Mosquito season is here

Isla Holbox 

We started our Holbox experience with two nights at Balam Eco Camping, which would have been an amazing idea about a month ago, before mosquito season kicked in. It is a very relaxing and cozy camping place, not far from the beach.They have a big roofed area with a kitchen, dining table, couches, and some hammocks. (And some dogs and a Kitten!) During the day it was nice and cool under the roof, but as soon as the sun set, the mosquito came to life. We only had an Eco-friendly, non-toxic mozzie spray, which whenever we told anyone about, they'd say "Oh yeah, that doesn't work". Like some unwritten rule. We laid down in our tent that night with probably some 30-ish bites each. But luckily the next day we found some "OFF!" spray, and from then on, it wasn't too bad :) 

Balam Eco Camping

Eco Balam is located on the west end of Holbox, a bit away from the town. We overheard someone telling that they had seen about a hundred flamingos down at Isla Pasion around sunset. Its just beneath Punta Coco on the west point, and you can walk/swim there. So we packed a dry bag the next day and set off. It was very fun doing a little mini adventure like that. We met hardly anyone on the way. We waded over a lagoon, and swam over to the island. It is very small and the only thing there is a watch tower you can walk up in. We saw a lot of different types of birds around, this was a protected nesting areas for many different species. We saw only 6 flamingos and they were far out on the sandbank, which was restricted area. But it's pretty cool anyways :)

   But on our way back to Punta Coco we met some people just before crossing the lagoon again. They wanted to make us aware before we got in the water that there was an alligator in there. They had been snorkeling and saw it in the water. The water had risen by the time we got back there, so we would have to swim over. If we wanted to walk around it would have taken us forever, and it was very hot in the sun that day. We decided to swim anyways, it can't be that dangerous since we saw locals walk over earlier and kids and dogs were playing in the shore. But we did get a bit nervous half way through ;) 

Blurry, but definitely flamingos

Isla Pasion in the background

After the two days camping at Balam we had an apartment booked in the center of town. Holbox town is a bit touristy, but very nice and simple. Prices are better than Cancun and Playa del Carmen, the roads are just made out of sand, and you have to look around to find a place with WiFi. Very few cars are allowed on the island, so everyone drives scooters or golf buggies. The island has a proper Caribbean feel to it. There was a lot of live music going on, on the beaches at day, and in town at night. You can quite easily live cheap there, if you buy and cook your own food, and bring your own drinks to the beach. It's a little paradise. And you don't want to miss out on the sunset!

Isla Mujeres

As I'm writing this we're sitting on the beach in the afternoon sun on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We took a walk around the northern part today, it's quite touristy, and expensive, but the beaches and reefs around the island are beautiful. We found a spot amongst the reef on our walk that didn't look too rocky and set out to snorkel there. The water was pretty choppy and the current was getting stronger, so I didn't last long. But Dan kept going on to see more of the reef and the big schools of fish passing by. This was on the east coast which faces the open ocean, the west coast should be calmer since its facing the mainland. Isla Mujeres is a small island, 7km long and only 800m wide at its broadest point. At many places, you can see the west coast and east coast on the both ends of the street.

Dan snorkeling

Isla Mujeres North Beach

We came here yesterday afternoon, after we'd been staying on Isla Holbox for one week. Before we checked in at our new guesthouse we got some tacos at Taqueria Lalo's, since we hadn't eaten yet. They had a promotion going with 2 beers + 3 tacos for 110 pesos (7.5 AUD or 4.7 EUR)! And later that night we found one place called El Patio that had 50 peso frozen mojitos and 30 peso beers. So even though the Island is expensive, it's possible to find a way to do it on a tighter budget. We're eating a lot of meals that we cook in the guesthouse kitchen. I think the omelette and bread we had for breakfast this morning cost around 15 pesos for the both of us. Pretty Cheap!

/DanAnna