A New York Times Travel Writer Describes the Isle in 1981

Thirty-six years ago, NYT journalist John Brannon Albright wrote about his visit to Isla Mujeres, when the ferry was 50 cents & you could rent hammocks or tent space downtown by the beach for $2.50/night. The "desolate Hotel Zazil-Ha Bojorquez" he describes is now the Mia.

Isla Mujeres a Budget Alternative to Cozumel & Cancun
Published April 5, 1981

The article begins:

     "Isla Mujeres, off the northeastern tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, is an attractive, low-cost alternative to nearby Cozumel and Cancun. The island, six miles long and half a mile wide at its widest point, was named ''Island of Women'' by Spaniards who arrived in 1518 (sic 1517) and found many erotic female idols there. At the southern tip, the highest point, stand the ruins of a small Mayan temple. At the northern end, on a rocky promontory pointing like a finger toward the Gulf of Mexico, stands the eight-story Zazil-Ha Bojorquez, a hotel knocked out of service by a hurricane in 1980 and forlornly awaiting rehabilitation.

A friend and I decided to visit Isla Mujeres (EES-la moo-HAIR-ays) as a break in a trip to the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula. We rented a car in Merida and visited Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil and Chichen Itza before heading for the island. Afterward we continued to Tulum and Coba before returning to Merida for our flight home to New York."

 ......

He describes downtown: 

       "The town of Isla Mujeres occupies the northern tip of the island and runs for about seven blocks in a north-south direction and four blocks east and west. Close to the center is the zocalo (town square), which is bordered by a modern church, a basketball court, a two-story government building under construction and a row of shops, among them a movie house. In front of the church was a children's playground with abstract concrete animals: a bear, a horse, a turtle, a crocodile, a hippopotamus, all designed with interior spaces for children to climb through. At the northern tip of the island, about five blocks from the zocalo and edged by coconut palms, is a beach of finely powdered white sand 50 yards wide. Shops, restaurants and most of the hotels are clustered near the center of town."

........

 He describes the other tourists & casual atmosphere: 

       "The majority of the visitors were in their 20's and 30's - singles, couples and family groups - and they blended in easily with the family life that makes Isla Mujeres a viable community, one that existed before the tourist boom that followed the development of Cancun. Visitors get to know one another as they share tables at the restaurants, many of which are family run with the youngest children clearing the tables. The customers are part of the family enterprise and are treated well."

.......

Uncrowded beaches with a perpetual volleyball game:  

     "Besides touring the island, fishing, lazing on the sand or swimming in the warm surf, visitors can go windsurfing or sailboating or play volleyball. The volleyball game on the town beach is an almost perpetual activity. Even on the one cloudy day during our visit, when the beach was practically deserted, the game was in full progress with a dozen or so players."

Read the full article HERE that includes descriptions & prices, taking the ferry, motorcycling to Garrafon which was under construction & where the road ended, walking to the ruins of Punta Sur, local hotels & meals, the fishermen, shopping & other activities and sights.