The esoteric Caribbean island Isla Mujeres is known as a ‘backpackers' Cancún’, and is just offshore from the Southern Mexican state Quintana Roo and a short boat ride away from its more widely acknowledged Caribbean sister, Cancún. However, despite their close proximity, the only similarities that these two destinations share are the scorching heat, deep cobalt blue skies and the warm Caribbean Sea.
Unlike Isla Mujeres, Cancún is Mexico’s answer to America’s Las Vegas and is used as a luxury playground for rich tourists who can be found lounging on ‘Millionaire’s Row’ - a strip of tall, commercial five star hotels accompanied by their own private beaches. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this money-trap is not very backpacker-friendly but taking a boat from Cancún is the only way to reach Isla Mujeres, unless of course, you are an exceptional swimmer! If you fancy a quick stay here before boating it over to Isla Mujeres, there are quite a few economical hostels which are located in downtown Cancún.
Transport between Cancún and Isla Mujeres takes place in the form of a soft-top speed boat that whizzes between the two shores every 30 minutes between 6am to 8pm and costs just £2 each way. During this breakneck 11km ride to Isla Mujeres, the sea breeze can feel like more of a violent mini-windstorm as it whips at passengers’ hair and loudly whistles around your ears. Skimming across the chalky ocean tips, the towering Cancún hotel blocks pale into a tail of watery boat wash and white froth as Isla Mujeres transforms from a remote dot to a proximate hunk of land and beach. Anna from The Mexican Tourist Board says of the island, “Isla Mujeres has beautiful beaches because they are in the Caribbean – the sea and the weather and everything is beautiful.”
Pulling alongside the quay on Isla Mujeres from Cancún is like arriving in a bohemian languor where time moves as though in slow motion, the second hand of a clock gently slowing down to the beat of the lazy green fan of a palm tree branch. A hippy hangout in the 1970’s, the concept of ‘Isla Time’ is still a well-known joke amongst the islanders. Walk into an empty bar in the middle of the afternoon and ask a bored barman for a martini and it will arrive about 20 minutes later; what’s the rush? That is just the point of this little island – there is no rush - ever. Even the vehicles here move at a maximum of 15 miles per hour; at 8km long, the island is small enough that nearly everyone drives golf buggies, tourists included. Hire a golf buggy for the day and zip neat laps around the island or race with the locals. Although there are a couple of cars driving around, they appear unnecessarily grandiose when driving past their smaller counterparts which chug gently along the sandy roads.
Isla Mujeres literally translates from Spanish as ‘Island of Women’; many of the locals believe the name originates from Caribbean pirates who kept their lovers here while they ransacked treasure troves and galleons, and pillaged ports. A less romantic but probably more accurate explanation is Francisco Hernández de Córdoba’s discovery in 1517 of a stone temple on the island containing clay figurines of Mayan goddesses. It is said that Córdoba named the island after the idols, the ruins of which are now located on the southern end of the island and can be reached either on foot or by golf cart.
The town sector of Isla Mujeres is at the island’s northern tip and its wooden buildings and narrows streets have a genuine Caribbean feel. The southern tip and the Mayan temple ruins are linked to the town by Av Rueda Medina, a loop road that hugs the coast. Between the two horizons lie several saltwater lakes, a large lagoon and a small series of deserted rocky beaches.
The majority of the sand beaches can be found on the northern tip of the island (Playa Norte) while the island’s best snorkelling is on the southwest shore by Playa Garrafón, a beach with little sand but translucent water and tropical fish. The fishermen of Isla Mujeres have joined together to offer snorkelling and diving tours of the colourful reefs around the island, such as La Bandera, Manchones and El Jigueo. There is also a turtle farm (‘tortugranja’) on Isla Mujeres, where visitors can see the several hundred protected sea turtles, which range in weight from 150g to more than 300kg.
Playa Norte epitomises the typical hot Caribbean shorelines. The talcum powder sand is so soft there is a strong desire to roll around in it naked just to feel its hot silkiness duvet your skin. However, it is not a nudist beach so lie your bikini-clad body down, dig your toes deep into the heated sand and plug in some chilled Morcheeba beach tunes while the Caribbean sun fills every pore with a burst of vitamin-D happiness.
Isla Mujeres has plenty of restaurants with fresh and delicious seafood which are dotted around the town. Two definitely worth visiting are ‘Mañana’ and ‘Sunset Grill’. ‘Mañana’ is a small and relaxed café which serves fresh baguette sandwiches and Middle-Eastern dishes. It is famous on the island for its refreshing ‘licuados’ – cool blends of fruit or juice with milk and sugar. The colourful hand-painted tables are low and customers sit cross-legged on squishy floor-level bean-bags. The café has an authentic feel with a second hand bookshop occupying one corner and bookshelves lining the walls.
The fish at ‘Sunset Grill’ is always tasty and fresh (their shrimp cocktail is subliminal) and traditional Mexican dishes such as burritos and guacamole are also served. Overlooking the sea, this restaurant is designed so you can watch the jelly-like oranges and reds of the sunset dilute into one another whilst you dine.
Other budget hostels or hotels on the island include Hotel El Caracol which is air-conditioned, and offers 18 clean and well-furnished rooms with mosquito nets and double beds. Hotel Marcianito – the ‘Little Martian’, is also inexpensive and offers 13 comfortably furnished and fan-cooled rooms. More luxurious (and dear) accommodations are also offered on the island. The nine-room ‘Dream House’, ‘La Casa de los Sueños’ is nestled away on the south side of the island and has nine suites all with an ocean view. Each room has a different theme and is named accordingly, for example the ‘Serenity’ bedroom has a whirlpool and jacuzzi, while the ‘Sun’ bedroom is covered by a sweet thatched roof and is positioned at pool level.
Traveller’s bible ‘Lonely Planet’ recommends Pocna Hostel backpacker’s hostel on the island. Reminiscent of a Mediterranean villa, its white-washed walls and open-air atrium give the hostel a spacious and airy feel, while the decorated shells and hibiscus flowers exude a touch of playful romance. Good food is served in the hostel’s restaurant, which has the ambience of an indoor beach due to the sand-covered floor and a roof made from palapas (palm thatched umbrellas). At night times you can wander out onto Pocna’s private 100m beach which has its own fairy-lit beach bar surrounded by palm trees and flickering torch flames dug into the sand.
One delightful quirk of this island is that some of its beach bars have replaced their seats with swings that hang from twisted ropes weaved into or over the bar roofs and wooden pillars. Order a tall minty mohito crystallised by crushed ice, and sway languidly at the bar underneath the coconuts whilst gazing at the midnight blue Caribbean skies carpeted with stars; all this of course is accompanied by random chords of mellow guitar music from some beach bonfire gathering, which vibrate and hum through the sultry hot night air of Isla Mujeres.
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