Isla Mujeres. Swiss, Belgian, and Israeli-Russian Girls

During the day we cycle around about half of the island, which also gives us a glimpse of how the less wealthy locals live outside the tourist areas.

In the evening our hostel hosts a full moon party. This time the music is less traditional and more typical club music. I spend most of the evening with two Swiss girls and one Belgian girl who had arrived the previous night and were staying in the same dorm room as us. Apparently they didn’t sleep very well either, because in the morning they were planning to leave immediately—but later they changed their minds and decided to stay.

Melanie had worked in Switzerland for several years as a clothing store manager, but then decided to start traveling. That was already about a year ago, and after a short break at home she plans to continue her journey to Australia.Aline is her sister, who came to visit her in Mexico for a couple of weeks.Sophie, the Belgian girl, had spent five years living in Spain. After returning home she suddenly noticed cheap flights to Mexico and decided to come here for a longer trip. She is also planning to continue traveling through Central America. For the past couple of weeks the three French-speaking girls had been traveling together.

At some point during the party I also meet Poli(na) again—an Israeli girl of Russian origin—along with her friend, both of whom had also been at the hostel the night before. With them I get to practice my Russian a bit more.

Historically many Russians emigrated to Israel, even if they were not necessarily of Jewish origin. However, it’s actually quite rare to meet young Russians traveling with backpacks. Poli and her friend are here simply on vacation, staying in a hotel that costs about 120 dollars per night.

For comparison, a bed in our hostel costs 155 pesos—about 12 dollars.