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Cozumel Island
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Cozumel Trip Report Trip Report-Day 1 and 2 
 -click for more info - Day 1 Trip Report-Day 3 and 4 Day 3We wake up and see the sun..yeah!! The weather we know is finally back. Dad heads off for his morning dives, and we decide to head to the pool. We pretty much camped out and read books all morning, feeling wonderfully lazy. And then...we look across to PDC, and we see the cloud and rain coming our way. Shoot! We get our stuff together just as it starts to rain. Drop off our pool stuff and get some money. We decide to find lunch to kill time while it rains. We start walking towards the Plaza-by the time were by the Lobster Cove it is completely downpouring! It looks like Lobster Cove for lunch today. I have never been to this place and it is very pleasant. We have fajita's and beer, both were pretty good. I would eat here again. The rain finally goes away and leaves a wonderful blue sky again. Connect up with Dad and then head to town to find me a new mask. Get all of our diving business taken care of, and Dad heads off with Elvis. Our diveguide and my dad become buddies for the week. Teri and I head to the east side again. Were cruising along enjoying the sites, such pretty water. It always looks like a dream come true-know what I mean? We pass one group of male nudies on the beach. Decide to pass on stopping but made sure to wave hello! We find a spot (could not tell where?) and pull over. Each of us had brought a trusty kickboard. We spent a good amount of time "bodysurfing" with our kickboards. It was a blast! My sister and I were like little girls splashing and jumping in the waves. Lots of whooping, pointing, and laughing. That water feels so exhilerating!! After a while we decide to head on down the road. All the beaches along the way looked to be in great shape. I did not see any full of seaweed, very nice. We pull over at Bob Marleys for a drink. Hang out and get some shade and enjoy the tunes. Get back to the hotel to watch the sunset and get ready for dinner. We all need to call home. Get everything taken care of and have a good dinner. After we head to the square since it is Sunday night. Spend time just listening to the music, walking around, watching the families, and feeling very relaxed. Then head back to the hotel to watch a little TV and get some sleep. Day 4 Get down to the pier for diving. Today we dive San Fransico and Yucab with Elvis. The dives were really terrific. The sun was out and the locations were filled with color and lots of movement and life. Dad was talking to Elvis about going to the festival at El Cedral. We wanted to check out what the festival was like. My dad was very intersted in the bullfight. After the dives I decide to just hang at the pool with Teri. Order lunch for all three of us with a drink. Lunch was OK, nothing special, however the bill was real special, $50! Ouch! Dad and Teri snorkel in front of the hotel and I hang back. This trip decided to work on a tan. About 3:00 another black cloud hits the hotel and once again we have downpour. We head inside and take naps. We must of woke up around 4:30, and the sun was as bright as ever, I went back to sleep for another hour. We head over to the store and pick up a few things. Teri and I decide to go out for a little bit. Have daquiri's and nachos at Fat Tuesdays. Then decide to have dinner at Carlos'n'Charlies. They always have really good chicken. We eat and run into some people from our hotel. The place is kinda boring-and people watching not so hot. After a bit we head down to Viva Mexico. It is OK, have a couple of drinks and people watch. Danced a few times and called it a night. Teri had been nursing a bad sunburn all day. I messed up on my money converstion, and literally gave away enought money for a meal, uugghh! It was way past my bedtime. I think the long nap kinda tapped us out before we even got started. Oh well, it was nice to sleep in the middle of the day with no interruptions. We go back to the hotel and hit the sack. Aside from the weather being a bit inconvienent, the trip is going really nicely. It is a fun father-daughters trip. Dad tends to hang with us in the morning, and middle day. Then he takes off and does his own thing, and we do ours. He's not a beach kind of person. Were all spending time together, just in different ways. It seems to work really well for us. My sister is one of the funniest persons I have ever met. She had me rolling so many times-it was great to have her all to myself. So far, it has been really fun! Trip Report-Day 5 Day 5My sister and I decide to head into town for breakfast this morning. Dad