A day trip to Isla Mujeres and meeting new friends (Part 2)

I finished up Part 1 of this post as we were approaching Jax Bar & Grill on Isla Mujeres.  I had sent Cara a text from the ferry terminal telling her that we would indeed be on the 11:00 ferry as I'd estimated, so sure enough, she and Mary were sitting at Jax waiting for us when we walked up!  

Even though this was the first time I'd met Cara in person, I felt like I knew her already from all the emails and photos we'd exchanged.  It was great to finally meet!  She lives in Rhode Island so was missing the huge blizzard from winter storm Juno by being in Mexico.  GOOD TIMING!

After a drink and some good conversation at Jax, the four of us took off on foot to see Playa Norte, the popular north beach.  

Walking 'round the round-about

Now THIS is a beach!  Wide, white sugar sand, palm trees, aquamarine water...ahhhhhhh!

There are several beach clubs on Playa Norte, and they were packing in the people on this perfect Wednesday as we continued walking.  We had to weave our way among all the sun worshippers.

Leaving Playa Norte, we saw the Corona sign.  If a Corona commercial hasn't already been filmed here, one certainly could (and should) be!  I mean, just look at this BEACH!

Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres

After leaving the beautiful beach behind, we paid a quick visit to the Isla cemetery.  As we've seen before in Latin America, many of the graves are decorated elaborately and colorfully.

Next we walked around downtown, looking for a lunch spot as we chatted.  The place Cara and Mary wanted to go was closed for lunch, but there were plenty of other choices.

I love the bright colors of Mexico. So charming!

We ended up at Mamacita.  We had a good waiter and had the place to ourselves.  Most everyone else on the island was at the beach!

We had an adorable visitor when we first arrived.  The island dogs here are quite a bit smaller than the strays in Playa del Carmen.  You can see how tiny she was next to my size 7.5 shoe!

Wish I had some dog biscuits for this one!

Cara and Mary, traveling buddies

Barry and me

We tried to get all four of us in one photo with Cara's "selfie stick".  The table was pretty wide, so the attempt was not the most successful, but I guess we're all there, barely!  

The food was yummy.  I had shrimp tacos; Barry and Mary both had a chicken burrito that was loaded!

Shrimp Tacos

Chicken Burrito

Cara had some good looking shrimp ceviche.

After a good lunch and a lot more chatting, the four of us continued down colorful Hildago Street, looking at a few souvenirs.  Barry and I had thought we might buy a refrigerator magnet but couldn't agree on one so ended up not buying anything.  

Hildago Street

Yo quiero Taco Bell?

Cara with a new friend

Some nice murals on this large building

When we reached the end of the street, we were back at the ferry terminal area.  After bidding our new friends goodbye, Barry and I were able to hop onto the 3:30 pm Ultramar ferry just moments before it departed Isla.  I forgot to mention in Part 1 that our round-trip tickets on the Ultramar cost $146 MXN each, or around $10 USD.

Here are a few parting shots of the island.  The low, puffy clouds were gorgeous!  It really was a perfect day.  A cool front ("Norte") kept the temperatures and humidity moderate -- oh so pleasant.

The on-board musician played some fine tunes on our return trip.  Very enjoyable!

Isla Mujeres faded away behind us as we approached Cancún....

Isla Mujeres just barely visible on the horizon

I'm enjoying the sunshine on the ferry

After the ferry ride, we ended up walking a good part of the way back to the ADO bus terminal as we couldn't find a local bus stop heading back that way.  We finally did catch a bus, only to get off it a couple of blocks too early for the ADO bus.  I was really glad I'd worn my clunky but sensible trail shoes instead of sandals with all the walking we ended up doing.  

The return trip on the ADO bus took us to the 5th Avenue station in Playa, not the 20th Street terminal we'd left from.  That meant a longer walk back to our place and back to Paisley.  It was pitch dark when we arrived home a bit after 6 pm, and I am sure Paisley was wondering where the heck we were!  Too bad the Quintana Roo time change came just a few days later; it still would have been light if our excursion had occurred after the change.

After finally getting to go out to do her doggie business and receiving a new chew bone Cara had brought down (thanks Cara!), Paisley seemed to forgive us for being gone all day.  Here she is a few days later enjoying one of the new bones for her seventh birthday (February 2 -- Groundhog's Day!)

We had such a great time visiting Isla Mujeres, and it was delightful meeting Cara and Mary.  Maybe we'll have the chance to meet up with them again here in Mexico one day!