Day Trip to Isla Contoy

Approaching Isla Contoy with the reef in the background

Isla Contoy is a small island 30 kilometers north of Isla Mujeres. It's been protected by the government since 1961 and became a national park in 1998. Only 200 visitors a day are allowed on the island, brought by only a few certified guides. We took the tour offered by the Fisherman's Cooperative in Isla. The cost was $65 per person and their booth is just north of the ferry terminal on the same side - sign says Isla Contoy. They picked us up at the Marina dock and then stopped over in Cancun for the rest of the group, all Mexicans. Only four of us went; Joe and Joan Donnaway from "Jamu" and ourselves.
It was a really great day. The trip over was exciting as the water was rough. Despite the big powerful boat, we did a lot of bouncing over the waves and were sprayed frequently. It was fun! The crew were very solicitous and the captain gave us a personal tour of the island in English. We saw thousands of birds; frigate birds, cormorants, osprey, brown pelicans and many more. Most nest in the protected lagoons inside the island. It is 8.5 kilometers long and is the start of the second longest reef in the world, after the great Barrier Reef in Australia. We stopped on the way to the island and snorkeled along the reef. Despite the somewhat limited viability due to the rough water, we saw lots of coral and fish.
The lunch was top notch with excellent BBQ fish and chicken, salad, rice, guacamole, tortillas and chips - all you could eat. And we had worked up quite an appetite. The small museum had a lot of exhibits and explanations in several languages, including English. There are marked walks all over the island. A great day!

Scott, Heather, Joe and Joan just back from snorkeling

Pelicans and osprey nesting along the shore

The boat landing and park headquarters

The fish was marinated with spices and stuffed with
onions and tomatoes, then BBQed

Our excellent buffet, served by our the chefs

Scott, Heather, Joe and Joan enjoying the feast

Juvenile Osprey

Large numbers of Iguanas make this their home - fed by
scraps from the lunches

Thousands of Frigate birds nest here

The red pouch is a mating signal

Large numbers of solar panels provide electricity to the
Park headquarters and museum

Many of the visitors to the park prefer just lounging on the
beach!

View from the tower looking south over the island.

Walking and Running around Isla Mujeres

In the distance you can see some of the boats in the anchorage

Well...mostly walking. We did participate in one fun road race of 5 kilometers. It started at 8am right on the dot, much to our surprise. It was a hot morning with not much wind so we really didn't do much running. Also unexpected was a complete lack of water, until the end (boy was it welcome then), so we were parched. We expected to turn around and start back after doing about 2.5 kilometers but the course continued south on the island. Scott and I figured we'd got the distance wrong. There was no sign at the start. But the race ended 5 K up the island with no provision to return. So we walked back...a long morning without breakfast! It was fun though with great participation by local families. Children of all ages ran with their parents and everyone had a good time.
It's delightful walking here on the island. There are wide sidewalks along the ocean and bay side with beautiful views. We walk for about an hour every morning and often walk into town at night. There is usually a brisk wind so it's very pleasant.

The palms shadows and water create some wonderful
 patterns

On the bay side the beach is lined with boats and restaurants

Small boats are tied up the shore

The road is lined with a large sidewalk so it's lovely
walking 

Many of the boats have temporary passengers when
the local fishermen are gone, here pelicans.

Along the ocean side as you come into the town the
road disappears inland and the wide walkway is between
the buildings and the sea. 

There's a few beaches on the ocean  but most are on
the protected western side

There are many sculptures
and murals on the walls

Outside of town the walk on the ocean side is along the
rocky beach

The start of the 5K race honoring the founder of Isla
Mujeres's Recreation Commission

The final festivities. Everyone received a metal!

Every age participated 

What Do You Do All Day?

Friday, March 9, 2012 Isla Mujeres, Mexico
"What do you do all day?" This is a common question. So here's a typical day in our life. At six AM here the sun is just about to come up and we wake up with the light. Whoever's first out of bed makes the coffee in our french press. I searched high and low for a stainless steel one that makes four full mugs. Today it's going to be hot so after one cup each, we're off for about an hour's walk. From our marina it's about a mile down the sidewalk along the beach facing the mainland. We pass a lot of fishing boats tied up along the shore and the docks of the Mexican Naval College/Center first and then enter the town. On the beachside are restaurants, ferries, sightseeing/snorkeling boats along with stretches of palm trees and sand. At the north end of the island we walk along the beach itself for awhile; it's good exercise. Then we return through the town center down the pedestrian only street and watch the stores opening up and the tourists eating breakfast. Sometimes we sit down and eat ourselves but today we're going back as I have an announcement for the NET.

