In August, Vivian, Josh, Evan and I went to our favorite little boutique hotel just a bit north of Cancun: The Beloved. It was such a relaxing and scrumptious vacation – and we were able to celebrate my 40th birthday and Evan and I’s anniversary. Josh’s birthday also happened to be during this time, and we gave it a little nod, too.
Here are some pictures from our vacation, with some notes in case you head that way yourself and want to check it out!
My favorite part of vacation is getting a chance to read ACTUAL books all the way through. I had purchased “Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered”, a memoir from my favorite podcast “My Favorite Murder” a few months ago and I was finally able to read while everyone was napping.
This was George. He lived under our deck.
The water and sand in that area are just amazing. A lot of guests worry about seaweed, but we are few miles north of the Cancun Hotel Zone and it just wasn’t an issue.
During our trip, we spent a beautiful day on Isla Mujeres, which is basically across the water from where we were staying on Playa Mujeres. In the past, we have never left the resort when visiting Mexico, but we were ready to be more adventurous this time around … and it was the my biggest ask for my birthday … so off we went!
The taxi ride from our hotel to Isla Mujeres ferry took about 15 minutes and we quickly got our tickets just in time for the ferry to leave (it leaves every 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon). The ferry ride was about 15 minutes as well, but if you don’t want to cook in the sun on the top deck, you will want to get there early. On the way to Isla, the top deck wasn’t so bad, but on the way back after having been on the beach the whole day, it was definitely a scorcher. It’s about $8 per person for the ferry, and you will want to pay in pesos if you can so you don’t loose money on the exchange (they don’t exactly follow the daily exchange rate there).
When we arrived, we met up with Isla Driver Robbi after a short walk from the ferry station. His company came well recommended and it offered us an opportunity to enjoy the island without having to worry about things like … maps and driving. It’s very easy to rent a golf cart on the island, but it was amazing having a local show us around and tell us about everything!
We started our tour with bloody marys and mimosas at North Garden Cafe and then spent half the day swimming on Playa Norte. If we thought the water and sand were beautiful where we were staying, it was a million percent more magical here! I don’t have any pictures from Playa Norte, we just sat in the water and enjoyed it, but it was AMAZING. We left a little before lunch time because we were hungry and because the area was getting really crowded. Sailboats and yachts anchor themselves in the water and bring in tourists from Mexico all day starting around 11am so I would definitely recommend getting there early to secure a spot.
Our next stop was at a local brewery – Isla Brewing Company. We sampled all of their options and I think we unanimously agreed that the Jamaica Miel Loco, a hibiscus beer, was our favorite.
Then, we were off to the turtle sanctuary, Tortugranja. It’s small and you only need about 30 minutes there, tops. Don’t let them talk you into buying turtle food, everyone buys turtle food and the turtles are full and they don’t want yours!
I had mentioned that there was a dog rescue on the island briefly and our driver made sure he got us there. I said it rather jokingly, but I was so glad that he took us there. I got to sit in a room and have puppies attack me with all of their love! So much puppy love!!
Ok, back to the resort now. Vivian and I hanging out on one of their theme nights. It was Mexican Party Night, if you can’t guess from the decor.
Vivian and Josh got me a llama float and you better believe I brought that with me! We had a swim up room and the pool was mostly vacant so I llamaed it up in the pool! Llama, llama, llama.
Evan brought his Canon mirror-less camera and a new Yonguno lens that he had purchased right before the trip. The lens was a bit funky (the colors and sharpness left a bit to be desired, but it was good enough) and it didn’t matter because we still had a great time frolicking on the beach and enjoying the sunset.
And then there was dinner. It was our final night at the resort and we wanted to hit up all the good stuff. So we started with dinner at the French restaurant where I got their foie gras appetizer and seafood stuffed ravioli. The next thing I knew, there was a fire (candle) and everyone was singing happy birthday. Vivian had brought this amazing cake topper with her and I just died laughing. I was so caught off guard, that I actually turned red, which is not something that happens often.
So what did we do after that? Um, steak for our main meal and then sushi after that. Don’t judge us, second and third dinners on vacation are a must.
