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Dreaming of Sunshine While It Rains and Snows in Park City

By
Real Estate Agent with Snow Park Realty

Rob and I recently spent a week's vacation in what we consider to be a hidden gem and our secret little spot of sand in Mexico...

I hesitate greatly to mention this wonderful place in such a public forum but I'm just so in love with this island I have to share a little....

The island is called Isla Holbox and it is located north of Cancun.  It can only be reached by taking a two hour car ride from the Cancun airport to a small town on the coast named Chiquila.  In Chiquila you then board a thirty minute ferry which takes you directly to Isla Holbox.

The island itself is mainly inhabited by fishermen and their families.  There are no cars on the island and most people get around in golf carts, rigged up for various purposes such as hauling tourists and their luggage, transporting dos equis beer to restaurants, riding up and down the beaches, etc.

The fact that the island is somewhat difficult to get to makes it a remote location and one where the beaches are quiet and uncrowded.  There are no beach vendors, or shopkeepers calling to passers by.  It seems to Rob and I that the Isla Holbox locals are a happy, content people who are well provided for by the fruitful ocean around them. 

Speaking of the fruitful ocean, the waters around Isla Holbox are calm and warm and clear and the beaches are gorgeous stretches of white sand.  The waters are shallow for a long way out from the shore and there are schools of fish swimming by in the distance.  There is such a constant flow of fish it's amazing! 

Rob and I spent one morning on our last trip to Holbox out on the flats fishing with simple rod and reels.  We easily pulled in 18 fish in just three hours!  It was a blast!  The fisherman who took us out that day made ceviche from one of the fish we caught and served it to us on the beach upon our return.  He also cleaned a couple of the fish (one large trout and one grouper) and we took those back to our hotel where the chef cooked them for a delicious lunch.

Being the Real Estate minded couple that we are Rob and I couldn't help but ponder the prices of property on Isla Holbox and how it might be changing in the near future as more and more people venture out to visit.  It seems to us that the majority of the tourists who now travel to Isla Holbox come from Europe and South America.  This is evidenced by the French, Italian, Portugese and German that you hear while lounging on the breazy beaches or eating in the delightful restaurants.

So here's the part that brings this post into something that belongs on Activerain....a link to the Isla Holbox Real Estate website.... http://www.ricardobarraza.com/holboxproperties/inicio.htm

Take a look!  It's a pretty interesting place and the market there while already on the upswing is very intersting to watch....

It's raining/snowing here in Park City today and so writing this post made me feel just a little of the warmth I felt while I was there on the beach just last week.  Of course there's another website you may really want to check out another great website...that's our site....it's www.parkcitywire.com

 

Comments (9)

Anonymous
IHX

Holbox property is no longer a 'bargain' in any sense of the word.  That disappeared when the whale sharks appeared a few years ago.  We bought our land in 2001, just before the prices began to skyrocket.  Now that the island has been 'discovered', and people cannot not refrain from posting about it on the internet, we are ready to sell and move on.

Jun 01, 2008 01:45 PM
#1
Karen Gentry>>Charlottesville, Virginia Real Estate Professional
RE/MAX Excellence-Charlottesville VA - Charlottesville, VA

Sounds like a piece of paradise there.  It's just a matter of time.

Snow....wow, it has been in the 70's and 80's here and perfect outdoor weather.

Jun 01, 2008 10:49 PM
Rob Alday & Rachel Peterman
Snow Park Realty - Park City, UT

oh i hope people don't get mad about my posting about my beloved isla holbox...i figure that it's a hard enough place to get to - we don't have to worry about the masses taking over...

IHX how lucky you were to get property there when it was truly a deal...don't sell, holbox may change a little but i bet it's remote location will keep out the rif-raf

have a great week!

Jun 02, 2008 10:31 AM
Anonymous
IHX

It's for sale and will remain that way until it's sold.  The riff-raff has already arrived.  Last summer 50,000 tourists came to Holbox to swim with the whale sharks.  There will probably bemore this year. and even more next.  I have a webpage for the house if anyone is interested.

Jun 02, 2008 02:09 PM
#4
Rob Alday & Rachel Peterman
Snow Park Realty - Park City, UT

it seems like you're really angry about the toursim on isla holbox....i'm sorry that you're not happy with the way things are going, but i really loved my trip there and i don't see the point in being negative...i hope you find another place you can love as much...and don't worry, i won't ask you about where it is  ;)  what is the website for your house?

Jun 02, 2008 02:18 PM
Anonymous
IHX

I'm not angry, just resigned.  For years I posted nothing about it anywhere in an effort to keep it quiet, but other people did not feel the same.  Asi es la vida.  The islanders hardly fish anymore at all.  They are all busy building new rooms for rent and buying fancy boats to take tourists on more tours.  It has become difficult to buy fresh fish.  It's always dangerous to rely on tourism for one's income.  It can disappear overnight.  Another bad hurricane season could happen, or the whale sharks may decide to move on.  They have been known to do that.  It makes me sad to watch the islanders become greedy consumers, but now they all have their IPODS and cell phones, etc.  In 2001 there were 12 golf carts on the island.  Now there are over 300 plus mopeds, ATVs, and motorcycles.

My website:  http://judy2mom1.googlepages.com/home

Jun 03, 2008 10:10 AM
#6
Rob Alday & Rachel Peterman
Snow Park Realty - Park City, UT

i get it...i can't imagine how wonderful it was there when it was more in it's original condition...in case you're interested, i've recently read about a great place that you might be interested in...here's the wiki link  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_de_Noronha  it's called fernando de noronha...check it out

and btw, i saw your house when i was on isla holbox recently, i actually wrote down your website from a sign you posted.  it's a really cute house!  rob and i were interested in the washed out place next to yours too....what a crazy small world it is that i can write a blog on activerain and end up in contact with you - a person who's house i saw on a tiny remote island in mexico

neat!

Jun 03, 2008 10:32 AM
Anonymous
IHX

The place next to us was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma, but it was very poorly built in the first place.  The land is owned by a very wealthy Mexican.  I doubt he'll ever sell it.  Every once in a while rumors circulate about what is going to be built there, but nothing ever happens.  We jus wish they'd move the piles of rubble they made when they took the house down.

Jun 03, 2008 02:28 PM
#8
Anonymous
IHX

Well, we just got back from two weeks on Isla Holbox, and it's busier than ever.  The pile of rubble next to us is still there, and beach plants are starting to grow on it it :)  That is definitely preferable to the huge chunks of concrete.  Perhaps eventually it will just look like a huge green hill!  We cleaned out the house, removing all our personal things and expensive decorative items.  Then we gave the keys to the owners of the Hotelito Villas Flamingos next door.  From now on until it sells it will be rented as part of the hotel.  It's time for us to explore other corners of God's good earth.  Saludos!

Jul 18, 2008 02:39 AM
#9