Sunrise on Scott Free - time for coffee

View looking over the stern

My herb garden

The NET is a cruiser tradition in the larger harbors with many boats such as Trinidad, Marathon and Cartagena. It's a volunteer run VHF radio morning show which provides a place for news, arrivals/departures, weather, local and cruiser services, trade/barter equipment, and local/cruiser events. Today I'm announcing the pot luck Sunday 4:30PM at our Marina Paraiso. The Marina has a BBQ grill going and everyone brings something to put on it, a dish to share, silverware/plates and drinks for themselves. Last week's was a great success with over 30 people participating.
After the NET and breakfast (an omelet with onions, peppers and some leftover roasted potatoes) we put on our swim suits and cool off in the pool. Sometimes I do laps but not today. We shower in the Marina bathrooms (we have a hot water separate show stall on board but it doesn't put out a lot of water, and it's small for Scott 6'6" height). It's almost 10:30am now and both of us put our feet up and read. We get the U.S.A. Today Mexican edition paper every morning. Our neighbor Grant picks it up for us.

Scott and Grant at the Marina Paraiso bar "Las Iguanas"
as the band sets up

Scott's project today is finishing up the rear air conditioning unit. The machinery is in place but the hoses and electrical connection need to be finished. He'll work at it after lunch. I'm walking down to the supermarket and buying a few items for my pot luck dish and a lentil stew. Then I'll do some cooking. I'm making a baked pasta dish with cheese. Today I'll make the meat sauce and put it away till Sunday. I make mine from scratch with hamburg, sausage, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, carrot, celery and naturally garlic. I have three herbs in a pot in the cockpit to help out; thyme, basil and rosemary.

Our cute bartender Miguel a little later

But I'll wait until after lunch to go. It's easy today as I have leftover salad and "dirty rice" (I like Zatarin's products). After I cleanup I do a quick check of my pantry for last minute needed items. But the shopping list can only be as long as their weight allows, as I need to carry it back. So I try and do a little bit every day.
My shopping was a great success. Not every item is in every day although the ingredients for this dish are. I also found a nice cauliflower (very exciting) and fresh spinach which I'm going to serve tonight with smoked pork chops. Well maybe tonight. There is a band on here at the bar from 5:30 on. We'll have a few drinks and listen. If they are good and we're having fun we'll eat dinner there, but if not, it's home for smoked pork chops.
Well I shopped and cooked. I have some spaghetti sauce and lentil stew in the refrigerator and now I'm up at the lounge writing this and checking my email. Scott is still hard at work but almost finished. He'll be joining me in a minute. Sometimes we have WIFI at the boat but often it isn't strong enough there. It's hot now, around 85 degrees, but very pleasant as long as you don't try to do anything in the sun. We had a lot of wind over the last week but that's died down now.

The Soggy Peso, filled with cruiser "souvenirs"

Dancing in the Town Square

It's now 4:30pm and Scott's just come in with his computer. I look through the book swap to find a few new books. This is a big one, about 200 volumes. Almost every Marina and many of the bars have one. You bring books and take them. No one monitors it. There is quite a varied selection. I find an Elizabeth George mystery and a R.F. Delderfield novel (used to be popular when I was young but few have heard of him now). That will do.

It was indeed "The Island of Women" this night and we
all partied on

More later...
The next morning I'm finishing up this entry for posting. The pork chops had to wait. Grant was at the bar and we enjoyed the band and our Margaritas. So when he suggested that the Soggy Peso nearby had their Crispy Tacos Special that night, it sounded good. And they were. By then we were filled with ambition and headed downtown to the Fiesta in the square. This was the conclusion of the three day Moving Forward 2012 Conference in honor of International Women's Day (WWW.wemoveforward2012.com). The band and singers were terrific and soon Scott and I were out dancing with abandon, along with everyone else. Cruiser's midnight (9pm) came and went while we celebrated. A wonderful end to a typical day!

