Isla Mujeres

Friday 21 Jan, Mexico, day 1, Isla Mujeres: Relatively smooth check-in, move anchorage, evening walking the town.

There is no better sleep than one straight after a passage of several days. Especially after this particular passage which really had a negative effect on both of us. But today is a new day, the sun is bright and in front of us is the palm covered shore of Isla Mujeres waiting to be explored.

While Oana is significantly improved since our arrival, she is not yet fully recovered. The slightest movement of the boat and she feels the sickness coming back. Last evening we decided to anchor in a wide open space, but this morning we can see why it was so. We are very close to the path of all boats passing through and we are getting affected by their wake. We’ll have to move, later.

First task is to get into town and complete the Mexican check in formalities. Luckily, between our friends who recently arrived here and Noonsite, we are already aware it will be arduous. Some people completed it in 4 hours, others took 4 days! Thankfully, from their combined experiences, we know exactly all the documents we need. The Zarpe (form 1300) from our USA exit, a crew list in Spanish, boat registration and passport copies. All with 5 copies each, one for each department involved. Oh, and cash.

Near to us we see another HR friend anchored. Steve and Helena on Amalia of London. After launching the dinghy we pop over to say hi. They tell us exactly where to tie the dinghy and where all the various offices are that we need to go to.

First stop is the port office, where the check in process is coordinated for all the authorities. The health officer turns up within 20 minutes asking us all the usual questions. Apparently, we should have had a boat fumigation before leaving the USA and a certificate proving it was done. This is a new one, no one pre-warned us about this. But he let it by.
Next, a few blocks away is the immigration office for passport control and stamping and money to be paid for our visas. That is also done in an efficient manner, and we are back to the port office again for customs and agriculture. We are told they won’t arrive for another hour, so we head off into town to get some cash and buy a local Mexican SIM card from TelSel. Verzion (USA) had told our SIM would work in Mexico, but now we are here it is asking $5 per day for the privilege. Pfff to that. The Mexican SIM is $25 for a whole month.

Back at the Port office, we find a very smartly uniformed customs officer waiting for us. He needs to inspect the boat, so the 3 of us head back out to Cloudy in the dinghy. The inspection is trivial. Officially we should have no meat or fresh produce, but he doesn’t seem too bothered. Commercial quantities of alcohol, tobacco, cash or electronics are all he is interested in. And within 15 minutes we are all heading back ashore, where we find the agriculture officer waiting. He should have done the boat inspection too, particularly looking for food, but apparently, he gets seasick! Instead, he relies on the customs guy to check.
Now that we have the appropriate stamps from each authority, we need to make a final payment and this can only be made by cash at a bank. By the time we return to the port office, it’s passed closing time and he tells us to come back tomorrow at midday to collect our paperwork.
So there, all done in 2 ½ hours. A record time it seems. All very much helped by Oana being able to speak fluent Spanish. But we are not quite done yet. Next week we need a trip over to Cancun by ferry to get our TIP (Temporary Import Permit) for Cloudy Bay. Only then we will be done.
Back at Cloudy, we move the boat further away from town and the marine traffic, settling into a position next to Amalia.

In the evening we head off into town on a scouting mission, just to look around and get a feel for the place. Initially, as we walk along the port road which had been a hive of activity during the day, we find everything deserted. We conclude that most of the day-time activity is from people coming over from Cancun by ferry and by evening they have all left again. But where are the people from the hotels on the island?
A few streets later we find them. There is a main pedestrianized street where it’s all happening. Bars, restaurants, people. And with a very nice atmosphere. We walk up and down a couple of times, grabbing a gelato on the way, then settle into a bar which seems to have live Mexican music, for an evening cocktail. Guess what type? Yep – Margaritas!
But we are not late birds tonight. Still a bit tired, we are back by midnight, tucked up in bed with a cooling breeze blowing through the boat.