A little tropical island Isla Mujeres lies on the Mexican coast in the Caribbean Sea. In Spanish, the meaning of the name is Island of Women and two theories were made, regarding those two theories. First theory says that the island got its name because the pirates who robbed ships and harbours kept their mistresses here. And the other theory says that Spanish conquerors found a temple with holy cards of Mayan goddesses and named the island after the women statues they found here in 16th century.
Despite what theories say, the island was supposedly the first Mayan stop. Mayan came from the Yucatan peninsula on the way to the island Cozumel where the most important temple of fertility goddess Ixchel is located. Tradition says that every Mayan woman should visit Cozumel island and bow to the goddess.
Modern history of the island began in 19th century where Mayan people found shelter here. They moved from the continent because they were inferior citizens and established the first settlement on the northern part of the island, which is today the most visited and has the biggest city named El Centro or simply the city Isla Mujeres. It has once been a village, which still kept its simplicity despite the tourism development. It has a few streets with stores, restaurants and hotels. If you want a great view, you also won’t be disappointed since there aren’t any tall buildings to spoil the view. You can’t avoid the city as the ferries from Cancun land almost in the centre so when you come from the ferry, you end up in one of the four main city streets. The main attraction of the island aren’t historic sights, but nature, beautiful beaches, sea and coral reef, which surrounds the island.
West from the port is the most beautiful beach, which is simply named North Beach or Playa Norte. It is a sandy beach with palms and beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea. The sea is very calm on this side of the island on the contrary with east coast, which has open sea and has very high waves, rocks and is not suitable for swimming. Most of the visitors come to this beach and sunbathe, swim and enjoy other water sports. The beach is also suitable for families with small children, the water is shallow and very warm. Isla Mujeres is a calm island but you can still see Cancun in the distance, which reminds you that civilization is really close. On this beautiful beach you will also see fishing boats, which remind us that the island is not completely devoted to tourism yet and that fishing industry is still an important branch of economy.
Today the island is easily accessible with ferries from Cancun, which is only 11 kilometres away on the other side of the bay, which is named the women bay or Bahia de Mujeres. About 70 years ago, the island wasn’t so accessible. The first tourists have signaled the people on the island and the sons of local fishermen drove to the continent to take them to the island. Everything changed in the 70s when Mexican government decided that it will establish Cancun from basically nothing. Cancun is now an important Mexican tourist centre and the number of tourists increased on Isla Mujeres also because of that. They mostly visit the island only for a day so the island gets the look of a sleepy Mexican city at night. Isla, like the citizens call it, is 8 kilometres long and 150 – 800 metres wide so you can explore it in one day. Despite being close to Cancun, many say that it is one of the most idyllic place in the Mexican Caribbean, which no visitor of Cancun should miss out.