Chitchen Itza

Russ, Scott and I had the Pyramid of Kukulcan (or El Castillo)

We arrived about 11am at the Visitor's Center, really much too late. It is very hot at mid day and there isn't a lot of shade. Nevertheless we had no choice as we had to get the car back that night to Cancun and take the ferry to Isla Mujeres. Several people had recommended we hire a guide and it was good decision. Alfredo spoke excellent English and grew up here. His father was a guide as well. It cost 600 Mexican dollars (about $48 US) for around 2 hours and was well worth it.
This was huge city built on a leveled paved platform of 1.9 square miles. Outside of this ceremonial center were the homes of the Mayans themselves. It was active from about 600 AD to 1200 AD and encompasses three Mayan architectural styles; Late, Terminal and Post Classic. I found really interesting the combination of Mayan and Toltec gods and symbols. Our guide felt it showed the political truce between these two cultures.

Excavations below the huge terrace around the structures
now visable show additional levels below

All the buildings are covered with bas relief sculpture
and statues

The Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars depict these
animals grasping human hearts in their claws

Grand Juego de Pelota is the largest of the 8 ball courts at
this site. The game was perhaps a mixture of soccer and
lacrosse but the losing team captain was probably sacrificed
after the game (if not they, then the winners).

Alfredo, our guide, was very knowledgeable and added
a lot of interesting details to our visit.

The Temple of the Warriors with the "Thousand Columns"
stretching out in front and to the north. Inside is the earlier
Temple of Chac -Mool and a statue of Chac-Mool is still
on top.

Many of the columns are carved with figures of  warriors

The Ossuary or the Bonehouse known for it's beautiful
serpent's heads at the base of the staircase

El Caracol (the Snail, called by the Spaniards because of
it's interior spiral staircase) was an Observatory. The
windows are aligned with certain stars on particular dates.

The Nunnary (again a Spanish designation as it had many
small rooms) was probably a residence for Mayan royalty.
The curving hooks at both sides are the symbol for the
wind god. The buildings at this end of the complex or
earlier and mostly pure Mayan.

The feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl appears throughout the
city. He is called Kukulcan in Mayan. He was supposed to
be red headed, tall and wore a beard. The Mayans thought
the Spaniards heralded his return.

Our tour took about 2 hours and then we strolled around looking at the fine detail and the souvenir stalls. There are hundreds of them throughout the complex. It's supposed to be illegal but the local people need the work so there's an unofficial look the other way. Frankly we were exhausted from the sun and didn't have much patience still for shopping. One stall really caught our attention by demonstrating the use of natural dyes on their carvings. They use flowers, fruits and leave directly on the cypress and it creates a very soft attractive look. We bought masks for Daniel, Tommy and Nick, drums for Jonathan and a dress for Maya. We haven't found the right gift for our Ariella and Sheera yet but we have more shopping in our future.
We were starved and thirsty so we quickly found a nearby restaurant with a buffet. The food was all right, the drinks cold and they had a folk dancing demonstration. Life was much better. Our next stop was another refresher. The Yucatan is filled with cenotes - limestone underground fresh water pools. Some were ceremonial. There was one at Chichen Itza connected to El Castillo by a highway and it was the focus of sacrificial ceremonies. Another nearby provided water for the city.
We went south to Cenote Dzitnup, just north of Valladolid. The local farmer's coop has built a visitor center and changing rooms there. They charge a nominal admission. You descend carved stone stairs into the earth and emerge in a cavern with stalagmites hanging down over the clear pool. A small hole in the ceiling provides some natural light and a few artificial lights around the edge make it a little easier to get safely into the water. We joined a crowd of mostly local people enjoying the cool water.
This sure made it easier to get back in the car and make the long drive to Cancun. We arrived just after sunset, grabbed a bite to eat and caught the 8:30pm ferry back to Isla Mujeres. We won't be spending much time in Cancun. It's a long strip of huge hotels, condos, restaurants (all too many American chains). The beach is really beautiful we hear and this is obviously a lovely and popular vacation destination, but it's too much like Florida for us. We prefer a low key, low rise Mexican feeling, like our Isla Mujeres. It was a long but really interesting fun two day trip but we wished we'd had a week instead.

This young man demonstrated the natural dyes which
are used on the cypress carved masks, one of which
we bought for our grandson Daniel.

Embroidered dresses are worn by many of the Mayan
descendants in this region. See the young girl below. We
bought one for granddaughter Maya.

A demonstration of local folk dances during our lunch.

This lovely young Mayan girl was taking good care of her
baby sister. She's wearing a traditional embroidered dress
with a lace petticoat showing (deliberately) below.

Another more modernly dressed family sits nearby.