Written by Kari Sundberg | March 25th, 2024
His name is Luis. And he’s the sort of man that you just know has a lot of people in his life that feel so lucky to know and love him and have him a part of their day. I guess he was a part of our day, too, if only for a short six hours. But what a great six hours it was.
Luis lives on Isla Mujeres, which seems like a whole other world away, considering it’s a little island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. In reality, it’s just a four-hour flight and a half hour ferry ride away and you’ve landed on a tiny piece of tropical paradise.
The last thing Luis, a local on Isla Mujeres, said to us has stuck with me the last few days. Mainly because I took my daughter on a trip, just the two of us, and made beautiful memories that I know we’ll both carry with us forever, but also because of the power behind his words. We got out of Luis’ golf cart. He hugged me tight and gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek. His bright, gleeful face turned to my daughter. With his hands reaching out, he smiled big, looked her in the eyes and said, “Have a BEAUTIFUL life, Anna.”
And he meant it.
My eyes instantly filled with tears. So many thoughts overtook me. I was so thankful to have met this kind man. I was so appreciative of our six hours together. I was so overtaken with his genuine, intentional spirit and his words held a lot of weight. We want our children to have beautiful lives. Whether we enrich them with different travel experiences, wrap them up in the comfort of home, surround them with faith, family and friends, encourage them to spread their wings, or whatever tactics we take as parents, we just want our kids to have beautiful lives. And the people we meet along the way only add to that. Like Luis. I don’t know what either of my kids’ future holds, but I can only pray I am along for the ride and they both have a beautiful life filled with good, wholesome people.
As I write this, we are on the plane heading home. Home is such a safe, comforting word, and no matter how great vacations are, it’s always so nice to get back home. I should mention that my son had the option of coming with us on our trip, but at age 18, he decided it would be more fun to book his own trip to Mexico with friends. Par for course, right? They are heading down in a couple of weeks. This will be his first time out of the country and as much as I wish I was going along with my bubble wrap and lectures, I’m just letting go with a smile and saying, “Jesus, take the wheel.” He’s going to have a great time and make some great memories, too.
After tons of searching, comparing, and budgeting, Anna and I decided Isla Mujeres seemed like the best fit for our week away.
Even though we are different in a lot of ways, my daughter and I are also similar in many ways. We both love being a part of something new in an up close and personal way. We’d rather be in the mix of it than sitting on the sidelines.
We want to see.
We want to do.
In fact, at breakfast this morning, I asked her what her favorite part of the week was. She could have easily said the 88-degree weather or being in her swimsuit in the bright turquoise Caribbean Sea, but no. Her favorite part was getting to go around the island and see how the locals live, where they work, what they do there and mingle in the midst of it. That was my favorite part, too.
Getting pampered and spoiled at an all-inclusive resort is great. Soaking up the sun is so healing. Playing in the ocean is amazing. The resting, relaxation and recharging is even better, but when we go somewhere, we both really want to get a feel for the local way of life, too.
Isla Mujeres is a perfect place to do that.
The little island is only about five miles long and half-mile wide. It’s such a perfect mix of things. If you want to live your week in luxury, you can do that there. If you want to live like a local downtown or rent a tiny little hut with no A/C, you can do that, too. There is something for everyone there; all walks of life on one tiny little island.
One of the main modes of transportation on the island is by scooter or golf cart, though there are a lot of taxi cabs there (so many to look out for without a lot of driving rules applying) and a few vehicles. Anyway, we had a golf cart rented for a couple of days when we were there, but we decided we better schedule an island tour first, to get familiar with everything and get a better idea of what we’d explore on our own.
Well, that turned out to be the best decision ever because that’s how we met Luis. A few months ago, I came across “Island Tours with Robby” on the island. (Highly recommend if you ever visit.) The site posted fun pictures every day. I think it was just a local that started a golf cart tour company that really took off! I had been seeing lots of pictures of the tour guides and there was one in particular I was really hoping to get booked with, though we didn’t make a personal request. Luis is an older gentleman with gray flowing hair, the kindest eyes and smile, and just sounded like a down-to-earth, enjoyable guide, according to the reviews I had read.
Well, Anna and I came into the lobby that morning and there stood Luis. I was so happy, and it didn’t take long to realize what a joy the day ahead of us would be. Luis immediately put us at ease. He took us from north to south, east to west, giving us a history lesson of the island (Isla Mujeres means Island of the Women), the Mayan roots and culture, the local Spanish-influenced life from past and present. He was so knowledgeable. Everywhere we went, people hollered out his name and waved. It was easy to see he was well-known and well-liked.
