Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

The Streets of Isla Holbox

(Pronounced EES-lah HOLE-bosh)

Yucatan, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Currency Exchange

An international vacation destination, Isla Holbox has a distinct personality.

There is the influence of the ancient Maya, the tropical flavor of a Caribbean island, and an irreverent sense of humor in posted signage.

Oh, and let's not forget that Holbox is part of Mexico, too, and it's all displayed in the mix.

Take a look at the Streets of Isla Holbox below.

The most photographed spot in town

Right at the junction of the main street and the beach is this colorful lettering spelling out the name of the island: Holbox.

People stand in various poses as the "L" in Holbox and we often saw lines of tourists waiting for their turn to posture themselves uniquely for this photographic memory.

One man did a handstand as his girlfriend took his photo.

Behind this colorful sign is the main wharf with a Mayan mask design on the kiosk.

This main wharf is where visitors come to watch the sunset, and then clap when the sun dips down for the night.

"Great performance" they'd say.

Palapa shack restaurant

Written in Mayan text is "Xibalba" (pronounced Shee-bal-bah) which translates as "the place of fright" or "the place of fear".

It's the name of the Underground world in Maya mythology and normally connotes the entrance to a cave.

Now, why someone would name their restaurant after the Underworld is beyond me, but, hey.

Remember, Gordon Ramsey named his Manhattan restaurant "Hell's Kitchen" - so there ya go.

Bicycles are for rent all over the island and it's a wonderful way to get around.

The main street

All the streets on Isla Holbox are unpaved. No personal cars are allowed, but there are construction vehicles, golf carts and bicycles.

The sign "Hornito Argento" is a small silver oven.

The pink building behind this restaurant is Hotel Los Arcos where we stayed our first night here on the island.

Irreverent sign for a restaurant

Remember I mentioned an irreverent sense of humor in the signage?

Here's an example.

Still, what more could one want besides great food, cold craft beer and reliable WiFi?

Creative beer sign

Gosh, I'd hate to be kidnapped.

I guess I had better drink some beer!

The simple life

A corner store, pedestrian traffic, a jeep, motorbike, bicycles, a golf cart and a pull cart for groceries.

Palapa style roofs are common place at the beach.

Main Plaza

This is the Main Plaza on Isla Holbox.

Again, colorful letters spell out "Holbox" with the famous flamingo (from Isla Pajaro) and a whale shark as decoration.

One can book a tour to the 3 other islands here, which will show you the bird reserves.

And this is one location where you can swim with the whale sharks another popular excursion.

Outdoor seating at a restaurant

Lots of indoor - outdoor seating on the island which is really nice.

The streets are a sand/clay mixture so when it rains it takes a few days for the water to drain. In the left of the photo you can see a puddle starting to drain and dry out.

Another shot of Main Street

Golf carts are everywhere, and in the center of the street you will see another puddle.

This road leads directly to the ocean.

To the right (at the end of the street) is the main wharf and the very popular HOL_BOX sign. Our hotel is also in this direction.

To the left (at the end of the street) is the Amaite Restaurant, Hotel and Bar.

A four-way stop

Actually, we didn't see any stop signs on the island.  It's so laid back that there really isn't much traffic  to worry about.

A golf cart and motorbike are parked on the street.

Funky corner building with ribbed aluminum roofing

This was an attractive distressed-wood building with a ribbed aluminum roof. Inside was a clothing store and a restaurant.

The sign reads: "TEMOC".

Temoc is the word "comet" spelled backwards and it holds an androgynous, fiery meaning.

A closer look

The restaurant TEMOC offers tacos, Mezcal and the best live music every day.

Holbox Barber Shop

With an international patronage, this barber shop did mustaches, hair cuts and washes. I imagine they also offered some nice cut-out designs on the hair styles which are so popular now with young men.

Golf Car Rental

If you have a longer distance, a lot of beach gear, and maybe several friends or family members, the easy way around the island is to rent a golf cart.

Needless to say, these were very popular.

Tour office

This little tour office offers snorkeling on Cabo Catoche and swimming with the whale sharks.

If you would like to take a fishing trip, or a night tour of the Bioluminescence nature phenomenon, they offer these as well.

A Painted stage at the Main Plaza

Some art work on the Main Plaza.

This stage is where some live events are held.

Tropical fruit vendor

This tropical fruit vendor takes a break from the sun and wheeling his heavy cart around.

There is nothing like the taste of these sweet sun-ripened fruits cut fresh for you!

Restaurant sign

A rarity, this restaurant offered no WiFi.

On our cells we had extra data so this would not have affected us, but perhaps other cell plans are different.

At any rate, talk to each other and drink tequila isn't such bad advice!

More puddles on the streets

We have visited many islands in our world travels, and this was the first one to have the composition of clay and sand.

This clay/sand combination prevented the water from draining straight through the sand, thereby creating massive puddles which lasted for days.

People seemed to take this in stride.

Crossing the street could be a puzzle

As you can see here, these inches-deep puddles made crossing the street an interesting jigsaw puzzle.

Sure, you could walk right through them, but the clay left a milky-gray film on your shoes, feet, or clothing.

Of course some people didn't mind that milky look. After all, there was a laundry place nearby, and often times these puddles were unavoidable.

Playing chess outdoors

This chess board wasn't far from our hotel and was across the street from the main wharf.

The street lights at night

The town was lively at night.

Music was played, restaurants and bars were full and shops selling souvenirs, ice cream or beer were open.

The mornings were glorious

What could be better than to be young, beautiful and vacationing on a paradise island with friends?

I can't tell you how many international "beautiful people" we saw from so many differing countries.

Dutch, Croatian, British English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Aussie English and more were languages we heard.

I guess when you have paradise in common, nothing else matters and our differences fall away.

For more stories and photos about Holbox CLICK HERE

For more stories and photos about the Yucatan, CLICK HERE

For more stories and photos about Mexico CLICK HERE

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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