Adjacent to the beach, there are several
blocks full of shops, restaurants and lively
bars. After sundown, tables come out and
the party gets going. Most people travel
about on foot, but bikes and golf carts are
used for longer treks.
Holbox is a colorful town. Walls are covered
with unique murals. Store fronts feature
local arts and decorations. Live music
rolls out from many blocks and hot spots
spring up when the crowd likes what they
hear. Dancing and singing in the streets is
perfectly acceptable.
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As a fishing village, fish, lobster and
octopus is caught daily and distributed
about town. Much of the seafood is cooked
the traditional Mayan way over open
fires. Caribbean and Italian influences
also mingle and the delicious choices are
plentiful. I could just about live on Ceviche
and chips, but with selections including
lobster pizza, pasta with mussels, fish
tacos, whole snapper, fried octopus,
sashimi and seafood variety platters, the
dining pleasure level stayed pegged at 11.
We’d typically roll back to the beach around
2:30 pm. It was a very different scene from
when we left it before sunrise. Isla Holbox
is popular with European and mainland
Mexican beach lovers. On a quarter mile
trip down the beach, one was likely to hear
Italian, French, Spanish and possibly a little
Swedish or even Russian.
After wandering the beach, browsing about
town, sheltering in a palapa bar or taking a
nap, our group would meet at 4:30 in front
of the lodge. Our host Luciano would serve
up margaritas and appetizers while we’d
share stories of the day and decide where
to go for dinner. Two anglers got their first
tarpon during our trip, so we started a new
Tarpon toast tradition at the lodge!
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