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Cozumel Island
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Cozumel Trip Report COZUMEL TRIP REPORT - December 2 - 16, 2000 by Dijo Up and at the Toronto airport at 5:30 a.m. for flight leaving at 7:30. Flight delayed an hour. Arrived an hour late at Cozumel airport. Went to the window to purchase tickets for the suburban to 10th Avenue between calle 17 and 19. Big shocker. The price has gone up. $7.25 U.S. each. What's going on here. They've changed the boundaries and now 2 blocks before Plaza Los Glorias the area is designated as the start of the South Hotel Zone. So we are travelling through three zones. Airport to North Hotel Zone, El Central and South Hotel Zone. After a visit to one hotel we are dropped at Summer Place Inn. Martha and Joey are expecting us and our room is ready. The place is just as homey and wonderful as last year. Off to Chedraui to use the ATM and get beer and groceries. What the heck the ATM won't take our card. Back to ask Joey what's happening. Now here are two people so organized they brought some $1 U.S. bills, $300 in emergency traveller's cheques just in case the ATM's aren't working. Great! Joey tells us the only thing you can do is go down to the square and try the banks there. Quite often your card will work at one machine and not at another. Off we go walking. Now things are a little tense to say the least. Notice the squatters at 10th. Ave. and calle 17 are gone. We try Bital and Whoopee 1500 pesos. No problem. $2.20 Cdn./transation. Back for groceries and a few beers by the pool. It's a little cool 72 deg. F. We think it's wonderful. Have a swim, lounge around and decide to walk back downtown. Off we go checking all the old spots from previous years and thoroughly enjoying ourselves now that we have the money problem solved. Fajitas at Ernestos. Good meal and nice to people watch.
Strolled around town and started our t-shirt shopping. Sunday. Another windy day. Take the bikes that Summer Place Inn provides free of charge and take off. Home and partake of the breakfast foods provided by Summer Place. Fresh fruit each day, home made bread, bacon, eggs, cereal, fresh ground coffee, etc. We love this as we don't eat breakfast first thing in the morning so we can do our own thing; a 2 hour walk or bike and then breakfast. Suits us to a "t". Check out the neighbourhood and BBQ. Downtown for the Sunday night scene, purchase our first t-shirts and off home. Monday. Really windy. Decide after brunch to take our backpacks and bike south. Go to Caleta Reef and the water is very rough. Lots of people taking their shore dives but difficult getting in and out of the water! Bike past the El President and come back. Stop and Hogtown Cafe for a beer. Their rate is 10 pesos per U.S. $ so use your US money here. Dinner at El Moro. When we walk in we meet up with a couple we met first four years ago at Plaza Los Glorias. Ate dinner together, got that wonderful Xtabentun. Perfect way to end a nice fish dinner. Took Linda and Garret back to Summer Place and sat around the pool and caught up. Walked them down to see the Christmas lights on 10th Avenue between Calle 13 and 15. It's a wonderful neighbourhood effort. On Sundays Mr. and Mrs. Claus hand out suckers to all the little kids. Each year the display gets bigger and better. Tuesday. Still windy. Walk for hours. More t-shirts. Hey this is neat, if this weather keeps up won't need to shop for gifts at the last minute. Visit the Diver's Memorial and still find things on this sculpture I didn't notice the last time we were here. Can't believe it Cinco Sol is open. Go in a browse around and buy myself a pair of silver hoop earrings. Cruise ships disembarking early this a.m. Dinner at Summer Place. The bananas in the back garden, (have pictures) are ripe and Joey cuts them down and Henny hangs them in the kitchen. They taste wonderful. Wednesday. Banana milkshakes for breakfast. Wonderful. Finally not so windy. Pack up snorkel gear and head out to Dzul Ha on the bikes. What a beautiful day. Start off snorkelling north and plan to drift back. Wow am I this out of shape. Find it really hard going. Lots of great fish and corals, but the current is really strong. Order lunch, have a beer and rest and then back at it. Last longer this time. A group of about 12 people arrive complete with rented snorkel equipment, vests, etc. Take over several tables. A young man that seemed to be organizing things took them out and over the reef. They return, gather up their stuff and prepare to leave. As they are leaving one young lady said, "Oh well, they must be used to it, no one said anything to us." We watched them go back to rental jeeps and drive off. Asked the waiter about it and he said people do that often. They took up several tables, did not buy a drink or anything to eat. Just used the facilities and brought gear they had rented elsewhere. We depart, bike home and have a rest. Off to El Turix for dinner.
