Who is welcome on Isla Mujeres?

Americans  are most welcome on Isla Mujeres.  They have done so much for the island's economy. They mix easily with the Mexicans, many Americans live in La Gloria, which is where most Mexicans live, they make good neighbors.

We tend to think of Isla Mujeres as somewhere to where Americans retire. However when the last census was carried out in 2020, there were just 1,114 60 to 69 year olds living on Isla Mujeres, 412 70 to 79 year old's and just 144 residents of 80 plus. What is striking is that those figures include the Mexicans who make up the vast majority of the population, suggesting there are less retired Americans on Isla Mujeres than many of us imagined. Of course there are many who come and go, spending a considerable amount of time here but nevertheless don't feature in the census.

So who else is welcome on Isla Mujeres? Almost anyone who respects the island and conducts themselves in a respectful manner. Young Israelis are not very welcome, that has nothing to do with Gaza or racism, it's a behavioral issue. Spaniards visit the island in the summer months, and particularly older Mexicans are not so keen on the Spanish; they still find it difficult to get over Spain invading their country, even though this happened over 500 years ago, enough time you would have thought to get over it.  Just to make sure the younger generation don't forgive and forget, much of the  history taught in schools is  spent teaching them how badly the Spanish behaved during the occupation of Mexico.

The invasion of Mexico aside, the Spanish are not the most favorite customers at Isla Mujeres restaurants, because they don't tip, here or for that matter anywhere else; in Spain if a restaurant bill is 100 Euros, they will frequently leave a few cents change on the plate as a tip. This doesn't go down very well in Isla Mujeres, as restaurant staff  depend on their tips as an important part of their income, and they are used to Americans who are generous tippers; they typically leave 15%, or more if they are happy with the service. .The Italians however are no different from the Spanish when it comes to tipping and are followed by a close third by the French in the league of bad tippers. Being bad tippers is fortunately not something the Mexicans inherited from the Spanish; Mexicans are quite generous tippers.