My apologies for not having written in a while; spring (what spring??) has turned out to be extremely hectic for us, with both business and personal "stuff"…good and bad…keeping us way to busy. This morning I’m sitting in the surgical waiting room in Highland Hospital; Ethan’s having surgery on his knee and I figured what better way to deal with my anxiety and pass the time than get back to recalling our wonderful trip to Mexico…hmmm…now where did I leave off???

After a short 3 hour flight from Toronto, we arrived directly on the island of Cozumel around 8 p.m. We stepped off the plane and were met with a rush of tropical air…warm, soft, humid, and filled with the smell of exotic flowers. After only a short wait, we were whisked off to our hotel via a high-speed mini van ride. The local pace is quite relaxed, until you get on the highways. There’s one road that follows the shoreline around the island, and it’s about a lane and a half wide, with the pavement in various stages of crumbling. Cab rides are like high speed chases, with the drivers playing leap-frog with each other all the way around the island. Our hotel was truly a welcome sight. It was our first visit to this resort, the Reef Club Isla Cozumel Beach Resort, and it turned out to be an all-around winner. We were escorted to our room through a maze of paths winding through dense tropical foliage, with a rainbow of bougainvillea absolutely dripping from the trees. The hotel is a series of three story thatched roof buildings, connected by paths and raised boardwalks. Each room has its own patio; ours was on the 2^nd floor and was just like being in a treehouse high in the flowering trees.

Cozumel isn’t very large; 33 miles long and 9 miles wide, it lies 12 miles offshore east of the Yucatan peninsula. It’s extremely flat, and scrub, dense jungle, and marshy lagoons cover the interior. Broad sandy beaches and calm, crystal clear water, under which is a spectacular reef system that provides some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world, characterize the leeward (western) side. The windward (eastern) side of the island has special personality; it’s our favorite. The pounding surf ceaselessly sculptures the rocky shore, creating hidden coves and bays, with "water volcano" geysers blowing spray high into the air. The wind is salty and filled with the pungent odors of the succulent vegetation that clings to the rocky cliffs and beaches. It’s not real popular with the tourists, and you can actually be all alone for miles.

We spent our first day on the island relaxing and enjoying the beach and hotel; everything was included in our vacation package…all the food and beverages you wanted all the time. It was awesome. There’s a lot to be said for parking your beach lounge under one of those little thatched roof beach huts for the day, with freshly made pina coladas just a few yards away…yours for just showing your wristband.

Just outside the park, we stopped at another favorite…"Bob’s Marley Bar". Basically a seaside shack with a few tables and a small bar, you can get the best conch ceviche that you’ve ever had. Hammocks are strung on a patio, and that ever-present windward side breeze cools the hottest of days.

Continuing on northward, we stopped to check out a new spot I found while studying our Fodor’s Cozumel travel guide while on the plane…Coconuts Bar and Grill. Their sign was barely visible from the road; we parked the VW, and hiked up a narrow rocky path. We ended up at an open-air patio restaurant high up on a cliff, with an absolutely splendid view of the miles-long shining white beach and pounding surf. Tables were privately tucked away along the top of the cliff, amidst the arid-jungle vegetation. A frosty cervesa was the perfect touch while taking in this view of paradise from our cliff-top perch.

About mid-way up the island, you reach Punta Oriente and the Mezcalito Café. The windward-side road ends here. Years ago the road continued to the northern end of the island to the Punta Molas Lighthouse, but gradually fell into disrepair and succumbed to the encroaching dunes. Now there’s a 4 wheel ATV adventure tour that you can take to the lighthouse. Looked like fun, but way too dusty for my respiratory system!

The cross-island road is a straight line that takes you through the dry, scrubby interior back to the town of San Miguel. This is where you find a lot of the local residents, with houses that are mostly just a roof with partly thatched walls, and chickens, goats, and horses barely scratching out a snack from the parched ground. A world apart from the lush resorts of the western coastline.

No trip to the island is complete without at least one visit to one of our all-time favorite restaurants, El Capi Navegante. It’s in downtown San Miguel, and specializes in fresh seafood. The extensive menu, along with the strolling guitarists, make dinner a real event. Their Capi Navegante Soup features shrimp, conch, fish, and octopus simmered in white wine. We’re gradually working our way through their Grouper entrees…Mayan Tikin Shik, an ancient Mayan recipe with achiote seeds and twelve other spices, wrapped in a banana leaf; Caribbean Fillet, prepared with mushrooms and butter served over artichokes with white wine sauce; Islan Fillet, fillet of grouper prepared with onions and sliced mushrooms…and on and on. Then, of course, there’s the Whole Squid stuffed with conch, shrimp, octopus; or the Grilled Octopus in lime juice with Garlic; or the Red Snapper or Lobster or Shrimp…. Wow! Prices are quite reasonable; my Grouper was $90.00 and Ethan’s Conch was $70.00. No, not dollars, PESOS! One dollar equals around 10 pesos, so both of our dinners were under 10 bucks, and they were fabulous.

Next time…snorkeling adventures, exploring Mayan ruins, and more fine food! We’re hoping Ethan’s knee mends quickly, and we’ll be back on the road locally again soon.