Holbox Casa Tortugas Dec 2011

[beachreader]

I decided to go ahead and split my trip report in two, one for Holbox and one for Tulum, hope that works for everyone.

We flew into CUN on Dec 2, arriving separately but not too far apart. My flight was like 40 minutes early, and I was literally the first person off my plane (thanks to the door opening to the coach section instead of first class) so I trotted down to inmigracion, where I basically walked right up to the counter. Score! Thinking I'd easily catch my friends before their second beer, I headed into the baggage area. Wow. The customs line was snaked all the way from the first carousel to the bathrooms and back again before it entered the corral. Crap! What happened? I hit the bathroom and changed clothes, hit the ATM and the line had cut significantly, but then I had to wait longer for my bag. I've never waited more than 5 minutes for checked luggage in CUN, but I guess I got unlucky. By the time my bag came out, the customs line had backed up again, but it moved reasonably well and I still got outside by 12:40, which was the time I was originally supposed to land, so not too bad.

My friends were waiting at the BerryHill restaurant, which has taken over that patio to the left of the doors that used to just be a smoking patio for drivers as far as I could tell. It's expensive, but the food is surprisingly good, so I grabbed some tacos to eat in the car (my friends had already eaten). The big advantage of this spot is that independent drivers and off-site rental guys can access the patio to meet you--they're not allowed into the main area where all the tour guys are. So you can sit in the shade and enjoy a beverage if you have to wait for friends or a driver.

Forgot to mention that there's now a big wall where there used to just be that little gate. Looks like you can't go out there--don't know if this is another way to discourage the indies or what, but don't be surprised when you walk out and turn left and hit a wall. The gate is still there, it just looks more permanent, like you wouldn't be allowed to change your mind once through, but you can. There seemed to be a guy standing on the inside of the gate who may have been legitimately trying to help me find my driver, but out of habit I kind of just smiled and pushed by to get to the patio.

Our driver, recommended to me by stlgail via the Holbox forum on TA, was a guy named Eduardo Garcia (garciagrimaldo at hotmail.com). His English is decent (especially written--he's very good with e-mail) and he's a very nice man. He had a nice large Dodge sedan, plenty of room for the three of us since I like to sit up front, and our luggage all fit easily in the trunk. The best thing about Eduardo is that he only charged us $100 US for the one-way trip to the ferry port at Chiquila (almost exactly a 2-hour drive in good weather with no traffic and a pee stop, and he drove very safely). The hotel was going to charge us $70 US PER PERSON ($210 US) for the trip to the ferry port, ferry tickets and a golf cart taxi on the other side. The ferry only costs 70 pesos pp, the golf cart taxi only like 30 pesos, so even including those, we saved a bundle by booking on our own. I highly recommend Eduardo. By the way, he also will do the CUN-Tulum run, but I think he said it would be $120 for the three of us that way, so not cheaper than other services. He really wants to do tour guiding, and I'm sure would be happy to offer his services for all of the major sites.

Anyway, he helped us at the ferry dock, showed us the schedule, which indicated we had just missed the 3:00 ferry and the next one wouldn't come until 4:00. So I asked him about an independent boatman, and it turned out there was a guy getting ready to go right then with three other passengers in his shaded panga. He loaded our luggage in the bow (where we were certain one of them would bounce out) and off we went. Turned out he only charged us 70 pesos per person as well, which is what the official ferry would have been, and we had a nice boat ride with minimal splashing.

Hopped in a golf cart taxi for a total of 30 pesos (I think I pressed 50 on him since there were three of us and luggage, which he helped us with), and we were at the hotel a few minutes later.

So, by car, shuttle bus, plane, car, boat and golf cart, we pretty much covered the gamut except for trains, but we were on Holbox smoothly and checked in in time for cocktails!

Sorry I didn't have any illustrations for this part of the trip, just didn't even think to pull out my camera until we settled at the table at the beautiful restaurant.

[beachreader]

I don't mean to whine overmuch because I know it happens to everyone from time to time, but I just lost an entire post about the hotel, full of pictures and information, which was almost done when my stupid other laptop decided to shut itself down to do an update right in the middle of everything without warning. All gone. :mad:

Poor me.

I'll try to re-create my brilliance later on.

[jlooneyb]

Beachreader,
That happened to me the other night! But not on here. I stayed up really late putting together a little slide show thing for my friends that were on the trip with us. Then, BAM they were gone! I lost the whole entire thing! So that's why I resorted to the facebook thing. It's so easy.
BaRB

[beachreader]

But where are the words to go with the pictures there? :)

[jlooneyb]

Ummmmm....Huh????
:wave:

[beachreader]

OK, back to work. Finally got Smugmug looking right again so I know where things are.

Holbox is a cool little island, still has sand streets, which don't seem to drain particularly well. It didn't rain for the whole four days we were there and there were still curb-to-curb puddles in many roads. Golf carts, occasional ATVs and bikes are the modes of transportation, and since the streets end at the beach, looks like sometimes boats might work?

