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Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by Trudy on 12/31/00
Trip report...days 1-4
Well, I'm sorry to say I'm back...to ice and snow.
Luckily the roads were clear to Detroit for our 1 1/2 hour drive. Flight
was easy and uneventful. Traveled on Allegro Air through Apple Vacations.
Booze on the plane was free...cool!
Were met at the airport by Alicia and Chuco...what a wonderful greeting. Made
it to the car without being rained upon too badly. The streets were pretty
wet with lots of puddles. So much for the trip to the beach.
Day 1 Shopped around town but bought nothing. (We should have
though...shops were pretty empty and prices were good...*sigh*). Went to
the Havana Club for a drink and a Cuban cigar. Sat on the balcony and
watched the people and cars. Very relaxing. Moved down to Carlos and
Charlies. Had a drink and watched the people and cars from the
window...very relaxing. Not the Carlos and Charlies I had heard about.
The place was pretty much empty so the music (although good for us)seemed
hollow without the partying crowd. Took a cab to Los Moros del Moritos.
Had an awesome shrimp dinner and shared a bowl of lime soup. Sebastien
waited on us and was a superb waiter. The shrimp were huge and tasty.
It was a great experience. Since we had been up all night, we went
"home" and to bed early.
Day 2 We got up early and caught the 7:00 ferry to Playa del Carmen.
We had had a wonderful breakfast and with the chop on the ocean we were
afraid we might have that breakfast again. We both held out, but they were
passing out lavendar plastic bags. lol Quite a rough ride. In Playa
we caught the second class bus to Valladolid. It was packed and Al had to
stand two thirds of the way. That's about 2 hours of standing on a crowded
bus. Many locals were traveling for Christmas. At Tulum we packed
more and more people on the bus. There were about six people between the
front seat and the door with all room further back packed like sardines. We
started to leave and there was a big boom. Al figures we busted a shock,
tie rod, or something. Anyway they hustled us all off the bus and loaded
us onto another (which was a bit larger). Those sitting got their same
seats back. It was a wonderful trip as far as Coba. I shared the
front seat with a lady from Playa who spoke no English but was willing to help
me with my Spanish. She was going to Valladolid for two hours to buy
jewelry for gifts for friends. That was a lot of travel for 2 hours in
Valladolid. At Coba Al got to sit down and I moved over by him. I
offered my lap to a four year old Maya boy who was standing in the aisle with
his family. He rode on my lap all the way to Valladolid. When a man
(minus deodarant) got on the bus, I made a comment to Al. That's when he
told me that he had had several people around him in that condition when he was
standing. He said it also smelled like someone had filled their pants.
And if that wasn't enough, the girl directly in front of him (kinda
beneath him in the seat) threw up. He had not had a pleasant journey.
We checked into Hotel Maria de la Luz which had a nice air conditioned (not
needed) room for 245 pesos/night. After check in we went looking for
David...the driver from my August trip. We were told he drove taxi number
115. So we went to dinner and returned to find taxi number 115 being
driven by Miguel. He drove the afternoon shift and David the morning
shift. We had Miguel take us to Ek Balam and we (the three of us) toured
the ruins for half an hour. It was 17 pesos per person, but since they
were closing in half an hour, the man let us in for 10 pesos each. We
climbed the large pyramid and took a couple of pictures. Well, we took
more...but there were camera problems. Had to edit many nice pics out.
When we got back to Valladolid, we had Miguel drop us off at the Cenote
Restaurant. That's the place where Alicia and I tried so hard to eat this
summer...to no avail. Al and I were sure to use the proper entrance.
We waited and waited at the door. When no one came to seat us, we
finally went in and took a seat ourselves. That's when a waiter came up
and told us kindly that the restaurant was closed. The only people eating
were merely finishing up. Well that did it! After three attempts to
eat there and three failures, I decided that God was trying to tell me
something. I figure that if I eat there now, I'll get sick. Alicia
has now asked for a formal apology on this board regarding my blaming her dirty
shoes for our previous failure. Well, sorry Alicia...it ain't happenin'!!
lol
We found another restaurant on the plaza and had a great meal. I tried
some Yucatecan chicken that was wonderful. Al stuck with quesadillas...
trying to keep away from anything too strange. He sure missed out on some
tasty treats that way.
