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Cozumel Island
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Cozumel Trip Report Getting there: We had an uneventful flight with Transglobal out of Minneapolis--all went well. We've had good luck with that agency... never any problems, very helpful and professional service. The only complaint is the amount of space between the rows of seats! Hey, Transglobal, how about 6 more inches! ACCOMMODATIONS: We stayed at the Sun Village and it was just fine. We requested a "pool side" room to avoid the noise we'd heard about, but it didn't make a difference. Pool side is near Fat Tuesday's and every night we heard their music. We didn't care though... one night we heard karoake singers who were pretty loud and out of tune. It was hilarious! We couldn't figure out where it was coming from, so finally we left our little balcony on third floor overlooking the sea, got dressed and followed our ears! If you can't beat'em, join'em was our theory. Sun Village is right next to where all the action is. It's a great location if you don't mind the noise. I say "noise" with a bit of tongue in cheek.... because after a few cervezas each night, believe me, we slept well! No hard beds, either. The people at Sun Village were friendly and accommodating. The phones weren't working so when we asked for a wake-up call they offered to knock on our door. Hmmm, I thought, we'll see what happens. No problem! A final note… we'll probably stay in town again, but perhaps at a B&B next time. Our charter vacation offered a nice deal to the Sun Village in the package, but we discovered lots of other cute, inexpensive places to stay in town…. We'll see! ACTIVITIES: We snorkeled five out of seven days, and it was great! We loved Dzul Ha, and went there three times. Tours and cruisers didn't overwhelm us there at all. Actually, there's plenty of water out there. Dzul Ha is a great place to relax, eat, drink and snorkel... not necessarily in that order! The first night we went to Playa Azul. I loved it, but Dan's had more experience and said it was so-so. We figured out that it's actually the first time I could really see well under water, because of the prescription mask I rented before we left. What a whole new world for me! We'd been in Negril last year and I guess I could only see 4 feet in front of me. Dan had pointed all these things out under water.... I remember I kept thinking, "why are you waving your arms around?" Anyway, for nearsighted people who don't have contacts, prescription masks are a godsend! Following recommendations from this board, we signed up for the Arrecifes tour. We had a great day, although visibility was poor that day, and even our guide Eduardo suggested at the beginning that we avoid the reefs further to the south because of the sea conditions... that maybe we should go to Chankanaab. Well, a few of us "know-it-alls" (I studied about the reefs to "prepare!") said hey, we don't care about the waves! Let's GO! It turns out that Eduardo was probably right. What a ride! And we didn't see much at all at Sky, everything was covered by sand. Palancar and Columbia were better, but things were pretty stirred up even so. Dzul Ha was good, but we'd already been there. It was somewhat dissappointing, although certainly not anyone's fault! We had a great time on the boat and met some really fun people. The lunch at Nachi Cocom was wonderful, and we had all we wanted to drink on the boat. Eduardo is such a pro at making sure everyone has the best experience possible. I highly recommend that tour. We rented a car and went to the East side. This was wonderful. Such beauty on the East side, I couldn't believe it. It was amazing to see all these other people doing the same thing with their jeeps and bugs, etc. Yes, Coconuts is something else… there on the hill. I enjoyed Rastas with the Reggae music… reminded me of our trip to Jamaica last year. Except I like the people in Mexico better. We rented from Freddy at Alamo. He was very pleasant. We were nervous about the whole venture…. You know, the driving through town thing and what if something happens, etc. Freddy was professional and easy going, and we trusted him. We did have a coupon from Smart Car, but opted for the "reputable" name. We paid about $60 for 24 hours, but it was worth the peace of mind. Maybe next time we'll be braver. The jeep ran great… boy was it fun driving with the top down, and knowing our friends in Minnesota were starting their cars 15 minutes before leaving for work to warm up! One day we went to Playa. We actually napped on the ferry--that's how pleasant it was. Luckily, neither of us can relate to "seasickness." Our intention when we got there was to grab a cab to one of the cenotes… we had our snorkeling gear and were ready to go. Instead we hung out around 5th avenue and had some cervezas and munchies… and lo and behold - a black cloud started coming our way. A huge one! Our waiter said… "no rain" and we said, "ah, we think RAIN!!" It was hilarious. Anyone remember the downpour on Sunday the 4th? We decided to go to the ferry pier and wait to board. It was pouring and windy. Two people in front of us had raincoats on. We asked where they were from…. Hmmmm… England! Of course! Raingear. They never leave home without it! Anyway, Playa was great. I'd like to go back there, and this time