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Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by Corey and Michelle on 04/19/01

trip report 4/8-4/11

The Reef Club (Club Isla Cozumel)

-click for more info-

Trip report 2001.  Through the eyes of two 31 year old first timers, married 11 years.

Wow, we're still reeling from what seemed like a wirl-wind trip south of the border to the island of Cozumel.

Next year will be for at least one week.

We booked our trip through Apple Vacations.  
4 days 3 nights all inclusive at the Reef Club all for $1,600 (for two)including air.

O'Hare to Cancun to Coz.  (reverse on the way back)
Our flight scheduled for 5am departure left at 5:30am (no complaint) We flew Transmeridian on the way down. Arrived in Cancun 8:30ish, we were met by an Apple Representative in their self proclaimed "sexy flowered uniform shirts". We were first timers to Coz or Mexico for that matter and I can't say enough about their quality of customer service and attention to detail.  They are very well organized and made all our transitions seamless.  We left Cancun around 10 for the 25 minute prop flight to Cozumel.  Can the water really be that shade of blue, and that shade, and that shade.....I am overwhelmed with its indescribable beauty. A fruit filled cookie hit the spot as my eyes were glued to the view outside my window. My favorite thing about Aerocaribe is that they leave the cockpit door open and on our final approach to the runway I was able to see the runway and get a feel for the pilots capabilities in handling a cross-wind landing.  The nose bobbed up and down, side to side and finally straightened out during our flare just over the runway.....what a rush!

Again Apple rep. escorted us to the taxi lane and consolidated us with two other couples into a taxi (surburban) and we were headed south at 50+mph on the newer road.  weeeeeee......
We dropped off the other two couples first at hotels that had the rooms on one side of the road and their ocean access on the other.  We weren't too impressed.

Reef Club Arrival.  11:05 am Sunday
Gave our name at the desk, got our AI wristbands, and were told our room would be ready at three.  
Jorge our bellman was the first Reef Club employee to greet us.  What a first impression! He ook our bags and gave us his undivided attention to our newbie questions all which he answered with a smile.
****thanks to this board we packed our suits on our carry-on.  We changed, locked our suitcase etc. in a holding room provided for that purpose, got our towels from the towel counter and hit the adult pool and then the beach.  We found the snack bar and had a couple of cheeseburgers. mmmmm

They do some creative cooking with hot dogs...hot dog stir fry, hot dog pizza etc.  We laughed while waiting for our burgers and fries.

3 pm came and we got our room.  We showered and got ready for dinner around 5.  We went to the buffet the first night and although informal we were treated very well.  When we walked up the steps we were handed two glasses one with green liquid one with red and were instructed to "cuchi-cuchi-cuchi" while swinging our hips and drink.   (weak tequilla)  It was silly, but it put a smile on our faces.  The food was good and by the end of our trip we each found certain things which we liked and we pretty much stuck to them.  After getting up at 1 am for the drive to O'Hare we had had enough and went to bed early at 9 after 20 hours of being "on the go".  Yes, I know we missed the festival downtown...we'll do that next trip.

Monday 8am  awoke suprisingly refreshed.  Beds firmer than we're used to but not bad.  Room was immaculate.
*****note water in the rooms is not drinkable. Again thanks to this site, we brought a couple of bottles that we kept filled with purified water available at any of the bars on the property.  Used it for brushing teeth to avoid the demon Monte Z.  Also took two pepto chewable tablets in the am and two before bed as a preventative measure.
We had a "garden view" no big deal to us as we found our scenic views elsewhere on the property and the island.
*****We went to the "Information Station" near the pool and after 3 minutes of some admitedly good info we realized the catch **time share**  Their shirts say Reef Regency rather than Reef Club.  We noticed that at the 2 min 50 second mark.  We politely declined the half price car rental offer from 60 to 30 dollars just for sitting through an "informational breakfast".  We've heard the horror stories and didn't want to waste any minute of our already short visit.  We checked with Apple regarding vehicle rentals and they stated that Apple does not recommend scooter rental as 80% of accidents are scooter related .  We rented from a desk next to the Reef Club front desk and were told $44 USD for 24 hours for a VW bug.  (When we turned it in the next day our bill was only $40 total, go figure?)
We got car #14  an older RED VW roll top convert.  COOOOOLLLL! 4 speed manual, speedometer, temp gauge, fuel gauge and one window handle that's kept in the glove box until needed.  We grabbed our stuff and headed South.
After what seemed like forever (maybe 8 miles) we spotted the "largest tree" on the left side of the road.  A couple more miles and we were at the South end of the island.  The Ocean has a new identity on the South and East side.  Beautiful, powerful, thundering 5 to 8 foot breakers crashing into shore.  We stopped to enjoy the mist in the mid-day heat.  Simply relaxing. Look for the blow holes that spout 15 to 20 feet and then have a tremendous sucking sound as the waves roll in and out. We rounded the bend and headed North along the East side past several restaurants and beaches including Coconuts.  We couldn't decide where to stop and eat so we ended up at Mezcalitos.  Had a couple of the best margaritas on the island served in clay cups salt on the rim.  Sat in the anarondacks sp? and enjoyed the fact that we were two of the 6 people in the world at that point of paridise for an hour.  Great food, great service. Look for sex on the beach and the naked beach (you'll see when you get there) T-shirts on the ceiling of the vaulted thatched roof over the bar.
Headed back towards town and were amazed at how people live.  It was humbling, we truly have it better than anyone or anywhere else in the world yet we complain about our "problems".  O.K. off my soap box.

