If our first month in Mexico cunningly drew us into loving the place, the second month locked us in. Every other day we would look around and Juliann would say, “I really like Cozumel.”
One day I asked her why she liked it so much. She thought for a bit and replied, “The pace.”
There are other reasons to love Cozumel (and Mexico in general) such as the people, food, weather, low cost of living, etc. But my wife, as usual, is right (don’t tell her, please, she’ll make me say it out loud at least twice…it’s so embarrassing).
The pace of life on Cozumel was perfect for us. Most days were lazy, hot, and slow, with lots of quality time for each other and a few tasty tacos sprinkled in. Some days would bring 4-5 cruise ships and the downtown area would be overflowing with passengers walking the streets in search of souvenirs, but even then the people of Cozumel like to drive slow, walk slower, and go easy through everything.
We joined right in and loved every minute of it.
Last-Minute Family Visits
By the time we finished our first month in Cozumel, my entire family had visited us somewhere in the world with the exception of three people: my Mom and our two nieces, Taylor and Mackenzie.
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They all came to visit us in Cozumel, along with a repeat visitor, my sister Leslie! We were charged up to have all of them with us for a few days in Mexico, where we would have the chance to get in some snorkeling, a few great meals, and a whole lot of goofing around.
We didn’t have space at our apartment in Condominios Marazul for all four of them, so our nieces took the third bedroom and my Mom and Auntie Leslie stayed at Condumel, a condo complex about a mile south of us, right on the water.
The sea wall in front of their property dropped into crystal-clear water about 15 feet deep, and the wall itself was covered with coral and was teeming with sea life. We spent a couple of days jumping in and checking out all the colorful juvenile reef fish that hung out there, including Sting Rays, Queen and French Angelfish, a baby Moray Eel, Cowfish, Porcupine Fish, Sergeant Majors, Jacks, Grunts, and dozens more.
Unlike in front of our apartment there was no strong current in front of Condumel, so we could just laze about in the water without breaking a sweat and enjoy the scenery.
Naturally we took them to all of our favorite spots, including Money Bar and Cuatro Tacos.
We decided one afternoon to hit a beach club with inflatables, or huge blow-up obstacles anchored offshore. We first went to Mister Sanchos, where Juliann and I had taken Braeden the week before, but they were booked solid with cruise passengers. We hopped back in the car and skipped down to Playa Mia, which was a much bigger club complete with a pool, splash pad for the kids, and a couple of water slides.
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We pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we began by tossing our towels on some empty loungers on the beach and swimming out to the obstacle course. We chased each other gleefully over ramps, slides 15 feet tall, a giant hamster wheel, inflatable “logs” that were difficult to cross on foot without wiping out hilariously and landing in the water.
After drying off we enjoyed some lunch, lounged around in the pool while Braeden played in the kids’ splash pad, and hit the water slide for a few rounds. The girls took a spin on a couple of Ski Doos for a while and then we packed up and left for the day, tired and happy.
We took one afternoon to wander around downtown and shop. Grammie wanted to check out Coz Coffee Roasting Company, so we stopped by, chatted with the owner, an expat from Montana, and walked away with some delicious-smelling fresh-roasted beans.
We then marched over to Chocolateria Isla Bella, a tiny chocolatier specializing in incredible bon-bons. They weren’t cheap ($2 U.S. per piece) but they were a-maz-ing. My personal favorite was the Oaxaca, which was filled with silky dark chocolate and Mezcal. Mind blown, gimme another one, please.
The night before Auntie Leslie and the girls had to leave we went out to dinner at La Mission, a restaurant about which we knew very little. The entrance was a sketchy-looking hole in the wall just off of the main street downtown, but as soon as we stepped inside we knew we had chosen well.
The restaurant’s decor was a fun mix of hardwood and jungle, the lighting was just right, and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The staff buzzed politely around us, bringing delicious margaritas and tasty munchies throughout the night as Mariachi serenaded us from just a few feet away.
Before we knew it Leslie and the girls had to leave to return to the States, and we dropped them off at the ferry for their trip home. We said our “see you laters”, and my Mom checked out of her condo and moved into ours the next day.
