Isla Mujeres

Long before Spanish captain Francisco Hernández de Córdoba anchored off its shores in March 1517 and christened the narrow limestone slip after the clay goddess figurines he discovered, Isla Mujeres served as a sacred Mayan pilgrimage site dedicated to Ixchel, deity of the moon, fertility, and medicine. At Punta Sur—Mexico’s easternmost headland—the weathered foundation stones of Ixchel’s ancient temple cling precariously to 65-foot sea cliffs battered by cobalt Caribbean surf. This windswept promontory now pairs pre-Columbian masonry with giant outdoor steel sculptures and a whitewashed beacon tower, while further inland, the crumbling coral-stone archways of Hacienda Mundaca still stand, erected in 1862 by the pirate-slave trader Fermín Mundaca for an unrequited local love. Traversing the four-mile-long island by golf cart reveals a striking transition from these rugged southern crags to the quiet, pastel-clad alleys of the northern village. At Playa Norte, the water shifts into a blindingly clear spectrum of pale mint and aquamarine, gently lapping wide ribbons of crushed-coral sand that remain cool beneath barefoot strolls. Travelers wading through the waist-deep, mirror-flat shallows take in views of painted wooden *pangas* anchored offshore, surrounded by the scent of achiote and sour orange as beachside cooks grill whole *pescado a la tikin-xic* over glowing charcoal.