Mexico - 2008

A couple weeks ago Jamie and I went to Mexico for spring break. We had a blast!

We decided to go back to Cozumel. Cozumel was our first trip to Mexico back in 2000, and it’s also where we got engaged.

This time we decided to stay closer to the town of San Miguel de Cozumel. We’re really glad that we did. We walked into town every night for dinner. We stayed at Hotel Cozumel. It’s basically a dive resort. The amenities were fine, nothing too special. The food was mediocre as well. We were really glad we didn’t do the whole week as “all-inclusive”. Besides, we saw more of the town because of it. We ate every breakfast and lunch at the hotel though. It was just easier than making the walk into town ( 15 minutes to “El Centro” ). I wouldn’t really recommend this resort if you’re not diving.

Most of the hotels this close to town ( if not all of them ) do not sit on a beach. The only “beach” is really just an oversized sand-box. The ocean starts at the reef. There’s water, then coral, then conrete. It’s not that bad though. There were tons of fish right off the pier. The snorkeling in front of the hotel was pretty decent. If you want to go to Cozumel and have a beach at your resort, I’d head a bit further south. There’s plenty of beach down there.

The diving was pretty good too. I must admit, however, that Jamie and I prefer Hawaii to Cozumel. Everyone says that Cozumel is a diving mecca. Personally, we saw more cool stuff in Hawaii. The best dive I went on while in Cozumel ( Jamie missed out ) was a dive called Plancar Bricks. You weaved in and out of these huge ( 40’ + ) columns of coral. That was really cool. We stayed with the house dive shop: Dive Paradise. Great group of people and good prices too ( morning 2 tank was $65 w/ the option of a 1 tank afternoon add-on for $15 ).

Here’s our summary:

• Food

• La Mission Restaurant: Best food we had on Cozumel ( and cheapest too! ); Great margaritas; excellent mole; You get tons of food; Head North on Calle 2 Sur ( Adolfo Salas ) from Melgar. It will be on your left.
• Chi Restaurant: Best Chinese I’ve had in a long time. We were pleasantly suprised when we tried this place. It’s right on Melgar and you overlook the ocean. Damn cheap to ( for Cozumel anyway ).
• El Moro Restaurant: This is supposed to be quite popular. Jamie and I weren’t impressed.
• Pepe’s Grill: Again, supposed to be a really nice place. Too noisy and the food isn’t nearly worth the hefty price tag.

• Xel-Ha: Cool eco-theme park over on the mainland