decided to dive and we agreed to meet up afterwards. First item was to fill up the tracker, no problems with that. Then we did some neighborhood sight seeing and ended up at the museum. This is always one of my favorite places to eat breakfast at. The staff is very attentive and the view is perfect. The breakfast selection and price is without complaint! Afterwards I took Teri on a short tour of the North end of the island. She had never been to that area. My husband and I have stayed on this end a few times and we really like it. In fact, I think I like staying on the north end the best. I pointed out the hotels she had heard . I took her to Playa Azul. She liked it, we decided to come back another time and hang at the beach. We head back to the hotel. Teri is still nursing a sunburn from yesterday and wants to hang in the shade. I'm up for laying around and doing nothing at all. We grab our stuff in the room and head to the hammocks. We spend most of the afternoon laying around. I snorkeled a bit, the fish variety in front of the hotel has steadly been dropping since my first visit in 95'. Too bad. I head upstairs to drop off my gear and get some Pepsi from the fridge. Dad shows up and lets me know we are meeting our diveguide, Elvis, around 4:00 to go to the festival at El Cedral. Dad had some problems with his dive computer so he needs to get that taken care of. He takes off and I head back downstairs to lay around. After a bit it is pretty hot and we decide to move back over to the pool. After cooling down for some time we check the clock and decide to head back in. We get ready and Dad comes back to pick us up. Were supposed to meet Elvis and his girlfriend at the Hotel Del Centro. We wait, and after a bit a young man comes over to our tracker and asked if we were waiting for Elvis. Si. He tell us Elvis is late and we are to follow him on his moped, to the home of Elvis. We get to his home and he and Lettie are waiting. Introductions are made and my sister and I immediately like Lettie. Something about her was very familiar. Maybe it was because she reminded us of our aunts, and had the same wonderful skin as our grandmother (our maternal side is hispanic). We head down the road to El Cedral. Elvis was joking with my dad about tipping back cervesa's. My dad let him know he only tipped Sprites as he has 19 years of sobriety. Elvis asked him if drinking used to make him crazy, and Dad laughed and told him yes, that it had been a long time since having a drink. Elvis very seriously looked at hime and said, "I know how you feel Terry, it has been about 8 or 9 nine hours since I have had a drink!" We all laughed, it was funny and my Dad always gets a kick out of Elvis. And Elvis told Dad he was still crazy. All of us could agree with that! Driving into El Cedral we passed I think four checkpoints on the road there and into the festival. No one was pulled over-no problem. As we drive in I am expecting a small neighborhood with at least one main road. But I'm not seeing that. We find a place to park and see the bullring. It looks interesting. As we walk by it there are different vendors and families cooking. My sister and I get a whiff of something at the same time and we just grin at each other. Walking by a vendor we can smell the pine cleaner and food cooking. She says "you know what I'm thinking!" Yep, were both thinking about Grandma's house! It always smelled fresh like pine cleaner. And her chili verde, homemade tortillas, beans and so on. A complete set of childhood memories in that one whiff! We check on the time of the bullfight and tickets. Really I should say Elvis and Lettie check on it. At this point we realize were the only gringo's we have seen. We buy our tickets and have time to walk around the festival. It is like going to a small town carnival in america. The games are similiar, ring toss, balloon darts, water gun races, and vendors with clothing, shoes, furniture, jewelry and so on. There are many places to eat. The smell of churros and fried bananas is very thick. We see treats that we have not seen before-and some that are very familiar! (Still no other gringos!) We walk around and pick up Pina Coladas. The best my sister and I have had on the island! It feels really good to be here. My sister and I see the faces of our aunts, uncles, cousins, and our brother wherever we look! My sister and brother look like our hispanic roots, I on the other hand look very gringo! Quite frequently during the week my sister was asked if she lived on the island. Or it was assumed she could speak fluent spanish. No to both. My family is the only one from Moms side that did not grow up speaking both english & spanish. We wish we had! After some time we head back