My Space Issues

 It wasn’t about the dog poo you have to watch out for as you walk the streets or the language barrier or the heat of the intense burning sun that made me want to get out of this place as soon as possible. In fact two days in I started planing our exit out -lol! 

Mexico does have beautiful tropical beaches and it has lovely people and Isla Mujeres is a typical island community – sweet people and small town life. But there were some things that tested my tolerance threshold in those first few days 😉

It started when we arrived and found ourselves in a cosy little home on the island. On the map this place seemed to be close to everything. The ocean, a dairy, a pharmacy and most importantly a bakery – which I’m proud to say I still haven’t visited.

For those of you that have heard my moaning you know that one of my biggest accomodation issues in Auckland was having a three bedroom home with four children. Finding quiet while being in earshot of babies that wake up regularly in the night;,or allowing space for toys and mess that’s out of the main living spaces (I could go on) had its moments.

But the place we find ourselves in on Isla Mujeres is a two bedroom with a fold out couch. When booking the pictures looked much more spacious than it actually is.

In this place we have one double bed in each bedroom with very little space to spare around each bed. Plus we have a pull out couch that acts as a double bed at night. When we pull out the double bed it fills up the whole lounge room. We have to climb over the bed to get to the dining table. This bed reaches the kitchen. The mattress on it has springs with very little foam padding. This means that when lying on it I feel the springs on the bony parts.

I know this sounds like I’m whining but the kitchen and bathroom are also tiny. It feels like we’re in a campervan except this time I wasn’t mentally prepared for it.

When I thought about it, this place would work for a weekend or even a week. But we have booked one month here which I thought was a little too long for the type of living space that it is. There is no privacy in the confinement of this Airbnb, except when everyone is sleeping or everyone is noisy – so private calls are out.

Looking at the Bright Side

The older two have not complained once about the confined quarters. The younger two though have needed more stimulation than what the dimensions of this place allows. It doesn’t have an outdoor area that I could let them play in. Thankfully there is a wonderful playground nearby and a covered soccer court (not field). That is definitely helping with my cabin fever.

As I walked around the neighbourhood I began to realise that we were living in a big place. Some of the folk in this area have one room, a kitchen and a bathroom for their family.

I’ve adjusted to its charm now and we have learnt to cook, study, work, play and clean by putting these away immediately and keeping activity indoors to a minimum while getting outside whenever its cool.

It has helped us to appreciate what we had and how spacious that was. It also helped to define our minimum requirements for comfortable living when we plan our one month stays.

This place has also made me grateful that I have the option for bigger and more luxurious. 

We have the ocean in walking distance for some Caribbean Sea breeze. 

We have an estuary across the road for a hit of nature. We have a playground super close by for the young ones. 

We have great wifi. And a few days ago we got hot water showers. Plus there’s still La Pañería (the bakery) to go explore. Life is good:)