Outside of Cancun: Merida and Down the Coast |
Merida |
As soon as I read about Merida, I knew we had to go there. While this was largely a beach vacation, we had never been to Mexico before and did not want to go without experiencing a significant amount of its history and culture. Merida, as the capital of the state of Yucatan, is probably the closest you will get to big-city Mexico on the peninsula. That is not to say that it is anything like Mexico City. Merida is relatively low-key. |
The city of Merida was founded in 1542 by Francisco de Montejo. Due to its prosperous trade with Europe, Merida grew fairly wealthy and developed a European look. We had planned to go to the ruins at Chichen Itza early in the morning and then catch a bus to Merida in the afternoon. Because accommodations are so inexpensive in Merida, we planned to keep our hotel in Cancun so we could leave most of our luggage behind. We would only take a camera bag and a backpack with a one-day change of clothing. After a substantial amount of confusion, I managed to call a hotel from a streetside phone the day before our arrival in Merida. I had not yet completed the reservation, when I lost our connection. Rather than waste more time, as we were growing hungry, we decided to just find a room when we reached the city. |
From Chichen Itza, it took us about an hour and a half to reach Merida. To our pleasant surprise, Merida was in a different time zone than Cancun, so we gained an hour for more sightseeing. A cab took us to an area just north of the Plaza Mayor (Merida's main square), where there are several budget hotels, including the one I had called. We just walked down the street (Calle 57) and stepped into a couple to check on prices. At the second, the Hotel Montejo, we asked to see a room and decided it would do just fine. The large second-floor room had a high ceiling and a massive wooden door that opened out onto a balcony surrounding a large and fairly attractive courtyard. The bathroom was not immaculate but was clean enough and contained all the necessary amenities. One thing we insisted on having in Merida was an air conditioner, since the city is known to get quite toasty. The large window unit in this building was loud, but it did the job. The best thing about this hotel, other than its close proximity to the main attractions, was its price. The room was priced at just under $30, but we were charged a few dollars less because the desk clerk did not have the proper change. |
Sunday afternoon square dancing |
Sundays are special days in Merida. The streets are blocked off to cars surrounding the Plaza Mayor. It was very easy to find our way to the Plaza Mayor, and to get around in general. The streets around the city-center are numbered, with odd numbers running east-west and even numbers running north-south. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks off the square. Around the square, vendors had set up carts from which they sold foods and crafts. Dominating the Plaza Mayor on the west side is the Catedral del San Idelfonso, dating from the second half of the 16th century. Opposite this is the Palacio Municipal, with its attractive clock tower. The north and south sides are anchored by the Palacio Gobierno and the Casa de Montejo. The Case de Montejo features rather gruesome carvings of conquistadors standing on the decapitated heads of their Mayan conquests. |
We spent the late afternoon and evening wandering around the square. I interspersed photographing the citizens at play with sampling local snacks. There were children playing everywhere. They drove little car-like vehicles around the streets, blew bubbles, played with helium balloons, and climbed in the sculpted trees around the Plaza Mayor. Groups of people gathered here and there to converse. I had the feeling that these regular Sunday events were important occasions for bonding with friends and meeting new people. Folk dancers were performing before the Palacio Municipal. I was able to get a few decent shots of them, but it was impossible to penetrate the huge crowd around the performers. I had to use my longest lens and shoot over their heads as much as I could. I wish I had been able to get a seat in the bleachers set up across the street or go up to the balcony of the Palacio Municipal to shoot down on them. It is pretty easy to go up to the balcony, but I did not learn of it until the next day. One of the best things about the experience, especially after coming from tourist-packed Cancun, was that we only saw one or two other non-Mexican visitors at the square. I am sure Merida is great anytime, but if is undoubtedly worth the effort to be there on a Sunday. |
We knew Merida was supposed to be the best place on the peninsula for buying Mexican crafts, so we had planned to do some shopping while in town. Hammocks and Panama hats are two favorites for many visitors. We have nowhere to hang a hammock, but we did want to get some hats. Panama hats are not just for tourists, as they are quite popular with men in the Yucatan. Many of the women wear colorful, lose-fitting dresses called huipiles. I couldn't persuade Gina to take one of those home. |