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-GC5kRh6/1/L/i-GC5kRh6-L.jpg

One day we rented a golf cart and tried to get to either end of the island, but to the east we were blocked by massive piles of seaweed, to the west we were blocked by a number of puddles, the last one just finally stymied us. We really didn't want to get stuck so far from help as the sun was setting, so we gave up and just enjoyed tooling around town before we returned the cart.

Casa Las Tortugas won out with me in my research for its proximity to town and its swimming pool. I think if the weather were any warmer, the pool would have been a wonderful respite, but we had very comfortable weather--we only used the a/c on our last night, so both pool and even the sea were on the chilly side. Not complaining at all; I know Holbox has a rep for being very hot and very buggy, and we were pretty lucky on both sides. Gorgeous weather for all four days.

It is a gorgeous hotel, design-wise matches the best places in Tulum, right up my alley. But we paid $90 for our room, a two-bedded suite. We had to pay $20 for the third person, but overall it still cost us like $40 each per night and that included a wonderful full breakfast.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-fLhpB6f/1/L/i-fLhpB6f-L.jpg


The pool is beautiful, takes up almost all of the main courtyard. It's only a year old, along with the spa, some rooms and I think the restaurant area. There are now 21 rooms, so it's a larger hotel that you might think, but it doesn't feel big at all.

This cool little bridge over the pool leads to the reception area and the stairs that led to our room. Looks like I caught Lupita, the wonderful massage therapist, heading across the bridge to her spa area (which is beautiful).

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-kq2vTjs/1/L/i-kq2vTjs-L.jpg


Our room was great. It was a regular "suite", one step up from a standard room. We had plenty of floor space and the beds were comfortable, but typical of Mexico, there just never seems to be enough hooks and shelves for random stuff. Why not just put up a bunch of hooks on a spare bit of wall for damp towels and bathing suits? Ah, well, minor complaint. We had a mini-fridge so when we picked up a jug of water in town, we had nice cold water. The bathroom was very nice, the shower was great but oddly placed in the bathroom--a 3-inch drop made us step carefully on the way to the toilet.

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After a day or two of seeing how we had tried to re-arrange our netting, the housekeeper gave us this cute little Swiss Miss arrangement:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-fLfTZqW/1/L/i-fLfTZqW-L.jpg


Our room had a skinny balcony, just large enough for a hammock. Other suites, the ones with king-sized beds, have large balconies with swing beds, so I was sad at first that we didn't get one of those, but it turned out that those balconies were over the little road with a view of an empty lot behind the property, so we didn't miss out on much I don't think.

Our storage--good hanging space, a safe, our little fridge. Just wish for some more hooks and shelves in general.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-Qf4dDBT/1/L/i-Qf4dDBT-L.jpg

[jlooneyb]

That is a gorgeous picture of that hotel.

[beachreader]

OK, now we've settled in, wandered around a bit, and suddenly it's time for dinner! Casa Tortugas' restaurant is (according to the website), organic and locally sourced as much as is possible and it was really good.

We started with margaritas, which were a wee bit sour, so we quickly moved on to wine:

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It was a sauvignon blanc, which was OK, but we discovered a funny thing on Holbox. Perhaps because of their limited supply chain from the mainland, we discovered that no restaurant we went to had any chardonnay. Had no white wine at all, in fact, but the same brand of sauvignon blanc. Again, that's OK, not a problem, just an interesting thing about life on a small island.

We started with some ceviche, which was good but not fabulous, and a comparatively small portion. Still, it was refreshing and our first food on the island.

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Then we moved on to two main courses, which we shared between the three of us. I have now completely forgotten the name of the fish, it was a new one to me, but turned out to taste very much in the grouper family. Very nice meaty texture. The first dish I don't remember much about but it was very tasty and came with roasted red onions and potatoes:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-V7KK8FZ/1/L/i-V7KK8FZ-L.jpg

The second came wrapped in banana leaves, accompanied by plaintains and cranberry risotto. Yes, cranberry risotto. Not cheesy and creamy, beyond the creaminess of the rice, it was delicious, not too rich, not sweet. The fish was great, but the risotto was the dish we would come back for:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-WGpbjZd/1/L/i-WGpbjZd-L.jpg


I believe I mentioned that a full breakfast was included in our $90 rate (I should mention that I believe their rates have increased, so our same room is now listed for $110 for early December). You had a choice of sweet or savory, sometimes two choices for each. I didn't take many breakfast pics, but here's one. The jam was something like papaya, very good, and we had interesting choices from the juice bar for juice each day, like kiwi-pineapple or watermelon or papaya.

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We had a funny confusion one morning. I was happily translating along, and our waiter said the sweet choice was either vanilla or vanilla and chocolate "pon cake" (that's what it sounded like), so I told my friends we had pancakes, so one of us chose that. Well, apparently not "pancake" but "pound cake" was what he was saying. Since I've never before been offered pound cake for breakfast, it just wasn't even in my imagination. So just know that sometimes pound cake shows up!

[susan]

Oh brings me back. I really liked that hotel and that island. Glad you enjoyed it. Agree with you on the hook thing, seems to be universal on the Yucatan peninsula.

