After sailing to Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 2004, we returned in 2017. And we weren’t sure what we’d find.
As a lot of our readers know, from 2001 to 2004 we traveled coastal Mexico and Central America aboard our 42-foot sailboat. Twice we visited Banderas Bay and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and we have many wonderful memories of both visits. The first time we visited Banderas Bay in 2001, we dropped anchor in a beautiful bay just off the sleepy little fishing town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, just a few miles up the coast from Puerto Vallarta. The dinghy landing beach was just off Ana Banana’s, the quintessential beach bar/hangout joint. We whiled away many fun hours there with our fellow cruisers, enjoying margaritas and mellow music.
In 2009 we decided to take a vacation back to Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay. In eight years, PV had lost a lot of its exotic charm and had transformed into a smoggy, traffic-clogged city dealing with too many people and other growing pains. But La Cruz was the real heartbreaker. The quaint, undiscovered bay was in throes of development. A huge, modern new marina had taken over most of the anchorage, and Ana Banana’s had lost its waterfront – and dinghy beach – to a giant condominium project. Ah, progress.
Fast-forward to early 2017.
I was approaching burnout with my work and in desperate need of a beach fix, and we were both craving REAL Mexican food. Almost in unison, two words popped into our heads: Isla Mujeres!
In 2004, we’d spent an idyllic two weeks on this small island just off the Mexican Yucatan, a 20-minute ferry ride from Cancun, waiting for weather to make the crossing to Key West, Florida, in our boat. It felt risky going back — would we have the same experience as our 2009 trip to Puerto Vallarta? Would the charm be gone, and would the place be spoiled by too many tourists and runaway growth?
The news is good.
There has been some growth and development, including a few multi-story beach hotels that weren’t there before (we stayed in one, the Ixchel Beach Hotel, which we highly recommend), but Isla Mujeres still has its charm, even after being hit by a major hurricane a few years ago. The sand is just as soft and white, the Mexican food is just as divine (especially in the mercado and the cheap little street joints), and the margaritas are potent as ever. The marina is larger and more modern but the anchorage is essentially the same, filled with cruising sailboats. A two-hour flight from Panama City, Isla is one place we know we’ll return to, again and again.
Here are a few more pics from our May 2017 trip to Isla Mujeres.
16 Comments
So happy your Isla Mujeres remains unspoiled. It’s been about 3 decades since I was there and your pictures look like much has changed (for the good) since then. 😊 Love your blog. Keep writing!
Thank you, Jan! I’ll bet Isla would look a lot different after 30 years.
Nice post. So sad about the picture in front of Ana’s….Ah well
Yup – one thing we can always count on is that things will change. It’s inevitable.
I am always disappointed when I return to a once idyllic spot in the world. But, progress and development is not to be stopped. I am glad to hear your little peaceful place wasn’t too overdeveloped.
Thanks, Debbie!
Lovely photos! And I’m so glad that your return to a favorite vacation retreat proved to be as lovely as you remembered even with the ongoing development. I remember our first trip to Playa del Carmen in the mid-nineties when it was just a small and charming fishing village where you could catch the ferry to Cozumel. We used the city as our launching point for our full-time travels in 2012 and were so disappointed that it had lost all of its quaintness to become just a giant tourist trap. Probably, more often than not, going back can be disappointing. And there are so many more reasons to keep going forward, right? Anita
Indeed, Anita! There’s just soooo many places to see in the world that we have to pick and choose carefully if we want to return somewhere. That said, every time we make a trip we say – we HAVE to come back here! Most recently: Ecuador. Apart for the Galapagos we only had 5 nights to explore that amazing country. We will go back!
I’ve always heard great things about Isla Mujeres. So happy to see it is still quaint and a good destination. Thanks Susan!
Thanks, Donder! I think you and Dave would really enjoy Isla.
Always a risky proposition returning to a place filled with happy memories. Great pix, keep ’em coming. Can’t wait to see your report from the Galapagos!
Gracias, amiga!
I actually joined Amandla in Isla Mujeres but sadly, we got a weather window the day I arrived and the next morning set sail for Key West. Lovely to get a more in depth visit here. Bummer to hear you found La Cruz changed for the worse but good to know it still retains some of its charm in spite of the marina. I do believe boats still anchor there.
Can you believe I just saw this comment and you made it 10 months ago?? Haha, so sorry 🙂 Now that you’ve spent time on anchor in La Cruz, we’re wondering what you thought. Is Ana Banana’s still there?
Hope you can get back to Isla one of these days now that you’re stateside. Hugs to you and Fabio, amiga!
Love all the murals…. and you guys traveled around on your sailboat. How fun is that! I can’t wait to read about more of your adventures. So inspiring 🙂 I would love to go to Mexico one day. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, and welcome to our little blog! Hope you can visit Mexico – it’s amazing 🙂