Look for the closed store where the sign still hangs "blankets, almost free" I quipped to my wife, "maybe that's why they're out of business".
Soon after sits a man in front of his shop holding a hand painted sign just large enough to read from the road, he waves and the sign reads "PEE PEE station"  I can't stop smiling.

All cars were stopped by the local police at an orange cone check point "Please wear your seat belt, obey the speed limit and enjoy your stay " all while smiling.  Who wouldn't comply.   We were on our way in less than 20 seconds.  I am continually amazed.

We got to town and decided to fill up with gas. Full service $15 in gas $2 for a tip a smile and wonderful courteous service from a young man you know appreciated it.
***bring U.S. singles and tip liberally when it's deserved I can't explain how much this is appreciated by those that make your vacation comfortable.
***side note.  In the 4 days on the island I never heard another human being raise their voice to another. The only "salute" was the polite toot-toot of car and scooter horns near intersections.  We'd never find 30 minutes of that in any public place mall or expressway in the states.  
Who has it better, us with our "prosperity" or the smiling citizens of the island who don't know how rich (in life) they really are

We stopped at Dzul Ha for a couple hours of snorkling $7 USD  a piece for rental equipment and some spectacular sights below the surface.
Dried off and headed back to town.

We parked a few blocks east of the water just South of where I later found my night cap of a cherry sno-cone just outside the Catholic church mentioned on this board.(what a neat suprise)  We shopped and looked around and generally had a pleasant relaxing evening.  Sunset came over the cruise ship pier as we sat on the concrete benches over looking the water.  We headed back to the Reef Club slowing down for the toppes signs.  We made our evening reservation for the on-site Italian restaurant.  Again excellent service and food.  Get different desserts so you can split and share them.  After the dinner we were re-energized and decided to take a quick night drive around the island again as we had to turn the car in the next morning.  Heading South again this time the air was cooler (windows up, top down) it was perfect.  As we rounded the bend heading East along the South side of the island I saw something crawling across the roadway out of the corner of my eye.  We continued on and stopped for a minute when it was clear what was on the road.....tarantulas.  Neato.

*****side note check your head lights, wipers and washer fluid for working condition before accepting your car, we did and were fine, we saw others with one eye trying to navigate the dark,  East side.  

The restaurants are closed on the East side and the only light we saw was from a candle burning at what looked like a shrine (we didn't stop).  There were 4 cars we saw on the East side that night in addition to a security truck.  Back around through town and the one cruise ship we saw earlier was lit up like a little (big) city.

Back to the Reef Club for some snacks and then bed.