[jlooneyb]

Beautiful pictures!

[Steve O]

Nice pictures. It's a nice little hotel isn't it? They have done a lot of remodeling and upgrading. I got sticker shock when I went. I never paid over $450 pesos for a room there. This last time they charged me $1000 pesos but we did have an upstairs and downstairs with a kitchen.

I love that little island. You need to watch out for the chiquistas (sp). Keep the report going.

[beachreader]

What are chiquistas? I wonder if that's what bit my friend's legs? I thought they were just skeeters, but she suffered for several days.

[Steve O]

Chiquistas are no -see-ems and nasty. I'm really not sure where they come from but they can get through the holes in the window screen. I've gotten bit by them in the Bahamas, Xcalak, and on Holbox. I am usually not bothered by mosquitos but these suckers are bad. On me they leave little red marks and itch like crazy. They usually hit around dusk and stay around for awhile. You can wrap yourself up under your covers at night and they still get you. I don't know if the mosquito netting even helps. I have been told if you rub your body with baby oil before going to bed they will get stuck and suffocate. I don't believe there is any way to get rid of them so they won't bite you. They seem to be attracted to some people and not others.

They weren't bad in November when I was there but I can remember one time I was there for a week before going to Cozumel and I looked like I had the measles or something like that. I really should have been embarased to go out in public looking like I did but I went out anyway. I didn't look as bad as when I got blowen up by the oven down there.

[beachreader]

OK, moving on. As I said, Holbox is a nice little fishing island. We had fish every day, usually twice a day, mostly in the whole form. Our first full day we wanted to try Raices, a neat-looking little shack on the beach, but we stopped by and the lady said they weren't going to be open until 1:30 and we thought we might starve to death by then. :rolleyes:

So we went back into the hotel and got a recommendation for a little place in town called Zarabanda. It was also on the list of locally-owned restaurants I got from the TA Holbox forum, a very useful little list.

Zarabanda is four blocks from the hotel, a block off the square and a completely homey little place.

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My Spanish is generally good enough to translate in restaurants, so we selected a couple of whole fish. A grouper sized for one person and a boquinete (hogfish) sized for two, both in garlic sauce. We may have had some guacamole to start, but the fish was the star. As you can see, we were hungry!

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Man, that was one terrific lunch. The garlic sauce was the best of our week, we were wiping it up with the tortillas (note the wipe marks above). We got a little warm by the end (no power for the fans and we were starting to swat at flies), so we were happy to head back to the beach, bellies happy and full.

On the way, we pass the square (ahead on the left), but on the right corner, there's a restaurant that had a tattered picture of a lobster pizza on it. Do any of the Holbox veterans know if this was Evelyn's? We had asked about it earlier and were just told it was closed; I had thought it was a seasonal closure, but seeing that pizza sign made me think it might be a total gut job.

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The square is very nice, I didn't get a better picture, but it's large enough for basketball, concerts and assorted other community activities.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-S4Sh9Dw/1/L/i-S4Sh9Dw-L.jpg

The afternoon passed in a blur and suddenly it was dinnertime. We decided to try another place on the locals list, Viva Zapata. It's on the second floor of a building across from a lovely (artisan) jewelry store called Noa, half-block west of the square, and we found more of that same sauvignon blanc to drink. Good thing we liked it!

Instead of a regular whole grilled fish, we got the whole grilled fish in a mixed parillada platter. Note the stone crab claw in the corner--guess that's a Gulf thing? Total PIA to get it open without crackers, so we just asked the waiter to give it a go. Overall, it was a very good but not great platter, but we started with some queso fundido (yummy but solid when it cooled off, pretty much as soon as it hit the table) and a stewed tomato dish.

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We had a funny experience that night. Apart from the little Navidad children, who come around and sing for centavos (some of those songs have a LOT of words!), a man came up the stairs and started playing an old guitar and singing. He had a neck-mounted harmonica as well. We applauded and suggested songs and of course he came over and played just for us for the rest of his set. We gave him a generous tip and he gave us an extra song and wandered off down the stairs (we realized then that he was apparently fairly stewed). We saw him again at least three times during our stay. I don't think he was actually stalking us--I think it was just a matter of the fact that there are only like 20 restaurants on the island and he can make the full circuit every day. It was pretty funny, though. :)

[Steve O]

Yes, that is Edelyn's restaurant. Best lobster pizza I have ever had. They are doing remodeling now.


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b149/fypons/old%20cozumel/2005-20071036.jpg


Not a lobster pizza but a shrimp one.


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b149/fypons/old%20cozumel/2005-20071554.jpg


Stone crab is delicious. They should crack the claws for you before being served. Much of the stone crab comes from Celestun. The crab has one large claw and when they catch it they take the claw and set the crab free and he grows another one.

[debski]

Brings me back Beachreader. So happy to hear you enjoyed Holbox!!!! Did you find anything at Noa's? Loved that store!!! Funny thing about the cranberry rissotto........it's the one dish at the hotel that my daughter and I didn't like. Different strokes for different folks I guess.:)

[pepper]

Yay!! Love your report so far!!