Luis and his wife are in their 70’s and live downtown on the island. He actually drove us by his house, which was fun to see as the houses are so unique there and are assembled in little villages. He was so personable and that’s a characteristic I really love in people.
As the day went on, he shared so much with us and brought us to so many places. He brought us to his favorite beach and told us we had to swim there for a bit. He took us away from the hustle and bustle amongst the many tourists and took us to his friend’s little open-air restaurant off the beaten path, along the canal. It was nothin’ fancy, but it was quaint and nestled in among the palm trees and gave us the true local experience.
The humidity was high and my margarita was cold.
(NA Pina Colada for Anna here; lemonade for Luis.)
We were the only ones around, besides his friend, and we were able to just take a load off and visit with each other for a while.
We learned that Luis grew up in Mexico City. He attended private school where he learned English; his English was very good, too. He was a travel agent in his 20’s and was able to visit quite a few places in the USA, but he ultimately ended up in Isla Mujeres because his two grown children moved there and run businesses. In addition to the golf cart tours, they also work as private chefs that people can hire while they are on the island.
Speaking of that, you’d think an island full of traditional Mexican food would have plenty of enchiladas, right? Not so much! We had a hard time finding enchiladas on the menus, which wasn’t the worst thing because there were plenty of other delicious options, but Luis knew we were in search of a good cheesy enchilada for lunch. After not having any luck, he said that he should have his daughter make us some, but we didn’t take him up on that. They had plans to cook at a private home that night, so we didn’t want to be a bother. But that’s just how sweet and trusting he was.
All of the locals seemed so friendly and welcoming to tourists on the island. Luis explained that they love Americans there. “The American tourists give us our jobs. We have the life we have because of them,” he said. “The only people that don’t like the American tourists are the Americans who live on the island,” he laughed.
Just like anywhere, there are all levels of incomes on the island. The beautiful, big homes are mostly American owned. The locals mostly live in cramped little villages on the central part of the island, or in make-shift huts spread amongst the wooded areas. Not many live ocean-side, which is kind of a hard pill to swallow. It feels a bit selfish that all of us tourists get to stay on the best parts of the island, but life is good there and they not only seem content, but happy.
One older lady has been selling homemade jewelry on the beach for decades. You’d think they’d make a killing, but most people only buy a bracelet here and there, probably not wanting to be bothered by that sort of thing while enjoying the beach. Luis said this lady in particular makes about $30 a day. “By your standards, she is poor,” he stated. “But here we never say someone is poor. We say that they are even.”
“Even?” we asked.
“Yes. You make just enough for what you need. Food and a few supplies to get by,” he explained. “We’re even here. And we’re happy with that.”
(We made sure Anna left that beach with a little shell bracelet on her wrist.)
Luis did go on to say that he would classify himself as a “budget American” and laughed while telling us that. However, he is very watchful of his budget. When asked what he and his wife enjoy doing together, the answer was made up of things that don’t cost a dime. They go to the Playa Norte and watch the sunset. They go out for walks in the evening. They gather with their adult kids and cook good meals. Sounds like a good simple way of life to me. Maybe being “even” isn’t the worst thing that could happen.
Our six hours together was really something special. Not only did we get to know Isla Mujeres a little bit better, but we also got to meet someone really special and get to know him a little bit better, too.
He was so curious about life in Minnesota and shared with us that if he could move anywhere off the island, he’d love a little cabin in Montana. I told him about our rural location up in Grygla and he was full of questions. Once he found out that we live in the country and Anna can’t walk to school, he asked if we have to give her a ride every day. I said that Anna has a car and drives herself to school. His face turned to complete shock.
“YOU HAVE YOUR OWN CAR, ANNA?”
I quickly explained that it wasn’t anything fancy, some paint was missing on the side, it’s 17 years old and didn’t set us back too much.
In all reality, I think anyone there would be happy to have Anna’s 2007 Chevy Impala. You can be darn sure I’m going to remind her of that every time she tells me she’d rather drive a new white Jeep. Ha!
Anyway, I think the whole point I’m trying to make with this story is just to take the time to talk to people.
New people. Familiar people. Unfamiliar people.
From all walks of life.
Connect. Talk. Listen. Learn.
Instead of being in such a hurry with our own things to do, instead of always wanting more, maybe we could all just slow down a little bit and see that we have more than enough. And the people that come into our lives are put there for a reason. Maybe it’s to teach us about something new. Maybe it’s to remind us that we have enough even if we think we don’t. Maybe it’s to remind us to slow down and have a beautiful life. And that it’s not about the things, but about the people.
Or maybe it’s all of the above.
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