Christmas day, we packed a bag of snacks and drinks for the longest drive of our Yucatan roadtrip - we headed 5 hours back east, from Merida to Chiquila. We parked our rental car at the port in Chiquila and then boarded a ferry to the island of Holbox, arriving in a cold torrential downpour. Dockside, we hailed a golf-cart taxi and splashed and dashed our way through the flooded streets to our boutique hotel. Wheeee!

Holbox is a small island north of the Yucatan peninsula, with miles of protected sea coast and landscape. The big draw here is the opportunity to see bioluminescent marine life in the dark of night. In the right season, you can also swim with whale sharks. Due to the weather and time of the year we visited, we did neither of those (but never-the-less loved Holbox). The resort town is growing, but it’s definitely still a work in progress! A local business owner from Argentina told us that more than 60% of the businesses in Holbox are owned and operated by Europeans or Argentinians. That gives it an eclectic, laid-back vibe; no rush, no worries. Armed with umbrellas, we explored the town and beach on foot, crossing flooded streets like Frogger, hopping across anything solid that wasn’t submerged. The street art in town and along the beach is top-notch! Note that the beaches in the photos below are covered in seaweed. This was the result of the storms that passed through. As soon as the weather cleared, property owners in the resort section had it cleaned up tout de suite.

Embracing the multi-cultural food options, we took a break from Mayan and Mexican cuisine for a few days. Idly swaying on hand-made swings at Alta Gula, we indulged in several types of Argentinian empanadas, milanese, and sipped beers to the point of day drunk on a Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, we sampled the local wood-fired pizza while listening to a live band. #beachlife #rainydays

Fantastic sunsets are the gift of a rainy spell and we were rewarded! On our second evening, we took a long walk down the beach towards Point Coco to join the crowd. The sun sizzled as it sunk into the ocean (I’m pretty sure!).

On our third and final day on Holbox, we awoke to clear blue skies and warm weather. We headed out early to find some coffee and lucked upon a local bean roaster. She gave us a the full experience: tasting and smelling the beans, explaining the roasting process, and performing a slow and meticulous pour-over. I chose a bean infused with mezcal and it was divine! Then we walked along the beach, enjoying the early morning rays and the soft, shallow waves lapping the white sandy shoreline.

With some time to kill before our ferry back to the Mexico mainland, we borrowed the bikes at the hotel in an attempt to reach Point Coco. We were within maybe a kilometer from the point when we could no longer find a way through the water-soaked streets. Alas, we had to admit defeat and turn back. Yeah, the water was THAT deep (and muddy, oil-slicked, and quite gross - as I said, the island is a work in progress)! Just about the time we turned around, we met a fellow AirBnB’r who was frogger-hopping and sloshing her way through the muck. She told us she was meeting a pizza delivery guy who told her to meet him at “the puddle”. Neither she nor we had a clue as to which puddle that might be… LOL!

Onward to Tulum (2 nights) —>