do the cenotes and actually visit Tulum and Xelha… maybe even Xcaret if we have time. About Tulum--we saw so many of our friends' pictures, we felt like we'd been there, done that! Maybe it was just laziness….. Actually, can you blame us for being a little lazy? The first full day, we walked from the Sun Village to… hmmm… the intersection of the old and new roads south of town. This was a long way in the hot sun. We were on our way to Dzul Ha, and when we finally decided to take a cab the rest of the way, I didn't like his price so we kept walking. We sort of regretted that after awhile when we saw no cabs. But hey, it was the principle of the thing! One night we walked over to mini-golf and had a couple of beers and "walked the course." We looked at eachother and said, "do you feel like golfing?" and the answer was no! We'd done too much walking. So we sat on the corner table and enjoyed being in Cozumel. Sally and Scott are so nice, as others have said. I wish them luck in their new venture, whatever that may be! I almost hate to admit it, but we did go to Carlos and Charlies one night. Early in the week we walked up and turned right around. We kind of said, this really isn't our place. But toward the end of the week we tried it again. You know, we decided that this place is perfect for fun-loving tourists who want to meet lots of people and have a grand old time in Mexico. We sat in the corner and enjoyed people-watching. The wait staff there really has it going. They know how to treat their customers. It was fun for an hour or so, and considering it was just around the corner… what the heck! Of all the activities, one of our favorite things to do besides snorkeling was to just walk around town. The people, the colors, the excitement… it's hard to describe. Cozumel has such a nice mix of quaint shops and restaurants and small businesses with colorful signs…it's all there! And you see something new every day and every night. FOOD!!! I have to say, food in Cozumel is GREAT! The standouts for us were Senora Grill--we ate there twice and had seafood both times. Delectable! Prima's--incredible Italian food, and the owner runs a great ship. I had the chicken alfredo with spinach and mushrooms, and it was very, very good. We also ate at La Mission. It was great food, a great atmosphere and a very enjoyable experience. We had lunch at Casa Denis one day - what a fun place to hang out for an hour during the day. Dzul Ha serves really good food, too. I enjoyed the quesadillas there. I think I mentioned before that Nachi Cocom served a great buffet. I'm not sure if that was just for our snorkel tour or what…. In any case, we all loved it. OTHER: A few tips… Don't be afraid to rent a car…. My conservative partner was veeeerrrry apprehensive and I finally talked him into it. (He didn't read this board!) Anyway, everything went fine, and we'd do it again in a heartbeat. Don't believe the people selling you a day pass when they say they're not selling time shares! I think most of them are! It's not the initial sellers that do you in. It's the hard sell you get after you take them up on their offer to visit a place…. Learn a little Spanish! If nothing else, so you can say, "I'm sorry, would you like me to pay?" I went to San Francisco grocery store and my bag swung into a bottle of Vodka, knocked it over and it broke it in the middle of the aisle in the meat section I had 20 locals smiling at me as I stared at the mess wondering what to do. I winced and turned my head, trying to gesture to an employee something that would indicate that I would pay…. just let me know what to do. My oblivious partner was having fun by the fruit and had no idea my peril! Finally, an employee came out with a mop and waved me on. That was very nice since little kids were giggling while I had held up my hands in utter submission… Boy did I feel dumb. If only I could have said, "I'm sorry, what should I do?" Tan before you go, and wear sunscreen. I'm one of these people with olive skin who usually tans, and has hardly ever burned. This time I got lazy and didn't tan before I went and was careless about sunscreen. OOPS! Dan is extremely fair but he tanned before we went and wore sunscreen. We both looked like lizards after three days, but I looked worse than he did. Don't worry about the cruisers! Hey, they're coming to Cozumel for the same reason we are. We met some at Dzul Ha, and they were so disappointed they had to leave--they said of all their ports of call, Cozumel was the most fun they'd had. I was feeling guilty for adopting the idea that you should "avoid the cruisers" whenever you can…. It's their vacation, too! I say if you're worried about the masses, get an all-inclusive and spend most of your time there. Then you're "safe." Finally, to everyone… just relish your time on this wonderful island, and count your blessings! Do you know how lucky we are? Yes, many of us work hard, and we "deserve" our vacations. But how many Cozumel natives are able to say, "I think we should plan a trip to the U.S. next July for a week." ?? Not many, is my guess. Treat the locals with respect and kindness, and appreciate their graciousness…especially when you know that they may not be afforded the same opportunity. Thanks for listening, and have a great time in Cozumel! Lodging Reviews
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