Isla Mujeres has been a wonderful stop for us. We arrived here Friday night to the accompaniment of 20 knot winds. Entering a new port, in the dark, with high winds, is always interesting. Due to the lateness of the hour, we were not able to connect with the marina via radio therefore we headed to the anchorage for the night.
While attempting to anchor, the high winds blew us aground at one end of the bay and so we spent our first night in Mexico stuck on a sandy bottom. Saturday morning, two sailors from the Mexican Navy base here came by and quickly towed us off into deeper water. After thanking the sailors, we called Marina Paraiso and headed over to tie up.
This marina has been a real Godsend. We had communicated with Thomas (marina owner) prior to our arrival. He had been very helpful in assisting us and making recommendations prior to our arrival. The Mexican Port Captain expects a document known as a Zarpe for international arrivals. This is normally issued by countries upon departure and required upon arrival at the next country. However, the U.S. does not issue a Zarpe. This has created extra hassle for some arriving Americans.
Thomas went to the Port Captain before our U.S. departure and got them to agree to accept a notarized crew list instead. His intercession was just the beginning of being a most gracious host.
We had heard many stories about how difficult it was to check into Mexico – especially on a weekend (not just difficult but expensive as well). In fact, many guides had recommended using an agent to check in.
Jose, with Marina Paraiso, assisted us with getting checked in. He even went out and brought both the Health and Immigration folks back to the boat for our check in. He then took us to the Port Captain’s office to complete the check in process. Due in part to his recommendation, we ultimately paid only $37 to complete the check in process. This is significantly less than we anticipated. We completed the process in only a couple of hours whereas we had heard stories that it took as long as two days to check in to Mexico.
In addition, Jose assisted us in making a few minor repairs. He climbed our mast to rerun the spinnaker line that had come down. He took us, on the Marina golf cart, for a guided tour of Isla Mujeres – pointing out the local church, the market, recommended restaurants, etc.
In spite of all this service, Marina Paraiso is the least expensive marina on the island. We have been blessed here and I believe that we now have friends here. I unreservedly recommend Thomas, Jose, and Marina Paraiso to anyone headed this way.
Saturday afternoon, Janice and I borrowed the marina golf cart and went exploring. We went grocery shopping and then we went to eat a late lunch/early dinner. We ate at a little restaurant right on the beach. It was a beautiful setting for observing God’s beauty in the natural surroundings. It was also a great setting for watching people.
We had a dinner of fried crab in garlic sauce that was absolutely wonderful. Janice said that she had never had anything like it before. In spite of the great food, we only spent about $11 total for both of us.
On Sunday morning, we attended the church service at the local church. It looked to me like the church would seat approximately 500 people however we seemed to have closer to 700 people – standing room only. Luckily, Janice and I arrived early enough to get a seat.
One of the things that stood out, for both of us, was the large number of children. We really enjoyed the children. There were children of all ages throughout the church. In fact, the singing was led by a small group of young girls – to the accompaniment of a guitar. We particularly enjoyed the singing. The service was somewhat liturgical and was a blessing none the less. You could see the spirit moving through the congregation.
After church, we had lunch at another beach restaurant. I had fried shrimp while Janice had fried calamari. Once again we were strategically placed to observe the beauty of the island and to enjoy our Sabbath.
Tomorrow we will be exploring some of the Mexico mainland. More later …
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