Did you know that Noa and the owner of Viva Zapata were married? She came to the island for vacation from Ohio (I think) and fell in love. She was super sweet to my oldest son showing him all her gemstones and explaining each of them.

[Toro rojo]

Great pictures. Thoroughly enjoying your TR. Very informative. Do you know if the bug situation is prominent in January - February. I see comments about bug problems in Tulum but whenever we have gone in winter we didn't even need the netting over the bed.

[beachreader]

That's cool, Pepper, no we didn't know that, but they're right across the street from one another, and we enjoyed watching a bit of street life with some of the little kids and the artist woman at Noa. Noa is a beautiful store, just seemed a bit expensive for me. Honestly, I don't know that it was expensive, but they didn't post their prices prominently, so I figured it was more than I could afford. :-)

[lazydog]

BR, do you think the stewed tomato dish was a salsa? The first time I had stewed tomatoes for a salsa, it kind of freaked me out. I eventually ended up liking it. Still not my first choice, but in a creepy way I like it. Maybe it was in Guatemala we had stewed salsa.

[Westybchbum]

Ah...a BR trip report, easily becoming one of my fave things to do in my leisure..... You have such a way of making us feel like we are there with you.... Cannot wait to hear more tho the bug thing has my attention, ugh! But this quaint place looks amazing! Cannot wait for the rest!!

[Jorge&Marcia]

Great TR beachreader - loving your adventures so far. Kind of freaked out about those sand fleas though!

[beachreader]

Sorry this is taking so long--the holidays were fun but kept me from the site! I'm supposed to go out tonight but am seriously considering spending my New Year's Eve with the TV and my trip report. I really miss writing it!

I used to love stewed tomatoes as a kid, so that's what I called it. No idea what the guy called it--he just said it was something extra for us to enjoy along with the queso fundido, and it did help cut the richness of the cheese. Careful of ordering queso fundido when it's chilly out, though. Stuff solidifies quickly; we were pulling off pieces of it like taffy after just a few minutes. Who cares, though--melted cheese with sausage? Always good stuff!

[beachreader]

Steve O, is lobster pizza really any good? You're a Chicago guy, guess you know good pizza (completely different from my favorite NY-style pies, but I still love the deep dish). The notion of lobster and pizza flavors just doesn't really vibe for me. I would have tried it had Evelyn's been open, but I don't regret missing it so far.

Westy, we were really lucky with bugs because it was so cool and breezy. We always sprayed down at night as we would in Tulum; I would say our "risk" was similar to Tulum, but I've heard much worse things about Holbox, so I guess you just have to be prepared one way or the other.

OK, I've been coughing and such quite a bit today so I've backed out of my NYE plans--don't want to get anyone else sick (and I don't really feel like going out).

Onward for the TR!

[beachreader]

OK, next morning we hung out for a while and then decided to go for a beach walk to the west (I keep thinking north because it's to the left, needed to keep reminding myself that Holbox lies west/east, not north/south). We thought, mistakenly, that the uber-expensive Las Nubes hotel was in that direction. I was wrong, but my friends ran up there the next day. They went in and asked about walk-in rates (I was so proud!) and were told $350 for beachfront, $300 for garden. Are you freaking kidding me? For a walk-in in early December? When we paid $90 for a beautiful room much closer to town? I'd really like to know who ever stays out there at Las Nubes. i'm sure it's a lovely property, but not sure how you swing being like 3x the price of the next most expensive hotel on the island. OK, cranky complaint aside, some general beachwalking pics:

First, this was our beach this morning--the house boat Orca moored out front (seemed to be mostly used by kiteboarders going off to sites unknown):

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Right next door to Tortugas is a public beach area, kind of hard to see here, but there are public palapas with hammocks in them, kind of nice for the town:

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Our beach looking west, in front of these structures;

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Quite a few of these little guys--horseshoe crabs--on the beach this week. Here in NJ we used to find them a lot as kids, now more rarely. Talk about prehistoric!

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Heading west, this is the first hotel we come to, Hotel Faro Viejo. Looks very nice, cool bar, and it's right next to a great grilled-fish restaurant (more on this place later), but the beach is pretty close to the boats and stuff, had a fair amount of seaweed. I think the seaweed is a temporary problem due to various storms, but still.

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Here's their bar, on the beach side of the building, looked like fun:

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The next place along is the La Palapa, though this surfboard sign shows a whole lot of other logos--the hotel name is all the way to the left. Seemed like a nice enough place but kind of dark IMO, lots of palms in front. Same beach sitch as the other hotel.

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As you can see here, a lot of hotels apparently rake just the bits of beach close to the property, not all the way to the water. Looks here like there's some kind of line beyond which they do not rake. As I said, I don't think the seaweed is a permanent issue, just not the same as Tulum. I heard someone say that they couldn't possibly take all the seaweed away because it would impact the sand--I guess Tulum has plenty of sand to spare.

