As bad experience as Belize was for passing through into Mexico, the Carribean white-sand beaches and the local atmosphere were more than enough to compensate. Tulum, for some strange reason deprived of any sort of night life, dazzled us with its virgin beaches with no more than straw huts selling cocktails, while Playa del Carmen, Tulum’s evil twin sister, large hotels brutally smashing the beach potential, presented us with thriving nightlife and multi-national tourism that would make anyone feel they were in Southern Spain rather than Mexico. Though I escaped their grasp within a week, for Isla Mujeres pulled me like a magnet, the two sisters did a good job seducing me as I tend to visit them quickly on my way back down south.
No wonder many backpackers choose Isla Mujeres as their last point before having to return home. A nice mixture between the two sisters, Isla has it all. Nightlife isn’t even close to Playa, but the night isn’t silent here after dinner time, and the ever-so-close Cancun offers plenty of parties at a fairly priced 25 minute ferry almost around the clock. The super-fine sand beaches, torquoise waters in which you can get as far as 100 meters off-shore without wetting your sombrero, are the main attraction by day… Anyone say beachbum!? Oh well, I guess the golden brown color of the skins on everyone on this island gives away the food-beach-food-nap-party-bed daily routine.
Coco Bongo, the famous Cancun club, was in itself an attration worth writing home about. Though Americanized, Commercialized and Merchandized, it 
was a clubbing experience of a lifetime, with Broadway-like mini performances, loads of balloons, confetti, good music, aerobatic shows and of-course – open bar! Us Isla Mujeres “residents” had to close the night, as our first ferry back was at 5am, but we definitely didn’t mind staying late!
