Sometimes You Just Gotta Roll With It — Isla Holbox #1

On Monday, August 30, I canceled a long-planned East Coast trip to visit family and friends. I was flying to North Carolina, then had train trips taking me to stops in six other states before flying home. All these visits and travels would take nineteen days, and I was stoked. I love traveling and I hadn’t seen the people there in many years. 

It’s not really surprising that COVID is the reason I canceled. I’d been thinking of that for a while.  I’m one that keeps up with the news on this front and am a firm believer in the severity of this virus, so I don’t ignore the frightening information of over-crowded hospitals, rising casualties, and family tragedies from the spread of this pandemic. I’d begun worrying about the multiple groups of loved ones I would be with—seven by the time my trip would end—and the simple fact that I would be the common denominator among them. 

I’m fully vaccinated, but the science tells us that although that’s wise, it’s not a guarantee of 100% safety for myself or others with me. I began thinking of the horror of possibly discovering later that I had somehow picked up the virus and carried it from friend to friend, cousin to cousin across seven states. 

So after talking it over with my intended hosts, who echoed my concerns about health matters, I sadly opened my Southwest Airlines account to cancel my tickets.  The decision to go or not to go was over. That’s when the ‘process’ part of new travel plans started. 

THE PROCESS OF CHANGING COURSE

I had used Travel Funds that are expiring October 15 to pay for the large majority of the cost to and from the East Coast. I  followed the steps online to cancel the two one-way trips and return the travel funds to my account. 

Now that money was still sitting there with an impending expiration date. Could I let almost $400 worth of travel funds just expire? Oh, HELL to the no! My travel plans had been crushed last year by COVID—as were those of many others—and I was determined not to be foiled again. I began searching for other destinations, preferably some remote place not on the main radar of too many other travelers where I could relax safely. 

WHERE TO GO?

I settled on Holbox island, pronounced Isla Hole-bosh in Spanish, off the coast of Cancun. On the map below, it’s the tiny island at the right hand top of the Yucatan Peninsula.  I’d read about this little out-of-the way destination before and had mentally put it on my unofficial ‘bucket list’, but after another COVID-deleted trip, the island seductively called to me NOW.  

Why Isla Holbox?

1. Southwest offers flights between Oakland and Cancun, and Cancun is the closest you can get to the island by air. I could reapply my refunded travel funds and not lose $$$$!
2. This destination would be for a retreat from the masses, not to join them. Holbox is not like the “Hotel Zone” on the densely populated shores of Cancun. I’m sure you can find nightlife if that’s what you’re looking for, but most of the island is a protected nature reserve, and the Airbnbs, hotels and B&Bs dotted along the western coast haven’t turned it into another overdeveloped tourist destination. I could choose my own environment.
3. Have you ever SEEN the beaches of Isla Holbox? Whoa. Travel magazine worthy. Hammocks over the crystal water, sunsets to bring tears to your eyes, and that picture-perfect white sand that’s hard to find. Yes, please.
4. Cost: Mexico in general is much cheaper than the USA. But usually, any small village that’s been discovered has also been commercialized to push the budget of most of us ordinary humans. Not so, Holbox. 

WHERE TO STAY?

1. 

Once I chose my destination, I did my usual exhausting research to find just the right accommodation for me: somewhere available for the dates I wanted; a place that ticked off most if not all my boxes of desirable amenities, and one that wouldn’t exceed what I had budgeted for my canceled trip.

I looked on Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com— my mainstays of accommodation resources for most travel destinations. I check Expedia and other such sites, too, but usually one of those primary three resources delivers. I’ve also joined a Facebook group  of like-minded traveling women, Girls Love Travel, and often get recommendations from the adventurous women there.

Selecting my accommodation on Isla Holbox wasn’t exactly a fast process. I can lose myself for hours clicking on many to compare. I’ve reached the age where I no longer search for cheap hostels or a shared bathroom: I want my own place when I travel solo! It’s fun looking at the pictures of what’s available and comparing pricing, amenities, location, etc. I knew what my priorities were: beachfront (preferably with a killer view), kitchen facilities and a clean bathroom, and being close enough to local stores to keep myself supplied with food and drink without needing a car. 

WHAT’S WAITING FOR ME!

I found a beachfront apartment that offered most of my desired amenities. The apartment has direct beach access and sea views….

 

…and hammocks and palapas –open-sided areas covered with dried palm fronds for a roof.

 

 

 

 

 

The apartment faces west so that I’m guaranteed awesome sunsets. The complex only has three units on its private beach, so I won’t have to worry about crowds. My unit also has a full kitchen with a big fridge, is a few steps to the sea, and is only a five minute walk away from the ‘town’. I can walk, bicycle, or golf cart anywhere on the island; in fact, cars aren’t allowed on Isla Holbox! The owners have already emailed me twice, welcoming me and offering a golf cart shuttle (for some extra pesos) from the little island port where I’ll disembark after my ferry ride from the main coast of Mexico.

Negatives? Although most of the fancier places offer air conditioning, this one offers only the sea breezes, shady spots on the sand under palapas, and fans inside the apartment. But hey, wearing a swimsuit or minimal clothing was already a given, and I’m sure plentiful cold libations from my fridge will help, right? Also, reviews from travelers to the island report that wifi is very spotty. Since I’m not going there to work remotely, that’s okay, too. I plan to post my observations and pretty pictures when I can, but I won’t be tempted to spend too much time online. Instead I can read, write, think, relax, nap, swim, and walk along the beach. I’ll practice my Spanish with the locals and learn about their daily lives, and ponder the purpose of my own. And I’ll try to unplug for a while from the craziness that is our world now.

Where there’s a will there’s a way, and wanderlust always drives me to simply GO FOR IT solo, even when circumstances throw a wrench in my original plans.  I’ll be posting again about my adventure to Holbox next Friday before I leave, and then during my adventure while I’m there. Check gosolowithamy.com for updates and thanks for joining me on my solo Mexican adventure!