Carnaval in Cozumel

Overview

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Diving Punta Sur - and having a sea turtle pose for photo after photoMy first seahorse and my first splendid toadfishCarnaval parades for three nights - really great to see the colors and hear the music - but really nice to have quiet after that!!Great local restaurants with cheap delicious foodQuick Tips: Shopping - head away from the main streets - venture deep into the markets for the best prices - don't shop anywhere that actually looks like it belongs in Canada or the US for real Mexican bargaining power!!You can see more photos at http://www.pbase.com/kiml/coz07Best Way To Get Around: Rent a VW bug!! So cute and so fun to have a convertible. ...Read More

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Vista Del Mar Hotel Boutique

Hotel | "Vista Del Mar"

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Decorated in a cozy elegant Mexican style using wood, shells, mosquito netting and natural materials. Rooms are clean and comfortable - we had a fantastic view of the main street, cruise ship pier, and ferry pier. Close to everything - restaurants, shopping, diving. No pool, but there is a jacuzzi - it could not be heated when we visited, so it's rather useless.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Vista Del Mar Hotel Boutique
Avenida Rafael Melgar # 45
Cozumel, Mexico 77600
+52 (987) 872-0545

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Tres Gatitos (Los)

Restaurant | "Los Tres Gatitos"

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No phone, no English, no credit cards - but the Especiale sandwich was something I wanted to go back for - unfortunately only opens at 7pm :(

Point at the menu to order the Mexican snacks and finger foods - some of the best authentic treats I had in the country!! Fill your tummy for under $3US!!

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Tres Gatitos (Los)
Calle 7 between Ave 10 and Ave 15.
Cozumel, Mexico

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Las Seras Taqueria

Restaurant

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Tacos, Tacos & more tacos - beef, pork, chicken seafood - more combinations that I ever expected existed and all can be customized to fit your exact taste!!

Bean soup with cheese and onions is something I am still craving almost a year later - the best meal ever!!

Two people can eat for less than $10US, including soft drinks, but of course cervezas are cheaper!!

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

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El Moro

Restaurant | "El Morro"

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A long time favorite of divers and locals - discovered by tourists due to its excellent food and frequent mention in guide books.

It's a bit far from the center of town, but worth the cab fare.

Fresh seafood of all types - get the seafood platter to share among 2 or 3 friends and you'll still feel full.

Giant margaritas are great!!

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

El Moro
Calle 75 Norte #124
Cozumel, Mexico 77600
+52 987 23 029

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Ernesto's

Restaurant

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It's basic Tex-Mex - really good Tex-Mex.

We went to this restaurant because we could walk to it between afternoon and night dives - wearing a bathing suit and shorts - so it's definitely casual!!

Service was a bit slow and we almost missed the dive boat, but the food was worth the wait!!

Other customers in the late afternoon were a bit spooky - looked like drunken beach bums - and the washroom was downright terrifying.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Ernesto's
Carretera Costera Sur km.4
Cozumel, Mexico
9878723152

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Senor Frog's

Restaurant

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This is the same Senor Frog's that made Cancun Famous, now in Cozumel, too! Senor Frog's is simple to find - just listen for the loud music and wild times. When you enter this Downtown location, you're instantly transported to a different place. Here, the setting is friendly and informal and it's impossible to not relax have fun. The food is mediocre - quickly cooked in large quantities - nothing that will be remembered in a week!!

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Senor Frog's
Av. Rafael Melgar No 551, Loc. AD-1
Cozumel, Mexico
(987) 869-1650

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Chedraui

Attraction

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Chedraui (shay-drah-wee) is Cozumel's largest and most modern grocery/department store conveniently located at the south end of San Miguel at the beginning of the Southern Hotel Zone. In the food section you have an excellent selection of dry goods, spirits, fresh produce, meats and freshly baked breads and pastries. A pharmacy, household goods, clothing, personal care products, car parts, furniture and hardware make up the remainder of the store. A great place to stock up and fill that kitchenette in your room. A Mexican chain with locations across the country, Chedraui can be compared to a mini Wal-Mart.

