Women Island

Isla Mujeres is a small city located on the island of the same name, located in the Caribbean Sea, very close to the Yucatan peninsula, southeast of Mexico. The island is part of one of the eleven municipalities of the State of Quintana Roo, the municipality of Isla Mujeres (which includes part of the mainland) and is located thirteen kilometers from the city of Cancun, the main tourist pole in the region. It was founded under the name of Dolores.

Its warm and transparent waters are the perfect home for dolphins and turtles, and swimming with them is one of the most attractive activities that can be done here. To get to the island, you have to take a ferry from Puerto Juárez or a ferry from Punta Sam (cars); The journey lasts 15 minutes from Puerto Juárez (Cancún) or 45 minutes from Punta Sam.

Isla Mujeres is a small Caribbean island.

History

The island was discovered by the expedition led by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in 1517. In pre-Hispanic times the island was consecrated to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of the Moon, love and fertility, who received offerings in female forms that believers deposited on their beaches. When the Spanish conquerors arrived and observed the figures, they named it Isla Mujeres. On the southern tip of the island there are remains of a Mayan temple. Archaeologists know that Isla Mujeres was a sanctuary dedicated to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of fertility, and that Mayan women had to make a pilgrimage to the island as part of their passage from girl to woman. Today, the pilgrimage to the island is carried out by lovers of marine animals and the beauty of its tropical nature. Isla Mujeres was also a refuge and home to famous pirates and slave traders, such as Fermín Mundaca and Marecheaga.

Dolores Foundation

Shortly after the Caste War broke out in the state of Yucatán, Mayan and Yucatecan fishermen settled on the island, founding the town of Dolores on August 17, 1850.

By 1867 Dolores was already considered a town and municipality. On January 28, 1891, it was considered the head of the Partido de las Islas of Yucatán. The island began to take on great importance towards tourism, thus marking its new beginning. On January 12, 1975, Isla Mujeres became the head of the municipality of the same name, one of the seven that were born together with the now official Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo.

Attractions

Mundaca Estate

Nestled in the geographic center of Isla Mujeres, there are the vestiges of what was an agricultural and cattle ranch popularly known today as "La Hacienda del Pirata Mundaca". Its construction dates from the second half of the XIX century, and is attributed to the Spaniard Fermín Mundaca y Marecheaga, who apparently settled in the island in 1858, being related in those years of the Caste War to the trafficking of Mayan prisoners to Cuba.^{[citation required]}

According to the Ecclesiastical Archive of the Province of Vizcaya, Mundaca was born in Villa de Bermeo, Santa María, in that Spanish province, on October 11, 1825. His arrival in America It has not been established exactly, although it must have occurred between 1840 and 1845, when many Spaniards, particularly from the aforementioned province of Vizcaya, emigrated as a result of the severe economic crisis that that Spanish region experienced. After spending a few years in Cuba, he had to move to Isla Mujeres taking advantage of the special and exclusive fishing permits that the Yucatecan government extended to Cuban-Spaniards like Francisco Martí y Torrens in 1847.

Mundaca carried out his architectural work between 1862 and 1876, according to inscriptions on the hacienda itself, which he dedicated to a native woman: Martiniana Gómez Pantoja, better known as “La Trigueña”. Oral testimony tells that the islander never reciprocated him, and that Mundaca, tired of insisting, fell ill with love and died.

South Point

In this site there are archaeological remains of the temple to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of love and fertility, as well as a Sculptural Space. Punta Sur is located in the southern part of the Island, in the highest part of it that reaches 20 meters above sea level. It is a natural formation next to the Garrafón reef, which offers a view of the Caribbean Sea, the island of Cancun and the bay of Isla Mujeres itself.

Cross Bay

On August 17, as part of the celebration of the founding year of Isla Mujeres (1857), a bronze cross was placed on the manchones reef. The Cruz de Bahía measures 3 meters high and weighs close to a ton. At a depth of 12 meters, tribute and recognition are paid to the men and women who died at sea.

Turtle Farm

Isla Mujeres is a natural area for turtles, which come to lay their eggs between the months of May and September. For many years, sea turtles were hunted for their meat, shell, and eggs. Mexican federal laws now protect them. Eggs are laid in secure areas to keep them safe from predators. After they hatch, the turtles are placed in ponds and escorted out to sea by local school children and tourists, who help them return to their marine habitat.

Garrafon Park

Garrafón is a natural park on Isla Mujeres, and owes its name to an invaluable reef that, due to its minimum depth and gentle current, allows us to get closer to the underwater life of the Caribbean Sea. It is located on the southern tip of the island, 6 km from the center. It has a majestic coral reef where diving and snorkeling are practiced, allowing close observation of the great diversity of marine species that inhabit there.

Mottled Reef

It is located 8 km south of the Isla Mujeres pier, very close to the southern tip of the island, by boat. It has a coral bank 12 km long by 700 m wide, where you can dive.

Cave of Sleeping Sharks

It is located east of Isla Mujeres. In this place, surrounded by coral formations, diving is practiced.

Underwater Museum of Art (MUSA)

More than 440 sculptures are submerged in the Manchones exhibition area near southern Isla Mujeres and 17 sculptures in the Nizuc area south of Cancun. They are all located in the Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún and Punta Nizuc national parks, in order to reduce the number of visitors who have access to the natural reefs of the marine park. The founders of MUSA are the director of the marine park, Dr. Jaime González Cano; the British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor and its founding president Lic. Roberto Díaz Abraham. MUSA was inaugurated on November 27, 2010. By the end of June 2012, more than 500 sculptures will be submerged in both exhibition halls.

Blue Flag Beaches

Since 2005, the beaches of Isla Mujeres have received the Blue Flag certification (Blue Flag) granted by the European Foundation for Environmental Education to beaches that have achieved excellence in environmental management and management, safety and services, the application of environmental education activities and water quality. This certification is evaluated every year.

• Playa Centro. From 2015
• North Beach. Since 2018
• Playa Albatros. Since 2018

Featured Characters

• Fermin Antonio de Mundaca and Maréchega pirate, architect, trader, sculptor, painter, poet, farmer.
• Ramón Bravo Oceanograph, scientist, cameraman and Mexican writer.
• Fabio Martínez Castilla Arzobispo de Tuxtla Gutiérrez