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In the next distance above you'll see some beds with fabric on them. This is the Holbox Dream hotel, would have been my second choice I think to Tortugas (but after actually being there it's a distant second in my book). Nice pool area and all the rooms have pool and ocean views. Should have gone in and looked around, but I was beachwalking with my friends, not fully hunting.

Their beach was pretty nice as I recall, sorry I didn't turn around and take a picture of it.

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We wandered on for a while, several properties in between, and turned a bend in the beach to find a number of dogs and their owners running about. Off this beach was the Holbox Apartments (I think that's the name, sorry my memory is so bad right now). Looked like a pretty neat property.

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This next house was huge, looked very private (with a nice infinity pool in the middle of the structure). This would be sweet, wonder how to rent it?

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Notice in the lower right corner the concrete whale, an erosion-protection measure we found every few hundred yards on this side of the island. Looked like they filled plastic/nylon tubes with concrete and then let the tubes decay, leaving the concrete behind.

Another nice-looking house with a beautiful garden (don't think it shows in this pic), I think this may be Casa Takywara, but it was hard to tell if that was this house or the little house and shacks next to it. I think it's this house, though.

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Next to this house was a little cottage on the beach with two desiccated shacks next door. I wonder if they're all under renovation? Meant to ask the woman on the porch of the cottage but didn't.

This is looking back at the shacks--the finished one is on the far end, the two unfinished shacks in the foreground. Made me want to do some HGTV'ing!

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There was a fair amount of construction evidence along the way. Be interested to see this one when it's finished--love the wood pillars they have in there so far!

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[beachreader]

Sorry, this is starting to feel boring since I really don't know the places I'm showing. Suffice to say we walked another kilometer or so until we coulnd't go any farther due to a building set out to the water and shrubbery, we didn't feel like figuring out how to pass so we turned around.

We stopped at this place closer to town for a snack cocktail (it was almost 1:00, after all) because we heard some old-school reggae coming from the palapa bar. Oddly, after we were there for a little while, clearly digging on the music, the bartender suddenly changed it to old-school disco, which was funny to suddenly hear "It's Raining Men" and "YMCA", but we asked for the reggae back. He shrugged, not too happy to go back, but he did it. Just another funny moment. The girls had beers, I had a pair of rum punches--made me feel like I was in St. Thomas!

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The whole reason for our sojourn was basically to kill time before our intended lunch spot was open. We'd tried the day before, only to be told by the abuela that they didn't open until 1:30 for lunch. So finally we headed over. What a fun place! Note the huge wireless tower, basically holding up the structure.

This is Raices, just to the east of Tortugas and Mawimbi:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-cqgRpT6/1/L/i-cqgRpT6-L.jpg

According to one of the local experts on TA, it's a great local place for fresh fish and cold beer. And it was!

View from our table (we snagged the last one in the shade):

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-gpzrDgS/1/L/i-gpzrDgS-L.jpg

Looking back toward the kitchen, and the bar:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-P9nR7C2/1/L/i-P9nR7C2-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-5bpFsD8/1/L/i-5bpFsD8-L.jpg

What a classic beach place! Wish Tulum had some places like this, for sure. I'd eat there all the time!

Hope these menus are legible:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-Sxz9CVm/1/L/i-Sxz9CVm-L.jpg





http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-NXNwF3z/1/L/i-NXNwF3z-L.jpg


We started with a plate of ceviche and some cervezas. The ceviche was great overall, but the pulpo was honestly kind of funky. I don't know if it's a local thing or if this particular guy had eaten something odd, but we all picked around the pulpo today. I still love the place and would go back anytime.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-x2rHJ6k/1/L/i-x2rHJ6k-L.jpg

As we did more often than not, we ordered the pescado entero frito para dos (para compartir, por supuesto). Today I think it was boquinete again, based on the nasty overbite:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-h3tdCcJ/1/L/i-h3tdCcJ-L.jpg


Every so often during our meal the birds out front would go nuts; we finally realized it was because the staff would go out and dump people's leftovers on the beach for them. We didn't think we left much on the bones, but shortly after our table was cleared, it happened again:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-pZtt9dL/1/L/i-pZtt9dL-L.jpg


After such a busy morning and so many mid-day beverages, there wasn't much left to do for the rest of the day:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-h6ktdGR/2/L/i-h6ktdGR-L.jpg

[beachreader]

After napping, hitting the pool, showering, etc., time for dinner again. This time we wandered into town to see what we could see, armed with the "locals" list provided by the local expert on TA. Alas, it was Sunday night and it seemed that several places were closed, so we just shopped with our eyes. I fell in love with the Caribbean look of this place, and it was packed with happy-sounding patrons.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-9GsrDq4/1/L/i-9GsrDq4-L.jpg

We took the last table, outside (inside was packed), and settled in. Soon, there was live music inside, some very cool acoustic music, kind of South American sounding (with a mandolin or something similar--I couldn't see). There was singing and dancing inside.

