Isla Mujeres in Pictures

I arrived home from Isla Mujeres 3 weeks ago today. It was shocker coming home, between the Denver experience, the temperature here, and leaving behind the mellow pace of the island. Curiously, the adjustment coming back home was more jarring than the adjustment arriving in Mexico. Since my re-entry, I have tried to duplicate some of the food (to varying degrees of satisfaction), printed photos (the first time since I got the digital camera in 2004), and appreciated many times spending my vacation on Isla Mujeres. Here are 14 days in pictures:

The Sun: Since living in the mountains, I have developed much gratitude for sunrises and sunsets. (We don't get them here.) Below is a sunset.



And a sunrise.



You're thinking that there isn't much difference between a sunrise and a sunset?

After the sunrise, I went for a walk along the east side of the island. I found this very enthusiastic islander, who was lying on his balcony when I walked by. He peaked his head through the star-shaped openings.



It looks to me like he is used to having his picture taken. The shot was perfect.

On another walk-about town, I found this fellow hanging out in front of the graveyard.



Isla Mujeres was originally a fishing community; it now has a population of 14,000 people without the visitors. Some stories I have heard say that when Cortez came to the island, there were only women as the men were fishing, and that is how the island got its name. Other stories say the island was named because the island had a ceremonial centre devoted to Ixchel, the Goddess of Fertility.

According to Kathryne who has a website celebrating life with food - Food Musings - there are 95 restaurants on the island. I sampled 22 of them. Interestingly, Kathryne lives in Winnipeg.

Here is my favourite meal, garlic shrimp, from Seso Loco's. The shrimp were grilled with vegetables, rice and the best tasting potatoes I have ever had. During my stay, I had 5 meals of garlic shrimp.



And what draws us here...