41
41WAYPOINTSFEBRUARY2016cruisingworld.comrina Paraiso, which has a swimming pool,
hotel and restaurants, we moved out to
the anchorage to avoid busting the bud-
get. It’s well protected from all directions
except the north, and the holding is good.
During the day we did endure occasional
wakes from fi shing boats and vessels haul-
ing tourists, because unlike on the roads,
there are no speed bumps and apparently
no speed limits at sea here. Still, it was a
comfortable spot, and the sea breeze was
a relief from the heat onshore.
The cruising community in Isla is a
small, close-knit family. Every day on
the cruisers net (VHF 13), sailors check
in by saying good morning. Fridays and
Tuesdays, the whole gang gets together
for happy hour and dinner. Cruiser Tim
Weeden, who’d been in Isla Mujeres for
over a year on his sailboat, Tropical Fun,
was the group’s ringleader during our stay,
and is the creator of the Facebook page
Isla Mujeres Cruisers Net.
We were in Isla over the Easter holiday
(Semana Santa), so the island was busier
than usual. Ferries disgorging hundreds
of day-trippers from Cancún arrived
every hour. Most of the crowds gravi-
tated toward the north end of the islandto enjoy Playa Norte and Playa Posada,
where powdery white sand stretches into
calm turquoise waters. Bars and restau-
rants lining the beach require no shirts
or shoes for service. You can emerge
from the ocean full of salt and sand, belly
up to a bar, and no one will blink an eye.
The colorful downtown area is also
at the north end of the island. Ubiqui-
tous trinket and textile vendors beckon
tourists into their shops. All prices are
negotiable. There are juice emporiums
and restaurants galore serving fresh sea-
food. The small out-of-the-way joints
have the best food at the best prices. We
liked Ruben’s, on Avenida Guerrero, not
far from Playa Norte.There are snorkeling and dive trips
off ered aboard motor skiff s, and catama-
rans blaring dance music. We did some
snorkeling out of our dinghy at one loca-
tion and saw more snorkelers than fi sh.
Had we arrived in May, we could have
gone swimming with the migrating whale
sharks.
Outside the tourist areas, Isla is a
sleepy little town with plenty of space
to breathe. The main modes of trans-
portation are golf carts and scooters.
Numerous speed bumps prevent reckless
driving. There’s a long pedestrian walk-
way overlooking the rocky shores on thenortheastern side of the island. It was
virtually empty on the afternoon we took
our stroll.
Isla is a popular crossroads in the
western Caribbean for cruisers head-
ing both north and south. It’s easy to see
why some linger longer than anticipated.
With friendly locals, crystal-clear water
and thatched-roof bars on every beach,
why leave?Amy Flannery and her husband, Ken Kur-
lychek, live aboard their Morgan 38, Mar y
T, and are currently cruising in the western
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WWW.DUFOUR-YACHTS.COMMICHEL DUFOUR CREATED DUFOUR YACHTS IN 1964
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Yachts today are more than just hulls with sails,
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(^1) / 6
Isla Mujeres’ tiny, colorful cemetery
is located at the edge of town, near
the beach, and off ers visitors another
peek into Mexican culture.
ANGELA ADAMS