Although we had not planned to hit any stores until the next day, we went along with a local storeowner when he approached us about buying hats. We were both pretty anxious to get back to the square as quickly as possible, but the guy's store was very near. The store owner showed us a photo of his family's cave, where the hats are made. The humidity of the caves makes the straw more pliable. You are supposed to be able to judge the quality of a Panama hat by the tightness of its weave, and the hats in his store seemed nice to our very untrained eyes. It wasn't long before we both had new head coverings and were heading back out to enjoy the festivities. We were able to bargain some, since we did not appear very anxious to buy something. Somehow I think it would have been easier to bargain, though, without an expensive camera hanging around my neck. Anyway, we would be glad to have the hats the next day to keep the brain-frying heat off our heads. |
After a few hours on the square, we headed to Los Almendros for dinner. This is a very well known restaurant that you will find in all the guidebooks. It specializes in local Yucatecan cuisine. We were almost the only people in the place that night. As we came in the door, there were pictures of the dishes on the wall of the foyer, so we could see what looked good. Los Almendros' main claim to fame is the invention of puc choc, which is pork with onions, tomatoes, and spices. I ordered the puc choc, which was very good and hearty. Gina had a chicken dish, but she wished she had ordered the puc choc after tasting mine. As an appetizer I had sopa de lima, or lime soup. I had no idea what lime soup was before I ordered it. It really isn't lime soup at all, but more of a chicken broth that contains lime, chicken, tomatoes, onions, and fried tortilla pieces. I enjoyed this as well. Other notable items on the menu included pollo or cochinita pibil (chicken or suckling pig wrapped in banana leaves) and papadzules (tacos stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and covered in red and green pumpkin-seed sauce - I had some back in Cancun). Achiote, a reddish brown spice that is a particular favorite of the region, is used in many of the foods. You will find the restaurant on Calle 50 in Plaza Mejorada. From the Plaza Mayor, walk up Calle 59 about four blocks and take a left at Calle 50. It is easy to miss in the dark, as the front of the restaurant is rather nondescript and it sits beside an enclosed parking lot. The streets were wet from a rain shower when we headed back to the hotel. This was to be the only rain we encountered during our entire 1 1/2 week stay. June is supposed to be within rainy season, but I guess El Niño or something kept us dry. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, passing some young American travelers along the way |
The debate of the evening was whether to visit Uxmal the next day or spend the time in Merida. We had only planned to be in the area for little more than a day. I went downstairs a couple of times to ask questions at the desk about how to get to Uxmal. The desk clerk was extremely patient and helpful. He spoke good English too. At the very last minute before going to bed, I decided I really wanted to see Uxmal. Please see my "Mayan Ruins" page for the continuation of this part of our trip. |
We arrived back at the Merida bus station in the middle of the afternoon. We had our work cut out for us, as now our time was very limited. We had to squeeze a lot of sightseeing, as well as some shopping, into one afternoon. We walked back toward the Plaza Mayor past the market district. The narrow sidewalks along this area of small shops were crowded with hundreds of people going about their weekday routines. The hustle and bustle made quite a contrast to the festivities of the previous day. |
Before starting our tour, we stepped into an American fastfood restaurant for a restroom break. I use MacDonalds, Burger King, and similar places for two things when traveling abroad: a quick meal when sightseeing time is too limited to go elsewhere and convenient, clean restrooms. As we were leaving, a man of about 60 years approached and began talking to us in perfect English. He introduced himself as a local English teacher. We discussed our travels and other things. He insisted on tagging along with us for a while. We politely refused his offer to show us around the city. I would have loved to have this local gentleman accompany us, as I am sure we would have learned a lot from his vast knowledge of the city and country. However, we were very short on time, and I knew that we would have to all but run to accomplish our goals before catching a bus back to Cancun. |