Phone: (987) 872-3655

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Chedraui
Zona Hotelera Sur
Cozumel, Mexico 77600
(no phone)

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Hacienda Antigua Tequila Museum

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Attraction | "Casa Antigua Tequila Museum"

Agave plants Photo - Hacienda Antigua Tequila Museum, Cozumel, Mexico

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You are welcomed with a margarita or two before you even begin the tour. Pretty good for a $10 fee for entry!!They grow agave plants to make tequila, and explain each and every piece of the tequila puzzle - how it starts out as a plant that looks like aloe with a big pineapple looking thing in the middle right through to the wonderful liquid that gets you high!!I think they said it takes like 10 years before a plant is ready to be harvested for tequila. We got a lengthy overview of authentic tequila and the process by which it is made. Patron and Sauza were dismissed as not being real tequila. Don Julio Reposado I believe is still safe as a real tequila though. Mexico has legisla...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Hacienda Antigua Tequila Museum
Transversal Kilómetro 9.8
Cozumel, Quintana Roo
01 987 869 4677

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Dive with Martin

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Attraction

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Dive with Martin did deliver what we were promised - 5x2tank dives, a night dive and a video of one of those dives. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get them to take us to the more advanced/less damaged reefs without hounding them and complaining constantly. In the end, to get to Punta Sur, I had to find a boatload so that they would take us - they needed at least 5 divers to go "all that way" - luckily, we found 4 other divers who were qualified and willing to go.Safety was an issue - one of the divemasters brought 2 open water students out on 2 dives. One OW student was at the front of the group, one was at the back of the group. The divemaster was not paying attention to e...Read More

Dive with Martin did deliver what we were promised - 5x2tank dives, a night dive and a video of one of those dives.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to get them to take us to the more advanced/less damaged reefs without hounding them and complaining constantly. In the end, to get to Punta Sur, I had to find a boatload so that they would take us - they needed at least 5 divers to go "all that way" - luckily, we found 4 other divers who were qualified and willing to go.

Safety was an issue - one of the divemasters brought 2 open water students out on 2 dives. One OW student was at the front of the group, one was at the back of the group. The divemaster was not paying attention to either one!! I was not impressed as I ended up babysitting a student diver on a dive I PAID FOR - in my opinion, I should have been awarded another dive for free!!

That being said, not all divemasters are created equal!! One divemaster actually plays tour guide - he can find the smallest sea creature to show the entire group and manages to keep everyone close together. Another divemaster manages to keep everyone close together, but basically just floats by all the fish and sea life without sharing it with the tourists. The third divemaster is the one mentioned in the paragraph above - I actually reported him to PADI!!

The boats were fast and in good mechanical condition - no problems there.

We had requested 100cu ft. tanks and only received them on 3 separate dives. They did not have enough 100cu ft tanks to meet the needs. At home I dive 120s or doubles, albeit in cold water/drysuit, so I do prefer larger tanks on all dives. I was able to get over 60 minutes on an 80cu ft tank on two dives, but for the deeper Punta Sur and Colombia Deep sites, 100s would be on my wish list.

Would I dive with Dive with Martin again? Yes, but I wouldn't do all my dives with them - there are technical diving shops on the island that will guarantee certain sites if that's what you want - it's a higher price, but a better result as well. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 23, 2007

Dive with Martin
Zona Hotelera Sur in La Ceiba Hotel
Cozumel, Mexico 77600
+52 987 22 610

