"There is a piece of my heart that lives in the ocean. When I am at the beach I am in my place of devotion."
Jen Mcintosh
Cozumel
is the largest permanently inhabited island in the Yucatan Peninsula
and is the third largest island in Mexico. It is located in the
Caribbean Sea. This beautiful tropical destination has gorgeous
white beaches, great snorkeling and diving, and plenty of places to
explore. It is a fun destination.
Our
cruise ship pulled into the western side of the island which is where
there are many all-inclusive resorts and touristy destinations. The
eastern side of the island is pretty much undeveloped. Cozumel is only twelve miles from the coast of Yucatan Peninsula near Playa del
Carmen and on clear days, you can see the mainland easily. Cozumel is really not that big being only 30 miles long and 9 miles wide. Cozumel translated in Mayan is
“Island of the Swallows.”
Most
cruises that go to Mexico from eastern United States visit Cozumel.
There is a large cruise area that can dock at least 8 cruise ships on
their five main piers and they receive over 3 million cruisers that visit every
year. Many of the cruise lines partnered with the Mexican government
to develop beautiful areas just off the pier to explore. There are
nice shops, souvenir shops, tequila shops, and lots of restaurants
and bars to enjoy. It is an easy walk to the touristy area just
outside the port gates near where the cruise ships are docked.
Depending on what port your ship is docked is how far it is to get to
the city of Cozumel. One pier – Punta Langosta is right downtown.
International TMM Pier is three miles from downtown and Puerta Maya
is five miles from downtown. You can easily grab a cab to take you
to downtown. Travelers Tip: Make sure you know the cost of the taxi ride
before you get into the cab.
We
visited Cozumel three times in the last couple months. On one
visit, we just walked around the touristy area and visited the
souvenir shops. We went to a tequila shop and tasted some tequila.
Travelers Tip: If you do taste the tequila at one of these shops
just know that the tequila is not high quality tequila. They will
charge you as if it is the best tequila out there. We fell for it
once and got home to discover the tequila didn’t have as much
alcohol content that it should have and was not top quality. Live
and Learn. Travelers Tip: Haggle over the price of everything you are
interested in buying. The vendors will come down on their prices.
We
stopped and had a great meal at Pancho’s Back Yard which has great
Mexican Food at the Puerto Maya port. We loved this restaurant as it was right in the port
and we could sit at a table overlooking the ship on a sandy area with
Palm trees. A couple of Iguanas were sunning themselves on a nearby pavement while other tourists found the hammocks where they could lie down
and take a siesta in the shade of the palm trees. Outside the
restaurant was a husband and wife team dressed in Mexican clothes
that played beautiful songs on the xylophone. They were very good
and we enjoyed hearing them play as we ate our meal.
Our
next trip, we booked an excursion through the cruise ship to Passion
Island aka Isla Passion. This island was originally known as “Mukyaj
Peten” by the Mayans who once lived here. The beach was the site
where many Mayans would pray to Ixchel, the Goddess of love and
fertility. They would pray for a happy marriage and healthy
children. Many tourist now go to the island to get married and
continue this tradition on this very beach. This tranquil island is currently owned
by the Camou Family. At one time, there was a nice restaurant on the
island.
This
island has about a half a mile of gorgeous coastline and is is a
secluded island located a short boat ride from the Cozumel cruise
port. Our boat ride along Cozumel was rocking and rolling on
our way to the islands as the winds were very strong that day. We
were told it was unusually wavy but by the time we came back, it was
smooth sailing.
As
we pulled up to the small dock on this tiny island, we could see the beautiful colored crystal-clear
aqua waters and the palm trees blowing in the wind. It looked lovely under bright blue skies and very peaceful. The palms made a swooshing sound in the wind. We were lead up to the beach area and shown
where the bathrooms and a few shops were located. Then we walked to
the beach where we found a nice table in the shade. We found the
sandy beach there to be a bit rocky in the water where you swim so we
just relaxed on the beach. It could be is was rockier that usual
since the wind had been blowing hard for a week before we arrived and
may have blown some rocks in. On this particular day snorkeling wasn't an option as the wind and current stirred up the sand making it cloudy near the beach, Travelers Tip: Bring water shoes
and sunscreen. The sun is hot and it is easy to get a sunburn.
If
you want to do something more adventuresome, you can rent kayaks,
paddle boards or water bicycles. Our
excursion included a lovely lunch including fish and chicken tacos,
guacamole, salads, desserts, and bread. It also included an open
bar. This was a stunning and relaxing place to visit.
While
sitting at our table eating, we saw raccoons walking by. They were
not afraid of people but were not an issue. It was fun watching
them but we didn't want to get too close, They were acting like dogs looking for food. One of the few stores on the island was a pharmacy. I walked in
just to see what they had and found they had Z packs, Gabapentin,
normal cold medication, and even Oxycodone. Oxycodone they sold for
$15 a pill. Amazing they can sell that without a prescription.
There
are some floating beach toys you can use in the water that were
laying on the beach. We had an enjoyable couple hours and then it
was back on the boat for our ride back. It was nice seeing the
sights along the coast of Cozumel. It was a great trip.
On
our last cruise to Cozumel we reserved a three stop snorkel trip.
This was a great trip that we really enjoyed. The excursion didn’t
take us far from the cruise ships to an area that was great for
seeing tropical fish. We saw some amazing fish to include a large
stingray. Our guide in the water was terrific and pointed out many
exotic fish for us to see as well as preforming the macarana under water as we snorkeled above. . We loved this trip.
So
there is plenty to do in Cozumel and we will never tire of that
island. We have seen a lot and there is still much more for us to
see.
Till next time. Bye for now.
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