He did show us to the local market hall, however, after I had mentioned that we wanted to buy some crafts. His guidance saved us a lot of time because he took us directly to a shop that sold just the type of items we wanted most. We spent quite a bit of time picking out what we wanted, since this place had a large selection of just about everything you could imagine. The prices were not as low as we had expected, but the quality seemed very good. After 30-40 minutes, we picked out a colorful wooden dragon and an iguana, together with a black vase, and reached an acceptable compromise on the price. Both types of items are made in towns in the Oaxaca region. The wood creatures are called animalitos and are carved by Zapotec Indians. Black pots and vases originated in the town of San Bartolo Coyotepec. The kilns are closed during the manufacturing process, causing carbon to mix with the clay. It did feel uncomfortable having someone act as an intermediary between us and the salesperson, although his language skills helped some. He would relay our thoughts to the salesperson and then make comments such as "she can't sell it at such a low price." While we were standing around, the gentleman also made very strong comments about political murders in the Chiapas region and the corruption of the government. With my interest in history and politics, I found his opinions and statements fascinating, but it seemed that the salesperson was a little uncomfortable with what he was saying. I have heard that locals commonly approach tourists in this way and offer help for tips. The thought did cross my mind that this was his purpose. If so, he was too convincing. I sincerely believed he just wanted to be helpful and spend some time talking to Americans, so I offered only my thanks as a reward. |
Now it was time to tour. The cathedral, partly built from stones taken from the Mayan city that used to occupy this area, is not all that special inside. On the outside, it gives you that "I am in Mexico feeling." Churches seem to play a large part in the architecture of Mexican cities, as they do in Catholic parts of Europe. We climbed to the second-story balcony of the Palacio Municipal, the town hall that faces the cathedral. From here, you can get some nice shots of the tree-covered Plaza Mayor. Since it was late afternoon, the light was just right from this east-facing building. |
A real highlight is the Palacio Gobierno, the seat of the Yucatan state's governor. You enter into a courtyard surrounded by colonnaded archways and large potted plants. The real gems, though, await you as you climb the stairs to the second-floor balcony. Mexico is famous for its great muralists, and the creations of Fernando Castro Pacheco line the walls on this floor. His large, mostly earth-toned works, depict episodes and themes from Mayan and Mexican history. |
Before completing our tour, we headed just west of the Plaza Mayor to Casa de Artesanías for a little more shopping. This small arts and crafts shop, located in Edificio de Monjas on Calle 63, is run by a government-funded organization. I had read that the quality and prices here were pretty good. Well, prices are relative, and I didn't have much to which to compare them, but I found them very reasonable. We picked up a Mayan statue, a small purple vase, and a bouquet of the ubiquitous large paper flowers. On the way to the shop, we passed a uniformed band rehearsing for an evening performance. You can find music and/or folk dancing in Merida pretty much any night of the week. |
By now, we were fairly loaded down with baggage, but we decided to gather up even more. We wanted to walk over to Paseo Montejo before making our way back to the bus station. On the way we picked up the rest of our luggage from the hotel room. Paseo Montejo, a few blocks north of the Plaza Mayor, is a wide, 10-block long street that has been compared to Paris' Champs-Elysées. This tree-lined street contains many attractive old mansions built by 19th century plantation owners. We were rapidly running out of time about now and were growing increasingly exhausted from a day of climbing the ruins at Uxmal and walking the streets of Merida. I am sure the incredibly hot weather did not help either. It was time to get some food before returning to the bus station. Remember, I said American fast food places are good for quick food and clean restrooms. Well, we stopped at a Burger King to take advantage of both. I won't discuss the menu, since I am sure most of you are fairly well acquainted with it. Then we flagged down a taxi and in ten minutes were at the station. That was when the real fun began. It was about 8:30, and we hoped to catch a bus that left in about half an hour. No luck tonight. There were no seats available until the 11:00 bus. This was one time it would have paid to get tickets ahead. Gina and I were not too thrilled about the prospect of arriving back in Cancun at such a late hour. Since we were very weary, it seemed like an interminably long wait. When our bus did leave, we slept almost all the way back, accompanied by the constant music that plays on those buses. |
