life in Cozumel

my mom decided she needed to get away, but didn't want to get away by herself. so she took me with her to Cozumel to lie on the beach and do nothing for three days. nothing real exciting took place, because as i just said the purpose was to do nothing, and so we did.

we arrived thursday just after lunch. we found our greeter just outside the airport waiting to help us with our transportation to the hotel. very nice guy who got 12 of us into the van and then another guy drove us to the airport in the wild-Cozumel-taxi-driving way. we checked in and were given wristbands to prove we were all-inclusive and shown the direction toward our room. the resort was beautiful. an open air reception area with flowers and birds and a fountain just outside. all the rooms were in thatched-roof huts, eight rooms to a hut. we walked past flowers and shrubs and palm trees to our room, where patio furniture and a hammock were waiting on our porch. inside was a normal hotel room, two beds, a couple of chairs, a small table, and a tv. a normal hotel bathroom with a hair dryer, iron, coffee pot, and room safe. but what made it special was the towel animal of an elephant left on the bed.

it was lunchtime, so after dropping our stuff in the room we made our way a very short distance to the pool area where lunch was served buffet style every day. there was a hot grill waiting to cook your choice of chicken, pork, or beef. then already cooked were potatoes, french fries, various meats, veggies, pasta, fruit, salad, and dessert. we dipped up our plate, found a place to sit down, and then inquired of the bar about our drinking privileges ... all-inclusive really does mean, at least in this case, all you can eat and drink of anything you want. and so we ordered and drank freely (but responsibly, of course) and helped ourselves to the buffet two or three times. the only bad part about this dining outside for lunch were the flies. they were everywhere and always trying to eat our food before we could eat it. and then the bees and flies would attack our drinks. so, unfortunately, we were always fanning something.

after lunch we began our lounging and doing nothing. around 6-ish we made our way to the restaurant at the front of the hotel for dinner. this was buffet style too, but they also have a reservations-only dining room where you order off the menu. we decided to do the buffet the first two nights and the dining room the third night ... on the buffet the first night was mexican food (not all was mexican-style, but that was the theme of the night) ... and since business was slow, they only had one of the menu-restaurants open each night and the next night the mexican restaurant was open ... that would have been mexican two nights in a row. so we chose to do the seafood buffet the second night and then the italian menu-restaurant the third night. it all worked out well and provided lots of variety.

they provided entertainment each night around 9 p.m. The first night they had games outside (for free) where you played to win fake money to spend at the auction later on. so we played and hung out until the show started. after the show they had an auction where you bid to win items like a cheap necklace or a bottle of tequila. of course you win it for free, since the money was fake, so that made it even more fun. we didn't see anything we wanted to bid on, so we ended up giving our $19 to another couple who were trying to win the bottle of tequila, the last item of the night. they were furiously bidding against some other people and ran out of money. well, the other people had already won two other things, so we gave the couple our money to help win the tequila. and then a woman gave them hers. and then a girl. and finally, after all the pooled money, they outbid the other people and won. it was fun.

so the shows at night ... the first night we had mexican dance. six or eight very good dancers showed us different styles of dance from each state in Mexico. the second was a fire show by two young guys who had no fears of being burned up. and the third night was an international dance show, same dancers from the first night, but this time dancing different styles from spain, argentina, columbia, mexico, and cuba. all the entertainment was actually quite good, but the fire show was the best in my opinion. it was just different and dangerous and exciting. :-)

during the day they would have different activities like water volleyball, beach volleyball, a fashion show, horseshoes, and other things posted on a schedule. in addition to the two pools, jacuzzi, beach, and ocean activities, they had shuffleboard, tennis, a gym, and a spa. in the ocean the all-inclusive activities were all non-motorized sports ... snorkeling, boogie board, sailing, and kayaking.

so our second day was spent on the beach, lounging around in the sun, in the shade, and in the water. we snorkelled, we read, we kayaked, and we ate/drank at scheduled meal times. the snorkeling was ok, but not wonderful ... it was just regular water and sand there on our beach, so the really pretty fish weren't around because there was no coral for them to live in. we did see fish, but only a few and only white or black ones. BUT ... i saw a sting ray. and a big one at that. :-) i was on my way back to the beach when there it was. i was so shocked i moved away from it. it was a distance away and it was at the bottom, but still ... i didn't know how it might feel about me following it, so i didn't. i moved a little to the right and let it move a little to the left and after a few seconds we drifted far enough apart that i couldn't see it anymore. so i hurried on back to short to tell of my news. it was VERY cool, but enough scary that i didn't go back out ... i wanted to go find it again, but for some reason i was a little scared to.

the third day we decided to rent a car and drive around the island to see what else there is to Cozumel. after about an hour of driving, we determined ... there's not much to Cozumel. pretty much all activity is happening on the west side of the island just above and below the main city of San Miguel. if you love sunbathing/swimming, shopping, or water sports, this is a nice place to come. otherwise, you don't need to spend more than a day or two here. there's nothing on the east side except waves. no people, no activity, and not much room to pull off the road. it's very isolated and the entire 30 miles or whatever that we drove on that east side was spent with only a handful of other drivers. it was weird. but the waves were nice to see and listen to. :-)

from the air you can see the island ... there's nothing in the middle except trees. no roads, no villages, nothing ... just trees. it makes sense that they wouldn't bother with the inside since everyone comes to Cozumel for the beach, but it feels weird to drive down a road for 30+ miles and never see a turn off to another road, a house, or in some places another car! but such is life in Cozumel.

we tried to find snorkeling sites for the afternoon, but didn't have much success. we finally just took the car and snorkeling gear back and called it quits with a margarita. :-) then we got dressed for our very nice italian dinner.

dinner was nice. we had very attentive waiters, wine, a bread basket, and four courses of delicious choices ... salad, pasta, meat, and dessert. all of it was very good and beautifully-plated, but the dessert was not very good at all. the dessert as a whole at this place was always disappointing ... it usually looked great, but tasted icky. but otherwise, it was wonderful.

today we ate breakfast, packed, and sat on the beach reading for a couple of hours before checking out. after we checked out, we gave our bag to the bellman and ate lunch. then we got our taxi to the airport and flew home. the airport is so small and so efficient it only took us five minutes to check in, go through security, and find our gate. (airport-recommended two hours ahead of time is a joke, just FYI for any future travelers.)

so, in sum, it was wonderful, beautiful, and fun. yes, traveling with "panic-snoring-drunk mom," and "hormonal-indecisive jenny" had its moments, but overall we had a great time. :-) definitely two or three days is good enough. and DEFINITELY all-inclusive is the way to go!