We take pictures with us that we took last year, of the owner and a lady that
works for her and they are thrilled. Lot's of laughs and they are happy to
see us back. Wonderful food again and very reasonably priced. Nice
Yucatan beer and great coconut pie. Point of interest: the
restaurant is very clean and so is the washroom. (If you are reading this
on Travelnotes see Restaurant Review.) Thursday. Back to Dzul Ha. Now this is the snorkelling I remember. Easy going and lots of people coming and going. Norwegian Cruise Lines bring in snorkellers they snorkel, bought drinks and eats and really seemed to enjoy themselves. Apparently they come twice a day when they are in. At 8 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. They have an arrangement with Dzul Ha. Only strange thing two couples that sat beside us undressed at the table, put on their suits and when they returned undressed. Oh well. Had a good lunch and off home. Off to Casa Denis and I had their great Lime Soup; Dick Mexican platter. Go Mini golf and Chatters Meeting. Arrive early to get a round of golf in. It was wonderful. You won't believe it until you see it. Also there is a one stroke penalty for going in the water. (Darn) By the time we finish playing Tat2chas is there, and of course Sally, Harry, and then Mike Schreiber and Michael and Carl with a group. Sit down and have a drink. The dive stories start and also lots of good info. Chas and Mike took pictures of us that appeared on the Travelnotes board. It was really great to meet people to trade info with! Friday. Pack up and bike up to Playa Azul Beach Club. Lovely club with great food. Spotless change/wash rooms. The snorkelling was nothing to write home about. In fact the water was full of jellyfish. We were warned by a young man on the beach and found several ourselves. As well a young girl stopped us on her way back in and said watch out. We sure did and couldn't believe the size of some of them. They were huge and floating about a foot under the water. We got out of there. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves playing volleyball. That explained why there weren't many people in the water. Leave Summer Place early and make sure we are at the Manati Restaurant early (6 p.m.). After all the recommendations from the Chatter's Meeting this is a must place to eat. Leo is very personable and accommodating. Had chinese vegetable salad as an appetizer. This turned out to be stir fried veggies that were out of this world in a walnut oil. Dick had the french onion soup and we both had Leo's chateaubriand. Great food. A little on the pricey side, but without a doubt one of the best meals we had on the island. Saturday. Finally connect with Pearl. She has called and left messages, I've called back and no answer. She is going to pick us up tomorrow about 10:30 a.m. and we are going to the "other side." Now Pearl and I have chatted , we've emailed back and forth, but we've never met. This is great. Off again biking with back packs. On returning to Summer Place we have a full house. Wonderful. Lou and Jay; Sherry, John and Jeff from Lake Tahoe. Three divers and two snorkellers. Sunday. Walk and get home early to pack up our gear as Pearl is coming. Give her a quick tour of Summer Place and head off to see the home she is building. It is something to see. Wonderful planning and something that I could really live in. Her architect did a magnificent job of using all the space and it had wonderful extras in it. A working well in case of water shortage was just one of the extras. You'd have to see it to appreciate it. We leave to head to the other side and get lost in her neighbourhood as someone has changed all the one-way arrows around. It really was a laugh. Stop at several beach spots looking for tat2chas' jacuzzi. Success! Just had to take several pictures so he would know we had invaded it. Stopped in at Coconuts for lunch and a beer. What a place. There had been a Full Moon party the night before and the Coconut Lady was sure disheveled. You can see her picture at our Cozumel picture site at the end of the trip report. There were hundreds and I mean hundreds of flies. It was really too bad as it is a beautiful spot and the view is to die for. Off again and look for more jacuzzis. Stop at Bob Marleys for a beer and the flies are not quite as bad here. Get on the new part