to the bullring. Walking into the bullring was an eye opener. Living in America and our lawyers, liabilities, and so on, I was not accustomed to the structure of the ring. It is easiest described as a chicken coup in a circle! We walked on planks layed to overlap at the ends, and held by twine on the ends. There was no railing so if you missed your step, into the bullring you fell. We sat on planks that were layed out to overlap on the ends. And the weight of the spectators held them in place. It was a riot! I had a great laugh because it was so un-american! No one was worried and people were bringing in coolers, beer, pop, you name it! A picnic in the bullring! In the bullring we did see another group of americans. We watched the emcee ride his horses and perform tricks, and pull audience members into the routine. After several numbers they let a bull out for the fight. Except the bull did not want to fight. They all tried in vain to get this animal to charge. I had mixed feelings about what I was watching. It would be easy to off on different tangents at this point. And I am not interested in starting a debate over a tradition of this country. Afterwards, I asked lettie to show me to the bano, this was to prove to be an interesting experience. We went back into the carnival, behind some of the tents, to an area that looked to be someones home area. There were roosters, chickens, and few other animals in cages. It smelled! I managed but it was gross! Then I made the mistake that would stick with me for at least a week. They had a barrel next to a sink filled with dirty dishes. The barrel was serving as a communal type of sink for all using the "banos". I dipped my hands in this water, thinking, this is not smart! But did it anyways. We start walking back and Lettie grabs my hand and starts running. She takes me to a pavillion to watch the dancers. She loves to dance. Then we head back to watch the remainder of the show. A few more routines with the singer and horse. A bullfight that never happens (this bull was put back into his pen). And its over. We file out and notice a vendor selling fresh meat that was not there before. We are told it is the bull that was in the first fight, the meat is traditionally sold after the fight. We decide to do some walking around and look for some food. Grab more Pina Coladas. It reminds me of a county fair with vendors, musicians and the animal area. Take a couple of group pictures. It is night by now. Lettie grabs mine and Teri's hand and pulls us up these steps. We see in front of us the most beautiful church. It is aout 20 x 18 (size of a good living room). It has the Virgin Mary statue at the front altar. But the church has no lights, instead the back wall and the entire front floor are lit up by candles. This is one of the most serene places I have ever visited. Walking through the door and seeing the beauty-but more so feeling the peace. We sat down at a pew and each of us did what we needed to do. As were walking out my sister asked me, did you feel that? I most definetely did! We thank Lettie for showing us the church-it was very renewing. After we walk around more, then sit down to eat. I ordered steak tacos. The meat was like a flank steak cooked and the minced up. The cheese was similiar to swiss, except when melted it gave a glaze to the meat. We keep noticing some vendors losing electricity on and off. Were told its because of powere shorts, kind of funny to watch. The food arrives and it is good. We are given a cup of very coarse salt, lime slices, and a couple of chili sauces. It was a very good combo. After, Lettie orders a dessert that looks like a slice of cheesecake with a carmel top. Except it's more like a firm custard. It tasted like french toast. I did not like the texture, so I convinced Dad to eat mine. We then go to the Superior stage (one of the sponsors) and watch the drinking games, and people watch. We saw more drinking this night-whew! People were carrying cups that looked to be the equivalent of 3-4 beers. And some of these people had 5-8 glasses! Unbelievable. We watched and watched the people and scenes. Dad, Teri and I decided to call it a night. Elvis and Lettie wanted to stay. We said our goodbyes and took off. It was a very fun and interesting evening. We were all very happy we went there. We got back to the hotel and pretty much dropped in our beds. Little was I to know that night I would get sick and be sick for the next week. I told you that communal sink was not a good idea! I was the only one that got sick, and that was the only difference between all of us. Next time I know. We chat about the day a bit-then notice hey there's a movie on! And guess what-it's Austin Powers!! Good