We've only been here how long?

Friday morning we woke early to the rising sun and soothing sound of Carribean waves. It was such a treat. It already felt like we'd been there for days. Off to Elements of the Island for a hearty breakfast to start our day. This small place houses 3 rental units, a small cafe and 9am Yoga classes. The cafe specializes in healthy, organic foods.

Of course we went overboard. I started with yogurt, fruit & granola. It was good, but we've had better. My second course was a soft boiled egg and fresh cheeses. Hands down, it was the most perfect soft boiled egg I've ever eaten. The cheese was fresh and tasty, but you can never really go wrong with cheese.

Jackson ordered the French toast and a side of bacon. Jackson has a refined palette when it comes to bacon and he thought it tasted like "real pig". That means "real good".

Also, they also have these amazing little dolphin cookies they serve with your coffee. I should have bought some to go. The place also had a really nice staff who was very patient with my broken Spanglish.

After breakfast we walked a few blocks over to pick up a golf cart for the day. On our way I couldn't help take a pic of these friendly Isla doggies. I just now realized I captured a picture of one sniffing the other's butt. Whoops.

Getting the golf cart was a breeze - you do have to leave your license with the vendor, making sure they get their cart back. There are few rules on the island, but one is that golf carts (because they are slower) should ride close to the shoulder. Noted. We were off, first stop - our honeymoon destination!

Villa Rolandi is a very nice hotel on Sac Bajo, not far from where our ceremony & reception will be taking place. Some very wonderful, amazing, and caring friends gave us an early wedding gift of a few nights stay at this hotel.

This is where Jackson and I will play hours of Scrabble or Rummikub...

Here Jackson is trying to guess which room we'll be ours...and the hotel guests are wondering why I'm taking a picture of him.

We left Villa Rolandi and headed south on Sac Bajo to Zama Beach Club. This is where we will have our ceremony and reception. I'll post a teaser picture here, but pictures do not do this place justice. The minute both saw it, we realized our guests are going to have a blast that evening (just picture it without that half naked dude on the pier).

Sorry folks, we got a lot more pics and a great video, but you'll have to visit Isla to see the real deal. We hopped back in the golf cart and continued south to Punta Sur.

This is a great little stop where you can go check out the Mayan ruins and see the southernmost point on the island. There's also some little vendors selling trinkets and drinks. Jackson couldn't hold back and ordered a Coconut drink. I was stunned looking past him at the color of the Carribean...

Don't get too close to the edge...it'd be a rough fall. Thank goodness there's a sign...

There are load of iguanas just chilling in the sun. This one was huge!
We left Punta Sur and drove along the Carribean side of the island back towards Downtown. Along the way we spotted our next home...
The view north...how pretty...
Not sure how we worked up an appetite but we did. That evening we were going for our wedding menu tasting so we wanted a light lunch. Playa Lancheros came highly recommended.

But first things first. Our drinks :-)
The specialty here is the Tiknxic fish - A Mayan speciality that consists of fish (usually snapper) marinated in sour orange juice and anchiote chili paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled over an open flame. Here it is being cooked.
And here it is being served....It cost $8. Yes, you read correctly, $8. It was delicious. All while looking about twenty feet out at the Bay of Isla Mujeres. I tried to get Jackson to get a henna tattoo - No pain, No ouch.
After our tour of the island we ended up back at the hotel for a mini-siesta. That evening we went to Zama Beach Club for our tasting and saw a wedding in action. It was gorgeous but the party was kind of a dud. We assured the wedding planner our wedding will be something to be reckoned with - dont make us look like fools people. We ended up back in the town square to check out the festivities. They had a dancing contest with people from the audience and it was amazing. Those ladies knew how to move. Sorry no pics, it was a little too dark. On our walk back to the hotel, we found this...
Who ever thought we run into a store named 'Noe's' of all things?? More to post tomorrow!