of the highway that is finished. Are we supposed to be on here or not. Can't really tell. A little further there are some spindly tree branches across the road, so we assume you get back on the old highway. Putz along and take in the sights. It's wonderful with someone to do the driving and point out other places. Back to Summer Place and sit by the pool for beers and snacks. All the guests get introduced and just get settled down and Ron and Debbie that we met last year drop in to tell us where they are staying and make a date for dinner on Tuesday at Azul Cobalto. Pearl has to leave. We can't believe our luck in meeting her. It was a great day and we make plans for an outing Friday evening at her friend's restaurant. Downtown for Sunday night at the Plaza. This is more like it. The stage is up and there are people all over the place. Stop in at Plaza Leza which isn't the best spot, as you are looking at the back of the stage, but we can see the show and the children getting ready to go on. Ballet dancers, singers, it's really great. Monday. It is really hot by noon. We always base our biking times on the times the cruise people are off the boats and have dispersed around the island before setting out. Today it is late so opt for a cab. Pick one up on Calle 15 and the guy is nuts! Drives like a maniac misses getting off the new highway back on the old one to get to Dzul Ha. Finally he gives in and turns around. Now we are even driving faster. Usually I'm not bothered by cab drivers, but this one is something else. The flies are horrendous at Dzul Ha. Apparently this happens every once in awhile. Had to walk around and eat because they wouldn't leave us alone. Snorkelling was still great and saw a man tease an eel out of its hiding spot with dead fish. Dinner this evening at Plaza Leza. Now this is the worst meal I have ever had in Cozumel. Probably my own fault for ordering fish in a "light" garlic sauce. We had had breakfast here earlier in the week and it was great. Dick's meal was OK but nothing to rave about. Breakfast here any time, but dinner I don't think so. Tuesday. Decide to load the back packs and walk to Papa Hog's dock and snorkel off the beach there. Mike has put out yellow markers so the boats must come straight in to the pier and not cut across the reef area. A little difficult getting in and out of the water here. Watch several divers do their shore dives from here and they had trouble getting in and out too. The reef life is starting to come back and it was relaxing to sit there on the beach and watch all the activity. Take off early in the evening to meet Debbie and Ron. Check out the liquor store across from Cobalto and a couple of other places. Six fifteen arrives and no Debbie and Ron so we start walking down 10th Avenue as they are staying at the Jordan Apartments and we are sure this is the way they will walk. Wrong! We're getting hungry to stop in at Ninos Pizza. Love their pizza but this is the first time eating in. America's Funniest Videos (I think) is on the TV in Spanish and it is hilarious. Can't understand a word but the owner, delivery man, ourselves and another couple are laughing it up. The pizza was wonderful, the beer cold and the red wine great. Take the leftovers and go to Dimi Dive Shop to arrange to go snorkelling the next day. Margarita tells us the boats are all full the next day; is Thursday OK. Fine with us. Debbie and Ron had been in to book Debbie for Thursday and were on their way to meet us and were late. Now that explains why we didn't run into them. Should have stayed put. Don't have their phone number, what a mess! Wednesday. Walk up to check out Summer Place II and see how the new house is coming. It's coming right along. Back downtown to Cinco Sol and the cruise ships are in. I had cut a 10% coupon out of the Blue Cozumel Tourist book and took it with me. What a great place to shop. No haggling. Bought two more pair of earrings, beautiful silver ring and a nice child's embroidered shirt as gifts. Give the cashier the coupon and he informs me that there is a 25% discount off today on all the silver so he will ring that up separately and then give me the 10% on the shirt. Now comes the question. What ship are you on? We're not, why? Oh we just have to ring it in on the computer so we know what we sell to which cruise line. Interesting! I have to sign the