At 3:00 am, we pulled into the Cancun bus station and exited to the loud chirping sounds of hundreds of birds that roosted nightly in the nearby trees. We stumbled the two blocks to the hotel, all the while thinking how nice it would be to get in that bed. No drunken revelers would have been able to awaken us that night. We passed a hotdog vendor still selling his wares at 3:15 am. Does this place ever sleep? |
Playa del Carmen |
Our favorite beach discovery was an hour south of Cancun. The current resort area of Playa del Carmen was a sleepy fishing village not too long ago. Today it has a population of over 30,000, and construction is everywhere. When we visited in 1998, there were a lot of tourists there, but it certainly was different than Cancun. We would love to return before Playa becomes too much like its giant northern neighbor. |
All together, we visited Playa del Carmen three times on our trip - once to catch the ferry to Cozumel and twice to spend the day on its pristine beaches. Whereas Cancun is very "Americanized," Playa del Carmen has quite a European feel thanks to its large number of European visitors. Playa del Carmen now has all that Cancun has, but still in much smaller and palatable doses. The beaches are just as good, and many of the popular daytrip destinations, such as Xel-Ha, Xcaret, Coba, and Tulum are much closer than to Cancun. Playa's bus station is very accessible, being less than a five minute walk from the ferry pier. This makes Playa much more convenient than Cancun if you want to stay near the beach but also be close to transportation for daytrips.The main street of interest to travelers is 5th Avenue, This pedestrian-only street, one block off the beach, is lined with small shops and eateries. We always took the bus to Playa del Carmen. We could either take the regular first or second class ADO buses or the Playa Express. Playa Express picked up on the street corner opposite the entrance to Cancun's main bus station. First class buses make fewer stops and tend to have better air conditioning than second class buses. They do cost a little more, but we found all the buses pretty inexpensive. You will see a much greater percentage of Mexicans on the second class buses, but you will also find a lot of them on regular first class bus routes (ie., not going primarily to a tourist site). |
One other thing I liked about Playa del Carmen was that it seemed "more Mexican" than Cancun. So many Americans say they went to Cancun and didn't feel like they left the country. I can see how that would be the case if you stayed in the Hotel Zone all the time; that is why we spent so much time outside Cancun's beach area - so we would experience a little of Mexico along with the beach. The resort area of Playa del Carmen is right next to the residential part of the town, and there is a small church near the ferry dock. There were plenty of Mexicans around, and I didn't get the feeling they were all there to serve the tourists. Playa del Carmen is not an inexpensive destination by any means, but we did find prices to be somewhat lower. In town, we picked up some t-shirts at about half of what we had seen in Cancun. I would love to go back and try out some of the restaurants. We always ate lunch on the beach because we ended up far away from downtown. |
Sometimes it's fun to do nothing |
When we arrived the first day, Gina wanted to find a good beach where we could rent chairs and umbrellas. We walked north of the ferry pier for about twenty minutes looking for just the right spot. We eventually reached Coco Beach. At this beach, there were a couple of small hotels, mostly hidden by palms, an open-air restaurant and bar, and a hut for renting diving gear. We found the equipment we needed and set up to enjoy a relaxing day on the beach. Coco Beach is part of a broad expanse of beautiful white sand, which continues for as far as the eye can see. There were perhaps 20 other people there, mostly if not all Europeans. Topless sunbathing was de rigeur for a large percentage of the women (and all of the men). There is supposed to be a bit of nude sunbathing in this vacinity as well, but we only saw one person sans clothing a little farther up the beach. The setting was very nice, and I am not talking about the topless women. Just off the beach, several motorboats were anchored in the very calm waters, making it all very picturesque. We loved this spot so much that we returned on the last day of our trip. There was nothing to do but relax under the umbrella, watch the boats bob up and down in the gentle blue waves of the Caribbean, read a good book, talk about where to have dinner, and occasionally take a dip in the ocean. |
