Returning to Mexico

For the price of one night in a NYC hotel we can have a BIG time in Mexico! That's how all this got started, my sister, Jen, invited me and Maya to celebrate her daughters 13th birthday in New York City and offered to splurge for the hotel and airfare. Sounded great! She sent me link to three fabulous hotels in the city that cost a pretty penny.  I was like, for the price of one night in NYC we could have a hotel, food, transport, and activities for all four of us in Mexico! Really to my surprise she agreed we should go to Mexico and revisit some of the places Maya and I went last summer.  She didn't have to ask me twice, we loved loved loved Mexico!

So here we are, having a redo on two of the places we went to last year.  First, Isla Holbox....that amazing paradise that is really like a dream.  It remains difficult to get to so that does help stem the flow of tourists, and there aren't any high rises....yet.  Jen said she wanted to travel the way me and Maya like to, using local transport and eating street food...but that we didn't need to stay in cheaper hotels.  So we are being treated to some incredible nights!  On Holbox we  are staying in a truly remarkable beachfront property, Palapas del  Sol.  

There was a bit of construction near the room they had for us, so they upgraded us to a two floor suite.  Lots of rain clouds but a beach front room is fabulous no matter what the weather.

The weather didn't cooperate so we weren't able to do the whale shark trip.  Instead we had a day with beach bikes that we rode to the market, the animal shelter, and the beach.  We visited the animal shelter last year and made a donation of leashes and collars.  This year we brought supplies and spent a while playing with puppies and kittens.  Lunch at the market, typical tacos and a fresh pineapple mango juice to wash them down.  We biked on  the beach all the way down to where the hotels end and the national park begins.  That's what will save this island from being overrun, the majority of it is protected land.  If it can be allowed to stay that way then this place could remain charming for years. Already since last year it has changed...more hotels, deeper potholes, but really still a great place and I'm glad we returned.

Riding bikes on the beach, walking on the pier, stopping for a coconut.....oh if we could all look as cool as this girl!

A ton of rain didn't keep us from enjoying the night in town, eating and walking around. The streets get seriously flooded and the water stands for days.  Nowhere for the water to go! As always, the main activity is just eating....ice cream, churros, tacos, tacos, tacos.

I don't have a picture to prove it...but I took a long solo bike ride all the way to the northern tip of the beach and was treated to a flock of pink flamingoes  fishing and mating in the shallow clear blue water.  Really such a sight with that coral pink and sky blue.  In the after noon Jen splurged on Mayan massages in our room! I had mine on the deck to the sound of soft waves, birds chirping, a gentle ocean breeze blowing....she had pan flute music playing on a speaker and used 3 different essential oils throughout her perfectly pressured massage.  It was seriously heaven on earth for $35.

Tomorrow afternoon it's off to Valladolid.  In the morning I plan to wake up early and ride my bike along the beach one last time, who knows if I will ever be able to return here.  Let me know if I can take you here someday!