May 2008
Standing at the very top of Faro Celarain lighthouse Derek and I had discovered a prime view of the southern-most tip of Cozumel. From the observation deck we looked out across the expanse of contrasting landscape and gasped in awe. To the right we watched as turquoise waves crashed down onto white sand, which in turn caused foamy spray to shower the sun kissed shoreline. And to the left, in sheer polarity, lay murky crocodile infested swamp waters. Both scenes dramatically divided by a thin fork road which snaked off into the distance.
Parque Punta Sur, an ecological park, was our first port of call for adventure on the Mexican island of Cozumel. With just one road tracing most of the island we decided to hire a car, safe in the knowledge that it would be nigh on impossible to get lost. From the Holiday Village White Sands Resort, our base on the southwest coast, we enjoyed a leisurely paced short drive further south to the ecological park.
To kick the morning off, upon arrival, we parked up next to Faro Celarain lighthouse and then jumped onto a complimentary (albeit bumpy) truck ride which took us to a secluded sandy beach via an impressive mangrove forest trail.
As soon as we disembarked the truck, Derek had his snorkeling gear out and was racing down to the shoreline, eager to investigate Punta Sur Reef – with all of its many interesting and colourful residents. Whilst I chilled out in one of the plentiful hammocks available, drinking a bottle of Corona and catching some Mexican sun rays.
After spending a couple of hours at the beach, we headed back through the mangrove forest to Faro Celarain lighthouse. We briefly checked out the Nautical Museum at ground level before climbing the dizzying heights to the very top of the lighthouse. Having spent all morning enjoying the sea and the sand, we were now massively drawn to the dark waters of the lagoon, despite the fact that I harbour a mild phobia for the reptilian beasties.
What is it they say, curiosity killed the cat? Within five minutes we’d arrived at the crocodile observation point. But it’s also true when they say that facing your fears will help to conquer them, and this is a very fair statement - especially as I jumped up and down excitedly on the wooden platform, pointing and announcing to all and sundry, “There’s one, there’s one!”
Seeing a large croc bobbing about in the muddy waters filled me with exhilaration, rather than the dry-mouthed fear I had anticipated, but maybe that was because I knew they wouldn’t be able to climb up onto the observation deck to eat me (at least, I don’t think crocodiles can climb…). The overall experience was rounded off nicely when a large pink flamingo flew past and landed close by.
Grinning from ear to ear and feeling very proud of my little crocodile feat, I clambered back into the hire car and off we headed for a drive along the east coast, drooling all the while at the astounding coastal scenery.
With Cozumel being a Mexican island in the Caribbean Sea we were pretty much sold on the location immediately. We felt as though we were getting the best of both worlds – a luxuriously relaxing Caribbean holiday with the remarkable history and culture of Mexico all rolled into one.
And to sample a small slice of that Mexican history is exactly where we were headed next…
San Gervasio - Cozumel’s largest Mayan site, dedicated to Ix Chel, the Mayan goddess of fertility. Located on the northeastern side of the island, with an abundance of jungle and wildlife, it was the furthest north we ventured in the hire car. Finding the site easily enough, we bought tickets and then enjoyed a laid-back stroll around the ruins. The temples, although small, were very impressive in their design and layout, and there were plenty of information boards dotted around, giving an insight into the history and purpose of each piece – which proved handy for us, as we were doing a self-guided tour.
Because San Gervasio is situated within a jungle area I was almost eaten alive by mosquitoes – and made a mental note to start carrying insect repellant around with me for the rest of our stay in Cozumel. Derek didn’t get bitten once, much to his amusement. As I scratched and lopped my way around the site, he set to work taking some photos of the ancient structures – and of the odd sunbathing iguana we happened across.
Throughout the day Derek and I observed several large birds circling overhead, yet we weren’t completely certain what they were. Once back at our resort, having worked up an appetite, we headed to the restaurant to tuck into some authentic spicy chicken fajitas, and decided to quiz the waiter, Jose, about these large mysterious birds.
He looked momentarily puzzled and scratched his head, “Large birds? No, no, we do not have large birds here.”
