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A day on Isla Mujeres, Mexico Author: CancunTom Mar 09

Isla Mujeres is located 5 miles off the coast of Cancun across the Bahia de Mujeres. Isla Mujeres translated to English is ” The Island of Women” . It is the place where long ago pirates would leave their women and treasure for safe keeping while they would go out to plunder ships on the Caribbean.

In more modern times it is a fishing village. In the last 25 years it was discovered by tourists. The movie “Against All Odds” starring this years Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, was partially filmed on Isla. It also starred Rachel Ward, and James Woods. In the story line they claimed they were on Cozumel but in actuality those parts of the movie were filmed on Isla. Even though Isla is becoming more and more commercialized it still retains a certain charm that visitors find irresistible.

We took our house guests Jeff & Lois for a day trip to Isla Mujeres on Friday Feb.26th. They were visiting us for the week and wanted to see the Cliff of the Dawn. We drove over to the Ferry Terminal, bought our tickets and were on our way to the island for a day of fun in the sun.

This is the ferry terminal on the Cancun side.

Local musicians play for tips on the upper deck. Check out the color of the water….

About half way over to Isla which is about 5 miles off the coast of Cancun.

We rented a golf cart and proceeded to visit the Cliff of the Dawn on the south end of the island.

The sea was calm but the photo opportunities are always great at the cliff.

This is the cliff wall that faces the ocean which has eroded it leaving this labyrinth of intricate limestone lattice work.

I could sit here for hours and just take it all in.

Another interesting rock formation carved by the sea and wind.

One of the Garrafon Park zip line towers……


The new pavilion at Punta Sur

5 sided structure

Interesting ash tray/candle holder…………now sitting on my poolside mesa.

Local artisans table at the sculpture park

Beautiful hand crafted bench…………..I want one for our garden!

New pavilion from the top of the light house

Statue of women giving birth

Beacon at the top of the lighthouse

View of the sculpture park from the lighthouse

The famous “Shell House”

Sign at the Villa la Bella where they serve up “beer so cold it makes your teeth hurt”.

Anchors away matey………aaarrrgggg!

Villa la Bella bar………

Flower holder on table of Villa la Bella

Their pool

Then we drove to the extreme northern end of the Island to check out the Avalon condo’s new paint scheme.

The Kings Bath at the Avalon……


Fountain at the Avalon

View of the Bahia de Mujeres from the Avalon……….

Typical Isla street scene

Our favorite Isla seafood restaurant……Mininos

My “Hog Fish” grilled to perfection….

Isla sunset…

The ferry home with it’s new underwater lights………so cool!


Isla is a beautiful place with a great atmosphere. Make sure you don’t pass up and opportunity to visit.


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Category: Art, Isla Mujeres, MEXICO, Travel, Trip Reports, Vacation  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 2 Comments
Caribbean Night Show at the Hacienda Sisal Author: CancunTom Mar 05

One of our favorite places to dine is the Hacienda Sisal which is owned and operated by the Royal Resorts here in Cancun. It is one of  two  restaurants they operate that are open to the public. They give a discount to locals. It is located at km 13.5 on Kukulcan on the Royal Sands property. Every Wednesday they have a Caribbean show and buffet. On Thursday evenings it is the Mexican show and buffet. We made reservations for 7pm and that way we have one hour to dine before the show begins. The cost is fixed and includes the show, buffet, and unlimited drinks until 9pm.

The entertainment is great. They have a warm up band with a good female vocalist. They perform before the dancers and then again after the show keeping the party lively and getting the audience to participate. The performers come out onto the dance floor after their performance to have their pictures taken with the audience, which is a nice memento of your vacation.

Here are a few pictures of our night out…….

The warm up band and vocalist

The dancers

Hot Caribbean rhythms and the dancers were even hotter…..

Dances that tell a story…..

Amazing strength and control………….

Beautiful costuming……….

Non-stop action…………

CancunTom with some of the dancers after the show……I know….I know…..It’s hard work for me to go to all these places and eat all the great food………but I’m only doing it for my blog visitors………so I hope you appreciate my never-ending efforts to eat and party my way through Cancun just for you.

The buffet is extensive and everyone is sure to find something that they like. But this evening was all about the great entertainment rather than a review of the food and drinks.

Tel.: (998) 848-8220 | haciendasisal@royalresorts.com
Hacienda Sisal, Kukulcán Blvd km 13.5, between Kukulcan Plaza & The Royal Sands & Spa, Hotel Zone, Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Open daily: 5 – 11 p.m.
Visa and Master Card accepted

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Category: CANCUN, Entertainment, MEXICO, Travel, Vacation  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | One Comment
Booze Cruise Feb.28,2010 Author: CancunTom Mar 01

What happens in Cancun………….stays in Cancun…………especially on one of our

neighbor Steve’s, CANCUNCARE  BOOZE (boobs) Cruises. See his web site at: http://www.cancuncare.com

We had a hell of a time with 38 ship mates. Here are some pictures of our day.

