Marnie and I managed to be up at the same time, and ate (another) spectacular hostel breakfast. The hostel could store our luggage for us, so we headed out to the Grand Cenote. With the main strand only a couple of blocks from the hostel, we waited only moments for a taxi.
Unsurprisingly, the Grand Cenote felt cooler when arriving by taxi than by bicycle, but still more crisp and refreshing than cold. We swam between the caverns, with Marnie watching the bats, and me finding water channels the squeeze through around the edges of the cenote. From there another easy taxi ride brought us back into town, with enough time to spare to grab lunch before our bus back to Isla Mujeres via Cancún.
While I’d earlier determined that the ferry ran to Isla Mujeres every 30 minutes, the port was farther than we wanted to walk. Walking out of the bus station, another taxi quickly brought us to the ferry.
Taxis are everywhere. They’re quick, relatively cheap (~$5 USD), and they know where we’re going. I had asked at the hostel(s) what the taxi rates were, so I also knew we were getting the appropriate pricing.
The ferry arrived fifteen minutes later, and we were off to Isla Mujeres. On arrival we had to loop around the block after I missed the hostel the first time, but still arrived by 4:00 pm.
Isla Mujeres is a party tourist town, with lively streets, and people everywhere having a great time. The ferry doesn’t carry cars. Instead people rent scooters and golf carts with large beach tires. As an island less than 2 km across there’s a steady sea breeze. We wandered out to explore for the rest of the afternoon, including walking along the legendary Playa Norte. I learned if you walk around or through shops that sell tequila, everywhere offers free samples.
The island has a distinct north and south district, with resorts in the middle. The port is on the north end. On the south end are a small Mayan ruin and a sea turtle rescue farm to look forward to tomorrow.