night Dr. Evil!! Trip Report-Day Day 6Dad and I are diving this morning. We get ready and head to the pier. Elvis arrives and we get a speedy ride to our dives. Today our first dive is Columbia Deep. By far one of my favorites. So many swim throughs! My dad was busy taking pictures and not going through the swimthroughs. I was gently flying and watching the neatest thing. Those of you that dive will appreciate the scene. The remainder of the dive group was going through the cracks and crevices-and we hung just above them. In my opinion we had the best view! There were bubbles coming up from the other divers. And for Dad and I it was like swimming in champagne! The sun was bright and colors were alive-and these soft lines of bubbles are everywhere. It was so cool looking!! Our next dive was Paso Del Cedral which had a number of coral croppings, with all kinds of fish and critters. A very nice dive and I found some fish that were new to me. We head back to the hotel and I meet up with my sister. Dad decides he has some shopping to do. Teri and I order lunch and pretty much park our butts in the pool for four hours. It was really hot and the water was perfect. Tonight is going to be a very low key evening. We get dressed for dinner and shopping. We have some things to get for our kids and hubbies. Were gabbing and walking and I hear my name called from one of the stores. I turn and see my friend Erick! I had been trying to find him all week and there he was. Hugs and hellos with quick updates on each others families. Teri and I tell him we will be back tomorrow to finish up some shopping with him. He said he will have his wife and son come to the shop to say hello. Teri and I head over to Prima's again. It's pretty obvious everyone is used to seeing us! We just could not get enough of their Chicken Alfredo! Besides, I think we were to brain lazy to walk to a new place, sit down, and decide what to eat! Prima's was a no brainer. We enjoy another very good meal and get into our only true deep conversation of the week. You know, the ones about when we were kids and our perspectives on life and family. How it all ties to us today and that kind of stuff. It was nice and we found out somethings about each other. We sat for a while, not even having a drink! Now that I look back, were we ill that night??? After dinner we head to the Calling Station. I talk with Mike and the boys and realize how much I miss them. Hey, can't help it! There a fun bunch to be around! Say our goodbyes and go sit on the bench outside. Teri and I were moving reealll slow. We sat there for about another half hour and just watched people come and go. We were in the ultimate laid back mode this night. With that, we called it a night, and once again head back to an early bedtime. Day 7 We get up and head over to Erick's shop and we see him, son Brandon, and wife Margarita. It was nice to say hello and and Brandon looks bigger than he was in March! I pick out a nechlace for my son and look at hammocks. Erick suggest we go to his mothers store for a better selection. Margarita is off to work, so Teri and I give her a ride, come back and pick up Erick and Brandon. We head over to his mothers store, she is not there so we suggest lunch. Teri and I want to eat at Playa Azul, so we head over there. We order our food (they have the best burgers on the island!) and talk. Erick tell us about some of the things going on in his life. We talk about ours. Brandon is playing and talking a mile a minute-I wish we could understand him! After a nice lunch we head back to his Mom's store, across from La Choza. Very nice, pick out a hammock and some great glassware. Get our shopping done and say our goodbyes again. Teri and I head back to the hotel to get ready for the east side. We get our gear and head for the road. By Del Mar we see Javier and pull over. He takes a great picture of Teri and I, ala Dr. Evil, yeah, the inside jokes were still rolling. We let him know we are going dancing tonight, and he will meet up with us later. We get to the Bob Marley bar and I see Angela working! We met her a couple of trips ago, she is the cousin to Erick, and her daughter and my sons played together quite a bit in March. We have a quick hello and catch up. Teri and I decide we want really soft sand, so we get drinks to go. Say goodbye and hop in the car. We get to Playa Bonita and it is perfect! We lay out in the sun, read, walk on the beach, sit in the water for the afternoon. Later, we decide to head down to Mezcalito's. We load up and get there and everything is pretty quite. We grab a couple of chairs by the water. Great music and a great location. It is around 3:30'ish and we can see the moon to our left, and the sun to our