The rich sweep of shimmering sea wraps around the island's coastline in a mighty, if sometimes fickle, embrace. This warm Cozumel abrazo, or island hug, encloses a place with the same casual and lighthearted eccentricity that characterized Old Mexico, and brings with it the prospect of a refreshingly different perspective on travel. Cozumel, in the state of Quintana Roo, is Mexico's largest island, 30 miles long and 10 miles wide off the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in the sparkling Caribbean Sea. The island exudes the timeless rhythm of adventure touched with classic cultural nuances accented by Carnival, one of North America's grand pre-Lenten celebrations. Separated from the sprawling mainland resort cities of Playa del Carmen and Cancún by a 12-mile-wide channel, Cozumel is the natural launch point for some of the world's finest diving and snorkeling boats. With 37 dive sites to choose from, boasting such attractions as limestone caves, tunnels, coral canyons and rare trees of black coral, even serious divers can be assured of seeing something new with every dive. According to Maya legend, more than 1,000 years ago, the Maya paddled across the channel and settled in with Ixche, the goddess of love and fertility, building religious temples dedicated to her. As a sign of gratitude, the goddess sent for her favorite bird, the swallow, thus the island's name: Cuzamil, or "land of the swallows." Ignorant of the legend, Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes and his army arrived in 1519 and laid ruin to most of the Maya's temples, destroying their civilization and spreading smallpox, leaving the island nearly desolate except for the swallows, who survived and can still be seen today flitting about. Throughout the following centuries, while the Mexican mainland developed, Cozumel quietly slept under a tropical sun, lulled by the music of the never-ending surf. Farmers toiled on small plots of land, working with chicle used to make chewing gum, while fishermen kept the old wooden stoves crackling. For a short time during World War II, the United States had an air base on the island, a great tour of duty for the airmen, many of whom returned to live on the island permanently after the war. Then in 1962, Jacques Cousteau, the famed French underwater explorer, arrived and positioned Cozumel squarely on the map by discovering and filming the great Palancar Reef, and declaring the island among the most spectacular scuba-diving regions in the world. This was hardly news to the hard-working fishermen who for years had labored over the reefs, but it was the dawning of tourism and underwater playtime for Cozumel. The island was quick to hook onto Cousteau's disclosure, realizing that folks didn't have to travel to Australia or Fiji to experience world-class diving and snorkeling. Today, the island has a 120 dive shops and family-oriented properties, where kids can hop in a kayak or snorkel until they are waterlogged. | | The island, led by forward-thinking city fathers, created the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, a protected, 30,000-acre area covering 85 percent of the island's dive sites and embracing the southern section of Cozumel for the purpose of conserving and researching the habitat. Incredibly, only 7 percent of the island is developed. There are grand nature reserves such as Punta Sur Ecological Park on the southern tip of the island, and on the western shores just south of downtown, Chankanaab Park features the only inland coral reef formation in the world. An island icon, and Cozumel's greatest natural landmark, visitors can spend the day swimming with Cuban dolphins; snorkeling or scuba diving in Chankanaab Lagoon, renowned for its trees of black coral and crystal-clear water; enjoy a walk through a huge botanical garden; experience a Maya village;and dine at the palapa-style La Laguna restaurant overlooking the Caribbean. The real Maya can be seen at San Gervasio, where centuries-old Maya altars and shrines with sun-bleached stones and a mystic, otherworldly atmosphere lie near the middle of the island, along with large iguanas who sunbath on the ancient structures, eyes blazing. San Miguel, the island's only town adjacent to the malecón, or sea wall, has a colorful central plaza lined with popular sidewalk cafes, shops and pedestrian paths, and a splendid museum with views of the sea. The island setting is enhanced by the pier, set smack-dab in the center of town, from which ferryboats depart hourly from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on the 45-minute voyage to Playa del Carmen on the mainland. The Cozumel Country Club is a recent addition to the island. The club's atmosphere is so redolent of the tropics that one half expects to catch Bogart and Hemingway sipping fine tequila in the palapa-style restaurant under the ever-twirling blades of the ceiling fan. The 18-hole, par-72 golf course, four miles north of downtown, is tucked neatly into mangroves and natural lagoons where chattering birds, wild pigs, pygmy raccoons, iguanas and crocodiles live. Crocodiles aside, Cozumel has long been recognized as one of Mexico's safest travel destinations. It retains a healthy interaction between visitors and residents, called Cozumelenos. Along the downtown malecón, diamond and jewelry shops seem to stand elbow to elbow, anxiously awaiting cruise-ship passengers who drop by for the day. Beyond this marketing facade are a friendly and spirited people always open for a fiesta, who seem to have music and dance engraved in their lifestyle. |