Alas, our dinner was a bit disappointing, our least favorite meal of the trip. Cat's was pretty good, a Tikin-Xic style dish (but the waiter emphasized that it was NOT Tikin-Xic, just fish with tomatoes and onions cooked in a banana-leaf packet. Um, OK), but T and I both went for the garlic grouper filet and they turned out to be kind of boring. My margarita was a little touristy and very very sour.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-Tf8nRgx/1/L/i-Tf8nRgx-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-vZPjTqm/1/L/i-vZPjTqm-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-4Q4C5Kd/1/L/i-4Q4C5Kd-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-7jVTvVS/1/L/i-7jVTvVS-L.jpg


Even though we were sitting out on the street, we seemed to be late enough to avoid most of the Navidad children. Really, we were charmed at first, but after about the sixth time of being approached, it does get a little old, sorry.

[beachreader]

OK, our last full day on Holbox! Where to eat? Always such a challenge. :) It did take Cat a while to get used to T and me talking about lunch with our forks still full of breakfast, but there you go.

Morning was our usual hanging out on the beach, but we decided to try one more of the places on the "local" list, Buena Vista. it's right next to the Hotel Faro, blocked from the beach only by that building, so we still had a nice view from our table close to the "street".

He cooks over an open wood fire (seen here from the front), pretty cool.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-XF6nqTt/1/L/i-XF6nqTt-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-zS8P8vT/1/L/i-zS8P8vT-L.jpg

We had some fun with this little guy:

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-ZBNTGhb/1/L/i-ZBNTGhb-L.jpg

Well, it was fun for a while. After I clucked at him, he came over and pecked me in the thigh! Little bastard. He got me twice before the owner got a child to take him away and put him in the back yard or somewhere. (Or perhaps in the cage for dinner later?)

We had some ceviche and guacamole, a few beers, and a whole fish. this one was a Lisa fish (apparently some kind of local mullet), done half-and-half because we couldn't decide between Tikin-Xic and garlic sauce for our last day. Outstanding, our only actual grilled fish of the trip (most do them fried, which we also love). I'd definitely come back here.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-vGDbJwh/1/L/i-vGDbJwh-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-VNRRcm6/1/L/i-VNRRcm6-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-33SjBwK/1/L/i-33SjBwK-L.jpg

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-TchgSFN/1/L/i-TchgSFN-L.jpg

OK, running low on battery, packing it in now.

[debski]

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-9GsrDq4/1/L/i-9GsrDq4-L.jpg

Ah, Beachreader................this was our favorite place, and the best prices in Holbox while we were there. Too bad it wasnn't so great for you! Wonder if the season had anything to do with it? While we were there, we were 1 of 2 tables in the joint, had special services, drinks on the house, (that we very tasty) and live music. The atmosphere really made the place and the owner was a very well spoken social character.

Just a thought on Noa's. It was very pricey but I found the pieces very unique!!!! All of her stuff was 18 carot gold.......not always so easy to find!!!

And as for the seaweed problem.............It was there in September, maybe it is a constant!!!!!

I'm so glad you enjoyed Holbox and I am sure enjoying your report. Can't wait for the Tulum part:)

[Steve O]

beachreader...The lobster pizza at Edylenes is very good. The other ones around town suck. I really prefer a shrimp pizza. I think it must be old age now but I tend to like king crab and shrimp over lobster. I still want to make a butter poached lobster. Maybe in the next few weeks.

I like your report but waiting to see what your opinion of Holbox is. I love the island otherwise I wouldn't have visited it as many times as I have. It's beautiful. I spend a lot of time on Cozumel and still get island fever. It believe that if I stayed on Holbox for more than a week, I would have to leave. It's a great place to visit but I don't think I could live there.

[beachreader]

I don't know, Deb, the food we had was just so-so, but I would definitely give it another chance if I go back to Holbox. It was just such a cool little place, and the music was great.

OK, after lunch we wandered back to the hotel and decided to get a golf cart to toodle around the island. We'd heard there are sometimes flamingos in bays at either end, so we headed east first. One drives along a road for a while, then cuts out to the beach after Las Nubes (still didn't stop to go in and look around, sorry). We tooled along the beach for a few hundred yards before we were completely blocked by piles of seaweed. The water was shallow, but we didn't feel like getting stuck in wet sand, and the seaweed piles were solid, 2 feet deep all the way up to the scrub line, and there was no path up that way. So we turned around and headed back to see what's on the other end of the island.

The other side of the road (that's the sandy bit in the foreground below) to the east of the hotel is mostly a kind of dry swamp, looked perfect for gators, but we didn't stop long enough to check that out.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-wbgVMrz/1/L/i-wbgVMrz-L.jpg

Passed back by our hotel (where we ran up and got bug spray since it was heading toward the end of the day). Did I post this picture before? I'll edit if so. But this is the road-side of Tortugas, beautiful bougainvillea (sp?) tumbling over the balconies of the back-side rooms. That's our golf cart in the pic.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-76CLRtB/1/L/i-76CLRtB-L.jpg

Heading west from the hotel you go through town for a bit. It's really a small town; businesses surround the square and extend for maybe a half-block in any direction. After that half-block, you're suddenly in the "suburbs", and about a half-block after that, you're in the country. A few hundred yards after that, you feel like you're in the wilderness. OK, maybe not that bad, but it's a pretty quick transition.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-Q63Vnwd/1/L/i-Q63Vnwd-L.jpg

Not far past town is the airport. Apparently you can catch little planes out of CUN or Playa (cheaper out of Playa for some reason, maybe it's fees and stuff) to come right here, skipping the 2+ hour drive and ferry ride. That would be nice, but the planes are pricey.