far right, pretty neat sight! I order some food and drink. As you know, most of the beaches on this side have dogs. This beach is no different, however, they do have a true horn-dog. We noticed this couple from our hotel trying to take a picture but she starts pointing and laughing. Teri and I look down, and yep, his horn-dog was pointing back at the lady. And the dog kept staring at us, not a good way to beg for food! Finally, the dog moved around and it went away, except he went to sit front of us, and, oh man, the horn-dog was back! By this time all four of us are laughing because it looked mechanical by now, if he sat down it was there, if he stood, it was not! This dirty ole dog never left us. After a bit we decide to head back to the hotel, happy hour! I get us a bit lost going through the neighborhoods (I have no sense of direction). We get back to the hotel and get in the pool. I order two daquiri's a piece for us. The waiter brings em out and we watch a pretty good volleyball game. Tunes are good and were feeling good. Talk with these guys that had stayed there all week. They were pretty fun to have around and chat with during the week. They had a sense of humour and were pretty laid back. We head up to change and get ready for the evening. Dad, I'm not sure where he has been, but probably out with Elvis our diveguide. Teri and I are in total girly mode. Painting our nails on the balcony and being very ditzy. Laughing quite a bit! We finally get ready, Dad comes in and says he had a good day, already ate so will pass on dinner. Tell him our plans and we head out. Have a great dinner then head over to Fat Tuesdays. Order a new drink for us-it was OK-brain freeze from their drinks is only fun for so long! Later we decide to head to Carlos'n'Charlies to meet up with Javier and the guys from the hotel. We get there and the music was not so hot. They kept playing music like we were at a wedding reception. Soon all had arrived, and Teri and I had enough of C&C. Teri, Javier and myself decide to head to Viva Mexico. The other guys pass. Teri and I thought were going to walk, but Javier says to us, do you want to ride in my piece of car? We laugh and say do you mean piece of shit (he is still learning american slang)? He says, no, when you see you will understand, it is a piece of car! He had this funky type of dunebuggy, I thought it was decent. I sit in back and Teri jumps in front (ala Dukes of Hazzard style). I was sitting in back with my feet kinda underneath me. As he's driving were all laughing and Javier looks back and says, "Jenny, why don't you, how do you say?, spread your legs ." Teri and I are rolling and tell him, it's STRETCH your legs out. He gets embarrassed but thinks it was pretty funny slip up, we all laugh and head to our spot. We get to Viva Mexico and it is dead! We grab a table, order drinks and basically sat and BS'ed for around an hour. It was a good mix because we all had the same sense of humour. Without realizing it, the place had all of sudden filled up. I ask the DJ to play some Salsa tunes, and a few songs later he does. All three of us are dancing and having a really great time. We needed to explain a few things from american music, like Madonna's song "Music", he did not understand what "Boogie Woogie" meant. Nor did he understand why me and my sister call each other Sassy, which we explained was an attitude. My sister showed him how to dance like the guys from the movie, a Night at the Roxbury, I think Javier got a little nervous with those moves! Basically, we were just goofing off and having fun! Javier caught on quickly and he burned Teri and I pretty good a few times. We were impressed. I learned some more salsa dance moves and so did Teri. Teri took an injury to her foot that night when someone salsa'd her foot. We danced until around 3 am, I think. Then we called it a night, Javier was still dancing when we left! It was a really fun night! We leave tomorrow, one more day left :( Final Trip Report-Day 8 Day 8We get up early to get our packing done. We have to check out by noon, and our plane leaves at 9 pm. Dad's not real enthused about leaving his diving gear in a general room, locked or not. He takes off to meet up with Elvis and Lettie. Lettie is a manager at the Hotel Del Centro, and we may get a room for the day. Teri and I head downstairs to the pool, and it is hot already! We lay down and read, chat and BS. One of the guys from Michigan was at the pool, so the three of us killed the morning trying to stay cool. Around 11am Dad gets back to let us know we have a room at the Hotel Del Centro. We say goodbye and head upstairs to complete the checkout. I was impressed that we loaded a completely full dive gear bag, and