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Cozumel Trip Report
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Posted by Christine on 04/03/03

A Late Trip Report from Feb  -  Part 1

My husband Jay and I went on our 7th trip to Coz Feb 9-25. We sort of backed into this one when I went on SkyAuction one day and on a whim (4 hours left to bid!) bid on some tickets to Coz and then won the darn things! I figured someone would outbid me but not this time. I was a little worried about what I had gotten us into, but SkyAuction was very straightforward and easy to deal with. Including our airport add-on fee, tax & service fees our tickets came to $525 ea. At the time the cheapest tix from the SF Bay Area I could find was $650+. When I called Continental to confirm, the res agent congratulated me as those tickets were selling for $750!  It’s always more expensive for us than you lucky MN & TX folks. Any questions about SkyAuction e-mail me. I would do it again.

We arrived without a hitch, having run the gauntlet of new security measures at the US airports. We decided to try catching a taxi instead of going for the exorbitantly priced van service. As it turns out you just have to walk about a block. If you have wheeled luggage it's easy. Walk up the driveway past the guard shack to a corner where the roundabout is (the big bird sculpture) and stand there looking hopeful. We tried this for the first time after reading about it on the board and I was sweating it because it was Sunday - the local’s traditional day off - and there wasn't a lot of traffic. My husband was looking at me with his “great, another one of your bright ideas” look. No problem as it turned out. A taxi came along in 5 minutes and we got to our hotel (in town) for 15 pesos ($1.50). A better deal than $16-18+ dollars don’tcha think?

This year we decided to try Amigo’s B&B for our 1st week. I had heard of them before and actually peeked thru their fence on our trip last year. Then sometime last year Kathy sent a promotional e-mail to a lot of e-mail addresses on this board. She was roundly denounced for this and rightly so, really – we are all getting too much unsolicited (spam) e-mail. I know she was just trying to do a little PR but she learned a lesson. As it turns out, I was the only one who took her up on the promotional offer – a 15% discount. Thank you Lisa R. for your feedback on this place! We were really happy with our decision to stay here. It is set in the residential section on 7 Sur & 25 Ave, so we were within walking distance of most everything. They have a deep 2 lot property with the family house set in front, 3 casitas in the back and all of it surrounded by a gorgeous garden + pool. Alfonso, the dear Mayan gardener has worked magic here - we loved his gifts of fruit from the trees. Each casita has a kitchenette but except for using the frig we didn’t cook in the room. We used the communal kitchen set in the common breakfast area that includes tables, chairs, couches and TV/Stereo/VCR/DVD bookshelf. Cereal, toast, muffins, fruit coffee/tea/juice are provided in the AM. If you want eggs in the morning, buy your eggs and have at it. (I did). There is also an honor system with XX beer and sodas in the frig. $1 each and you settle up at the end of the visit. The casitas and common area are shaded by thatched palapa roofs and have chairs and a hammock out front. We really liked the location, the grounds, the relaxing vibe and the convenience of having control over our food. I know we’re not the only ones that don’t like to have to go out to a restaurant for EVERY meal! Kathy and Bob (our hosts) were around but unobtrusive. We also had 2 friendly couples to share it with: Karen & Bill from Michigan and Jacques & Charmain from the south of France. What with everyone’s own schedule of activities, half the time it felt like we had the place to ourselves. We will definitely come back here again.

As I mentioned the location allowed us to walk, which we like to do, to darn near everywhere we wanted to go. We were just a ½ block off 30th (big divided street AKA Caldwell) where there were internet cafés at 10 pesos/hr, a hardware store (nightlite bulb), farmacia (bandaids), several inexpensive taco joints (the all-yellow Las Seras is good), and also wonderful roast/BBQ chicken take-out for 60 pesos that included a whole cut up chicken, a 3” stack of tortillas, rice, salsa and these delicious pickled onions. We added our own avocado and it made an easy 2 nights of meals for us. Several blocks away is the big San Francisco Supermercado for food etc… and La Mission Taco restaurant – hand made tortillas and good grilled shrimp there too.  Our first night we spent our taxi savings (and then some) at La Choza on shrimp fajitas mmmm. Thanks Panchita for that tip.

