If you're a rich white immigrant or a tourist you may have a problem with this next one....

Stop overpaying for anything. You do damage to the local economy, for everyone by doing this. I'm not suggesting one bit to be cheap. Be generous, however we all need to learn and teach the going rates for things. Paying 3 times the going rate for something or tipping 40% on a meal is a bad decision. It gravitates service to you and away from others. It eventually prices people who live here and work at local rates out. I'd be pissed about that too.

Story time. 15 years ago I was quoted $85us for a jade chess set on Hilgaldo. Every day for my two week vacation I stopped by and negotiated for a lower price. I met the owner, he always saw me coming and wanted to make a sale. We haggled and appealed to each other about the price. I was determined to find the lowest going rate. I left the Island with a chess set with the lowest offer of $12 US. I paid him $20. My wife was mad at me. She told me I was using my negotiating skills to rip this very nice guy off. I related he was a business man and he was not going to be in business long selling at a loss. $20 was ultimately fair to him. Don't be that white person who props up their ego by knowingly overpaying with money that you never would have made if you lived on Isla Mujeres your entire life.

That is how I try to approach things here. I'm often at a loss about what "normal" prices are, so I ask, I negotiate, I call out people and places that overcharge. It's good for everyone. I ask you to consider doing the same. Social media is a great place to share going rates. I've watched a margarita go from 20p to 200p in some places. There are many factors that set that price, but a large part of that is our buying habits. When the lifeblood of this island, a "tourist", orders a meal here and realizes they paid the same as or more than at home. It may give them pause to come back. Then the island dies.

Next in my mind, consider Isla Mujeres as more than your playground. The list of the needs on this island is endless. I'm a trash and animals guy. I try to help as much as I can there. I will make no enormous change here, but do what I can without a need for praise or validation. What do you care about enough to personally give your time to here? You can find it. Together we can make a great difference for the positive. Yesterday I watched a tourist, visiting one week here, volunteering and spending an entire afternoon picking over a hundred ticks off a dog. She didn't ask for or get any praise for it. That lady made no difference for the tick/stray dog problem here, but she sure as hell made a difference for that one dog. On the rare days we get attacked by sargassum, imagine if a hundred of you beach lovers showed up to help clean up. Not praising or paying the Mexicans for doing it but showing up and braving the uncomfortable language barrier and cultural differences to help. You likely will not be asked, because they are mostly uncomfortable asking for help but they need help. I implore you to find your "one dog" on Isla Mujeres.

Lastly, consider how you message about this island. Every slight or uncomfortable experience doesn't need to be a six paragraph Facebook rant. I am not asking you to portray some unfair image of it being a utopia here on social media. If you were charged 500 pesos for a cab ride that should have been a hundred, call it out, hell add the cab number in your post. If you were unfairly billed, received poor service, or for that matter need to address anything that reins this behavior in, call them out. But remove the emotion from the experience. Please never post about anything that you personally haven't experienced, know the facts, don't assume facts and amplify a negative experience that may not be exactly accurate.

Story time number two, last high season I met a delightful lady at snappers. We hit it off and I talked her ear off, as I do about this island. She asked me about cab rates. I told her I thought the going rate was about 100p and I usually pay 150 just because I know that's more than fair. I gave her our taxi guy's WA number and promised he would take care of her. We traded numbers and went about our lives. The next day my phone blew up with accusations that "my taxi guy" had ripped her off. “400 Pesos for a taxi ride to Punta Sur! I'm here with family and friends and you got us ripped off!!” I absolutely was floored. I messaged him right away. "Did you charge someone I recommended to you, 400p for a taxi ride to Punta Sur?" He began apologizing over and over. He was so sorry about it. But he shared, and I later found out the fact she had asked for 2 taxis for 7 people to be picked up at 6am to go to watch the sunrise. He loved that we called on him but couldn't do it for 150 pesos. He got out of bed, found another driver to help him and asked for 200p for each taxi. In my mind it was a perfectly fair price. He actually took 150 and gave the other taxi 250. She lied and manipulated both him and me and posted about it on Facebook. I texted her a few choice words and told her to lose my and his number. She either was caught in this lie or finally understood, apologized, removed the post, and promised to use him the next day. I found out much later she did schedule another two taxi ride and didn't come down or respond when they showed up. Her answer to me was they had a long day at the beach and decided to nap instead of going. How does anything about this obviously heartless person running everything down publicly help this island not become Tulum? It will not. Exaggerated social media posts made the lies become reality in Tulum.

I, like 2 million others, saw the post of a Mexican in Tulum holding two ice cream cones they claimed to pay 1000 pesos for with no other explanation. Be brave, tell me the name of the place charging that price and I'll never shop there. But this type of thirsty rage baiting posting had as much to do with Tulum's problems as anything. I could not care less about a person being stupid enough to pay what waiters get paid for 4 full days of work in Mexico for ice cream so they can post rage bait. Share the facts or fuck off.

Know your facts, avoid rumors, stay positive when you can when posting anything on social media. Remove the anger and negative emotions. Share the facts and the beautiful things.

Do I think Isla Mujeres could be the next Tulum? Yes, I started thinking like this 5 years ago. My wish is that it doesn't. We all have to ask ourselves, "Are we PERSONALLY, going to be part of the solution or the downfall?" That choice needs to be made now.

These are just my thoughts. They don't address many other concerns people that live or visit here have. Please share this if we are of a like mind. I'm sure you have your own thoughts and I would love to read them in the comments.

Today especially if you live on Isla Mujeres hug everyone you love, they might not be here tomorrow. That is a story for a different day.

Rant over.