Paradise?

Despite its beautiful beaches and party reputation ("Spring Break!"), I actively avoided Cancún and instead stayed a couple of nights on Isla Mujeres, about twenty minutes by ferry off the coast. It wasn't much different to the mainland though, and I should've figured that out when the ferry ride was flawless and speedy. Almost every time I was headed to paradise, it was fraught with difficulties.

The gorgeous Playa Blanca off the coast of Cartagena took all of the better part of the day to get to, while the boat to San Blas was two days of straight sailing on my back or with eyes fixed on the horizon. Bocas del Toro required long bumpy bus rides on shitty roads and all it did was rain the days I stayed.

Though the weather was perfect over the Corn Islands, I had no time to endure the days of travel over rough terrain and wetlands, and no money for the alternative flight. I opted to enjoy the Bay Islands instead but had to scrap that idea when the weather got so bad all ferries were cancelled. So I moved on and headed to fine weather again in Belize, but I wasn't immune there either.

First there was an hour delay, and when we were finally on our way to Caye Caulker, the motor died. We floated helplessly until the crew organized another boat for us to clamber onto and continue on our way. This seemed to be a norm in Belize, because on the way to Shark Ray Alley, the tour boat motor also died and they had to send for a dinghy with a replacement.

So when the trip to Isla Mujeres was too easy and convenient, I should've been tipped off. Not that it wasn't a great place, but it was nearly as touristy as Cancún. Expensive restaurants, shops, hotels and plastic furniture spoiling the otherwise beautiful powder sand. Only the tall buildings and major chains were missing. It was like a big Caye Caulker gone wrong.

I stayed at PocNa hostel which was busy but great value and super clean at an excellent location. Though the beds were quite narrow, the place provided big lockers, free breakfast (though starting late at 8am) and a palm fringed beach in the backyard.

Like Too Many Cooks And Something About Broth

Sometimes the crowds make the place amazing. Bustling cities or busy markets are enhanced by the sheer number of people there. But in other places, crowds are annoying. This was evident in places like Machu Picchu, Volcán Pacaya and Tulúm, but it was only on the reef off the coast of Isla Mujeres that the experience was destroyed by all the tourists there.

I went on a snorkeling tour with a macho captain who bossed around the timid girl who was also our guide. She was dealing with the ropes, pulling up the anchor and trying to keep us all together on the incredibly crowded reef while he stood behind the wheel. She had her work cut out for her and incredibly was unpaid, so when it came time to tip, I was particularly generous.

But it was madness at the lighthouse stop on the tour. The water was a little on the rough side and a current was running. Snorkelers were everywhere, but so were boats. It was scary dangerous sometimes, looking at the people in the water and tour motorboats navigating between them. Our boat turned wide to clear a rock and crashed into another boat, taking out a couple of the posts holding their roof up. The collision knocked us onto the rocks where some muscle was required to get us off. No one was injured, thank god, but while we snorkeled, I was always expecting to hear a terrifying scream as someone got run over by a boat.

The reef was quite nice and there were some decent schools of fish around, but with the crowds, it was difficult to enjoy the tour because we were looking above water to keep and eye on our tour guide's position. At the other stop, there were far less people and it was much easier to take our time, though there was less to see.

The end of the tour was a delicious Mexican style barbecue fish and salads while we hung about the beach. Unfortunately, we happened to be facing a tiny beach pen, no bigger than a living room, in which a poor shark was kept. For a couple of pesos, tourists could get into the water and a man would catch the docile creature for them to hold and get a photo taken. I suppose it was a pretty cool idea - holding a live 1.5m shark - and as tempting as it was to get a photo like that, I decided against supporting the poor shark's existence in such terrible conditions, and I encourage others to do the same.

So, it was paradise, but not anymore.