three large suitcases into the back of our tracker. We get over to the hotel and see Javier riding his bike. We say a very quick hello and goodbye, then check in. The room is very basic, but very clean and nice. Let me tell you, the bed in this room was the softest in all my trips! I would stay here if only for the bed! We ask Dad what he wants to do, he is going to hang with Lettie and Elvis at (I think) La Boya. Teri and I decide to have one more afternoon on the beach. Dad drops us off at Playa Azul (a mere 8-9 minute drive) for the afternoon. We settle into the beach. It is so hot!! The water actually felt a bit cooler on this side, versus the water on the east side. Not sure how true this was. We ordered lunch and drinks and pretty much lay down for a few hours. We notice a couple in the water trying to discretely do the wild thing, however, most of us could figure out what was up (no pun intended!). The water is so pretty at this beach. Actually, where is the water not pretty on this island? I love this beach! It is small but has a great staff, and the beach has more local families than tourists. We kick back until 3:30'ish and decide to head back to the hotel. We catch a cab. At the hotel we head to the pool. The pool is pretty decent and they have nice lounging chairs. We hang here for another hour and then head in for showers. About this time Dad rolls in to check on us. And he is rolling himself, keeps saying "damn that was funny!" We wait for the story. It seems the afternoon at the cantina was pretty nice. They had a good band, food was good, and conversation was good. Apparently, one of the waitresses was an exgirlfriend from a few years back of Elvis. Some time ago, but not long enough for the current and ex to be rid of the green monster. So the ladies went into a current and ex-girlfriend, girlfriend to girlfriend "conversation". Elvis in his ever gentle way kept telling them both it was OK. Afterwards, the three of them left. Dad said Lettie would not let Elvis touch her, he was trying to sweet talk her, and finally they all kinda cracked up. Tension breaker! In looking back-it was funny and they all arrived back at the hotel the same way they left, laughing. I secretly think dad laughed because he had some "Elvis" situations in his younger days! Daja vu! The three of them are going to another cantina, and Teri I are heading to the square. We walk about 3-4 blocks to the square. Then pick up peanut buster parfaits-we had some odd craving for one. Then walk around and Teri finals up her shopping. She heads off and I find a seat near the clock, take off my sandals and take it all in. I listened to the calls of the different birds in the trees. Watched the locals and tourists walk by. The sky was changing colors with the upcoming sunset. The square had a very quiet calm feeling about it. I was feeling pretty calm and relaxed. Teri finishes up and we sit for a little while longer, then head back to the hotel. We get packed and grab a taxi. Say our goodbyes to Elvis and Lettie, I think Elvis got a bit choked up. Take our power five minute drive to the airport and check in. We get into the gate and find a seat and chat about the trip. Talk a little bit to Terri (Wild Women) and Tina (?), talk with some others, and just hang out. On the plane we crash, but Dad rocks on to Santana, Beatles, and Joe Satriani. Every now and then I would wake up and his feet would be a tapping away. We arrive a little early (1:30am at the new HHH terminal) and customs moves quickly. Teri is reunited with her husband and son. I expected mine to be late since we arrived early. We all say goodbye, and Mike pulls in as they are leaving. Seeing him, well, he still gives me butterflies in the stomach! The kids are crashed in the backseat and wake up momentarily. I really enjoyed this trip. I think it was great the three of us jumped on the opportunity to take it. We all have so many memories and moments to recall for years to come. We spent time with Dad (more than my reports detailed) and he took it easy this trip. Most trips to Coz he comes back utterly exhaused (with bags under the eyes and everything). This time, he kicked back and did not have things planned for every morning, afternoon, and half his evenings. He had a good time taking a different kind of trip. This was the first time since we were little girls, that Teri and I were alone for a week. I really enjoyed being with her. She is still the funniest person I know. Teri really made the trip for me. I'm just really glad this trip happened! I ended my trip with one thought, and so I will end my trip reports with the same thought: Life is Good! Lodging Reviews
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