My Isla Digs…and going to Puerto Morelos…
It’s my last night on the island, so I’ll share where I stayed while I was here. Maria Leticia is a little group of rooms and apartments in the downtown area of Isla. It’s owned by a local gentleman and there’s no website and you can’t make reservations through any travel service. It’s a favorite of many travelers because of its reasonable price and close proximity to the beach, restaurants and shopping. You can either call ahead to make reservations, or take a chance by just going and seeing if he has anything available. He speaks very little English, by the way. My room was $35.00 per night and here’s what you get for it. It was very comfortable, the bed was just the right hardness, and the A/C was cold (although you have to turn it off when you leave the room). So, for 14 nights, my bill was $490.00. That wouldn’t have even covered two nights at the Villa Rolandi!
On Friday, I decided to take a little trip to Puerto Morelos. I’ve been there before and just wanted to see if it had changed at all. It’s a sleepy little fishing town about a half hour south of Cancun and there’s not a whole lot to do there. If you just totally want to veg and not do anything, it’s a great place to come. It’s not nearly as busy as Isla and doesn’t have the day-trippers that Isla gets from Cancun. Traveling around Mexico is extremely easy and inexpensive…as well as comfortable.
First of all, I had to take the ferry back to Cancun. Everyone hates to take the ferry to Cancun because that usually means it’s the end of your trip to paradise. But it’s not so bad when you know you’re coming back. Here it comes!
I usually ride on top, but it really does a number on your hair, so opted for the inside this time. This isn’t a ride on a little fishing boat by any means.
Here we are at Puerto Juarez in Cancun. I like this lighthouse.
I’ve been here quite a few times, but I’ve never looked up when I’ve walked through it because I’ve been busy buying ferry tickets or looking for my shuttle. I’m glad I did this time. Pretty cool, huh?
Now I have to catch a cab to the Cancun bus station. You kind of take your life in your hands with Mexican taxi drivers. I’ve learned just to sit back and watch the scenery. Sorry about the out-of-focus shot, but my camera wanted to focus on the driver’s cross hanging on the rear-view mirror instead of the street. Hmmm…maybe there was a reason for that.
This seat cover was on the passenger seat in front of me. I was really tempted to ask the taxi driver about it, but I held myself back. Who knows what can of worms that could have opened.
Here’s the Cancun bus station. It can be kind of confusing the first time, but you just ask for help and eventually figure things out.
The cost for my trip to Puerto Morelos was twenty-two pesos. That’s like $1.70 in US dollars. Could the United States learn a little from Mexico on mass transportation?? I think so.
Here’s what you get for 22 pesos. These buses are streamlined and all of them look very new. The air conditioning is usually super cold but that’s better than the alternative.
I think “X-Men” was the featured movie for the ride.
Here’s some of the scenery on the way to Puerto Morelos.
They have these darn speed bumps all over Mexico. The buses slow down to almost a stop going over them.
The vegetation is very thick and dense all over the Yucatan. I can’t imagine cutting through all this stuff.
Here’s the bus stop in Puerto Morelos…a gas station. That’s my bus with the big ADO on it.
Another taxi ride into Puerto Morelos. No pictures of that…it’s only a two-minute ride.
I decided to stay over one night here so that I wouldn’t feel rushed. I’ve stayed at the Posada el Moro before and really like it. It’s colorful, comfortable, and close to the downtown area as well as the beach.
I love the lush vegetation and the pool area.
Well, that’s enough for one post tonight. I’ll have to write more about Puerto Morelos when I get home. More to come!
Isla – The Colonias
First off, when I went to Barlito’s the other day for breakfast after I got the golf cart, I neglected to show some photos I took on the way there. Here’s the map we’ll be following today. The short black line on the top left is where the first photos are from which I forgot to post before. Then we’ll leave from the tip, go along the east side of the island until we get to the colonias where the black ‘X’ is. This is where most of the locals live. Many ex-pats are purchasing homes here now, though.
This is new…well, at least to me.
Lots of little boats along the way…
School kids getting out…
And this is the new Chedraui on the island…it’s like a Walmart.
They even sell scooters!
