Mel is on vacation through January 6, 2009. While Mel's away, Waldo will be guest-blogging on his behalf. -----
I can't believe those two (Mel and Tobi) were ready to just walk around the main drag near the pier terminal in Cozumel and leave it at that. Had I not taken the bull by the horns and rented a motor scooter, I'm afraid I would've been doomed to simply tag along with Laurel and Hardy walking the same piece of concrete everyone else does when they get off the cruise boat.
It's an education process with Mel but he catches on. With scooter in hand (about $30 US for the entire day), we were off for our own self-guided excursion of scenic beach bars and local hangouts that were thankfully far from the hustle and bustle of the pier area. When you make your trip to Cozumel, I'd recommend doing exactly the same thing. Get yourself a motor scooter and get outta town! Go south to the southern tip of the island and then continue on to tour the other side of the island. You'll find a lot of beaches like this one. Relatively quiet, but also sprinkled with enough "watering holes" to break up the roughly 3-hour island loop with scenic "Dos Equis water breaks."
Folks are friendly. Both locals and tourists alike. Over at Paradise beach, I met up with a couple of drinking buddies before hooking back up with Mel and Tobi to round out the loop.
Cozumel was the last port stop. At posting time, we'll be back at sea headed back to New Orleans. Per prior agreement with Mel this will be my last blog post before handing BusinessCasualBlog back over to Mel.
I enjoyed documenting the trip here. Truth be told, this was a pretty enjoyable gig. The guest-blogger thing was a "fair day's work" for being able to tag along on an all expenses paid trip with Mel and Tobi. Hopefully, you saw something/someplace in the series this past week that maybe motivates you to plan a trip in the future. Lord knows, we all need to get away from the office and blogging every now and then.
All told, I'd say if booking a cruise isn't your thing and had only one place to pick out of all the ones I wrote about this week, then I'd say make it Cozumel. But, get a motor scooter!
Mel, too, has been a great sport. Despite the jabs and winks I gave him this week, Mel catches on quick. I dare say that maybe I taught him a few things about getting out and about. Maybe next time when he goes on a little leave of absence he'll remember my pointers and be less of an "Eeyore" and more of a "Tigger."
Until next time. ~W
Cozumel is 33 miles long and 11 miles wide. It's the largest island in the Republic of Mexico. Twelve miles to the west is the mainland of Mexico, separated by a channel that is 3,000 feet deep. The Mayans have lived on Cozumel since 300 A.D.
Cozumel gets its name from the Mayan word "Cuzamil-Pectin." It means "Land of the Swallows." Ixchel, Mayan goddess of fertility and love, was said to have sent swallows, her favorite birds, to the island in thanks for dedicting temples to her.
In the 1500s, the Mayan world fell to ruin when the Spanish imposed their authority and economy. The Spanish brought disease, including smallpox, which eventually wiped out the inhabitants of the island until the 17th century when pirates used Cozumel as a base of operations. The island was re-inhabited in 1848 by refugees from the "War of the Casts" on the mainland. The settlers numbered around 700 by 1890. It continued to grow but was a sleepy village until the early 1960s when it was discovered by the explorer and documentary filmmaker Jacques Cousteau. He put the island on the map as one f the greatest diving destinations in the world.
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Mel is on vacation through January 6, 2009. While Mel's away, Waldo will be guest-blogging on his behalf. -----
I can't believe those two (Mel and Tobi) were ready to just walk around the main drag near the pier terminal in Cozumel and leave it at that. Had I not taken the bull by the horns and rented a motor scooter, I'm afraid I would've been doomed to simply tag along with Laurel and Hardy walking the same piece of concrete everyone else does when they get off the cruise boat.
It's an education process with Mel but he catches on. With scooter in hand (about $30 US for the entire day), we were off for our own self-guided excursion of scenic beach bars and local hangouts that were thankfully far from the hustle and bustle of the pier area. When you make your trip to Cozumel, I'd recommend doing exactly the same thing. Get yourself a motor scooter and get outta town! Go south to the southern tip of the island and then continue on to tour the other side of the island. You'll find a lot of beaches like this one. Relatively quiet, but also sprinkled with enough "watering holes" to break up the roughly 3-hour island loop with scenic "Dos Equis water breaks."
Folks are friendly. Both locals and tourists alike. Over at Paradise beach, I met up with a couple of drinking buddies before hooking back up with Mel and Tobi to round out the loop.
Cozumel was the last port stop. At posting time, we'll be back at sea headed back to New Orleans. Per prior agreement with Mel this will be my last blog post before handing BusinessCasualBlog back over to Mel.
I enjoyed documenting the trip here. Truth be told, this was a pretty enjoyable gig. The guest-blogger thing was a "fair day's work" for being able to tag along on an all expenses paid trip with Mel and Tobi. Hopefully, you saw something/someplace in the series this past week that maybe motivates you to plan a trip in the future. Lord knows, we all need to get away from the office and blogging every now and then.
All told, I'd say if booking a cruise isn't your thing and had only one place to pick out of all the ones I wrote about this week, then I'd say make it Cozumel. But, get a motor scooter!
Mel, too, has been a great sport. Despite the jabs and winks I gave him this week, Mel catches on quick. I dare say that maybe I taught him a few things about getting out and about. Maybe next time when he goes on a little leave of absence he'll remember my pointers and be less of an "Eeyore" and more of a "Tigger."
Until next time. ~W
Cozumel is 33 miles long and 11 miles wide. It's the largest island in the Republic of Mexico. Twelve miles to the west is the mainland of Mexico, separated by a channel that is 3,000 feet deep. The Mayans have lived on Cozumel since 300 A.D.
Cozumel gets its name from the Mayan word "Cuzamil-Pectin." It means "Land of the Swallows." Ixchel, Mayan goddess of fertility and love, was said to have sent swallows, her favorite birds, to the island in thanks for dedicting temples to her.
In the 1500s, the Mayan world fell to ruin when the Spanish imposed their authority and economy. The Spanish brought disease, including smallpox, which eventually wiped out the inhabitants of the island until the 17th century when pirates used Cozumel as a base of operations. The island was re-inhabited in 1848 by refugees from the "War of the Casts" on the mainland. The settlers numbered around 700 by 1890. It continued to grow but was a sleepy village until the early 1960s when it was discovered by the explorer and documentary filmmaker Jacques Cousteau. He put the island on the map as one f the greatest diving destinations in the world.
