Well we are here and loving it. THis is a beautiful little island with friendly people and the food! We have had the most incredible ceviche's with shrimp, octupus,conche and fabulous grilled fresh fish, cuban food and thats just for starters.

Got a little sunburnt today, the water is fabulous and warm and we are loving our little apartment in town. It has a little rooftop deck with hammocks and bbq.

This place is fab and this will be our first of many visits to be sure...very happy right now..

Thanks for keeping us posted, lesfaye. I will have to enjoy the balmy weather and seafood vicariously through you (although the temps went up to close to 70 degrees here today after starting the week off in the frigid teens!)

Have fun!

I'm sooo glad that you are enjoying your time there. It is difficult recommending a place to people because expectations are different, but I found it the perfect place that I needed to be at when I was there 2x. The colour of the water is....amazing, eh?...and the food! Enjoy...enjoy...and I am VERY envious because we have been having freezing rain off and on for a few days with snow falls in between!

Thanks Terry and Debrah..Yesterday we went to Playa Lancheros and spent the day at the beach and touched a shark! We then had many margaritas and met the most amazing coulple from Brazil, we had so much fun, they did not speak much english but it did not matter. They invited us to Rio to stay with them, they don't realize we may take them up on that!

We had lunch and had Achiote grilled fish on this enormous barbecue. They called the fish a King Mackeral It was sublime...honestly I have not tasted fish like this ever, we have not had one piece of meat, oh well forgot about the cuban sandwich!

That morning when we left the electriciy was turned off, with no warning of course and my husband was worried about his beer getting, warm...priorities you know. But when we came back it was on and we took one of many siesta's.

I adore sleeping in the afternoon. That evening we went to town and had a few margaritas and listened to some mexican music at a bar then wandered to a restaurant where we made a reservation for dinner for our anniversary on the 19th. It is called Olivia's and is owned by a couple from Israel. It is really lovely inside and the menu looks to die for, it is mediterranean food.

We then went to another local restaurant for dinner and called Don Chepo's and I had chicken poblano which was a pounded down chicken breast covered in a poblano sour cream sauce with roasted corn and cheese. It came with carmelized onions and sauteed cactus which was wonderful. This dish I will have again, it was fantastic. Oh it also came with this lovely local bread that is like brioche and they toast it and then butter it...OMG... it is so good.

There was a table next to us a man from Isla that nows lives in Texas with his fiance and two sisters. We were eating and they asked how my food was and we started chatting and ended up joining them and they had a mushroom fondue and whole grilled fish and other picky stuff, unbelievable we had such a laugh with them.

THe fiance was a little firecracker and kept getting up and slapping her ass and saying how hot she was and her fiance just looked scared..hee!

We left and went back to our apartment, made a cuba libre and went up on our little roof deck and got in our hammocks and read until sleepy...

Thanks for listening, I love describing food so more to come...

I am enjoying reading your posts. Any pictures?

soon soon...

Here's some pic's from Isla...

quote:

Originally posted by lesfaye:
Here's some pic's from Isla...

more pic's

Isla street...

Wow, these are great, lesfaye. I so love to hear from STers while they are traveling.

My fav so far is those gi-huge-ic drinks you're holding while squishing your feet in the sand. Ahhh!

Aaahhh. We LOVE Isla Mujeres. For us it is the perfect weekend getaway. we can leave our house and be at our hotel in 90 minutes, tops! We were just there again a few weeks back and had a lovely meal at Olivia's. If you enjoyed that, you may also want to check out Comono on Hidalgo. Zamas Beach Club has reopened after some renovations and is just as good as ever. That is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon. Have a wonderful time. More pictures please. we never get tired of Isla!!!

Hi well, it was hot and clear yesterday got some good color and was in and out of that beautiful water at least a dozen times. We e-mailed home because it is freezing in Seattle with snow so had a friend go check out pipes and turn on the heat a bit. Feel a bit guilty being here...NOT!

Yesterday we ate at the Loncheria Alexi and Giovanny in the public market. THis place is outstanding. Graham had the achiote pork chops so spicy and good and I had the shrimp fajitas, huge portion and it all came to around $14.

Last night we stopped at the chicken place where this guy has barbecued chickens that are to die for with many sides to choose from, took one of those home and made some fresh guac and his french fries which were awesome, dinner for $5!

This morning went back to Loncheria ALexi and my husband ordered a mixed torta for less than $3 and we had no idea what it would be, it came and it was on a sesame seed bun with fresh hot chicken and ham and avacado with tomato pickled red onions cheese and peppers...unbelievable and I had pancakes with bacon and a espresso coffee and had cream or ice cream with espresso sprinkles on top, all this for $8.

So much for that weight I lost before...

Tonite we go to La Molita for chicken mole supposed to be the best in town. We are leaving for the beach in a minute we have our favourite spot called called Chichi Charlies and the best margaritas on the island...

We are already planning our next trip here...

