Generally, people are a little strange, we’ve come to realise that on our travels. Not in a racist or derogatory way, just an observation. We think this of them, and they more than likely think the same of us.
Last year we spent Christmas on a lovely island called Koh Lanta in Thailand. For some reason, half the population of Sweden also spend their Christmases there. Head 10 miles in any direction and there’s not a Swede in sight. Why and when they decided to pick this spot who knows, but they also decided on Isla Holbox as well. This place is crawling with delightfully agreeable Swedish folk. Nowhere else in Latin America, just here. A tiny, mostly unvisited island just three and a half hours from the tourist mecca Cancun. As I was saying, not a complaint, just a strange cultural observation.
Holbox (pronounced hol-bosh) is famous for the whale sharks who herd off the shores here. Not whilst we are here though, May through September is best. We are here to continue our wind down to the end of our travels. We are staying in an incredible castle-cum-beach-bum-hostel called Tribu. Probably the most popular spot for backpackers on the island which means great facilities but also inevitably means there are also few weirdos hanging around. A French chap decided to pee in the middle of one of the shared rooms one night, blaming it on the tequila, without raising an eyebrow!
We arrived via a short boat ride to discover the unpaved roads flooded due to a recent storm so catch a golf-cart taxi to the hostel. Unfortunately, the rain soon started again, and continued on and off for almost three days. No beach time then. During the dry spells we investigated the town, it’s the usual weather-beaten shack type affair. So simple, yet so much nicer than the concrete, ad-infested metropolis that awaits us in just a few days. Yep, in just seven days we would be back in London, so to pass the time we got busy planning our return. We both worked on our CV’s and online profiles and took care of our finances.
The last day we got lucky and the sun decided to make an appearance. We are not usually beach bums, ones to spend every day on the beach. But we did that day. It’s the Caribbean and we’ve heard that the snow is hitting the UK. We are going to make to most of it.
That night Leah and I were also celebrating our three year anniversary. So we dug deep into our much depleted wallets and decided on a couple of steaks and a bottle of wine.
So, Holbox. We will be back. And there better be sun and whale sharks or there will be trouble.