I was also able to walk to my dive shop, Caballito del Caribe, on 10th which I did the 2nd day we were there. My husband snorkels but doesn’t dive so I’m used to going sola. I’ve been going with Caballito for 3 years now and feel I’m among friends. DM’s Adrian, Jaime, Edwin and Fernando and boat captains, Giovanni, Lorenzo and Lalo all look out for me and do a great job. Silvino and Priscilla take care of the shop - they are unflappable and ever cheerful. If you have a lot of gear, the crew will clean and store it for you from dive to dive so you don’t have to lug it to and fro. http://www.seahorsecozumel.com/    From Caballito’s it’s a short walk across the plaza and down a block to the Aldora pier where the boat picks up and drops off. The pier is also across the street from the Coffee Bean. I became a regular in there - pre and post dive  - making pit stops in their bathroom and buying their wonderful soft chocolate chip cookies…yum. They have an incredible array of pastry/baked goodies – I really had to restrain myself.  

The week flew by with me diving and Jay relaxing & sightseeing around Cozumel in the AM. Sometimes we’d just hang by the pool – we were happy to spend time in this gorgeous tropical garden. Every dive day it seemed I was going from the undersea tropical garden to the topside one...a rough life :) Took a cab to Dzul Ha one day and hung out there. We weren’t real impressed with the snorkeling – maybe it was the hoards of cruise ship people who descended on the place, snorkled in large groups and then left. Still it was nice to be on the water and after they left the place felt calm and peaceful. Another day we went to Nachi Cocom. Unfortunately this day was windy and not a great beach day. We took a walk down the beach to Mr. Sancho’s and back, swam in the pool and soaked in the “adults only” Jacuzzi (filled with kids – ha!). We finally went to eat in the pavilion. I was served the most humongous dish of guacamole and chips I’ve ever had. Yum! It ended up raining that night. That was the day Corki came to visit. We are both 49er fans and had been commiserating via e-mail about the season before we both arrived in Coz. It was nice to meet a fellow Travelnoter and get acquainted. Lucky gal - she was in Coz for 5 weeks! We missed the BBQ by a few days. Nice to meet you Corki - Go Niners! (Sorry cheeseheads - Glassman & Janie)

One thing I got on to a couple years ago was including a visit to the sastreria – the tailor. Now I always bring an item or 2 from my mending/alteration pile and have it done for a fraction of the price in the US. This year both places (catty cornered from each other) were jam packed with sequiny, spangley Carnaval items but René managed to hem both my shorts in 1 day - for $5. In the past I’ve also had pants tailored, blouses altered and skirts hemmed. Jay also had his fanny pack repaired.  Ladies – this is a deal not to pass up. I’m trying to remember where they are - 15 Ave and 3 Sur I think. I also make a point of getting a manicure and pedicure at a local place. Usually I go to Salon Mari on 30th between 11 and 13 Sur. But she was closed both times I showed up so I went to a place a couple doors down. I swear the gal running the place was a transvestite (something about that mustache and deep voice). The place was obviously popular and busy; I felt lucky getting in for a very thorough pedicure: $10 inc tip. No time for a manicure that day.
Part 2 - on to Sol Cabañas!

A Late Trip Report from Feb - Part 2

By Monday Feb 17 we had come to the end of our stay at Amigos. We reluctantly packed up and paid for our beers and said a rushed goodbye as the taxi arrived. On to Sol Cabañas – a beachfront hotel at the north end for our second week. We stayed there for the first time last year and really liked it. I booked them on Expedia to get the 1 night free deal. That helps average the $112+tax/night cost down a bit. It was odd, when we arrived the guys at the front desk seemed to be a little surprised to see us. But I had my print out from Expedia so I wasn’t worried. I had left a message on my reservation with them, via Expedia, requesting an upstairs room with a balcony. When we were finally showed to our room I was shocked to see we had an upstairs room with a balcony – facing the parking lot! EGAD. To top it off the door to the narrow bathroom opened inwards, so you had to step into the shower then close the door to reach the toilet. It was so bad it was funny. After restraining my husband, who didn’t think it was quite as funny, I went down to the desk to quietly speak with Miguel. He told me we could probably move to a different room tomorrow but today that was the best he could do. I had all week to confirm this reservation being in Cozumel and I didn’t… a mistake I won’t make again. So we grinned and bore it and laughed about our “free night”. Beware room #207!  Fortunately the next day we were able to move to a room on the other side facing their gorgeous little beach. We ended up in #201 over the lobby – I think that was your old room Bob P and Debbie Dallas. They’ve put in new lampshades! Oh and thankfully the bathroom door opens out. My husband visibly relaxed as he is a big balcony sitter and ocean gazer. Aren’t we all when we’re there?