discount coupon and give my home address. No problem. Finally I've had it. I can't walk, bike, or snorkel one more inch. This is a day to just sit and sit we did. Debbie called and apologized for missing us. Made arrangements to meet at the dive shop next day. Bummed around and ate in. John had an underwater camera and hooked it up to the big TV and we watched their films. It was great. Thursday. Off to Dimi Dive and on the boat to snorkel. It's a beautiful day and the water calm. Stop at PLG and pick a couple that are diving. Roberto is not the best snorkel leader I've gone with but we do see some great sights. A beautiful ray and some huge fish. The boat captain took us straight out about a mile because of the flies. They are still around even out on the water. Lunch on the boat was good. Second stop was at Chakanaab Shallows and this is the nicest place I have ever snorkelled. It's like cruising through a botanical garden. Found a strange sea urchin (we think) it was beige and dark brown and just sitting on the bottom. Could have stayed here a lot longer but we were only allowed 50 minutes as we had to be back on the boat when the divers sent up the sausage to be picked up. When we got back on the boat the captain asked us all if anyone has lost anything. He had the bottom set of someone's false teeth. So if you lost yours, one of the boat captains at Dimi Dive has them! Debbie invited us for dinner that evening at their place (Jordan Apartments). Great! Make arrangements and get dropped off at PLG pier. Stop at Chedraui for beer, two kinds of bread and watermelon to take to Odette's. Rest up, chat with divers and we're off. Think we know where we are going and are off by a block. Around and back again and 15 minutes late. How tacky! Little Miguel from Dimi is there and we are happy to see him. Had a great time snorkelling with him last year. Get a tour of the grounds of Jordan Apartments and they are fantastic. Two pools and great table area. This is really a nice place. The apartment is really nice too. I'm sure they will be very comfortable there for a couple of months. (I just wish!) Debbie has cooked us a super dinner and I get the recipe. Chipolte Chicken and a corn vegetable medley. Used the vegetable medley for Christmas Dinner and got raves. Caught up on all the last year and their plans. Leisurely walk home and check out lights on the way. Friday. Darn our last full day! Pack a few things and decide to take one last long walk around. Take some last pictures to share. In all our walks along the Raphael Melgar kept seeing iguanas. Took the camera and they just took off on us. Couldn't catch one at all. Got some of the wall along the way. Picture of the new Summer Place II still under construction. Get snacks and beer out and are chatting with John, Sherry and Jeff when Pearl arrives. They trade dive stories and we leave and Pearl tries to find us a deal on cigars. Talk about hopeless, I'd forgotten our son-in-law had quit smoking. Duh? Anyway off to her friend Martin's restaurant. LaYucatequita. On Martins' recommendation we have margaritas and share a "Saltie Dog". We (all three) share a soup that is his specialty. You put fresh chopped radishes, peppers, etc. on the top. It was wonderful. We all had different dinners to compare and they were all outstanding. Martin left to take his a daughter to a sleep over and then returned and stayed until we realized the chef had left and we were the only ones in the place. We took a side trip to see some wonderful lights in a different part of town. Spectacular! Back home to sit around the pool in the nice warm air and our last night. What a great friend Pearl turned out to be; can hardly wait until next year to see her home finished. Saturday. Up and pack up everything. Have one more suitcase going home. Asked Henny to call us a cab for the airport. Martha is going to the beach so she offered to drop us off. This is great! Hugs all around and make sure we're booked in for next year. Summer Place is just like home to us Plane is an hour late again! We're getting used to this. The pilot makes up most of this time on the way home. Stay over in Toronto and head for home the next a.m. Another wonderful two weeks in Cozumel. More new friends and more and more reasons to go back again! Dijo Lodging Reviews
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