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-4GqV6LD/1/L/i-4GqV6LD-L.jpg

The road is on the left (sand), the strip is on the right. Pretty close!

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-b39VX5F/1/L/i-b39VX5F-L.jpg


We enjoyed our time driving around the island, but on this half of the island there were quite a few fairly deep standing puddles, and after maneuvering around several, we were finally stymied. Couldn't get around it, didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the island with sunset fast approaching, so we finally turned around.

One fun thing that we saw--at least, we think this is what we saw: A local-looking family drove by us at one point, and when we caught up to them, the father was off in the scrub. At first we thought he was just relieving himself, but as we passed, it kind of looked like he was shaking a small tree. We continued on the road until we had to turn back, and when we passed them again, the father had the tree out on the road and was trying to fit it onto the golf cart with his happy, laughing kids and wife helping.

I wondered if maybe we saw a family outing to get a Christmas tree? I remember when I was a kid going out into the woods with my dad, what do you all think? It was early December, after all. :cool:

[beachreader]

On the way home, we took a few turns through the town and ended up at the port before heading back to the hotel. We kept seeing this logo/design stenciled onto all kinds of buildings and signs. I love this design, wish I could buy a t-shirt or something with it, but we asked in many shops and none of them had it. Apparently it was a government logo designed a few years ago for whale shark season but no one ever continued it. It's just still on all these buildings. Funny. {In case you can't tell, it's a map of the island with the shape of a whale shark superimposed.}

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-44kBj6X/1/L/i-44kBj6X-L.jpg

I liked this building, close to the port, the whole building is painted with spots, just like the whale sharks!

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-CxhD8kG/1/L/i-CxhD8kG-L.jpg

We headed back to the hotel just in time for showers and a cocktail before heading out for dinner. You're not going to believe this, after all of those fish pictures, but I didn't take ANY pictures of our dinner this night! Not even of the restaurant, but I happened to take a daytime pic of it earlier in our stay. It's on the east side of the square, I believe it's called Casa Lupita maybe?

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-X2gvkGc/1/L/i-X2gvkGc-L.jpg

This was not on our "locals" list, it seemed the owners were perhaps Italian? At any rate, we had our BEST meal of the stay here. Perhaps it was all the clean proteins we'd been eating all week, but I was suddenly craving pasta, had one of the best spagetti carbonaras I've ever had, and I've had a lot of great ones. This had cream, so it wasn't a purist carbonara (which should really just be bacon/pancetta, eggs, cheese and pepper in my book), but man oh man was it good. T had lobster in a garlic sauce, Cat had a lobster burrito, which sounds kind of crazy but was also very good. We did have an appearance by our guitar guy, seemed a fitting end to our stay.

Happy chicas toddle off to bed. Next morning another delicious breakfast, easy pack-up and caught the 10:00 ferry. This time we took the "real" ferry instead of the private boat, but unfortunately we were enclosed inside the boat--no outside seating or standing space, which is not my favorite way to travel by boat--close quarters, no breeze, good recipe for mal de mer. Next time, assuming the water isn't too rough, I will go for the open boat for sure.

We were just going to take a taxi over in Chiquila, but happily I mentioned our plans to Giulia at the hotel, and she picked up the phone and called someone for us. He met us at the ferry, car was right there so we didn't have to lug our stuff to the end of the pier; he had a very nice car, a VW something-or-other. Not quite a wagon, more than a hatchback, fairly new. Guy turned out to be a terrific driver, just fast enough but smooth and knew all the topes. Very nice, even stopped at bathrooms for us twice. Initial charge to Tulum was going to be 800 pesos, but after I told him we were heading down the Boca Paila, he tacked on a bit more. Still, that's a fantastic rate for a 2+ hour drive in my book.

Our transportation total, including what I think were pretty generous tips, came to I think 2900 pesos for three of us. That's about $71 US per person. Both drivers were great, both trips were 2+ hours. If we had booked through the hotel, the cost would have been $160 US per person ($70 from the airport, $90 down to Tulum), so it definitely pays to do your research and don't just take the hotel's word for it.

We loved the hotel, it's really lovely. We loved the food on the island, very reasonably priced and the fish was all very fresh. I loved being able to walk into town, such as it is. Loved the sand streets and the very laid-back vibe of the whole place.

I don't think I could spend a whole week here, though (though my friend T thinks she could). It's very nice, but it is verrry quiet. And while we were lucky with the bugs, I have heard that it can get pretty gnarly. I'd hate to be stuck there for a whole week if I were being eaten alive.

