Cozumel 3/07

As Mexico's largest island, Cozumel sits off the Yucatan coast in Caribbean waters teeming with 230 species of exotic fish, rainbow colored coral and sunken ships. More than 90% of the island, untouched by development, is covered in low-lying jungle, marshes, lagoons and small hills. This is a snippet of a description of this beautiful island my family & I visited last week taken from this site http://www.ehi.com/travel/mexico/resorts/cozumel/cozumel-destination-description-profile.htm

We stayed at the Suites Bahia located in the downtown area, a few blocks from the ferry & the downtown plaza. From our standard room balcony we could see the pier where all the cruise ships dock. Our room also faces an Italian restaurant, Sarvissi, which serves the best gelato in town. I highly recommend the berry frozen yogurt flavor. Next to this restaurant is a great cosmopolitan coffee hangout, The Coffee Bean. The dessert portions are humongous & fresh.

View from our hotel balcony

I planned to go to an ecopark near Playa del Carmen called Xcaret(Ish-kah-ret) & purchased the basic admission online. Be prepared to spend an entire day at this park to see all the exhibits & do all the activities you’ve paid for. Some activities have time limits so check them out. From Cozumel, we rode on a ferry to Playa del Carmen & caught a taxi to Xcaret. We went snorkeling in the underground inlet which was a lot of fun. We swam in caves & underneath arched mangrove roots plus the company who swam near us was a singing group. Their singing was an added pleasure while my family and I enjoyed exploring the inlets. We could see beautiful, colorful fishes at the end of the inlets. In the evening we enjoyed a spectacular & interesting Mayan show. The audience were given a candle before we got our seats & when all the candles were lit, it was just an awesome sight.

Parade in Xcaret

Beautiful flamingos in Xcaret

The third day we spent on a beach, south of town, called Mr.Sancho's Beach. It was about a 20min taxi ride from town. The water was blue, green, teal & turquoise, in other words, beautiful. One could literally see the fishes if you look down into the water a few feet from the beach. It was that clear! The fishes were “friendly”, for lack of a better word, they swam right up to your legs & soon I discovered why. Some children came into the water with tortillas in hand & fed the fishes. No wonder the fishes looked a little chubby.

Mr.Sancho's Beach

The fourth day we visited a small Mayan ruins site called San Gervascio, closer to the east side of the island. The tour guide was very well informed & quite entertaining. We saw some iguanas which reside in the ruins & surrounding vegetation. The bunga raya & bougainvilleas reminded me of Malaysia. We then drove around the island & stopped at several beaches on the East coast. The waves were very strong & bigger than on the West Coast & not conducive for swimming, but the water was so beautiful.
The fifth day, my husband visited a local museum while I took the kids shopping at Playa del Carmen. We shopped at the flea market where we could bargain. I would suggest buying coral jewelry for souvenirs. When we got back on the island we explored the downtown plaza, had dinner at the Casa Dennis. I highly recommend the chicken lime soup, it was refreshing. The best deal at the plaza was the churros, fresh & cheap. We listened to first class jazz well into the night.

Plaza in downtown Cozumel

Cozumel is a beautiful vacation spot. It is not only popular among divers but from my experience it is a perfect place for a family vacation. There are lots of things to do with the children & quite affordable. My family & I had a wonderful vacation.

Goodbye Cozumel