We asked about a cantina with music and were told to go to Chispas just off the
square. It was empty of people so we kept walking. Asked about
another place and were told to try Pancho's Grill on the opposite side of the
square. It too was empty, but we stopped for a drink anyway. We
spent quite a bit of time talking to Casimiro, the bartender. His English
was excellent even though it was self taught and unused for the last 5 years.
Isidro came in and he too had wonderful, self-taught English that had been
unused for 7 months. I know I would have lost much of my Spanish if I had
not spoken it for that long. It was great fun talking to them.
We tried to go to bed early, but a band (at Chispas?) kept Al awake. We
should have gotten up and gone around the block to join in the fun.
Day 3 Got up early to meet David in front of the hotel at 8:00. He was
there...in taxi number 115, but it was the wrong David. Oh well, we tried.
We hired him to take us to Chichen Itza, Eb tun, and Dztinup. First
we stopped at the bus station to pick up a first class ticket for the return
trip on Christmas. It threatened rain all day, but it never rained. We
were happy about that. At Chichen Itza we hired a guide, Gabriel, for $40.
He was a wealth of information. We didn't climb El Castillo. Al
had pulled a muscle on the pyramid at Ek Balam and I had found out I was too far
out of shape (I haven't been walking). We thoroughly enjoyed Chichen Itza.
Saw a trail of fire ants crossing the path. That too was fun. Then
it was on to Eb tun. That's the pueblita where Chuco was born and he still
has family there. We took the kids some toys and brought some things from
Alicia and Chuco. I played the video of Chuco for his family and then I
recorded a video for Chuco. Back in the taxi and off to Dztinup. It
was only in the 70's so we hadn't planned to swim in the cenote like Alicia and
I had this summer. We paid our 17 pesos or so and went down into the
cenote. It is unbelievably beautiful. We found some well traveled
paths up into the higher parts of the cenote. We didn't bump our heads too
many times.
From Dztinup it was a stop at the cantina for a beer. Then back to
Valladolid. Being that it was Christmas Eve, much was closed. We ate
at our hotel and had another good meal. Later in the evening there were
banquet tables set up in the dining room and a table of booze and pop. Looked
like a family had rented it for a Christmas party. They were pretty
quiet...but they kept Al awake. He's a light sleeper and found the noise
at the hotel to be the worst thing about the trip. Me? I watched
American movies with Spanish sub-titles until I fell asleep. No problemo.
Day 4
The trip back to Playa del Carmen on the first class bus was a piece of cake.
The seats are as nice as an airplane, but with more room. They had a
movie in Spanish starring Diahan Cannon. It was a nice three hour ride
back.
We had taken Dramamine for the return ferry trip. That had been fun trying
to find seasick medicine in a farmacia in an inland city with my limited
Spanish...but we managed. The trip wasn't as choppy, but the passengers
were in a more festive mood and it sounded like a ride at the fair.
Aaaaaaaaaah! Wheeeeeeeeeee! The crowds were a hoot.
Back at Alicia's we all waited for the kids to arrive. Chuco had made a
pinata and he and Lorena hung it for the kids. It was full of candy and
toys. It was great fun listening to the kids sing the pinata song while it
bobbed up and down and was hit repeatedly. When it finally burst (with a
little adult help) the kids screamed and scrambled. We took lots of
pictures with Al's camera (not yet developed)...we don't want to discuss mine.
We ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut, and relaxed under the palapa. We were
too pooped to wander out. Shortly after the pizza arrived, Kathy, Ivan,
and their daughter stopped by. So we sat and talked for a couple of hours.
It was another early night for us...there's a pattern here.
Trip report...days5-8
Day 5
Not so much rush today. We got up and ready and headed off to Playa Azul.
We were early and so we got a front table. Cruisers and locals
arrived later. I went right in to snorkel. The current was swift and
I went out and north. That's what people had said was the way to go to
snorkel. Well, I saw next to nothing and got really tired. Don't
know if I went to the right place, but snorkeling alone I didn't want to venture
much further in the choppy conditions. Settled for playing in the surf and
sitting under a palapa. When the sun did peak out I hurried to a chair and
took in as much as possible...which wasn't much. Still the temp was nice
and the ocean gorgeous. Al enjoyed the scenery since there was a topless
woman sunning at the Playa Azul Hotel. In Valladolid I had tried and
enjoyed Horchata. It's like drinking some good quality vanilla ice cream
melted to milk consistency. Playa Azul has tasty horchata. We
enjoyed everything we got there.
