S o, friends come to the island for a first visit and you offer to show them around on a Sunday. They live on Isla Mujeres and said that they love to start hitting the restaurants on the water around 11:00 am on Sunday for fresh ocean breezes and to share a plate at each place. This took a little bit of thinking, because the places on the east side have not been very impressive.
They had dinner at Buccanos on Saturday, so we didn’t need to go there and there were staying at Hotel B, so they would have breakfast there. I’m sure everyone has their favorites, so don’t jump on me if I didn’t mention yours. Here is what we did.
We started at Blue Angel for Marta’s famous chilaquiles with bits of chicken, a fried egg on top all covered with a tomatillo verde sauce. Just the right amount of picante, cheese and crema. I think El Coffee Cozumel ‘s version might be a little better, but Marta’s are pretty darn good.
Next, it was south to The Money Bar for snorkeling and ceviche. I was curious about stopping at the Presidente, but didn’t know what the Sunday menu was like and we were only getting a plate in each location. The wind came up, but we still got some decent time in the water. The ceviche mixto at The Money Bar is fresh and has a nice, balanced flavor. Gringo’s will have to ask for picante if you want something stronger than the bland pico de gallo.
Here came the hitch in the day’s plan: being from Isla, they didn’t quite appreciate or understand how much larger the island is than Isla Mujeres. It was coming up on 3:30 and the next scheduled stop was Playa Palancar for the outstanding margaritas. I think they expected to be around the island and back at the hotel by 4:00. We still hadn’t seen the east side of the island and I was determined they weren’t leaving until they did.
The wind and rain chased us out of Playa Palancar, we finished our tour of the island in the rain and got them back to the hotel at 5:00. There were no complaints.
Maybe next time we’ll start before 11:00. What would be your food-hopping itinerary?
I really like your photos, of course, and your text has a voice I like as well.
On your drive around the island, one has to stop and see Cuco at Coconuts. He is a really great guy and loves to make new friends. Have the shrimp quesadillas and guacamole. They also make a mean margarita. If you are curious to see what some girls will do for a free one have an incredulous look at the mildly “R” rated “Family Album”.
I think you and I need a Sunday road trip.