That night we celebrated moving to our new room and went to Prima for the first time. Everybody on this board raves about it so we decided if we didn’t have to stand in line we would try it. We were seated immediately and proceeded to have the most perfect meal: hot garlic bread, green salad, good wine, calamari appetizer and a shared plate of seafood pasta with lobster. The food and service were excellant. Since we didn’t have a frig anymore we shared our food to avoid leftovers and it worked out perfect and lowered the bill substantially. We’re not big on expensive tourist restaurants but this one was worth it.

We passed the days at Sol Cabañas like beach bums – we were either on the beach under a palm tree, in the water or on the balcony looking at the beach and the water. We were happy to eat at Las Gaviotas (the ocean front restaurant at Sol Cabañas) especially for breakfast. I love feeding the fish, birds and little crabs. I continued to dive with Caballito. So far I had gone to Cedral Wall, Punta Tunich, Palancar Caves, Cedral Shallow, San Francisco, Las Palmas and Palancar Gardens, sometimes 2x at a location. Repeating a location never bugs me because I am awed and amazed wherever I go.    

I was fortunate to go on an eagle ray dive one day. The site is at the north end. It was nice to get a boat pick up at the Playa Azul pier next door. We didn't go very much farther north and did our surface interval back at Playa Azul. VERY strong current - we were flying! At around 100', FIVE Eagle Rays came into view. Kinda looked like a family group to me. They glided by slowly and fairly close. It was really fantastic and other-worldly. Saw a big turtle too. A couple on the dive with me had done this dive previously and described a scene of groups of rays "dancing" around them….what an experience that must have been!  The 2nd dive was called Barracuda and also at the north end. We seemed to come up around the northern tip of the island.

On my last dive, the day before we left, we went to Santa Rosa Wall, a nostalgic favorite of mine. Today there were only 3 of us and the dive master. I like small groups! Coming off the wall we were treated to the sight of a momma nurse shark and her baby, and an absolutely GIANT grandfather lobster walking around in the daytime. On the 2nd dive at Yucab, I started getting wistful – it’s my last dive for probably a year….just 5 more minutes, please? It’s definitely an addiction because I never get enough. What really sticks in my mind are the schools of grunts surrounded by the coral – such a beautiful sight! When people ask me what I like to do I always tell them: Look at fish!

The last 2 nights of eating out couldn’t have been more different.  Foolishly trying to repeat a perfect experience, we went back to Prima. What a difference. It was packed with several large parties and so we waited and waited, then finally said OK when they said there was a table at the edge of the smoking section (we’re non-smokers). We were overlooking the street but unfortunately we sat next to some cigar smokers (gag). We ordered and then waited and waited for our food. Our bread came cold with cold garlic butter smeared on it – we sent it back to be warmed. There was no lobster for the Seafood Pasta. Then it arrived cold – we sent it back to be warmed. I mistakenly ordered a blue cheese salad that was almost all glopped blue cheese and little salad. Were we in the same place? They were very busy is what it was, compared to the other night, and the strain showed. Oh well, now we know it’s all in the timing. Our last night we went to Manati and had a delightful dinner. We almost had the place to ourselves…keep spreading the word, I think they could use more business. They have wonderful fresh vegetable salads that are almost meals in themselves (with the great bread and herb butter). I had the Grouper in Ginger/Lime sauce mmmmm and Jay had the Steak with Black Pepper Sauce. It’s too heavy on the pepper for me, but he liked it. Everything there feels like a work of art: the ambiance, the table, the presentation, the dishes, the food, even the bathroom. Patricia is still there and still full of smiles and good energy.

We love Coz and will keep going back. Friends of ours look at us now and say “You’re going there AGAIN?” but they don’t know. I think part of it is feeling familiar with the place, knowing where things are and what direction to go as well as making new friends and greeting familiar faces over the years. Yes, it’s changing and getting overrun and tarted up on the waterfront, but it we still love it. I still dig coming on this board and reading everybody else’s experiences, so I hoped you’ve enjoyed ours. Thanks all for the tips and keep those trip reports coming!

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