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Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by Robin S on 03/09/01

Trip Report - Hotel Flamingo

Well, my husband and I have been to Cozumel about 7 or 8 times...I have lost track.  This is the first time I have posted a trip report.  We discovered TravelNotes about a year ago and have enjoyed reading all the postings.

Okay, I will try to keep this short.  We booked our flight on Wednesday, February 14 for departure on Wednesday, February 21!  We did not have a place to stay, so, I jumped on here to find an inexpensive, in town place.  I really wanted to stay at Hacienda San Miguel but they were booked.  We lucked out and found room at Hotel Flamingo.

So, we left a week later.  Arrived at the airport about 10:00 am, went over to Avis to pick up our Jeep that I rented.  I can't remember her name but the Avis representative is a sweetheart!  Well, our jeep was not there yet.  She gave us some small two door car with the roof in the back missing and kind of a convertible.  She was going to call us at our hotel when the jeep came back.  We hopped in the car and drove to Hotel Flamingo.  What a cute place.  They have a little bar in the lobby and they serve breakfast, small lunch and drinks in the evening.  They also have great coffee.  Anyway, we arrived around 11:30 am at the front desk and were pleasantly surprised that they were overbooked and we were going to have to take the Penthouse!  What a nice surprise.  It was on the fourth floor (I am not sure because we climbed an awful lot of stairs to get there!) and what a view.  We could see the ocean.  What a plus.  We had the windows and doors open to enjoy the ocean breeze.  After leaving Chicago's 15 degrees it was wonderful.

So, we unpacked, put on our bathing suits and off to Nachi Cocom.  Nice beach, not very crowded and the staff is wonderful.  Had our first few cervasas and just enjoyed the afternoon.  We went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  Dinner at Santiago's.  Had the  lime soup (my favorite) and my husband had the seabass.  The fresh fish was great.  I don't remember what I had but I was kind of full from the soup but I know it was good.  We had mariachi's come and serenade us.  It just made me feel at home.  Walked through square and just enjoyed being in town.

Our second day, we went to the museum for breakfast.  It is nice to be on the waterfront in the morning for breakfast.  Went back to the hotel (I almost forgot this part of the story) and there were two guys from Avis and a nice new shiny white jeep.  We were supposed to go back to the airport the day before to trade in the car at 4:00 pm. Well, we were late and she had already gone home.  So, we just thought we would go back in the morning but we did not have to, they came to us!!  That does not happen here in the states!!  I love Cozumel.  So, we hopped in our jeep and drove off to Bob Marley's.  We were going to start there and work our way back by stopping at the different beach clubs to see how much they had changed.  We met a very nice couple and chatted for about an hour.  They left and then we met another couple who had never been to Cozumel.  It was cute because they were asking us all the touristy questions about the island.  Is it safe?  Is it safe at night?  Can we drink the water at the restaurants?  You all know those questions.  So, we offered to be their tour guides for the rest of our trip (we were leaving on Saturday).  So, we took them to a couple of more beach clubs on the way back and really had a good time.  We went back to Santiago's for dinner and walked around town with them.  What a blast!  It is so fun to experience Cozumel with someone for their first time.  It helps you enjoy it over again.

Day three, we got up early, walked over to the bakery for some coffee and pastries.  Didn't want to eat a big breakfast because we were going diving.  We sat outside the bakery and watched all the people come and go.  It was wonderful.  Across the street from the bakery, is a little older gentleman who makes hammocks.  We watched him set up for the day, putting all his hammocks out and his colorful home against that bright blue sky was breathtaking.  It sure does not look like that here in Chicago!!  8:00 am off to our dive.  We dive with Betsy White.  She certified me years ago and she is great.  We got to the boat and there were only four of us going out.  Three other people canceled at the last minute.  What a treat!  We dove palancar gardens and I can't remember the other one.  Saw three sharks, a barracuda, an eel, grouper and all the other beautiful fish.

Back to the hotel to change and met our new friends at Carlos and Charlies for drinks and apptizers.  Then we did a little shopping and more drinking and went to Guido's for some italian.  Great food and great atmosphere.  We were kind of tired from our day of diving, so, we called it an early night.

Well, our last day was breakfast and off to the beach.  We came across two seperate groups of  children all dressed up and performing in the streets.  This is the first time we were ever down there for Carnival.  What fun.  Anyway, we went to Mr. Sanchos beach.  It is very nice.  The bathrooms are nice and new but I thought the prices were kind of high.  That made me sad because I remember the days of Playa Mac for the divers.  Now, the beaches are all for the cruisers.  I am just glad I was able to enjoy the quaintness before it got big.  We ended up spending the day there.  The DJ was pretty fun and then we got into a volleyball game.

Back to the room for a shower and return the car to the airport (our flight was leaving at 10:30 pm but the Avis girl leaves at 6:00 pm). That is kind of a pain but no big deal.  Then, up town for the start of the parade!!  Unbelievable is all I can say.  I can't believe how much they put into the parade.  It was a blast.  What a great way to end the trip.  We will be back the end of April.