Cozumel

What a fun little island. Like most of Mexico, Cozumel is place of contrasts. Beautiful resorts, great diving, wonderful night life, fun shopping, remote personal beaches, and cruise ships contrast the average Mexican who does not enjoy these amenities.

Actually my daughter chose this for our vacation. I told her in 9^th grade that if she carried 3.0 or better, the choice was hers. She spent the year doing homework every night after school with her grand parents. Then she would spend evenings with dad looking at travel brochures. She has GREAT study habits to this day from that.

Well she wanted to go to the Caribbean and swim with the dolphins. She knew that I went to college in Mexico and she was leaning that way.

As a natural swimmer, she picked the resort closes to the Chankanaab Park which was the Fiesta Americana Cozumel. The Fiesta was a B+ hotel. It isn’t one of those “let’s pamper the American’s” hotel, but you can cross the bridge to the beach and get great diving right there. The staff was very helpful. It was just what we were looking for.

I rented a motor scooter for our travels around the island. Our first night out we went into town and ate at the Hard Rock. I had accidently left my American Express at the restaurant. When I realized it in the morning I called AE, and they contacted the manager who was holding it. Whew! We dodged a bullet on that one.

On the second day I got pulled over for speeding on the scooter. Go figure! I didn’t know it would go that fast. The policeman let us off with a warning. We drove around the island which had its highs and lows. On the Northwest end of the island were a couple of nice quiet beaches off of sandy roads. The south side was rocky and fairly undeveloped.

That night we discovered a fun little restaurant. It was about 2 blocks south of the main square on a roof. The food was great and they had live music. I don’t remember the name unfortunately.

The open air market is ok there, but Cancun’s downtown is far superior. For shops though, take the fiery across to Playa del Carmen. That is a great town with endless shops of all variety. I would consider retiring in that town.

On the same day you cross you might want to go to Xcaret or even Chichen Itza. They both could be a one day event.

Xcaret is mosquitoes’ best friend. The tropical woods there attract them like flies to sugar, but it is worth it. There is place to swim with the dolphins, a sea turtle conservatory, an underground river that you can snorkel through (cold but fabulous), and some nice restaurants.

Let me take a moment and clarifying my view of restaurants. In traveling, it can be a real show stopper in the place you chose to eat. I have eaten in places everywhere that I have gotten SO sick. I once ate in a place in Pueblo Mexico that gave me dysentery. I spent 3 days drinking water and crawling to the bathroom.

For example; Pack snacks if you go to Chichen Itza. The restaurants out there are very questionable. (Or at least they were.)

I went to Chichen Itza on a previous trip, but let me tell you it is one of the top ruins to visit. It is expansive and well restored. The Mayans architecture was more varied and very interesting. Chichen Itza has some of the most famous buildings of Central American ruins. When you go there, you might recognize some of them.

Even with all of this fun, it didn’t come close to the waters off Cozumel. It has to be the best diving if you like viewing the fish. Bright colors and barracuda fill your view. My daughter and I had to pace ourselves because we had so much fun. I liked it better than St. Thomas’s Trunk Bay.

When I go back I would like to rent a condo on the beach in Playa del Carmen. The sands are white and I liked the town. I’m not the type to go to an “all inclusive” or on a cruise. Some people like the one fee or the safety of staying “on property”, but not me.

Cancun is a fun place and should be first choice if your single young person. But I like to explore new places, and I would always return or suggest Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. There is much more culture and varied experiences over there.