Long averse to doing the touristy thing, when we planned our visit to Cancun, we wanted to stay away from the infamous Zona Hotelera. Instead, we booked a vacation rental home on Isla Mujeres, a small Island off Cancun reached by a 20 min ferry ride. Dubbed as a laid back island that offers a more authentic Mexican experience, we decided to rent the two bedroom “casa crystal”, enticed by the beautiful pictures on the Internet (www.vrbo.com/88875). First the good – the island definitely has a slower pace of life and a local feel to it when compared to Cancun, and there is some great snorkeling/diving around the island. The people are wonderful. There seems to be a basic honesty that I have found missing in some other developing countries.
Now the bad – terrible food and pollution. If you want to cook your own food like us, there is one moderate sized supermarket in the middle of town that sells conventionally grown, tasteless produce. It is hard to even find decent bread. Most restaurants are average to bad. The concept of recycling is non-existent and the island is teeming with gas powered golf carts and taxis that pollute the air. It is hard to swim in the ocean and not think about all the sewage being dumped in the water. Also, like cancun, the Isla unfortunately has its tourist traps like the Garrafon Park and Dolphin Swim - both of which we were able to avoid.
We would not be in a hurry to go back.
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