To start the day off the crew collected the ladies tops and raised them on the mast

Our shipmates………….38 strong startin’ out the day on the high seas….

Our hosts Steve and Jannet. Check out their forum http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/

CancunTom & CancunSuz

Everyone getting into the party atmosphere……….

Our fellow “Cenote Hunters” Al & Louise from B.C. Canada

“Mooning” a passing boat

Our Cancun Virgin friends, Jeff & Lois from Palatine, Illinois USA

We stopped on the way over to Isla Mujeres to snorkel the reef

Once we reached the island we docked and proceeded to the beach club for a delicious buffet lunch…..

and for some an opportunity to hold a female nurse shark named Monica…………(yes, after that “Monica”)


The Buffet


The view from our table

Our catamaran Antares 52 at dock in the distance

Let the beach games begin………..

The female partner of the couple held a roll of TP between her legs…………

and her guy ………..had to waddle blindfolded guided by her voice and spear the TP with a toilet plunger held between his legs…………against a stopwatch…………least elapsed time = winners


The winners Jeff & Lois from Palatine, Illinois receiving their first place prizes with a time of 17 secs.


We towed another “cat” with a broken prop back to the dock downtown

After the games we set sail for downtown and a visit to Romy’s bar at the Posada del Mar

The new palapa at Romy’s Bar

Da Bar

Da ceiling………..

The new Posada del Mar pool from Romy’s bar

Lucky crewman gets in on the fun

CancunSuz and Gerson

Night was approaching and we were just about back to the dock at Playa Tortugas

We partied all the way back to Cancun and everyone had a great time. The cruise departs from the Playa Tortugas pier and costs $60 USD per person and it includes a day on a beautiful catamaran (adults only) with an expert crew, reef tax, non-stop drinks of your choice, the buffet lunch at the beach club including drinks, the beach games and an hour and a half in downtown Isla to do whatever you want.  Sometimes when the wind is co-operating  the captain allows spinnaker rides. The cruise starts around 10 am and you return close to 6 pm. If you like this sort of thing, it’s one of the best bargains in Cancun.

OH!……………….and no party poop-ers allowed!!!!

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Category: CANCUN, Isla Mujeres, MEXICO, Trip Reports  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 4 Comments
Delfines Beach, Cancun Author: CancunTom Feb 25

Every time we have guest’s at our home in Cancun after picking them up from the airport we take the “scenic” route back home through the hotel zone (fantasy land). When we have some “Cancun Virgins” we like to stop at Defines Beach for a photo opp. This is the first view they will have of the beautiful turquoise blue Caribbean Sea and upon first site it gets a lot of “WOWS”.  This past Tuesday we stopped at Defines to show off the newly restored beach to our “Virgins” from Chicago.

Notice that the “ledge” situation seems to be resolving itself. It is much smaller and beyond it, the beach is returning to the nice gradual slope into the surf. Here are a few pictures:

Looking North towards the Hilton

A wave washes over the “ledge”

My wife and our “Virgins” getting their “toes” wet

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Category: Beach Restoration, CANCUN, MEXICO, Riviera Maya, Travel  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 3 Comments
Cancun Soccer Game Feb.17,2010 Author: CancunTom Feb 19

We live near the two stadiums in Cancun. They are next to one another. One is for professional baseball and the other is for professional soccer. We’ve been going to the baseball games regularly but wanted to try a soccer game. The admission and the food and beverages are higher than at the baseball games. Our tickets were 100 pesos each to sit midfield and were excellent seats. Beer brand is Sol at the baseball park and Corona at the soccer field. The beer cost at the soccer game was 30 pesos/ bottle vs. 20 at the ballgame. The seat prices also fluctuate depending on how good a visiting team is or isn’t.  The park is nice and well maintained. The food and drink vendors are plentiful with a wide selection of soft drinks and mixed hard liquor beverages. Food selections from popcorn to full meals delivered right to your seat. Only one brand of beer…….Corona. When you enter the park the Corona beer company gives each  person a horn to make noise with. They create a really festive atmosphere that gets everyone in the mood to support the home team.

Here are some pictures of the park, the players, cheerleaders, Corona girls, and scoreboards.

The home team was ahead at half time by 1-0

The Cheerleaders at the Half Time Show…..

When the Cheerleaders were finished they had a parade that did one lap around the field. The Corona girls were throwing t-shirts into the stands and other memento’s to the fans.

Some guys on stilts……

The scoreboard with the final score………………WE WON 2-0…………….!!!!!

The Cancun team is called the ATLANTE and they have been struggling this season. This was there 12th game and their record was 8 loses, & 3 ties. So this was their first win of the season. The opposing team was called the Jaguares  and they are from Chiapas, Mexico. The league is The FMF (Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, A.C.; Mexican Football Federation)

We went with 3 of our friends and had a great time and plan to go back often.

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Category: CANCUN, MEXICO, Travel  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | One Comment
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