Braeden hadn’t had much alone time with Grammie Holmes in almost a year and a half, and he made the most of the next few days. They would hang out together in the living room or on the balcony, playing with Legos or drawing and coloring pictures while I handled business calls and email. Every time I saw them playing together it brought a smile to my face. Braeden loves his grandparents, and he may not yet know that this time is precious, but I do.
Those days were lazy and long but went by quickly. We enjoyed some burritos from our friends at Crazy King Burrito, we stopped by Diego’s Tacos to introduce my mother to our new friend Eric and his family (not to mention their incredible tacos), and we took her out to dinner one night at Pancho’s Backyard, only to have her insist on taking us there again the following night.
We had a blast together and before we knew it we were dropping Grammie off at the airport. We were very sad to say goodbye, but it felt good to know that we would all be seeing each other back in the States in less than eight weeks.
Another One Checked Off the Bucket List
Once Grammie left we only had a few days remaining in Cozumel. Juliann, having read something about an organization that monitored turtle nests just that morning, contacted them and found out that for $20 US each we could hang out for a hatching that evening. She signed us up, and that afternoon we drove over to the East Coast of the island to watch baby green turtles hatch.
An 11-mile section of the beaches on the windward side of Cozumel is a nesting ground for two types of sea turtles, and on this windy evening a half-dozen volunteers and about a dozen tourists showed up to witness one of nature’s great delights.
The volunteers had identified a nest that was ready to hatch, and they drew lines in the sand starting on either side of the nest that ran down the beach, getting wider the closer they got to the water, creating a large cone. The sand in the cone had been raked smooth to make the baby turtles’ travel to the water faster.
We joined the other tourists standing around the nest and watched as one of the volunteers began to rub the sand on top of the nest. He rubbed more vigorously, scooping sand as he did, moving downward into the nest until we could all see a dark mass of roiling green and brown – the babies!
They scrabbled over each other, trying to climb out of the nest, and the volunteer dragged his hands in the sand from the nest towards the water, creating a furrow to help the little turtles escape.
Escape they did. They hightailed it through the furrow, flippers wiggling furiously, clambering over one another in a mad dash for the surf. We watched, all smiles, as the tiny turtles flippered down the beach, tumbled over a small dune down into the surf, bobbed in the waves for a few seconds, and swam away.
Occasionally a turtle would go the wrong way and the volunteers encouraged us to gently pick them up and point them in the right direction. Braeden was able to pick one or two up and he beamed as he turned them around and cheered them into the water.
After a few minutes it was over, and all 135 tiny turtles (the volunteers had counted them all) had made it to the water. We waved and wished them all well, wondering if we would run into any of them on a future dive trip, and we headed back up the beach.
On the way home we dropped into Coconuts, a bar perched on a bluff over the ocean. We chose a table with a glorious view, ordered a couple of margaritas, a glass of water, and a basket of chips, and settled in to recount the day’s adventures. The sun was setting over the island, casting a golden glow over the water, and things were perfect.
And then I felt the first bite. A mosquito. Then another. Then several more. A tourist with his girlfriend at the table next to us suddenly jumped up and started slapping all over his body like some kind of crazed percussionist.
Mosquitos were everywhere, and we desperately flagged down our server. Unlike every other restaurant we’d been to around the world, they did not have complimentary bug spray, he said, but they did sell “bug wipes” for 40 pesos ($2 US) each. We threw 80 pesos at him and wiped the boy down thoroughly, then hit ourselves with the wipes.
We hung around long enough to finish our margaritas and then left the beautiful views and hungry mosquitos of Coconuts to head home.
That was a Thursday. Friday was a lazy day and we spent the evening having dinner and packing for our flight out of Cozumel. Saturday we woke, tossed our packs in a taxi, and headed to the ferry. We purchased our tickets for the ferry and boarded, waving goodbye to the island that we loved so much.
Halfway across to the mainland we realized that we had left the bag with Juliann’s yoga mat and Braeden’s scooter at the ticket counter. J and I freaked out a bit because we didn’t want to break Braeden’s heart, but the boy calmly replied, “It’s okay Mommy, don’t worry about it.”
The ferry tied up in Playa del Carmen, where we took an uneventful ride in a taxi to Cancun to catch our 12:40 PM flight to Hartford.
A bit bummed to leave Mexico but very excited to see friends and family in the States, we boarded our flight and settled in for the short ride home.
Next: Back in the States!