holbox: day 4-6. – gentino family

This will be my last post of the trip, since our final 2.5 days were very similar in rhythm: early morning coffee on the balcony and pastry at Le Jardin. Then we walked the 1 1/2 miles to Punta Coco, a gorgeous, quiet beach on the western tip of the island. That’s a fun walk, because part of it is in the sea.

The walks were hot, but worth it for the near-empty beaches and crystal-clear water. David brought his snorkel and looked for fish and rays. I tried to read my book but in the end just sat in the water. It was really the only thing to do on the beach besides take walks, in our opinion — it was so humid in the shade we’d just sit and drip sweat.

We both remarked that it seemed to take all our energy to navigate all the newness of life there on Holbox. We were together nearly 24/7 and that felt restful, not stifling. We had a couple of brief conversations about parenting or church, but mostly, we didn’t even think about them (well, our kids of course, but not deep parenting challenges).

That is the gift of travel.

Suddenly the world becomes bigger but your daily life becomes blessedly small. Where will we eat? How will we get cash? Which beach should we visit? I joked that it was so hot that it was hard to even think deep thoughts. For over-analyzers like David and me, it was the perfect way to rest.

We ate one more lunch out, at a cute organic cafe, Kxtal, that advertised itself as the Holbox Whole Foods. I loved all the colorful bulk bins and jars.

Then in the afternoons we ventured out into the heat for coffee at Complemento. One day we sat in the AC with our books; the other we took them back to the pool at Marco’s. We never did end up renting bikes like we planned; the roads were so flooded and we saw several people get trapped (and a couple of loose bike chains floating in the puddles). Plus, all the walking was good exercise. David was always thrilled when he hit his daily step goal by 11:00 am.

What else did we never do that we planned on? Rent a paddleboard. Take a yoga class on the beach. Swim with whale sharks. Go for a run. We didn’t do everything. But in the end, what we did do felt just right.

I forgot to mention that one of my favorite pastimes became bird watching. There are several bird feeders thoughtfully placed at eye-level with the plunge pool (everything at the casa is thoughtfully placed. everything.). Between the pool, the rooftop, and the beaches, I used my Merlin bird ID app liberally to identify the tropical birds we saw and heard each day and kept a list of them in my journal. I like to think Gabe would be proud.

I set out for some shopping one afternoon at the open-air market. Every time we travel, David and I try to find something for our home, so I’d been eyeing up the different boutiques and shops all week for where I might want to go. But that afternoon I very quickly discovered that the shops were insanely expensive. So I stuck to the market to find a couple of things for our house and for the kids.

On our trip I felt like I was constantly snapping photos for Amie. Look! We can propagate a snake plant in an empty bottle!

Or stick an entire pothos into a vase of water for a table decoration!

Holbox was boho before boho was a style. There’s a reason it’s called “one of the most Instagram-able vacation spots.” Everything is turquoise water and bold-colored murals, succulents and macrame, lush trailing plants and funky basket pendant lamps. I wanted to bring it all home.

On our last night there we went to the most boho restaurant of all, Luuma. It was incredible. David and I agreed that we enjoyed the food more at Santos Fuegos, but there is no replicating the hidden garden atmosphere at Luuma, especially as it grew dark.

We took leisurely walks both nights in the cool of the evenings, grabbing one more marquesita for me and a mango milkshake for David, soaking in sunset on the beach and the night life. I’m sure there’s lots of partying on Holbox, but we didn’t experience that (probably because we were in bed by 10:00). Yes there were lots and lots of young people, but we were mostly surprised by how many families we saw mingled in.

On the last day, I woke up suddenly very ready to go home. I missed my kids, my dog, and my house so much I just ached all over. I didn’t want to stay in the dripping island heat one more moment.

That’s the sign that we stayed the perfect amount of time.

On our last morning David took a swim while I drank one more velvety cortado at our favorite coffee shop and soaked in the sights and sounds of the town slowly waking up.

And then it was time to shove all our crusty, sandy clothes into our suitcase and Marco had a taxi pick us up at the casa at 11:00. Speaking of clothes, if we had to do the trip again, we’d pack 1/3 of the clothes and twice the swim suits. That’s what we ended up living in all day (my favorite).