Where is the BBQ chicken place that you like? I love pollo asado!

The chicken place is called La Mexicana on Gurrero st. It is muy bueno, had another one yesterday..

Well as some of you know I got my wisdom teeth out a couple of weeks before we left and everything seemed ok stil a bit in pain but nothing advil couldn't help. Yesterday morning I woke up and my face was swollen again and I started to panic.

I called my doctor at home and they said you need antibiotics asap so go to the hospital. The little hospital is just down the street and we went and he said to come back at 3pm. I went and called the doctor again and asked him for the name of the antibiotics he would have prescribed me so I could give them to the doctor.

While I was waiting for my appointment I said to my husband why don't you go to the farmacia and ask them if they know what these are. Well he went and bought them over the counter! Wonderful! I called my doctor again and told them what I had and they confirmed they were the right ones so all is right with the world! Whew!

I was starting to panic a bit there. I am glad I was able to avoid a visit to the doctor anyway.

So laid low yesterday and feel a bit better this morning and my cheek is a tiny bit less swollen so off to the beach but first we went back to our favorite loncheria and had chicken quesadillas for breakfast and my husband had eggs bacon and french fries, they're fries are out of this world and he was in heaven having a english favorite egg and chips!

We had another wonderful roast chicken last night and Graham made sauteed onions and mashed potatoes and carrots with cream corn. It was yummy, this is why I love staying in apartments.

It is lovely out and low humidity today so off to the beach and that lovely water...only four days left I could cry....

Great! We will look for it the next time we are on the island.

Lesfaye, I guess you proved and then disproved Murphy's Law on this trip. If anything can go wrong... sorry to hear about your possible infection, but also I'm glad to hear that you're starting to feel better. Geez. Gotta love OTC antibiotics!

Thanks Terry...isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to go to a pharmacy and buy what you need without a doctor visit...

Tonite is our 25th wedding anniversary and we are going to meet some friends at the beach for drinks then off to Olivia's restaurant for dinner, can't wait!
http://www.olivia-isla-mujeres.com/inspiration.aspx

Last night we walked home from the beach after watching an amazing sunset and the streets were full of locals in golf carts that were all decorated for Xmas and whole familys were dressed up in Santa outfits with the kids and they had music blaring and they were all laughing and singing!

This is the sweetest place I swear there is such a local family presence here and its lovely to see people so happy which of course makes you doubly happy to be here...its all good!

Off around the corner to the local launderia to have some things washed and folded. The way this women folds clothes you would think she worked for Nordstrom or something and the smell, heavenly!

Hi Lesfaye, I am also enjoying your posts. It looks beautiful there. Great photos! And are those margheritas (my fav)? Looks and seems like you're really having a wonderul relaxing time. Happy Anniversary and enjoy the rest of your trip. Thanks for posting and sharing.

Glad you are better Lesfaye! Your trip sounds really good except for the minor detail of the swollen face... Speedy recovery to you!

Saludos from another part of Mexico (Morelos)!

Lesfaye, you might want to check to see if it's ok to drink alcoholic beverages while you are taking your antibiotic (www.mayoclinic.com/health/antibiotics-and-alcohol/AN01802).

P.S. Love your photos!

Our anniversary was last night and my husband hit it out of the park on this one. We got to Olivia's and she showed us to her favorite table, the owner, it is gorgeous in this restaurant.

So after we were seated I said to my husband so should we get a bottle of wine? Right at that moment the waitress came to the table with champagne in a silver bucket and a single rose and a card which she set on the table and said "Hope you have a lovely anniversary".

My husband of course had arranged this and the card was what can I say? I was crying a little and then the waitress came back to tell us the specials.

My husband already knew what he was going to order the Moussaka, and we knew what starter we wanted it was just a question of what I was going to have. I went for the Lamb chops over oven roasted lemon/oregano potatoes with a tahini sauce.

The starter consisted of their house marinated olives, eggplant salad, tsatziki, and feta cheese with their homemade parmesan cheese bread.

Unbelievable! My husband loved loved his Moussaka and it came with a marinated tomato and onion salad. Its hard to find a good moussaka and he said it was the best he has ever had. That is something considering the amount of time we have spent in Greece, which is ALOT and where we met.

My lamb chops were done to perfection and those potatoes were to die for. Coupled with honestly , incredible service it was quite the magical evening. We can't recommend this place enough, they were wonderful and the food is fantastic and very reasonable prices. We finished up with an espresso and wandered home.

It was a fabulous evening and couple with the gorgeous anniversary ring he surprised me with on our first night here, he's pretty much right up there in my book at the moment, hee!

We have only two nights left here and we have to decided to go on a food fest and eat every delicious thing possible! We will start with breakfast then we are going to Zama Beach club this afternoon which is supposed to be beautiful for lunch and swim, then dinner not decided yet.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE!

Thanks for listening and about drinking with the antibiotics, I have not been, but could not say no to the champagne last night!!