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The Week in Review - Part I

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Sunday, February 18thI don’t have to get up until 4am, but I wake at 3am – GREAT, even less sleep!!!Off to the airport. The -10C temps feel almost balmy compared to the -30C we’ve been experiencing all week.Land in Cancun just before 10am local time – there are 2 hours difference between Moncton and eastern Mexico, not the 1 hour I had thought. We make our way to the bus/shuttle counter and Stephanie decides we should take the bus to save $10 in transportation costs. The bus won’t be leaving for another hour and the shuttle leaves in 15 minutes, but hey, it’s a whole $10!!So we walk across the airport property to the bus depot and wait. The bus also drives at ...Read More

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The Week in Review - Part II

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Wednesday, February 21st Today we are to dive in the morning, and finally have the afternoon free to explore the island. When we arrive at the dive shop, they inform us that we are going to dive on the mainland (Playa del Carmen) today. I inform them that I wish to dive Cozumel and Playa is not an option. They reshuffle everything and put us on a boat with 3 absolute newbie divers and a diver that was certified 25 years ago. They are all over 60 years of age.Despite this setback, we do get to dive one of the “must do” locations – Santa Rosa Wall, which is a let-down in my eyes. Hurricanes must have ripped through there as there is a lot of damage and dead coral. The 2nd dive ...Read More

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The Week in Review - Part III

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Turtle at Punta Sur Photo - Cozumel, Mexico

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Saturday, February 24thTime to pack up and hit the road. Steph grabs a cab out to the dive shop to pick up the video of yesterday’s dives while I load all the luggage into a cab and go to the ferry terminal. The taxi driver hails a porter who loads all the luggage onto his cart and takes it to the luggage check for the ferry. This is much smoother than our trip to Cozumel– figures that we are just beginning to understand the system when it’s time to leave!!!We travel into Cancun for Saturday afternoon and evening and decide to hit the beach again. The public beaches are not very nice compared to those at the resorts as they are not raked or cleaned on a regular basis and are co...Read More

Saturday, February 24th

Time to pack up and hit the road. Steph grabs a cab out to the dive shop to pick up the video of yesterday’s dives while I load all the luggage into a cab and go to the ferry terminal. The taxi driver hails a porter who loads all the luggage onto his cart and takes it to the luggage check for the ferry. This is much smoother than our trip to Cozumel– figures that we are just beginning to understand the system when it’s time to leave!!!

We travel into Cancun for Saturday afternoon and evening and decide to hit the beach again. The public beaches are not very nice compared to those at the resorts as they are not raked or cleaned on a regular basis and are covered with seaweed and screaming children. After 20 minutes a child has landed on top of me. Luckily (?) I feel my skin burning already and decide to make a run for it. Back to the hotel to shower and web-check-in for tomorrow’s flight. Ooops…. Cancun is not one of the “selected international cities” which can use web-check-in.

Off to a local market for some last minute shopping. Stephanie and I both agree that we spent very little money for the first 5 days of the trip and now feel it flowing away from us quite quickly. Souvenirs of the trip for ourselves, friends, and family are ringing up – but still at much lower prices that what we expected.

We had decided to have supper at a restaurant recommended to us by someone from the hotel. However, the menu doesn’t look too great, so we wander into a little place just down the road for $3 margaritas, shrimp tacos, chiles rellenos, and fish fingers – YUM!!! I also had a salad with an excellent citrus dressing on it – all for the incredible price of $8!!!

Sunday, February 25th

The time has come to head to the airport – luckily we’re flying Executive class so we don’t have to wait in the HUGE lineup to check in. We are able to spend our time in the Executive lounge for Star Alliance airlines and wander through Duty Free for that last minute tequila to take home.

The flight is uneventful – 20 minutes early in fact!! The weather in Halifax is -1°C – desperately chilly to our tropically-acclimated bodies, but still much warmer than what we left only one week earlier. After we pick up luggage and make our way through customs, I go to pick up the Jeep, which has a dead battery!! I flag down a Fly Jazz employee who is willing to be a few minutes late for work in order to give me a boost.

I dropped Stephanie off at her house and continued on to Moncton, arriving at 8:45pm.
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