After the beach we returned "home" to clean up a bit. Then we
walked to El Turix (turish'). Al's stomach was queasy so I ate and he had
a diet Coke. I tried a salbute, panucho, and some caldo de pavo. All
was tasty and very "Mexican". I couldn't eat it all because the
bowl of soup was so large. They had the cleanest bathroom I found in
Mexico next to Alicia's. It was very quaint with salt being served in half
of a hollowed out gourd. They spoke only Spanish, so I didn't catch
everything that was said. As I was eating, their daughter (home from
college in Montreal) came in. She checked to see if there was anything we
needed and talked a bit with us. Then a son took me through the doors in
the back to show me the courtyard (with lovely grass) and to show me that there
were four apartments in the back and above, while more were being built by his
father. They were a very nice family and I would recommend this place to
anyone who wants to visit a "local" restaurant. I never saw a
printed menu and I think they offer just a few items each day. It was a
wonderful experience and an easy location to find. It is on 17th sur just
off 30th (I think). It's right there by the Corpus Christi church, next to
the park. It shares a property line with La Cocay. That looked nice
too. It's on my list of places to visit in the future.
Al's leg was beginning to bother him, so we grabbed a cab to town...10
pesos...not that far then, eh. Walked around town and ended up back at
Carlos and Charlie's. It was thumpin' this time. We ordered a couple
of drinks and enjoyed watching the foolishness. Two couples from Calgary,
Alberta sat next to us and struck up a conversation. They were renting
Casa Maya and enjoying their stay. Corey was really funny and we had a
great time...acting foolish! We drank waaaaaaay too much and danced down
to a cab. You know, it wouldn't have been as much fun without the bar
being full of cruisers. We thoroughly enjoyed the loud, goofy,
atmosphere...didn't see anyone fighting, or vomiting...it was fun!
Day 6
Up to another of Chuco's fantastic breakfasts. Jay and Marsha were also
staying at Alicia's. The four of us has booked a half day of fishing with
Memo and Cesar. Well, really Chuco did the booking, but you know what I
mean. We went down to the caleta and Memo had the boat ready. Chuco
had told him that we were bringing fish back for supper...with luck. Well
we trolled for about 25 minutes...with nary a strike. Then we began bottom
fishing. We fished with hook, line and sinker...NO POLES!!! Our
bait was chunks of octopus or pieces of fish. We caught all sorts of fish.
When there were no nibbles on my line, I checked for lack of bait. More
often than not, that was the problem. They had a 5 gallon plastic bucket
on the boat and the six of us filled the bucket (no water, just fish). It
was great sitting on the rocking boat and pulling in the ole fish. Marsha
really got the best of us. She caught grunt after grunt. We caught a
few parrots, a queen trigger, white snappers, and a red grouper plus lots of
red-mouthed grunts. Memo and Cesar cleaned the fish. We left some on
board for them. Chuco had told us 3 kilos of fish would feed the 9 of us
in the house. That's what we told Memo and Cesar. They gave us about
6 kilos to take home. We had way more fish than we knew what to do with.
There was no bathroom on the boat and we were on the ocean until we finally said
we needed to go in. It was looking like a wall of rain coming in and the
women were getting desperate. I think we were on the ocean nearly 6 hours.
We had only asked for a half day. The price was $150, but we each
gave $100. It was well worth the extra $50 in tip. These guys don't
speak much English, but they sure know how to catch fish!
It's not a fancy boat, and Marsha's sinker was the metal thing that goes around
a battery post on a car. Cesar sometimes pulled the old worn-out bait off
the hook with his teeth...oh yuck! They had beer, pop, water, and
watermelon for us. We didn't have anything until on the way in. Didn't
want to overburden the bladder... lol!
On a mad dash to the bathroom at caleta, I saw Stefano and Pollo in a truck.
Pollo dropped Stefano off and headed out to pick up David. I
continued my dash to the bathroom...aaaah, and returned to talk. Stefano
tells me he is going into selling prescription sunglasses...Italian, what else?
Angelo is having a good hockey season in Italy. Pollo and David are
working with the cruise ships, doing dive and snorkel trips. Pollo
(Enrique) returned with David. We talked a bit and I had to go. It
was great seeing them. They were the two guys (Stefano & David) who I
wanted to see in Cozumel. What good luck.