Luckily at that moment, right on cue, one of the birds in question soared overhead outside and we were able to point it out.
“Ah,” Jose smiled and nodded in recognition, “That is not a large bird. That is a zopilote.”
“A what?” Derek and I asked in unison.
“I’m not sure what the English for this word is…” Jose shrugged, before wandering off with an armful of dirty plates.
Later that night we discovered (thanks to the internet) that zopilote is Mexican for vulture.
“Good grief, if Mexicans don’t class vultures as being large, then I dread to think what they would deem large!” I laughed. “Pterodactyls perhaps?”
The Holiday Village White Sands Resort is an all-inclusive resort which we booked specifically because it was offering introductory discount rates – having been renamed, (formerly the Allegro), and fully refurbished.
The resort itself was fine, in that we had all of our food and drinks (a varied enough choice) catered for without needing to dip our hands into our pockets, which suited us well. However, we felt that the overall place was more geared towards families rather than couples and lone travelers.
A large pirate themed kiddies pool took centre place at the entrance, (which we couldn’t quite picture ourselves splashing around in). Nevertheless, we were thankful to discover a normal pool towards the resort’s pleasant beachfront where we could go for non-swashbuckling swims – although loud poolside entertainment took place daily here, so not the most relaxing place to laze about on your lilo if that’s what you had in mind. And last, but certainly not least, we found that the rooms were ample comfy and clean enough – a very worthy base. (It was just a shame that the man in the room next to ours had a violent cough and kept us awake all through the night – I fully expected that he might cough up one of his lungs).
The island’s highlights for us, without doubt, was the amazing spectrum of wildlife – iguanas lazing in front of temples, large snakes basking in the sun, vultures perching on thatched roofs and best, bar none, spritely humming birds supping nectar from the plethora of flowers in communal areas.
Of course, the Mexicans themselves were very warm and friendly people. Whether it be hotel staff, taxi drivers or local people on the street - there was always a friendly, Hola!
We’d already decided that we couldn’t visit Cozumel without making a trip to mainland Mexico –and the ferry terminal at Cozumel’s cute and compact city area of San Miguel made this a very do-able possibility.
Opting to see the real big daddy of Mexican sites, Chichen Itza, we chose to book this venture directly with our First Choice travel rep. The ferry crossing to Mexico sounded like plain sailing, but the road journey through Mexico daunted us slightly and we figured it would be a little strenuous, preferring the idea of being chauffeured by coach instead – although it would have been completely achievable on our own with a hire car, had we wished.
On the day of our Chichen Itza escapade, a short ferry ride from San Miguel took us to Playa del Carmen in Mexico, where we then transferred to our coach for the three hour road journey. On the way, we stopped off to visit a cenote; a spectacularly stunning sight – and a very welcome break from the long drive.
Here we learned that cenotes are deep natural wells which link underground river systems together. Intrigued we peered down over the jagged edges of the rock formations, and were amazed to see that the water at the very bottom of the cenote was glaring turquoise under the sun’s rays.
Crowds of people had climbed down to the water’s edge and were leaping into the sparkling cyan expanse - and in the baking heat of the sun, I must admit, I was quite jealous. But not relishing the idea of squelching back to my coach seat and being soggy for the remainder of the journey to Chichen Itza, I refrained from joining them – trying to convince myself that the coach’s air conditioning would be just as refreshing.
Eventually, after an admittedly grueling drive, we arrived at Chichen Itza. We knew instantaneously that it had been well worth the endurance – all of the ruins looming ahead of us, completely awe-inspiring.
Just as the Eiffel Tower demands the limelight in Paris, El Castillo does so in Chichen Itza. An enormous step pyramid, housing a temple at the very top, it stands proud in a central location. Standing at the foot of the construction Derek and I felt very humbled by its sheer scale and design. Rows upon rows of steps invited us to walk skyward – although, climbing on the structures is strictly forbidden – so we didn’t.
