in an attempt to keep the island's domestic cat population manageable.  

Anytime you see a cat with a notch out of one ear, it’s a pretty good bet that the cat has paid a visit to the local veterinarian to be altered, compliments of Bonnie and her like-minded friends. It’s a smelly and thankless job, but she is committed to helping out.

Bonnie dancing for 2016 Carnaval 

Next time you want a snorkeling trip, dive on a wreck, learn to dive, or visit during the whale shark season, drop them a note on their Facebook page, or email them at seahawkdivers@hotmail.com – you’ll have a great experience.

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Sea-Hawk-Divers-144655245615133/?fref=ts

Hasta Pronto!

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, & Thomas

Ariel, always smiling!

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Or

Death in the Vineyards