We walked to Chedraui from Alicia's and picked up some stuff to go with supper.
Caught a taxi back. Chuco made some great fish and the 9 of us ate
until we could hold no more. It was another early evening for us. Guess
we're getting old.
Day 7
Woke to a sunny day and a wonderful breakfast...can't say enough good about
Chuco's cooking. Today was Dzul Ha day! Caught a cab to Dzul Ha and
was surprised to see all of the new tables, chairs, umbrellas, and chaises.
Missed the regular guys, but the new guys are friendly and open too.
I've pretty much written about Dzul Ha further down on the page. Suffice
it to say that the day was wonderful.
Al doesn't swim well, so he was leery of swimming out very far. He
ventured a ways, but if I can get him down to Cozumel for longer, I'll have him
snorkeling from a boat. For now, we took it really slow. I went out
by the snorkel tours and saw lots and lots of stuff...including that huge
parrot. My spotted moray eel from August no longer lived under that butt
shaped coral. Now I'll have to find another one.
When I was walking (never walk in the water at Dzul Ha...always swim) to see how
far Al could walk, I felt a sting on my heel. I thought I had caught a
chunk of rock. I tried to ignore it, but it was insistent. So I
looked at my heel and pulled the boot of my fin down a bit. There was a
black stick stuck in my heel. I folded the boot down and swam to the
steps. I put my foot on the step and pulled out the piece from the urchin.
I was afraid that it was going to have a poison in it and therefore in my
foot. I walked up the steps and asked Joel about it. He said not to
worry that my body would absorb it. I said I had pulled it out. He
said there was no problem then. I said no poison? and he said No.
So I went back in the water and pretended that nothing had
happened...didn't want to spook my novice snorkeler. Within seconds of
pulling the spine (what do you call those things anyway?) out of my foot, I
could no longer feel any pain. It was like it never even happened. No
problemo. Well, that was a relief.
After Dzul Ha was a trip to Las Boyas with Alicia and Chuco. Again, Las
Boyas was closed. So we went to Barros dos Mil again. It's not as
nice of a cantina, but it's fun. It was raining pretty good by then.
They had a karaoke machine, but all of the music was in Spanish. I
only recognized La Bamba and Hockey Pockey...yup, you heard me, Hockey Pockey,
not Hokey Pokey. So cute! After our cantina experience, Alicia and
Chuco dropped us off downtown.
We bought our obligatory souvenirs and walked to Lobster Cove. Al insisted
upon buying the larger chess set against my warnings that it would be heavy.
Walking to Lobster Cove he berated me for insisting that he buy the larger
set instead of the little one HE wanted to buy...yeah right!
I don't care much for lobster (which is why we didn't go to Lobster House) so I
ordered shrimp. It was coconut breaded and although the shrimp were large,
the breading was only okay. Al had 3/4 lb. of lobster tail for like 217
pesos. It was gorgeous and he said it was good. Our waiter was Omar
and he did an adequate job considering house busy the place was. Fernando
was our busboy and he brought the bread, table service, etc. and was the
friendliest face in the place. I think they get a lot of cruisers in
there. Our bill was less than 450 pesos (one coke two beers. I gave
Omar 100 pesos tip. We waited for Fernando to come out of the kitchen
because I wanted to give him a 50 pesos tip...since he had been so friendly.
While we waited, Omar returned with shot of kalhua with a cream
top..."on the house" as an after dinner drink. I didn't see
others get one...that 100 pesos must have been a decent tip. While we
sipped our kalhua, we watched a couple at the next table get a Maya coffee.
There was a real ceremony involved, with flames, sugar, orange, sparkles,
and more flames. It was cool! We decided to split one and Omar gave
an even better presentation! Just 40 pesos for a Maya coffee. It was
a nice way to end our trip.
Day 8
Bummer...pack, leave, catch a plane...Allegro announces that they were told the
wrong departure time so we can leave now with no food, or wait 2 hours while
they get food for us. Well, we returned on a liquid flight. I had
had enough booze on Cozumel that I stuck with pop. Home to snow, snow, and
more snow. All the way back Al and I are discussing what we'll do when we
return. I'm thinking of the trip I'm planning with son number 2 (Nick) at
Easter. Hope I can swing it.
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