We did a lot of reading during those two days. I had taken along a copy of "The Lost World of Quintana Roo" by Michele Peissel. He was a Frenchman who traveled in the Yucatan about thirty years ago, exploring and discovering Mayan ruins. It was fascinating to read how wild and unpopulated some of the popular destinations were back then. Cancun did not even exist. Monsieur Peissel traveled from Merida to British Honduras (present-day Belize) by boat and foot, living off turtle eggs and tortillas. Instead of worrying about avoiding hordes of fellow travelers, he was concerned about snakes and bandits. I just stumbled on this book at the library, and it made great reading for the trip. I was quite surprised to see a review of it in the Playa del Carmen travel magazine. |
There were other things to watch around Coco Beach besides just boats bobbing around. Occasionally, a group of people on horseback would pass. You must be able to hire them out somewhere in the vacinity. We saw a couple of parashooters land on the beach one day too. We also watched a Carnival cruise ship unload far off shore, with some passengers heading toward Playa and some toward Cozumel. When we got hungry or thirsty, we would head up to the restaurant/bar for refreshments. You could get a variety of items ranging from hamburgers to chicken and seafood dishes. The prices were not inexpensive, but what would you expect with such a captive group? I think the next closest non-hotel food was at least a 10 to 15 minute walk up the beach. The World Cup was on the TV all the time, as you would expect, since Mexicans and Europeans tend to like soccer (or football for you non-Americans) a lot. I personally always like to watch the World Cup too, so whenever I was at the restaurant, I would try to get an update on what was happening. Mexico was playing one of the days we visited. |
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our all-to-brief exposure to Playa del Carmen. I hope we can make it back before it loses its charm. I guess there is always farther down the coast at somewhere like Akumal or Tulum. For now, I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting relaxation, beautiful beaches, good daytrips, convenient transportation, and a little of Mexico to boot. |
Xel-Ha |
We wanted to do some snorkeling while in the Yucatan, as it is well-known as a great spot for it. The plan was to spend one day at Xel-Ha (pronounced Shel-Ha) and one day off Cozumel. We actually looked into buying snorkeling gear before going but decided to rent in Mexico. My wife and I had only snorkeled once before, many years ago in Hawaii. It turned out the only snorkeling we did in Mexico was at Xel-Ha. |
Xel-Ha is a natural aquarium formed from coves and lagoons, located about 45 minutes south of Playa del Carmen and 15 minutes north of Tulum. The waters in the park are formed by a river that flows out to meet the ocean. There is actually more to do than just snorkel. You can go on a river rafting trip, rest in a hammock in a forest of palms, swim with dolphins for a hefty fee, visit the beach, or explore small Mayan ruins. There is actually another snorkeling park located close to Playa del Carmen. Xcaret is supposed to have more of a variety of activities than Xel-Ha, but it is also more expensive and more heavily promoted. We thought Xel-Ha would be less crowded. |
We arrived early in the morning as recommended in the guidebooks in order to beat the crowds. We took the bus from Cancun and then walked for about 15 minutes down a long dirt road to the park entrance. It turned out we were the very first visitors at the park, and by a good margin. We paid about $15 U.S. each to enter and then quite a bit more for snorkeling gear. It's not a cheap place to go. Since we had plenty of time and really didn't know where the fish were located in this huge pool, we took a guide up on his offer to show us around. There are many large rocks in the lagoon, and these tend to be the best places to find fish. The guide fed the fish to attract them. You could get this food from dispensers located near the point where you entered the water. The waters were pretty cloudy during the first part of the day, but as the guide had said, the visibility improved later. After about half an hour, we tipped the guide and took a break before setting off on our own. There are outdoor lockers at the park to store your clothes, camera, and other items while snorkeling. We snorkeled another hour or two before taking a mid-day break. I would say we saw between 10 and 20 species of fish at the park, but that is just a guess. Most were fairly small, but there was one type about as long as my arm that I particularly liked to swim among. These fish would appear out of nowhere in schools of about 15, and I would swim along as if I was one of the school. I am sure they were thinking "we'll lose this idiot soon enough." During our lunch break, we walked down a trail to the beach. It was pretty windy down there with some rough surf. The beach had palapas, but we did not see a single other person out there. There was actually a shipwreck out near the rocky point that juts out from the lagoon - well, at least a large boat resting against the rocky shore. |
Godzilla fights and other entertainment |
