isla Mujeres

GEOGRAPHY

Isla Mujeres is a small island in the Carribbean Sea that lies 8 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula coast.  Only 4.3 miles long and  2,130 feet wide it is surrounded by crystal waters and coral reefs. To the east of the island lies the Caribbean Sea with its rocky coastline. To the North one will find the calmer surf of Playa Norte as well as El Centro (downtown) and the dining and entertainment pulse of  Hidalgo Street. To the West lies the distant skyline of Cancun and, in the evenings, the horizon boasts Isla's infamously glorious sunsets. And to the South is Punta Sur, the first landfall of the rising sun in Mexico.

HISTORY

Isla Mujeres has a long and colorful history. In Mayan times Isla Mujeres was called Ekab, it was one of the four provinces or Mayan territories that formed what is today the State of Quintana Roo. The island served as the sanctuary for the goddess Ixchel, the Mayan Goddess of fertility, reason, medicine, happiness and the moon. The Temple was located at the South point of the island and was also used as the lighthouse. The light from torches was shown through holes in the walls, which could be seen by the navigators at sea. The Mayans also came to the island to harvest salt from the salt lagoons.

In March of the year 1517, Francisco Hernandez Cordova discovered the island. When the Spanish expedition landed, they found many female shaped idols representing the goddess Ixchel, thus Isla Mujeres got its name. For the next three centuries Isla Mujeres was uninhabited. The only visitors were fisherman and pirates who used Isla as a refuge and left their women on the island "for safekeeping" while they sailed the high seas. Today the town remains a picturesque fishing village, inhabited by many families who have fished off its coast for generations.