Isla Mujeres Magazine

Volume 1, 2014

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~ Edited by Ronda of MaraVilla Caribe B&B and In Isla Mujeres Daily News ~

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1. Isla Mujeres Charities:

Wish Lists, Drop offs, Volunteering, Benefits, Links
Information about 15 groups helping those in need in the Isla Mujeres community

If your charity would like its information added or updated, please contact me at westofcuba@gmail.com

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2. Tourism Began In Isla Mujeres Long Before Cancun was Conceived
by Ronda (In Isla Mujeres Daily News)

Isla Mujeres was a thriving community for a hundred and twenty years before developers carved Cancun out of the jungle in the 1970's. When the Mexican government decided to create a planned city as a major tourism destination in 1969, Cancun consisted of a handful of caretakers living on coconut plantations owned by wealthy residents of Isla Mujeres.

Read more.....

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3. Just Being A Kid On Isla Mujeres
           by Lynda Lock (Notes From Paradise)

Our Isla Mujeres friend, Freddy Medina has many good memories from growing up on Isla in the 1970's.
Freddy's papa, Lucio Medina, built a strong concrete house on the west side of the island near the middle-school where he was employed as a teacher.
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4. Pirates of Isla Mujeres
by Ronda (In Isla Mujeres Daily News)

When Spaniards sailed to Isla Mujeres from Cuba in 1517, they found no people or signs of settlement on the island. They broke the female idols in the Mayan temple, replacing them with an icon of the Virgin Mary, and moved on. The island became a refuge for pirates during the colonial period.
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5. Door Angst
      by Becky (Life's A Beach)

Deep thoughts, probably because I couldn't sleep last night. I return home with photos of all these doors, yet I've entered few to none of them. Perhaps the title of this post should be Doorways Not Chosen. Does it signal a lack of adventure, a failure to speak the language and breach the cultural divide, or just that I'm hesitant to break rules and be impolite? Or maybe I'm just over thinking it. Next trip I vow to explore more and enter a few local doorways.
                                      Read more

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6. Perry's Whirlwind Mayan Adventure
   by Laura MapChick & Perry (Cancun Maps)

No bike on this day, I depended upon my feet and a few taxi rides. I had already dined at seven restaurants, but the bulk of those were around lunchtime. In the afternoon I walked miles of beachfront, some lined with beautiful sand, but most nothing but rocky shoreline dotted with rental properties. For the first time in days I was actually hungry and this restaurant was one I had never tried. A cerveza (beer) is definitely in order.
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7. Volunteer Spotlight on Tiffany of Barlito's
for Isla Animals & LYSH

Got a pen? "Yes, I do! "Photo by Lolo

This issue's spotlight is on Tiffany Yenawine Wareing, who volunteers with Isla Animals and is on the board at Little Yellow School House. Tiffany & her husband Brad own and manage the popular "Barlito's Bakery & Market Cafe" and "Sonrisas Catering".
At the restaurant this busy couple collects donations of shoes for Zapatos Por Los Ninos, and English books for Alaghom Naom's grade school students, as well as items for Isla Animals & LYSH. The walls of the cafe are covered with beautiful creations for sale by artists who have participated in the monthly Artist's Fair

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Photo by Jorge Martin Castill

8. 1500's Piracy Around Isla Mujeres by Fidel Villanueva Madrid, Isla Historian
During the 1500's, the eastern coast of what is now Quintana Roo was of little importance to Spain whose maritime routes were concentrated in the Antilles. Occasionally, a boat from the Gulf of Honduras sought the shelter of the islands of Mujeres and Cozumel during bad weather, or when their boats needed repairs. Except in those incidences, loneliness was the common denominator of our coasts and islands. This suited the purposes of the pirates, who found the isles to be excellent shelters from which to spy and attack the Spanish ships, that sailing to and from Havana, Cuba.

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9. Did You Know....? by Ronda (In Isla Mujeres Daily News)

Did you know.....

Isla Mujeres once had a little train downtown?

It went down Rueda Madina to Lopez Mateos and from there it went on Carlos Lazo to the hotel Zazil Ha.
Read more

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