After arriving on Isla Mujeres, I spent 3 days roasting in the sun while semi-patiently waiting for a boat to appear that is both headed south and in need of crew. There is no telling really how things will turn out, but I am planning on moving on on Tuesday, no matter what. There is the small question of where to head, but I´ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
My first night on Isla Mujeres was an absolute nightmare. I chose to stay at the Urban hostel, one of two hostels on the island because the hosts where intensely welcoming and seemed convinced that their offer was the best available. Unfortunately the crowd at this particular hostel on this particular night shared the maturity level of the average 9 year old. I was so tired and in need of rest when I arrived, but it was impossible to escape the throngs of partying 20 year olds, hell bent on getting drunk and laid, and needing to loudly discuss the dramatic consequences of last night´s similar exploits above my head. I got horribly aggravated when a couple of drunk girls began expanding on whether it would make soandso A jealous if they dissappeared in the bathroom with soandso B, and musing about how worried they were about gaining a reputation as a slut about ten inches from my ears...good lord didn't I leave Cancun to get away from this? It took all I had not to dorkslap these freaks. Needless to say I was miserable the next day after getting practically no sleep and moved to the other hostel pronto. Unfortunately that also meant abandoning plans I had made with Celeste to ride bikes around the island - since she was nowhere to be found and planning on leaving in the afternoon.(Celeste is a girl I had met in Campeche who had surprisingly walked in the door the prior evening for a cheery revisit of our short friendship.)
I was lucky to be granted a dorm room all to myself at hostel Poc Na. I sulked alone for the rest of the day and had my first incident of being travel weary, just wanting to go home. Thankfully, being reintroduced to peaceful solitude was all I needed to readjust my attitude, and the next day I was ready to reenter the social world. I made friends with a cool lesbian from Berlin named Barbara, who's apartment I may well take over once I move back, since she is changing directions and will be leaving Berlin to get her divemaster certification. She invited me to join her and another friend on a trip to another small island a couple of hours north of Cancun which has little or no tourist facilities, and should subsequently be a true break from all this being catered to, which I find oddly annoying. I was beginning to feel seriously antsy, in need of a project or diversion of some sort, and couldn't find a way to truly settle into the beach scene. It was odd, because all in all I would be a fool not to have enjoyed my time on Isla Mujeres. The island's beaches are beautiful, and I got the chance to expand on the tan I had started on in Zipolite. I read voraciously, floated in the swimmer friendly Caribbean, hung out with the old salts on their beautiful sail boat, laid in hammocks and relaxed. I made peace with the thought of doing nothing for the time being, but was beginning to feel my brain and muscles atrophying.
On Thursday morning, I made my way to the busstation with Barbara and Misha, a great guy from Vancouver B.C. who had decided at the last minute to join us as well. We met up with Cora, another woman from Berlin we met on Isla Mujeres, but who had taken a short detour to Tulum. We rode the bus north for three hours to a small harbor town called Chiquila, and from there took a quick ferry ride to Isla Holbox. This is the first time ever that I have joined up with other travellers I have met in the middle of my journey. I had my fears, but we have proven to be a great little group. Take one person out of the equation and I think some awkwardness would develop, but as it is, we are doing very well together. I am very glad to have decided to join, and to have made some closer connections than the last three weeks' "see you if I see you" types.
Holbox is a rather small island off the northern coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It has not yet joined the throng of other major tourist resort and boasts a rather tiny population with a few minor facilities for tourists and a decent fisherman's community. When I stepped off the boat without being thronged by various hawkers praising their wares, I breathed a sigh of relief. Barbara, Cora, Misha and I spent the afternoon looking for a place to sleep and ended up sharing a large room just off the beach - not luxurious by any means, but more than adequate for our needs and desires. We have a breezy little spot on the second floor of a small hotel with our own balcony and a partial ocean view allowing us to enjoy the sunset from the comfort of home. Our host is charming and provided us with everything our heart desired including an extra mattress, table and chairs for the balcony and an offer to go for a boat ride the next day. So far the only drawback were the rather humungous cockroaches that made an appearance on out first night- but after stuffing the hole they crawled out of with toiletpaper, we did not see them again (though Barabara swears she saw a scorpion in the bathroom). Our first night was spent much like the rest would be, cheerily eating and drinking and playing games on our little balcony.
Our first whole Holbox day was spent strolling on the miles of deserted beach collecting shells and bathing in the shallow turquoise waters. I think my favorite part of the Mexican Caribbean so far is the very gradual slope of beach - so much so that you have to walk about 500 yards on average before the water reaches your chest. After 6 hours of charring our skin, checking out the island's few restaurants and lounging in the water, we returned to our room in the evening to enjoy a few beers and an impossibly long game of Mau Mau (German style UNO) until late in the night.
This morning we boarded a small motor boat to go on a tour of the surrounding islands. Holbox is known as a bird sanctuary, and we did see a great variety of bird life including pelicans, cranes and flamingos. There is a small island aptly named Isla Pájaros (bird island) where many of the larger colonies nest. My personal highlight was at Ojo de Agua on Yalahau (water's eye). It is a small artesian well about 200 yard inland from the beach. Fresh cool water bubbles up from about three deep holes in the bottom of a small swimming hole in the middle of the jungle. What a joy to wash off the salt water we had been mercilessly sprayed with on the ride in this beautiful spot. We headed on to Isla Pasión, where we waded out forever, saw some interesting marine life and watched the kite surfers. Gorgeous all around. On the way home we were treated to a final highlight in form of a dolfin who popped up a few times near our boat. I had a great trip.
Tonight is likely to be an early night for all of us, since we are absolutely tuckered out by the intense sun. Tomorrow, we will be parting ways, since Barbara and Cora need to make their way back to Mexico City to fly back to Berlin. I expect to meet up with them in September when I return as well. Misha and I will head back to Isla Mujeres, where I will wait just a couple more days for my boating miracle. This little excursion was good for me in many ways. It calmed my impatience, saved me some money, and took me away from the tourist economy. I've made some good pals and have regained the balance I lost in Cancun, making me ready to plan for the next month.