Day 8: Isla Mujeres
We went to a welcome to Week 12 breakfast and outline of the week’s activities, then Gentleman Caller and I decided to head over to Isla Mujeres, a nearby island. Translated to Island of the Women, the name has disputed origins. One version has it that all the men were fishing when Francisco Hernandez Cordova and his expedition discovered the island, so it seemed that women populated the island. Another version points to the many statues of the goddess Ixchel, the Mayan Goddess of fertility, reason, medicine, and the moon. Getting there was quite an adventure. We took a local bus to the van parked on the side of the road in downtown Cancun. We squeezed into the van full of Mexicans and rode about five miles to the port, where we bought tickets for the ferry to the island. While we waited, an agent tried to sell us a timeshare. We’d get a free golf cart for the day to explore the island (5 miles long by 1 mile wide). Who thinks a day’s use of a golf cart for a several thousand dollar purchase is a good deal? When he saw that we didn’t, he asked, “Don’t you like to have fun?” We admitted that we do not, and got on the ferry. First stop was a restaurant. I had a quesadilla; Gentleman Caller had fish tacos. The island looks like a traditional touristy (but not commercial) Mexican village, with lots of open-air stores with brightly colored clothes and pottery on display. We headed toward the Playa Norte (North Beach), where GC swam and I attempted to get a diet Coke from a restaurant on the beach. When it still hadn’t arrived by the time GC finished swimming, dried off and admired the topless sunbathers, we decided to leave. We wandered around the shops and some ruins, then headed back to the port and returned to Cancun in time for a tequila tasting. We watched an instructional video, then met some famous tequila expert whose name I don’t remember. He explained the difference between good and bad tequila (good tequila is 100% agave, and is meant for sipping; bad tequila is 49% sugar and is for mixing. The sugars are what cause hangovers. Tequila should never be taken as shots). Tequila blanco is homogenized and bottled after completion of the double distillation process, and is usually enjoyed as an appetizer. Tequila reposado is “rested” from two months and one year in white oak barrels. It is usually drunk between meals or during a meal. Tequila anejo is aged for at least one year, and is a digestive, taken after lunch or dinner. After tasting several tequilas, we decided to walk back to our resort. Took longer than expected, so arrived tired, hungry and tipsy. We ordered a ham pizza for dinner.