Settling Down in Holbox
Thursday, April 24th, 2008I did some research online on how to get to Isla Holbox coming from Valladolid. Unfortunately, the most standard way to get to Chiquila, the mainland town from which the Holbox ferry departs, is on a direct bus that leaves cancun 3x’s a day. But that would be more than several hours out of my way and nobody should spend more time than absolutely necessary in cancun ☺. Looking at what little info was out there I decided to take the bus to El Ideal (on the road to Cancun at the turn-off to Chiquila) and wait to pick up the bus coming from Cancun.
I don’t know where the town got the name El Ideal unless it was named by the taxi-drivers. It’s really just a small tienda, a drink cart and a taxi stand. The taxi stand had a big board posted with prices to different places tho I can’ imagine why anyone at this crossroads would need to go anywhere but chiquila – and to there the fare read $35. So I sat down under a tree to await the bus. When I boarded the bus that turned off to head to chiquila I was told it didn’t go that far and got off. In retrospect I could have gone to the town on the bus’s route that is closest to chiquila then got a taxi, but I didn’t. they also weren’t very helpful about what buses did go that far and when. The taxi drivers sure weren’t gonna cough up that info. In general I don’t trust what a taxi-driver says about bus times and distances (duh!). But I did know the ferry left at noon and it was getting close to 11. I negotiated a $20 fare with the taxi for the 1 hour trip to chiquila. I didn’t want to part with that 200 pesos, but I also didn’t want to sit under that tree swatting away flies for the next 3 hours. Based on the times for the cancun-holbox bus I should have intersected it at El Ideal with ½ an hour to spare but that bus never came. Mystery.
The ferry to holbox had only a few people on it and the captain invited my to sit up in the captain’s booth with him. Oh yeah (!), and he has a really great hotel where I can stay. This seems to be a very common theme in the Yucatan. I haven’t quite put my finger on what it is, but I have not experienced anything like it in my travels. Almost everyone (and I mean everyone) that has been nice to me in the yucatan has ended up trying to get me to spend money. I know that is common but usually there are regular people mixed in. Merida was the worst. Anyhoo….
For my last week I wanted to be on a nice beach in a hammock. I nixed the captain’s hotel since it was on the channel-side and the nice beaches are on the far side of the island. The island is very narrow so I took off walking to the other side. I was “helped” yet again when I was offered a lift up the road “and by-the-way take a look at my mom’s hotel”, which I did and for $15 a night it charmless but not bad for the price (Posada Los Arcos) but it was on the square and I wanted the beach. Then it appeared at the end of the street: the beautiful turquoise water. I had heard the water wasn’t as nice as on the carib side (here the carib starts to mix with the gulf of mexico) but it looked every bit as nice to me – like an endless bright blue-green swimming pool next to white, white beach.
The town is incredibly quiet and laid-back, with dusty, unpaved streets. It often gets compared to playa del Carmen 30 years ago. There are a few trucks on the island for work-purposes but otherwise the locals use golf carts to get around. When the road from the ferry ended at the beach I turned left, past hotel faro Viejo which I’d read was pricey, and found Hotel La Palapa next door. The friendly Italian owner made me a deal I couldn’t refuse: a gorgeous room with a balcony (and my own hammock!) overlooking the beach for only $40 a night. these digs are sweet. A gorgeous bathroom with big shower where the water tumbles out of a conch shell and cool tile floors throughout. The location near town is great and the owner has planted plenty of coconut trees and built palapas along the beachfront so one can duck out of the sun. lots of other places on the beach don’t have shady spots to lounge.
I’m writing this after 3 days here and I am thrilled to say I picked the PERFECT place to end my travels. This place amazes me. I’ve walked both directions on the beach and have ended up on completely empty, stunning beaches. The water is shallow for a very long ways out so if you like deep oceans to swim in or big waves this is not the beach for you. But it’s the perfect way to cool off after relaxing in the sun or walking on the beach. I’d read the mozzies are bad here but I’ve seen none!
Other than the 2 hotel “sales-jobs” when I arrived, not a soul has tried to sell me anything since I got here. No one hassles you on the beach trying to get you to buy a trinket or take a tour, no one calls to you to come into their shop or shoves a menu at you to come into their restaurant or tries to stop you on the street to buy a bracelet. At any given time you are never looking at more than a handful of tourists. Close to town there are a couple of restaurants on the beach and a couple of bungalows that sell beer and cocktails. Farther away from town there are some fairly fancy hotel/bungalows but I don’t know why anyone would stay anywhere than la palapa ☺. It’s the end of high-season so I suppose there are busier times but it seems like it would be laid back any time of year.
I’m mostly easting on-the-cheap. Behind the hotel there is a small antojito spot where one can get cheap salbutes, panoches, tamalitos and tacos. I hit a tienda each afternoon and buy something random for a snack – an avocado, hunk of cheese or Spanish peanuts. Maybe a cold beer or two ☺. Today I will look for pollo asado to bring back and eat on my porch in the evening. I’m craving it but haven’t found an asadero. I have a bottle of rum in my room that I pour in a glass filled with fresh cut pineapple to let steep – then later add a splash of juice to it.
I tell ya, life is good. If I didn’t want to see my friends and family so badly this would almost be enough to recharge me for more traveling. But only almost ☺.
Peggy Rehm