Isla Mujeres is a small island off the Yucatan coast in Mexico near Cancun. Unlike Cancun, it retains a peaceful and relatively simple Mexican lifestyle that has drawn us there many times. As it is only 5 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, we have been able to explore it thoroughly.

There is a park at the southern tip of the Island (Punta Sur) with small islands just offshore. At high tide, the steps to the water's edge are slick and the railing is dangerously loose or missing, but the view of the waves boiling over the small islands and potholes right in front of you is marvelous. The sun rises from a southerly position in winter, so one morning we set out in the dark to photograph the sunrise over these islands. A lone night watchman guarded the park, but he could see we only wanted to take pictures and for a small tip let us in.

As planned, the tide was high and the walk down in the dark to water's edge was treacherous. Since I mainly do street shooting on the island, my only camera was the Ricoh GR II, but it can also serve well for landscape duty. We took numerous pre-dawn shots, trying to determine the optimum position to capture the sunrise. A fisherman in a Panga appeared and circled this tiny island in the dim light, ignoring the dangerous surf. Clouds obscured the sun's initial appearance, but the sun soon broke through and I was able to capture this image. Since Isla Mujeres is the easternmost point in Mexico, this was truly Mexico's first light that day.