And, for this beach snob, the overall beach just isn't in the same league as Tulum. Even if the seaweed issues we found are only temporary, I would still miss the water colors and purity of the sand of Tulum. Having said that, the Tortugas property was beautifully sandy, they even sifted the sand around the chairs to remove random shells and such. Very nice, but the 10 feet towards the water still had tons of shells and some other stuff. And the sand under the water could get kind of silty, if you know what I mean.

But having said that, I really did like the place and am very glad we went. Wish it were just a wee bit easier to get to, but I suppose if it were any easier, it would be crowded and overdeveloped in no time!

Even though we did like Holbox very much, it was still such a relief to get our first view of the Tulum beach when we pulled into La Zebra just in time for lunch!

http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-GngNgqw/2/L/i-GngNgqw-L.jpg


OK, that's it for Holbox, will start a new thread for the Tulum part of things.

[susan]

I'm with your friend T, I could easily spend a week on Holbox. I know you like the pure sand but for shellcombers like me Holbox was great. Glad you enjoyed your stay and agreed Tortugas is a great property. We didn't have much of an issue with bugs in July either so maybe it's jus a folk tale 😉.

[beachreader]

Well, you guys are from Minnesota, maybe the Mexican bugs just back off out of respect for their northern brothers. :)

[tbpeaceful]

As always, your trip report is a joy to see. Your priorities are right in line with mine.....food and beach. :cool:

Bravo Beachreader. Looking forward to Tulum.

[susan]

Well, you guys are from Minnesota, maybe the Mexican bugs just back off out of respect for their northern brothers. :)

Or everything else pales in comparison to our man-eating skeeters here.😄

Seriously it wasn't any worse than Valladolid or Tulum where we spent the rest of our vacation so I don't think bugs are a reason not to go. It is remote and quiet but quaint.

I'm glad you like to "research" on your beach walks to keep us all so informed.

[debski]

I have to agree with your overall summation Beachreader. We too loved Holbox, the hotel, the food, and the quaintness of the island. We didn't like the bugs, (not a folk-tale Susan) or the difficulty in getting there. It's a trip my husband could not make. After spending 8 days on the island, I was more than ready to leave, actually, could have left after 5. If it wasn't quite so difficult in getting there, it would be a nice side trip..........but alas, I will probably never make it back! glad to have gone tho.

Can't wait for your Tulum report!!!!!!

[TheWindyCity]

Hey Beachreader....Happy New Year! Just getting caught up on TI from the holidays. Really enjoying your trip report and awesome photos. I know you are happy with your camera now. Your food selections are killing me....everything I'd order! I hope Alice and I can meet up with you some day in the Yucatan and have dinner together.


Some of my favorite shots:http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-5LPfxbr/1/L/i-5LPfxbr-L.jpghttp://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-W9kDdQ2/1/L/i-W9kDdQ2-L.jpg

Nothing like a good Hitchcock movie.....http://beachreader.smugmug.com/photos/i-pZtt9dL/1/L/i-pZtt9dL-L.jpg

[beachreader]

Aw, thanks, Steve! I really hope we can meet up on the beach one of these days! Right now, looks like June, but always a chance to get back sooner than that. :)

[itsjustme]

:beerchug: Cheers to another great trip report Beachreader!!

Have Holbox on our list of "must" visit islands. But after reading your TR we'd probably do only 4-5 days and then head to Tulum.

[Westybchbum]

Lovin me this BR trip report, but knowing you my sista, i am grateful for this info and cannot wait for Tulum. Holbox looks charming but not quite ready to leave beloved Tulum for this..... Bring more!

[CoconutShrimp]

Looking forward to the Tulum edition of your TR! Can you hurry it up though... Your entire report is keeping me entertained while I wait for this baby of mine to make an appearance! :) No pressure...really...

[JunkyBurrittos]

Ok I've got no right at all to chime in here, but your Trip Report's the only thing getting me through this New England winter. Maybe I can actually dust off my TR and pull a quid pro quo. Come on Tulum!!!! :)

[Westybchbum]

Ok I've got no right at all to chime in here, but your Trip Report's the only thing getting me through this New England winter. Maybe I can actually dust off my TR and pull a quid pro quo. Come on Tulum!!!! :)

Yes! Do it!

[Gracearama]

Ok I've got no right at all to chime in here, but your Trip Report's the only thing getting me through this New England winter. Maybe I can actually dust off my TR and pull a quid pro quo. Come on Tulum!!!! :)

I don't know if I can get to Tulum until the summer so I am with you, eagerly awaiting the Tulum report to live vicariously through here in Woodstock NY!

[minniemex]

Wonderful report BR! I don't know when I will get to Holbox ~ hopefully sometime in the near future.

I don't know if I could find enough to eat that didn't come out of the water though. Maybe I would have to live at that restaurant you had the pasta at. Like you love, love, love a good carbonara.

Thanks for sharing.

[beachreader]

Minnie, I thought of you as we were gorging ourselves on fish every day. Most menus have the standard "other" options, I just didn't see much of them being served around. The place with the fire grill, I really don't remember the menu at all, but I'd start there and see if he's killed that damned chicken yet. :)

[minniemex]

The poor chicken........ :)