We had unusual entertainment during our lunch at one of Xel-Ha's many outdoor restaurants. The park was crawling with iguanas, perhaps because of all the rocks. Iguanas love to sun on the rocks. Two fairly large specimens approached one another inside the restaurant, about 15 feet from where we were sitting. They apparently were not happy to see one another and began to have a pretty rough battle for territory. One iguana emerged with a badly bleeding head. |
By mid-day, the park had grown quite a bit more crowded as tour groups began to arrive. A lot of tours combine visits to Xel-Ha and the ruins at Tulum. After lunch, we decided to do a little river rafting. To get to the starting point, you had to walk up the trail aways. It took us a long time because unlike everyone else we saw, we had left our shoes back in the lockers, and the trail was covered with very tiny and sharp rocks. I wish I had a dollar for everytime we said "it must be around that bend" to only round the curve and see nothing but path and trees way into the distance. I was surprised we didn't arrive with bloody stumps. Finally, there it was. "No, we didn't bring anything for a deposit; we didn't know we needed any. We only have our swimsuits." Thank goodness, they let us have a raft anyway so we did not have to walk back over those rocks. We got one raft for the two of us (actually more like a giant innertube). The water was pretty darned cold in the river area. I preferred to just jump in, which actually was quite refreshing after you adjusted. Gina wanted me to pull the raft up so she could get in without getting into the ice-cold water (of course). I eventually got her wet (of course). The first part of the trip was through a narrow vine-covered section and was kind of fun. Then, you hit the open water. It must have taken an hour to get back to the main park area. We found it to be a lot faster to just get in the water, while holding the raft, so that we could paddle with our feet. At a certain point, you couldn't wait to get back on land. |
After that, we went snorkeling again, this time going farther out into the lagoon toward the ocean. Very few people ventured out that far. On one bank, there was sort of a cave that you could swim through. We spent many hours in the water that day. When we set out for Xel-Ha, we had thought we might leave midway through the day and go to Tulum or Akumal, but we ended up staying at the park until closing. I did make sure to lie down in one of those hammocks at least for a few minutes before heading back. We were the first to arrive and the last to leave. We loaded onto a trolley with many of the park's employees for the long ride back to the main road for a bus ride to Cancun. The trolley didn't appear to be going anywhere soon, however, and we did not want to miss the bus back, so we began walking. Of course, we didn't get there any faster than the trolley did, but sometimes you just feel better making progress. After reaching the road, we had a pretty long wait, along with four or five employees, for a bus to come along. At least it seemed like a long time because there were lots of nasty mosquitoes nipping at us the whole time. |
We had a good time at Xel-Ha. I would like to try some snorkeling in the oceans around the Yucatan on the next trip, but the park made for a fun day. The only negative, and it was a big one, was that we got pretty bad sunburns as a result of spending so much time in the water with no sunscreen. All the books had said not to use sunscreen because it clouded the water and was bad for the fish. In fact, the park rules said not to use it. We compromised. We did apply some before we started snorkeling, but we did not reapply. Later, we saw fish-friendly sunscreen in a shop at Xel-Ha, but I never looked at it to see why it was better than the normal type. The books still say not to use sunscreen. My advice is to look into the fish-friendly kind or try to limit your time in the water. Even better, perhaps - wear a shirt. |
Cozumel |
Cozumel has to rank up there with Cancun, Acapulco, and Puerto Vallarta, as one of the best known Mexican resort locations. One reason is because it is a popular stop for cruise ships. Probably the easiest way to reach the island, other than by air, is to take the large ferry from Playa del Carmen, which takes approximately 40 minutes. Again, as we were staying in Cancun, we went to Cozumel as a daytrip early in the morning. In fact, we caught the earliest possible boat out of Playa del Carmen. We already knew when we hit the island that we wanted to once again rent a moped as we had on Isla Mujeres, so we looked for someone to help us make that happen. We didn't have to look hard, of course. There were always people at the boat docks waiting for tourists to come ashore. |
We considered that since Cozumel was so much bigger than Isla Mujeres, it might be nice to have a moped for each of us. Remember, Gina did not like my driving. Gina took one for a spin around the block. It turns out that Gina liked my driving a lot more than driving a moped herself, so we went with one again. We knew we wouldn't be able to see the entire island in one day, and we had read that the northern roads were difficult even with a jeep. That is why we chose to make a circle of the southern half of the island. For the first several miles, there was just a narrow road surrounded by jungle, with nothing else much to see. Eventually, after quite a haul, we reached the coast. |