Lesfaye - what a wonderful evening, and what a wonderful husband to have arranged it!

Putting on my moderator hat - would you turn this into a restaurant review, so future visitors can more easily find the information?

And how about turning this thread into a trip report. - Isla Mujeres sounds like a great vacation destination close to home.

Judy

I'm enjoying your enthusiasm. Yes, you should write a trip report.
We've been to Isla Mujeres twice, and it really is a natural for Slow Trav. It is a real place, not just a tourist mecca. Businesses are run by local families, and fishermen bring in the catch, and children walk to school...all that. You are clearly into the vibe. There were very few tall buildings. Everything was on a local scale. I don't remember all these places to eat! We just ate fresh fish, ceviche and guacamole - and were quite happy with that. The cheapest eateries seemed to be the best. I loved the fact that you could walk most everywhere and that you weren't isolated from the community. As we slog through an unusually wintry December, the beach and that blue blue water sound wonderful.
Linda

Well we are home and freezing our asses off!

We had an unfortunate occurence the day before we left. My husband lost his wallet with $250 cash in it. We cancelled the cards but it really spoiled our last night on Isla!

The next morning he went back to the beach and they had found the wallet, less the cash of course..oh well.

It was one of the best holidays we have had, we love the island and the people and the food. It just suited us to a tee! I have already worked out dates for next year. Next year we want to be there for Xmas and New Years and for longer. So I figured with holidays off and vacation time, we can spend about 25 days on Isla next year!! Woohoo!

Already looking at apartments, we really loved this one we stayed in but might look for something different this time...thanks for the feed back on my posts. I am not a very good at trip reports, so I can't promes that but I will do an apartment review and some restaurant reviews soon...

Sounds like you had an awesome time, minus the tooth and wallets incidents!

Would you recommend this as a family vacation - 2 boys, ages 7 and 13? The 13 year old is all about food, so it sounds like I have him covered! I have a headache because I've been on the internet non-stop trying to figure out where to go in March for a week or so.

Lesfaye,
I LOVE Mexico and it has been many, many years since I have been to Isla Mujeres. I am so jealous :-). You mentioned Greece and that you had been there many times. My friend and I have been thinking about going there this year. Can you help me regarding time of year and what your favorite places are.

Thanks and glad you are better. I may have to put Isla on my list of trips this year!
Marie

Sophia, I would totally recommend Isla for kids...it is small so very hard to get lost. The locals love kids and there is a great square with a basketball hoop that was always full of kids. You can walk everywhere downtown and to the beach. It is not wild and full of beer drinking youngsters either. Totally great for a family as saw many when we were there. March is a great time to go, not too hot I hear.

Mariooch, we adore Greece. The best time in my opinion to go to Greece is in September. I am talking about the islands here. The nights are cooler but you still have the heat during the day and the water is warm...My husband and I met in Greece on an island called Ios, but then and now is a huge party island and unless your under 25 would not recommend it. But we love Paros and Naxos in the Cyclades group of islands. Mykonos and Santorini are very touristy but still beautiful and as soons as the crowds dissapate a little bit as in September its heaven. There are also other island in this group that are supposed to be lovely as well...and not very touristy. It all depends on what you want.

We also have been to Skiathos in the Sporades islands in Northern Greece. Skopelos and Alonissis are beautful as well. In my opinion you cannot beat the islands for beauty, romance, food, scenery...it is paradise...you must go!

Hi Lesfaye,

We are deciding between Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres for our next vacation. It seems to me that some popular beach areas seem to have huge sand bags to keep the beach from eroding. I think that kind of takes away from the whole experience and would rather be on a beach where there aren't any sand bags. Any recommendation on which area of Isla to stay on - is there a nice beach you would recommend besides North Beach? We would like to stay waterfront where kids could actually swim and snorkel. Our other choice is the north end of Playa del Carmen, maybe around 38th street.

Well if a few sand bags put you off...what can I say? These are only on Playa Norte and did not take away from the beauty of this place in my estimation, there is also Playa Sol is a huge stretch of beach right in the DT area that is gorgeous and no sand bags. We just like the atmosphere of north beach more funky beach side bars.

Choosing between Isla and Playa Carmen was easy, I looked at Playa first, too many people too built up, too touristy for me..I chose Isla because I wanted less touristy, not so many people, it is an ISLAND! Waaaaaay more laid back...the people are fantastic, this is a real mexican town if you want man made go to Playa...don't forget about the fantastic food though.

Isla is not for everybody thank god! Have fun!

Thanks, Lesfaye! It's hard trying to pick to satisfy the needs and wants of 4 people! I know, tough life trying to decide where to spend a week's vacation! If it were just me, I would go to a little fishing village and just sit on a beautiful beach all day and eat at little lunch places. Not sure if that fits with the rest of the family! I did book my flights yesterday, so am very excited! Will let you know where we end up!