It was early May during our visit, and as we walked around the site I can’t remember having ever been exposed to such heat before. Our tour guide had plied us with bottled water before we left the coach, but the small bottle didn’t go far and we ended up forking out for a two litre bottle from a market stall trader. This wasn’t particularly costly, but the two litres didn’t last us very long – I don’t think I’ve drank so much in my entire life!
As we visited the Great Ball Court I found it hard to comprehend how the Mayan people had played competitive Mesoamerican ballgames in this ferocious heat without keeling over left, right and centre.
I ducked and dived into shaded areas for the remainder of the tour. And before we got back onto the coach, we managed to do some slight haggling with a local tradesman, buying a hand-carved wooden Mayan mask for 500 pesos (around £25) – which now has pride of place on our dining room wall.
The following day, in need of a much more relaxing experience, we called a taxi from the hotel reception and headed about ten minutes down the road to the Atlantis Submarine Expedition office. From here we transferred by boat to Chankanaab and then climbed into the awaiting submarine. Going down to 100 feet, we crawled along the ocean bed for 40 minutes, catching glimpses of multitudes of tropical fish and even an octopus.
This little outing had Derek itching to get his snorkeling gear out again, so in mutual agreement we decided that we couldn’t leave Cozumel without having experienced Palancar Reef – the island’s most famous reef. From our hotel we took a small boat excursion and headed off with our snorkeling equipment.
The water was very choppy that day, yet despite not being a strong nor confident swimmer, I persevered and managed to experience Palancar Reef first hand – and made friends with a unicorn fish who appeared to like my neon pink sea shoes.
Towards the end of our two week holiday, we decided to sample Chankanaab Park – which was labeled as being Cozumel’s Adventure Land.
Along with plenty of snorkeling areas, Chankanaab Park offered dolphin swimming experiences and snuba lessons (a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving). Yet, as nicely presented as the Park was, we failed to feel any massive sense of adventure.
All snorkeled out and dolphin swimming not being our cup of tea, we only stayed in the park until late morning. Afterwards we headed further down the road to San Miguel to do a spot of window shopping instead.
Friendly shop owners tried to lure us into their lairs, mostly promising us good prices on their silver merchandise. They didn’t drive a hard sale though, and a quick, No thank you, would be enough for them to leave you in peace.
If anything, it was lovely to saunter along the sea front, watching ferries coming and going – a total contrasting scene to that of the white beaches we were more accustomed to further down the west coast where our hotel was located.
Because we were on an all inclusive basis we didn’t actually eat outside of the hotel complex – but in down town San Miguel we did notice a vast array of restaurants and bars scattered about along the seafront, within the modern shopping mall and also further up the road towards the hotel areas. Cozumel itself isn’t a large island, but whatever your tastes and budget you would be well catered for.
I suspect that there are plenty of apartments and hostels in San Miguel for the more independent traveler – however, if I was to return to Cozumel, I’d book a package deal again, in order to be on the beach front – which, if I’m completely honest, is why we chose Cozumel in the first place, to have that overall Caribbean feel.
We both thought it a great shame that the trip had to come to an end, but we still had a surprise in store…
On our final day, as we lazed around the swimming pool indulging in some well deserved chill-out time, Derek gasped, “What’s happening to the sky?”
Following his gaze I glanced upwards to discover a magical display of large multi-coloured arcs patterning the sky.
“Looks like God is playing Spirograph,” I replied, bemused.
Silence had befallen the rest of the poolside by now, everyone gazing upwards in a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. Following a few random mutterings and suggestions of aliens and Armageddon, a local barman finally appeased our curiosity…
It transpired that a sun halo was occurring before our very eyes. Until that day I’d never heard of such a thing – and I must admit, it was one of the most spectacular sights I’ve ever bore witness to.
As well as the various arcs strewn across the sky, a perfect circular rainbow had formed around the circumference of the sun – apparently the result of ice crystals forming in the upper troposphere.
Settling back in my sun lounger I stretched out and enjoyed the spectacle of this strange phenomenon for a good while longer, until it faded away and blended into the vibrant blue sky, thinking all the while that a fortnight filled with flora, fauna and historical architecture had turned out better than we’d ever imagined – and the sun halo was definitely the cherry on top.
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