Want a beach of your own? |
The eastern coast of the island contains about 10 miles of deserted beaches. We saw a few stores, but they were few and far between. On our right, there was nothing but vegetation. If you want to have a beach all to yourselves, this is a good place to look. You can just pull your moped off the road and walk about 20 feet to the beach. Probably because this was a Sunday, lots of local families were out for a day on the beach as well. They would park their vehicles up on the road, unload 5-10 people, and head down to the beach with food and drink. Many of the beaches were littered from bottles and other items left behind. The other bad thing about this stretch was the lack of shelter along most of it. Just as Isla Mujeres had been a few days before, Cozumel was hotter than an habañero. |
We finally did find a secluded beach for ourselves, but we couldn't stay very long without shelter. No other people were visible in either direction. The waters were very rough along this coast. This area is supposed to have a dangerous undertow, so I only waded out a few feet. The beach was very steep at the water, so you couldn't go out far before it got deep. In order to breathe again (the heat was pretty stifling), we got back on the moped and headed farther around the island. A lot of Cozumel's more popular beaches are on the west coast, and Gina was getting pretty anxious by now to find a nice relaxing one with shelter. We were both getting a little tired of riding, especially after we had to backtrack to find a beach towel that blew off the moped. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Let's just say that these conditions do not promote marital bliss. We finally pulled into one promising beach area to check it out. We thought this must be Playa San Francisco, one of the good ones, according to its location, but I don't think it could have been. The beach wasn't very big. We decided to ride up the road a little ways to see what else we could find. No luck, so we decided enough of this and just turned around to go back to the little beach we had just visited. We rented chairs and grabbed a hamburger at one of the two restaurants on the beach. I also decided I had to try a piña colada in a gutted pineapple. Don't know why, but I just had to have one. It was pretty good but steep too at about $6 U.S. I debated snorkeling, but I was too tired, and it didn't seem like a great place for it anyway. It was getting fairly late when we made our way back to town. Since we had to return to Playa del Carmen and then catch an hour-long bus to Cancun, we decided to head back. We didn't really didn't get to see much of the town of San Miguel. From what we saw, it seemed to have a lot of the same clubs and restaurants that are found in Cancun. The day visiting Cozumel was probably the most hectic and least enjoyable of the trip. It is a big island to try to see on a daytrip. If you go focused on one thing, such as lying on the beach, driving around the island, or going diving, I would think you could easily enjoy just spending a day there. To really see what the island has to offer, though, requires much more time. We were not very impressed with what beaches we did see on Cozumel; those at Cancun and Playa del Carmen were far better. My suggestion is to rent a car or jeep on the island (preferably the latter). This would make it possible to see a lot more and in more comfort. I would love to return, rent a jeep, and make a journey to the northeast section of the island. This part supposedly is lightly visited as the roads are not very good. However, the beaches are even more secluded, and there are supposed to be many boa constrictors, crocodiles, iguanas, and other wild animals along the roads. Sounds like great photo ops. There are also small Mayan ruins on the southern end. |
Kids just want to have fun |
While we stood on the dock awaiting our ride back across, I was able to snap a photo of some boys playing on the beach. They were rolling down the sloped sands into the water. I always love to photograph children when I travel. They reflect their cultures, but there is also something very universal about their innocence and playfulness. On the ferry ride back to Playa del Carmen, we sat behind a Mexican woman and her little girl. She (the little girl) played hide-and-seek with me for most of the trip. I eventually pulled out my camera to get a shot of her. Because of the large windows on the ferry, I was able to get a sharp picture without flash, even though I only had 100 speed film loaded. |
The One-eyed Traveler |
This page was last updated on: September 8,
2002
Text and photos copyright 1984-2002 Dan Woodlief |