Tues. we woke up returned our keys for the car and headed to Sand Dollar Sports for our snorkel trip we booked through Apple the day before.  $39 USD a piece for a 3 hour tour.  A 3 hour tour....hmmm where have I heard that before :).  We chose it over a 6 hour $79 tour with lunch since we already had the all inclusive and it was our first open water snorkeling adventure.  We left right on schedule with 8 people on board and headed South to pick up 10 more from another resort just South. Glass bottom boat with canopy to keep the hot sun out.  Bring sunscreen! The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew........
O.K. the swells were large, the sky blue, and the crew was hospitable serving refreshments.  We packed a couple cookies and granola bars and were glad we did.  Our first drop off was over the Columbia reef, we jumped in and instantly 6 of our members raised their arms up to be picked up by the boat.  It was rough and the current strong.  We attempted it for about 5 minutes and all got back on the boat.  We then headed in towards shore in about 12 feet of calmer water we jumped in and found what they promised, hundreds of star fish.  Within 5 minutes we found a small coral outcropping with a baby nurse shark 4' long resting at the bottom.  Another outcroping 20 yards away held a moray eel and hundreds of colorful fish.   After 25 minutes we got back in the boat and headed back to the Columbia reef.  The swells had calmed and we jumped back in.  Much better we were there over 1/2 an hour following the reef which was 25 meters below us.  We followed a scuba tour below us for about 15 minutes.  Awesome doesn't come close to describing our excursion.  We're both very comfortable snorkling, diving under surfacing and clearing our masks.  We definitely want to get certified and be ready to go down below the surface next year.  Does anyone have a suggestion for a book to read for preliminary info on getting certified?
 Back in the boat we headed back to the pier.  Dropped off our group from the other resort and headed North.  The captain spotted something in the water ahead we circled and our sailor reached in and found a souviner...a lost ball cap.  He wore it proudly with his silver toothed grin.  Our guide thanked us and apologized for the rough water but said they did their best and hoped we would use them again.   We were very satisfied with our trip and felt we received more than our moneys worth.  Shook their hand with a tip and then back to the resort.
  I spent the afternoon on the sunfish sailboat while my wife enjoyed the beach with a book and the bottom of her chair in the surf.  We went for one last snorkel at the Reef Club beach.  The southern part of the beach within the roped off area 20 yards and in held the most hiding places for fish as it is less traveled than the center and northern portion of the swimming area.  (don't tell anyone though)

We shared a hammock and watched the catermerans head back north as the sun set.  As the sun slowly sank into the horizion, we realized our short but sweet trip was coming to an end.  Several guests gathered on the beach applauded as the last glimmer of the sun disappeared over the mainland to the west.

We cleaned up and went to the steak house restaurnat (actually the out door snack bar) transformed at night.  I had the steak kabobs, and my wife had the teryaki steak.  Again we split and shared them for some variety.  

***The drinks you order at the nicer sit down dinners and even at the buffet seem to be stronger than the ones the bartenders give you directly*****

We watched a local young boy and his father create pictures with spray paint, newspaper and a flame which they sold 1 for 13 or 2 for 25.  Not our taste, but the talent and uniqueness of their craft kept us watching for about a half hour.  

We skipped the on site evening shows favoring some relaxing lounging and an early turn in to sleep.  We checked out at the front desk before turning in to bed.  

We returned our key and were abord our taxi headed North to the airport. 15 minutes in a Nissan station wagon, clean, fresh smelling with a spanish CD playing softly over the speakers.  We checked in and waited for our plane from Aerocaribe.  On time, we flew in a smaller turbo-prop to Cancun (cockpit door remained open)  neato!  We took off heading East and circled back to the Northwest through sporatic low clouds.  The sun was shining from the right side of the plane as we looked out the left over Cozumel.  The shadow of our plane was evident on the clouds surrounded by a circular rainbow.  Sweet.  Back in Cancun waiting for Ryan Air to arrive.  We bought a $5 6" subway to share and a 2.50 coke and a 2.50 diet coke.  We sadly chuckled at our expensive airport breakfast realizing we were momemts away from heading home.   Ryan Air: on time green aircraft with Apple Vacations painted on the outside, good food (chicken kiev) on the flight home, inflight movie 102 dalmations.  Arrived at O'Hare 3:00-3:30 pm.   Customs was a breeze, got in the Jetta and headed home.
 We're planning our trip for a week next year to catch some of the parks we missed this trip, mini golf,Chanaknab etc. with a possible trip to the mainland to X-Hal.

So many memories in so few days.  We have definitely found the vacation destination for our annual get away.   Thanks for your patience with my rambling and spelling.  A big thanks to those who have come before me, providing a ton of basic info for two first but definitely not last-timers.

THANKS TO:

***cancunmap.com  best $8 investment we made for this trip.

***The Reef Club for an affordable, impressive, all-inclusive introduction to Cozumel.

***Sand Dollar Sports for the time of my life snorkling.  (cheap too)

***Dzul-Ha  for low key courteous bartenders and excellet snorkeling as described on this site.

***Travelnotes for this forum.

***Apple vacations for a seamless smooth enjoyable first trip to Coz. at a great price.

***My wife Michelle for booking it and sharing it with me.

***My two boys for understanding and encouraging Mom and Dad's much needed vacation away from it all.

*** God, for creating Cozumel.  A taste of heaven on earth.


Feel free to e-mail us with any questions.
Corey and Michelle

Cozumel, we will return.
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