Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the neater coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. This popular cruise ship destination became famous in 1961 when Jacques Cousteau declared Cozumel one of the most beautiful scuba diving areas of the world. Since then, Cozumel has become an underwater marine park to protect the delicate balance of the coral reefs and abundant variety of tropical fish.
This is where I first snorkeled and looked forward to the experience. I had initially planned to take a local taxi to Playa Carona. As we left the pier, we talked to several tour guide operators and learned that the 2008 hurricane had changed the coast and the flow of fish. Instead of going on our own, we took an excursion with a local dive shop, which turned out fantastic. We visited three sites, had an attentive marine tour guide, saw plenty of fish, coral, and aquatic plants in crystal-clear waters. The snorkeling leader fed the fish, which meant we were surrounded with colorful Sargent Majors, deep blue parrot fish, and other vibrant fish of various sizes. He dove down for a sea cucumber and I held the strange sea worm in my hand. This excursion was by far better than the one we had on Roatan.
Once we landed we went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville to buy souvenirs, and then we returned to the cruise ship. Mom had a lucky streak in the casino; she played for more than a half hour on $5.00 before loosing it all.
The entertainment was a comedian named Fred Bevill. His jokes were funny, but the true story of his first date at age nine was hilarious.
This sounds like a good time. Margaritaville would have been a fun place to visit. Did they play the song?
Margaritaville is a hotel/resort chain with a couple of sites in Florida. Maybe you can visit one for yourself. They did not play the song while I was in there, but I did not stay long. I was cold and wet from snorkeling so I decided to wait for the others outside.
The snorkeling does sound wonderful! I’m glad you had the good experience after Honduras which didn’t sound impressive. I loved the snorkeling in P.R. and Virgin Islands–is there any around Sarasota? I guess there needs to be even warmer waters to get the coral and brightly colored fish like Sargent Majors etc.
There used to be a Margaritaville in our area but it closed a few years ago–it was quite good I thought at the time(food and decor). There is a local music group that plays every year, a Jimmy Buffet tribute group that does a good job on his stuff. I like it and steel bands. I enjoyed that on the Bermuda cruise too, even though that’s not ever really Caribbean. I’m envious of your trip! Sounds like it was a good thing, with family and friends as well. You all deserve it.
The cruise was a blast. The only change I would recommend for the social director would be to have parties earlier than midnight. There was usually several hours from the time the show ended until the dancing started. Once I settled down to read or relax, I had little desire to go up on deck to party. Guess I’m showing my age.