ISLA MUJERES

I can't figure out how to turn the photo but I think you get the idea that it's a ruddy great fish

WHERE: ISLA MUJERES
WHERE (less detailed): a little island off the coast of Cancun
WHEN: t-34 to t-32

the now obligatory pic of white sand and palm trees, yawn

WEATHER IS: hot hot hot. Unbelievably hot. The day we do an excursion we are out of the room by 7:15am and already it's UK summer hot. Thankfully we have a white sand beach and crystal clear blue ocean just yards from our hotel room.
FOOD IS: not the best Mexican we've had but still good tacos.
A MEAL COSTS: £4 a head
A BEER COSTS: £1.25

and the now equally as boring sunset

PEOPLE ARE: unfair to those organised enough to book ahead. While Paul wilts in the glaring heat Rhaani finds us a beachfront hotel whose advertised rates say £60 a night while walk-in Rhaani  is offered a room for £30.
HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHTS: without a doubt, the whale shark trip. Not even originally on our "to do" list we somehow fumble our way into the experience of a lifetime. Over 30ft long and totally harmless - we hope - whale sharks are the size of buses. Luckily for us we arrive at that rare moment when they all come at once. There must have been 20-30 of them, all gliding within a few feet of us. The first sighting of them takes your breathe away. Some of them are actually larger than our boat, a fact quickly illustrated as they glide under and around us. You are told not to touch them but for some reason our guide grabs Rhaani's hand, makes her touch it then puts her hand inside the things mouth, amazing ... the pristine beach and waters and the beach front bar with swings and sundown Sol beers... unfortunately not the tourist strip which serves up bad pizza and even worse souvenirs ... coming from Caye Caulker and Roatan we had expected a similarly laid-back town but unfortunately we arrived about a decade too late and the place is a little too touristy to be an island paradise ...

so just to recap, there were bloody great big fish, loads of 'em

DID YOU KNOW: in Mexican McDonalds' - our air-con haven while we wait 2hrs for our bus ride out of town - they hand out green Jalepino sauce saches along with the ketchup and serve only breakfast options until noon
UP NEXT: MERIDA, yet another pretty colonial town. By our reckoning this will be the 879th such town we've visited in the Americas. Fortunately it's also our base for day-trips to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal and Chichen Itza