The beach was calling my name once again so jumped on yet another bus, this time to Chiquilá, then a 30 minute ferry across to Isla Holbox, a small island at the top of the Yucatán Peninsula. Lisa from Germany was heading the same way and so our island adventures began.

Isla número uno: Isla Holbox

There are no cars on the island and the only way to get around is by golf cart taxis or hiring your own. Hostel Che was pretty close to the ferry terminal so we decided to navigate the sandy roads and were thankful it was so close as it wasn’t long before the sweat was pouring off in the bright, hot sun.

Arriving at Hostel Che we were greeted by a friendly crowd in the refreshing swimming pool. Travel stories were shared and it wasn’t long before happy hour began. There was a buzz around about people going to check out the Bioluminescence, never hearing of this before I was obviously keen for an adventure. Gianeli (my new Mexican amiga) had seen it the night before just at the beach but this time we decided to get taxis to an area that was further away and supposed to be more concentrated.  There was no point bringing our phones or cameras as any lights would lessen the overall effect. So with only a beer and bug spray in hand we bumped along on the back of a golf cart fending off the mosquitoes in the pitch black. We were a bit worried as we had been warned about the mosquitoes and with the driver completed kitted out head to toe, mask and everything and us in practically only our bikinis we were soon tasting the bug spray as each of us sprayed like crazy instead of our cold beers.

Keen to get into the water to hide from the vicious blood suckers we waded in and the water around us lit up a mesmerising blue. The bioluminescence is caused by phytoplankton that floats on the surface of the water. As they are agitated by wave movements they emit a bright blue light. We needed to stay under the water as the mosquitoes were still at large, even biting our faces. But not wanting to venture too deep in case there were crocodiles …no idea if there actually were or we were just trying to scare each other. Overall it was an incredible experience.

Back at the hostel the party was getting started with the tables moved to make way for the dance floor and people already on the tequila! Quick shower and we were ready to join them. To be honest I hadn’t partied too much yet on my trip but I certainly made up for it. The party moved to a beach bar and cuba libres (fancy for rum and coke) were on the menu. Mistakenly drinking Gianeli’s one I realised she was getting a strong local pour and I was getting ripped off. Let’s just say I made her order the rest of the drinks! Making our way slowly to the hostel at some ungodly hour we realised the sun was waking up. What better way to greet the sun than a SUNRISE SWIM!! Breakfast is included so we made our way back to the hostel just in time for some fresh coffee, fruit, eggs and toast.

Then it was straight to bed and crashed out until about 3pm. The afternoon was for obvious reasons a real struggle, we went to get food and I ordered a Super Quesadilla (no idea what I was thinking as many of you know I can hardly eat the next day) and only managed a few bites before trying to learn what take-away means in Spanish. We struggled on the rest of the afternoon before relaxing on the pool loungers and watching people with too much energy.

The energy is infectious and at about 9pm we play with the idea of getting a beer. Each being the others own worst enemy we are soon one beer down and walking to the shop to get some big bottles to play beer pong. It’s only beer pong but once up and moving around we are feeling much better, maybe its just the beer.

Back at our favourite local we stick to beers (and tequila) and kick off our jandals and dance the night away to reggaeton.

We are soon repeating the phrase..’oh the sun is coming up, we’ve pulled an all nighter again’ as we sit back around at the hostel and breakfast is getting prepared.

Replenishing ourselves we hit the hay for a few hours. I woke with a start realising I had to check out as I had only booked 2 nights. Luckily there was another bed available as I was in no state to move very far or very fast. Rolling into a hammock until my next bed was ready, I realised I hadn’t seen any of the island yet. Gianeli was leaving today so maybe I’d get the chance haha.

Managing to get out of the hammock we ventured out to get some food, Epanadas this time around, which are like a folded over tortilla filled with your choice of cheese/beans/chicken/anything really and then deep fried, delicious and cheap. The island is full of some amazing street art that I failed to capture as the parties started early and finished late and the last thing I could manage with a hangover was taking photos, but here is a tiny taster:

Unable to convince Gianeli to stay for another night we said our goodbyes and made plans to meet back up in Cancun a few days later and go across to Isla Mujeres. Finding Lisa we went to check out the beach and I’m all about getting those electrolytes back in so coco frios all the way

Before leaving the island we vowed we needed to explore. With all our drinking buddies gone we stayed strong under any pressure and got an early night ready to get up early and head towards Punta Mosquito. We needed to go early at low tide as you walk along sand banks for at least 1.5 hours. The water is crystal blue, the sand is snow white, and the flamingos are baby pink.

Feeling happy with our morning accomplishments we decided that we could now leave this beautiful island. Jumping on the ferry back to Chiquilá, we got the last couple of seats on the bus to Cancún, luckily as Chiquilá isn’t really a town you’d want to stay in. Messaging Gianeli she said she would meet us at the bus station and come with to Isla Mujeres.

Isla número dos: Isla Mujeres

So Gianeli is from Cancún and ran into the bus station saying her parents are waiting in the car and will take us to the ferry terminal. We were so grateful after our big walk earlier this morning. With our limited Spanish and their no English is was a challenge to explain just how grateful we were, there was a lot of muchas gracias and mucho gusto coming out of my mouth. A quick spin around the block with our new tour guide and we were soon on the ferry heading to our next island.

Us being unorganised with booking accommodation we couldn’t get into the hostel we wanted and booked the only one left that had average reviews that we hoped were exaggerated. In general the place had potential, it just lacked any atmosphere and friendliness and they were super unorganised. We headed straight to the supermarket excited to cook some Mexican food of our own – well Gianeli cooking some Mexican food. On returning back to the hostel they explained there is no kitchen, just this little space here with a microwave and a sandwich press. Not enough to make the salsa and certainly not enough to cook the chicken. Haha rookies not looking at the facilities on booking, but come on what kind of hostel doesn’t have a kitchen. The guy gave us one knife and a plate and looked super grumpy that we had disturbed him. We still managed to whip up some scrumptious tortilla cheese mole and cream delicacies, and by we again I mean Gianeli! And Lisa made a great guacamole so all was not lost.

PocNa hostel was where we heard the party is so after a couple of beers we made our way there. Arriving just in time for the last few seconds of the live music, we didn’t seem to be doing so well on this island. But the party quickly escalated it moved from the hostel to their bar out on the beach and we found out Happy Hour goes all night with 2 for 1 cocktails. We bar hopped around a bit until the last resort was to take some drinks down to the beach. The sun was rising up again so after a refreshing dip we made it back to the hostel in time for breakfast. I’m sensing a pattern here!

Power naps all round we set our alarm for a few hours with the intention of hiring a golf cart to explore the island. After a few times hitting the snooze button we finally made it out the door about 3pm and realised we could only hire them until 5pm. Plenty of time, the island isn’t that big. First though token photo with a flamingo

Pedal to the metal these things don’t go very fast, but we got to the far end of the island, had some tacos, had some ice cream, had some photos and even a swim before returning it safely without a scratch in the nick of time.

Even though we look so bright, happy and beautiful above, no one was quite in the frame of mind to think about packing and leaving so we decided to stay another night and head back to Cancún the next day. A few rounds of cards and couple of quiet beers saw us get a nice early night at about 1am 🙂

A storm rolled in in the morning which made the ferry crossing interesting and thankful we weren’t still on the island. Gianeli put her tour guide hat back on and showed us around Cancún which was super interesting. However we were soon all saying our goodbyes and going different directions on our adventures. Such special times in some special parts of Mexico with such special people.

Isla número tres up next…