Isla Mujeres History

Alice le Plongeon wrote:       The air was exquisitely soft and balmy, the moon so brilliant that every fleeting cloud was reflected in the clear water of Dolores Bay, while the white sand of the shore glittered under our feet as we sauntered along enjoying the beauty of the scene. In this peaceful bay, six miles from the eastern coast of Yucatan, the Spanish ships anchored nearly four hundred years ago.      The principal industry of the villagers is fishing, and from the month of April to August, all their attention is given to turtle-catching. So, on that moon-lit night, as we strolled along the beach, men, women, and children also wended their way to the north end of the island, where all was silent as the white tombstones in the village grave-yard by which we passed. A few hastened their steps as if they feared a departed friend might stalk forth in winding-sheet.        Reaching a place w...

This is excerpted from an interview published by our town historian, Fidel Villanueva Madrid, with islander Doña Aurelia Nájera, who tells some of the local tales from pre-tourism times, when the isle had a fairly stable population of ~600 people.  It is titled Del cocal a la salina/ From the Coco farm to the Salina Lake  Part II of II  The complete interview in Spanish is below.         The first story is about her maternal grandfather & is collaborated by another islander. They say a bad spirit was involved with his death. ("Huaypach", who the older people describe as having an enormous body similar to that of an iguana). He liked to party and leave the house without warning, which greatly angered his wife. Once he came back drunk and took an eye out of the wooden image of Saint Prudencio, owned by Doña Candelaria. The people say he paid for his wickedness because he was found dead at el riíto of Playa Norte ( that...