We got up before the alarm, showered and got our stuff ready in hopes of snorkeling. Then we came down to the hotel courtyard so Jer could have a cup of coffee (Jess had a peach nectar juicebox we'd brought from Posada 06 in Tulum). Then we walked down to the docks, where our proprietress told us we'd find the taco stands. We did, though it wasn't a stand so much as a lady with pre-made food in buckets. Jess had a taco topped with sliced boiled egg, lettuce and onion, while Jer had chicken empanadas with hot sauce and onions. They tasted pretty good, but they were a bit soggy.
We stopped by Captain Tony's, and he said he wouldn't know until 9 am if the forecast was good enough to go snorkeling. So we headed back to the mercado (covered market) across from our hotel, as Jess was still hungry. We stopped at a loncheria (cheap cafe) and Jess ordered fresh OJ and french toast with bananas. While not particularly adventurous, it was delicious, made with good bread and perfectly ripe fruit.
After breakfast, we wandered around the mercado, looking at some of the stalls. In addition to loncherias, there were fruit and vegetable stands (some of which also sold fresh juice), a butcher shop and a furniture shop, as well as a souvenir stand. Jess started feeling bad, so we came back to our hotel so she could take some meds and lie down for a bit. While Jess rested, Jer headed back to ask Captain Tony for an update. He thought the weather was too unpredictable for an all-day trip to Isla Contoy, so we decided to talk to some of the dive shops about shorter snorkeling trips. Sea Hawk Divers was just getting ready to go out for a snorkel/dive trip to Manchones Reef, so we ran back to Las Palmas and grabbed our gear.
It was pretty choppy getting out to Manchones Reef, on the south-west side of Isla Mujeres. We snorkeled in the protected marine park, which had awesome coral and sponge formations and an staggering amount and variety of fish. We saw tangs of all colors (yellow, blue and midnight), various wrasses, sergeant majors, parrotfish, yellowtail snapper, bermuda chubs, french grunts, angelfish, scorpionfish, barracuda, blue damselfish, a queen triggerfish and a puffer fish. It felt like we were swimming in an aquarium, especially when we were surrounded by schools of yellowtail snapper and bermuda chubs (this happened several times, including when Jer got ill and fed the fish). This was definitely the coolest place we'd snorkeled so far.
Unfortunately, Jess got sick during the trip back (and Jer still wasn't feeling so hot), which made us gladder than we otherwise would have been to head back to land. Once back, we returned our fins and other rented equipment to the shop and returned to the hotel to rinse off, change clothes and update this journal.
We decided to have lunch at Zazil Ha, the beachside restaurant of the ritzy Na Balam hotel (and yoga retreat). It was expensive, but the food was good and the location was relaxing. We split seafood tacos and guacamole, plus Jer had an Ixchel (fresh tomato, cucumber and lime juices) and Jess had an Oasis (fresh strawberry, pineapple and orange juices). We felt much restored after our leisurely late lunch, though Jer was suffering the after-effects of the dramamine he'd taken on the snorkel trip.
We decided to walk along the sea wall on the eastern side of the island, watching the surf crash over the rocks. We saw the homes of a number of normal Isla residents (who share this magnificent view, but at the cost of little protection from storms). We crossed to the western side of the island just in time to see the red sun, reflected in the sea, descend toward Cancun (until it was swallowed up by the city's smog cloud).
We wandered back into town, eventually getting Jess a soda, then sitting down in a coffeeshop, Aluxes, so Jer could get a cuppa (in this instance, Prince of Wales tea). Once he finished that, we returned to the hotel, ostensibly to rest a bit before going out for a light dinner. Instead, we ended up sitting in the courtyard, chatting with other guests and the proprietresses, keeping the hotel puppy from escaping when the delivery truck arrived from the Cancun car ferry, looking at pictures and finishing up postcards. Eventually, we realized it was getting close to our bedtime, so we retired for the evening.