And the only escalator on the island…
Okay…on to the colonias. When you leave Punta Sur, you go along the east side of the island which has more nice homes. Here are a few.
There are quite a few of these signs on this side of the island, as well.
Here’s the other popular realtor in town.
Here’s the shell house. I stopped and tried to take more pictures, but it’s a gated house and the foliage is pretty thick, so you really can’t get any better views. They even used shells for the surrounding walls.
This one’s cute…I could live here.
Or here…
They were just starting to build this when I was here last time.
Now we’re starting to get into town.
Still driving alongside the shore…
New condos…
Now we’re in the colonias. I’m not going to say anything about each picture. I just took a bunch of shots to give you a general idea of what it looks like.
I’m thinking you could get a better deal on this one than the homes on the shoreline!
There is no lack of color on the island…
They refer to this one as the “Crayola House.”
There are two lakes in the middle of the island.
Some of the homes are very well kept…
This is a newer structure…
Looks like the carnival was in town!
There is a ladies’ beading co-op on the island, so I brought some beads along to donate to these hard-working women. Here they are.
And they have lots of beautiful items for sale.
Second to last stop is a new church that overlooks the sea. Here it is from the street.
Closer…
The interior…
I love churches in Mexico. From the huge cathedral in Merida to this little church on Isla Mujeres, they are places of beauty and peace. A feeling of serenity just hits you when you walk in and see the sea behind the altar. What a wonderful place for a church.
And the last stop was Chuuk Kay for fish tacos. Nice little harbor view…
Mmmm…good.
So that concludes my golf cart tour. I tell you what, I was pretty sick of these by the end of the day…they are all over the island. After a couple times of not slowing down because I was looking around and just about getting bounced from the cart, you learn to pay attention.
Isla – Punta Sur Day
Today’s post is just about Punta Sur…the very eastern tip of Isla. These will mostly be just pictures, because there’s isn’t a lot to say about it…other than that it is beautiful.
You have to drive by these four homes to get to the tip…I like these homes. They’re very well manicured and they’re not overly ostentatious. I could see myself living in one of these (in my dreams). I can just imagine the killer views they have from the other side.
And here’s the sign in front of my parked golf cart. Hmmm…
Here’s the walkway to get to the tip. I believe it was about 350 degrees that day, and as you can see, I was the only fool walking around in the heat. You’d think there would be a nice breeze here, but it’s always been incredibly hot every time I’ve walked out here.
The statues you see were placed there not too many years ago (I don’t know exactly when)…they were actually in pretty good condition when I first saw them in 2007. They’re from artists around the world but the opinions that people have of them are pretty mixed…mostly in the negative. While I’m an appreciator of art, these works are a tad strange…especially being placed in such a beautiful setting, which I think would be better left to its own.
That being said, here’s the first one.
Sidebar: Here’s a colorful little guy climbing up a sign post.
Back to the statues. Since these things are constantly open to the harsh elements of the wind, salt and water, they have taken a beating and are definitely showing the wear and tear.
In fact, some of been destroyed completely. This will probably happen to all of them in time.
The water looks beautiful from up here, but it was really difficult for me to enjoy it at the time. The sweat kept getting into my eyes and blurring up my contacts and I swear I thought I was going to go blind from the sun.
The guillotine statue…
Another one that has bitten the dust…
This one looks like it’s not far behind…
Okay, enough of the silly statues. Another sidebar: I saw this guy/gal at the edge of the cliff and took a zoom shot which actually turned out pretty well. You think it’s an eagle?
The pathway goes out to the tip, and they it winds down so that you can get pretty close to the water.
Here’s some information for you…
More views…
They have a pretty garden area when you first enter the area, as well as a restaurant that looks out over Punta Sur.
And here’s looking back at the tip. These rocky areas are usually crowded with iguanas, but I hardly saw any while I was there. I think even they were smart enough to get out of the heat…as opposed to me, the silly tourist.
I can’t tell you what fun people have with this statue. You can probably guess, though.
So that was our walk around Punta Sur. By this time, I thought I was going to die of heat stroke so I had to jump on my golf cart to feel some breeze. Next post will be on the colonias.
Random Travel Musings 