Traveling Raw Vegan

Traveling vegan and or raw usually brings on new challenges to my lifestyle. I try and prepare as much as possible when I travel by researching the area I will be to see what restaurants may suit my diet, bringing some raw treats (this time granola) to eat while traveling, and finding grocery stores so I can prepare some of my own foods. I traveled to Isla Mujeres with my boyfriend for six days a few weeks ago and we had a wonderful time. Isla Mujeres is a tiny island just a ferry boat away from Cancun, Mexico. Every thing is very slow paced and relaxed on this island unlike Cancun which was part of the draw for us. The island is five miles long and .5 miles wide. The most common forms of transportation on the island are scooters, golf carts, and taxis. You can take a taxi almost anywhere on the island for around $2.00 although some drivers may try and get twice this much. Our travel days to and from the island were long and exhausting as we made use of many forms of transportation to get to our final destination (Marta train, plane, shuttle van, ferry, and golf cart). This left us four full days to explore the island and to relax.

The first night we arrived on the island we were both starving and decided to eat at a local restaurant within walking distance called Mango Cafe. I ordered what I thought was a vegan salad from our waitress who spoke broken English. When I got my salad and took my first bite of bacon mixed in the salad I realized it was not vegan! I kindly asked for another salad trying to explain I do not eat any meat or dairy. Although I was bummed about eating the bacon I had to let this go as it was a mistake. I realized I needed to be extra careful when ordering in another culture and language. From this point on our restaurant selections turned out very successful. My favorite place we ate was Olivia's, which was a cute Mediterranean restaurant that had a beautiful out door sitting area filled with plants and candles everywhere. I easily ordered a large green mixed salad (it came in a GIANT bowl) with a vinaigrette dressing and a white bean dish. Another favorite was a restaurant called Comono. This was also a Mediterranean restaurant and I got a giant large salad with walnuts, avocado, cucumbers and mixed green with a vinaigrette dressing. We dined at a Mexican restaurant (can't remember the name) run by local resident's and I ordered veggie burrito with no cheese or sour cream. It came with a baked potato on the side. We went out for breakfast one morning at a place called Blue Iguana where I ordered a smoothie (picture above of smoothie and restaurant). This was an adorable little cafe that served coffee, bagels, smoothies and sandwiches. We bought fresh coconuts from local street vendors and picked a few of our own coconuts as well. For all of our other meals we went to the local grocery store called Xpress. There was not a great selection of produce at this store. I ended up buying lots of mangoes, avocados, watermelon, potatoes, and bananas. Most of the vegetables were very sad looking so I stayed away from buying them.

Some major highlights of the trip were going to the north beach with beautiful white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water, walking around the tourist town near north beach with beautiful open air restaurants, live music, and interesting shops, going to the turtle farm, going to the ruins, renting a golf cart to explore the island, and just having time to get away and relax! I would recommend going to this cozy little island if you get a chance to!