Round trip prices from:
USA Transfers is run by Entertainment Plus Cancun.
Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Media Luna 4
Main Page | Trip Report Main Page | Add a Trip Report | Search Report's
Sunday, June 17, 2001
Rise and shine. Today’s sunrise was particularly beautiful. I like when a path of light streams across the water to the shore from the horizon. 100% Natural was open when we went by, so we enjoyed their 3-egg omelet with juice, coffee, and toast for 25 p.
Today was our last full day for the beach. We rented chairs in our usual spot. In no time Victor came by to offer his snorkeling tour. He looked really disappointed we didn’t want to go, but Mike’s foot was still bruised and the scrape open. He had cut it on a rock when jumping out of Capt. Tony’s boat. Mike said maybe I should go since I like snorkeling so much. I asked if there was a shorter tour. Victor talked to the boat captain, and they said one hour would be okay. If he could get a group, he’d pick me up later.
The early morning light was good, so I strolled the beach and took pictures. Basking in the chairs got toasty, so we waded out and saw what looked like a turtle head. It moved to keep us in view. We stayed back, so it wouldn’t be scared away. Never did figure out what it was. Perhaps it was the head of a big sea snake. We also waded the lagoon and saw starfish, a crab, and several needle fish. Perhaps I’ll snorkel there later.
We relaxed in our chairs and read. Victor showed up and said, “Let’s go!” We walked 20 yards to a sandy spit. He said to wait there for the boat to come in “five minutes.” Some time later...I boarded the boat and soon discovered everyone on board spoke Spanish except Victor whose English is pretty limited. Still a LOT better than my Spanish though. We all smiled a lot, and I tried the few Spanish phrases I knew. The captain’s son gave me some Spanish lessons by having me repeat after him the reading of labels on food packages. Then he had me try it on my own. He would be a good teacher. Next he gave me a cracker for my efforts which I enjoyed for lunch. He gave me a second cracker and indicated it was for the fish. He was a cute little guy with his sparkling brown eyes.
The snorkeling by the lighthouse was good again although Victor kept the group far from the rocks with the fish. I think they were looking for pulpo - octopus. I asked if I could snorkel by the rocks. No problem. They loaded up the boat, and everyone passed around their snacks. One lady had chocolate covered almonds which really cleared that salty taste.
The boat started heading south. Wait a sec. My hour is surely up. No, no! We’ll go to one more good snorkel place...just “five minutes.” There was a little joking about poor Miguel back on the playa looking for his muy perdido esposa. I enjoyed the view of the coast as we putt-putted along. I saw Rolandi’s and the hidden beach. We pulled into Gomar’s to pet the sharks. I never thought I’d feel sorry for a shark. I realized the turtle farm was a few doors down. I was a long way from home. I started to feel like Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Maybe if I slapped my fins together three times...but wait a boat would come in “five minutes” to take me back to Playa Norte and Mike.
Eventually Victor’s younger brother Julio showed up with his boat carrying a couple from Mexico City. I felt rude intruding on their excursion, but they were very friendly and spoke pretty good English. So did Julio. Soon we were off...off to Dolphin Discovery that is. We parked outside the fence and watched the dolphins for “five minutes.” Those poor dolphins. Julio said one has a 70% chance of swimming with wild dolphins on the Caribbean side of Isla during the summer.
Julio’s boat was faster, and we were approaching the north end. Almost there! But wait. It’s time to do a little snorkeling around the lighthouse. Just 5-10 minutes! What the heck, I do love to snorkel, and I was certainly getting my pesos’ worth on this tour. Grumping wouldn’t get me home any sooner. After some fine snorkeling, I was dropped off at Playa Norte. My only hope was that Mike had taken a siesta and eaten some lunch. Remember a hungry Mike is...
I had no idea how long I had been gone. I had not worn a watch since the airport, but I knew Mike had his watch in the beach bag. He told me the boat had left at 12:47, and it was now 3:47. Hmmm, a three hour tour just like Gilligan. We headed to NaBalam for happy hour and some spicy marisco sopa. Then back to Media Luna and a major clean up. I was encrusted with salt and sand.
Sadly we started packing. Later we strolled through the pleasant happenings of Sunday on the zocalo. I enjoyed some flan sold by the ladies outside the church. I think Mike was having a little culture shock as he was craving pizza or a cheeseburger. We went to Rolandi’s. Mike chowed down on some pizza. I think the sun had baked the appetite out of me, or perhaps it was the flan. I forced myself to have one of their ice cream desserts with chocolate sauce. Yumm, and so nutritious too. Thus ended our last full day on Isla.
Monday, June 18, 2001
Mike says, “Today is our departure day. I’m anxious about our flight and a little excited, but I’ll be sad to go. The week went by fast this year. Diane woke up early and watched the most beautiful sunrise of the week.
We finished packing and decided to eat a final breakfast on Isla. Our first choice was 100% Natural which had been open at 7 am. It was closed this morning until 8 am so off we walked to M & J’s. Unfortunately it was closed on Mondays. We knew Amigos was open at 7 so we headed there. I’m glad we ended up there. The food was very good and cheap. I had a Popeye omelet with spinach and mushrooms, hash browns, and toast. Diane had eggs motulenos. Also very good.
After breakfast it was back to Media Luna to zip up our suitcases and say good-bye to the staff. About 9:40 we took a taxi to the pier and were on the express ferry in ten minutes. It took awhile to load but the crossing was only 15 minutes. Diane negotiated 140 pesos for our taxi to the airport. The guy wanted $20 usd, but she just smiled and pointed at a sign listing all kinds of fares. The driver was friendly so we had another chance to practice our Spanish and learn the difference between calor and color. The beach vendors often said mucho color and we thought they were saying mucho calor, so we’d agree it was caliente. Duh!
The flight was delayed an hour but was pleasant once we were in the air. We landed in Minneapolis at 5:45 and caught a shuttle to our car. In a couple hours we were home. Kitty greeted us with some demanding yowls.
P.S. Does this qualify as Isla withdrawal syndrome? Around 4:30 in the morning the next day, the cat woke us up by jumping on the bed and meowing a lot. Diane said, ‘Mike, wake up. You must have left the door open. That cat’s in here.’ She thought we were still in the hotel room on Isla and the resident kitty had broken in. She kinda groaned when she realized we were home and rolled over to snooze again. She didn’t even get up for the sunrise.”
Submitted by: Diane -- acorn@netins.net
Hits: 0
Want to add a Review on this report?
Please completely fill out the form below, and we'll add your review as soon as possible.