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Cozumel Island
Island Guides
Mayan Ruins
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Cozumel Trip Report Since we got so many good suggestions off this board, here's a brief trip report in return! Why Cozumel? My husband dives, I don't, and because I don't, he hardly does, either. I wanted to do something new this year. So diving it was -- something we can do together! Cozumel is relatively easily accessible from Chicago, so the decision was an easy one. Also, we had been to Playa a few years ago (just for a few days, at the end of a 2-week Mexico trip) and had really liked it. Getting there... ...was a pain. Five hours in O'Hare on the runway, supposedly because of bad weather, even though there was no rain drop in sight... Of course we missed our connection in Atlanta. Delta was very professional about everything, though, they put us up in a hotel, and we were able to fly to Coz directly instead of Cancun the next day, which worked great for us! We arrived a bit later than intended, but saved the trip from CUN to Playa, and a night at a hotel there. On the whole, things worked out fine (even though my husband's bags only got there a day later.) Accomodation We stayed at the Amaranto in town (on Calle 5 between 15th and 20th), which is run by a Frenchwoman and her Mexican husband (Eliane and Jorge). Eliane also runs Tamarindo, a B&B. Amaranto is more a villa-type of deal, no breakfast served. The location is great, really close to where things are happening and a mere 3.5 blocks from the diving pier. The bungalows are exceptionally charming -- simple, with very nice, modern bathrooms. The bungalows come complete with daily maid service, Internet access and a fridge, coffee maker and microwave. Biscoggio, the cat, likes to keep people company at times (whenever he feels like some TLC). On the whole, exceptional value for your money. Diving This is what we came here for! I got all my stuff done in Chicago, with the exception of the open water dives. Whooooooaaaaa! After dives one and two from the shore (all skills, no problemo), there was a day of rest, for Chantal was threatening to strike. Yet the tropical storm didn't quite hold up to our expectations, and diving could be resumed on Wednesday. That's when it truly started, the eye-opening experience of going underwater. It was awesome, and I truly enjoyed myself on every single one of the 11 dives that we did! We're not supposed to down there -- we breathe compressed air from aluminium tanks, wear put long plastic things on our feet and pretend to be like fish, and the technology is from Seiko.... But hey, it's truly great, quite a different experience, very beautiful, truly awe-inspriring, and pristine. To be repeated! I also enjoyed my first night dive -- we saw a big snake (freaked me out a bit), plenty of lobsters, and huge crabs, and a few octopus (octopi???) -- they're very soft, very strange to touch. We dove with Bob McPhearson's outfit, "Dive with Michelle's" -- a well run small operation, small groups, experienced dive masters and instructors. Polo was our main dive master, and he was great at getting me started properly, helping me with buoyancy, etc. The town Cute and touristy, but I didn't expect it to be any different. The season was kind of slow, so there was a lot of hustling everywhere, in front of the shops, the restaurants, the bars, everywhere, which can be quite annoying. Everybody is selling something. The party on the zocalo on Sunday night was great -- we danced from 9 to 10 P.M. -- really fun. The restaurants We ate consistently well, and prices were appropriate (Playa was much cheaper a few years ago, but I guess you pay an island premium in Coz). We ate at La Choza, El Capi Navigante, Guido's, Azul Cobalto, Casa Denis, Los Gaviotas, and Prima. We most enjoyed La Choza and Guido's, but the pizza at Azul Cobalto was excellent, too. And Casa Denis is a great place to hang out, watch people, sip a huge margarita and eat some tasty tacos or fajitas. Didn't care too much for the crazy places like Charlie's and Carlo's and some others -- they seem to be totally out of place in San Miguel. The island We took a trip around the island with a rented VW bug ($35) -- the stick shift was a little hard to handle at times... Really enjoyed the beaches on the "other" side, and the beers and tacos at "Naked Iguana." We also went to Chankanaab -- it's a beautiful park, but we found the admission fee quite hefty. If you only look for snorkelling, there are equally good places to visit, for sure, and much cheaper. The dolphins, of course, are an entirely different story. We loved to spend afternoons at Dzul-Ha, drink a few beers and go snorkelling all the time. We tried to go to Nachi Cocom around 5:45 PM one day, but were told (not too charmingly) that they were closed for the day. It looks like it's a beautiful place. Just one more note - don't know whether it makes sense or not The island caters mostly to American tourists. Nothing wrong with that. However, we don't seem to mind to overpay for certain things -- what seems cheap to you with your $70,000+ salary is expensive for locals. In Merida, an average daily salary for a laborer is 35 pesos (yeah, there are no zeros missing in that number, and it's not dollars, either). I have no idea what an average salary on the island would be. As I said ealier, it seemed much more expensive than four years ago -- even discounting the island premium. People expect tips, and they know they can make a lot of money in tips (and they don’t get paid properly by their employers). Anything wrong with that? I am not quite sure what I am really trying to say here -- but things need to be kept in perspective at times, and most of us completely forget that when we come to Mexico this is NOT the U.S. Altogether, I am not making too much sense here, I fear. What else? It was great, but I don't think we'll be back. We try to go to different places for every trip we take -- one sees more of the world doing it this way. For all of you who truly enjoy Coz, I now understand why -- it's an island paradise with some authentic culture to match. The diving was absolutely fabulous, and I hope I will be able to dive in many more places around the globe! Lodging Reviews
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