Bev & Terry's Travels in Mexico: Cozumel...in the Rearview Mirror

Arrived back in Merida via bus around 7:45 last night...had a fantastic trip.

Here is a recap of the trip...as best I can remember it...

Thursday -
We took ADO from Merida to Playa del Carmen, then hopped the ferry across to Cozumel.

Stayed at a quaint little hotel within a block from the ferry dock so that was nice/convenient --- right in the middle of downtown. Doing what we do best, we headed to a waterside bar/restaurant and had a few drinks then came back downtown and ate ceviche. It was funny because we had a flashback to last year when we were in Cozumel and met a guy we called Forrest Gump. We really think we saw him in the bar. That brought back some memories so we went to scout out La Pirata...a little bar we haunted last year. It was closed with a Se Vende sign on the front door. Trust me - that is probably just as well. Did some walking around, and it was a pretty early night for us. The hotel had said "continental breakfast" included. What a nice surprise! It turned out to be a full breakfast each morning with some of the best coffee ever. Every morning we had seasoned scrambled eggs, refried beans, homeade breads and patries, and then a daily surprise of some sort, ie, fideo one morning, chicken w/ peppers & onions, scalloped potatoes....and the last morning it was omelets made to order. As Terry always says: "You have to build a base!". Thank goodness for all the walking we have been doing - because we did a lot of walking in Cozumel. I wish I had a peso for every head shake we made to the constant stream of taxi drivers that would honk to see if we needed a ride.

Ferry from/to Playa del Carmen & Cozumel

Friday
We ended up at Papa Hog's around mid-morning - such a great vantage point to watch the activities along the waterfront. It is actually a very busy diving emporium with lots of boat activity, a small beach area with lounge chairs, great waitstaff, a swimming area, and very cold beer...which is cheap by Cozumel's standards.

Spent the day at Papa Hog's lounging on the beach with great bar service from Viviana Beatrice, then walked back into town...stopped along the way and went to an upstairs waterfront table to watch the people head back to their cruise ships --- there were either 5 or 6 in port that day. We had some damn good margaritas. "I should've known because when I drink tequila Terry gets mean." Eventually went to dinner and had more margaritas along with a fabulous dinner of Camerones Coco and Chile Relleno.

Camerones Cocos

Chili Relleno

That's where we could've turned left, or could've turned right and went back to our room. We chose "LEFT". Ended up at some little local tequila bar with a Canadian girl that could sing and play the guitar, two self-proclaimed gay guys, a techno-disco Mexican DJ, and the owner Jorge who we decided looked like a Mexican version of our friend Wayne Kucera if Wayne were to wear a toupee. (You have to use your imagination!) Flashbacks to Key West kicked in and we were ready for the night! We ended up leaving and going down the street to Wet Wendy's. It was a little outside bar with a live band and a "not so easy to dance on it" dance floor...but we didn't care. The music was good and we decided it was time for dancing. When we got on the dance floor all of a sudden everybody else got on the dance floor too, and we danced til closing. I suppose it was Wet Wendy, but I didn't dare ask, but she came over to our table and thanked us for livening the place up. When we got our tab she had comped us several drinks. And Terry had made a new friend --- Bubba-Loon. Turns out it was Bubba Luna and he lives in Cozumel....he's from Arkansas.

Danced the Night Away at Wet Wendy's

Saturday
We slept later than we intended as we were excited and ready to meet Ken and Lorraine who were coming into Cozumel from Galveston via Carnival. We wanted to be waiting for them when they got off the cruise ship. Missed that opportunity but it's because we still aren't on DST down here whereas the cruiseship was going by Galveston DST time. Met up with them with no problem and all got a taxi downtown. Lorraine and I went to do some shopping and left the guys at the bar.

So funny to think we are all saltwater souls together at Harborwalk but where should we all meet up ---- at the water, of course. They had a fabulous time on the cruise and it was fun sharing stories with them. Seems the night before as we were drinking margaritas the two of them were drinking martinis!!! Was probably good as we were all moving the same pace - slow motion. We helped them spend some money by making sure Ken didn't get on the ship without first buying a pair of really nice (and expensive!) western boots...wanted to post a picture of them but he wouldn't model them with his shorts once he left the store. Hit the pharmacy, the jewelry stores, etc., etc. Was such a great day of laughing! One of the funniest things was when we got ready to go hang out at the cruise ship terminal for awhile --- 4 of us and the littlest taxi you've ever seen.

"I'm Not Getting in There..."

Lorraine wanted to wait for the van...or the stretch limo, maybe. Her words: "I'm NOT getting in there!" Right before we all crammed in the taxi. Did the Fat Tuesday thing --- you know, where everybody has too much to drink and the girls all think they can poledance and that they are beautiful with less clothes on, and they want to kiss each other. It was hard to say ADIOS to Ken and Lorraine, but it was such a fun day and they still had two more nights of cruising ahead of them.
We walked back the 4 miles or so to town, but stopped along the way to have a couple of beers, watch them head off into the sunset, as we wished them Smooth Seas.

Adios!

Wishing Smooth Seas to Ken & Lorraine

Went back and got dressed for Guido's for dinner --- seared tuna with creamed spinach and pasta for Terry, and a seafood pasta dish for me----along with wine, and coffee w/ hot, toffee gooey cake for dessert. We were in heaven! early that night.

Sunday
Were moving very slow --- Terry spent a day of sneezing and runny, watery eyes. Sunday is generally "no cruise ship" day in Cozumel, but there was in fact one ship at the dock. It was pretty quiet around town. We felt sorry for the locals as some of them did have to open shops and work whereas normally Sunday is totally reserved for family time. The cool thing was - we decided to just go veg at Papa Hog's, and when we got down there the workers were working the cruise ship traffic, but it was like all the employees brought their familias to Papa Hog's with them. It was so funny to see all the little local kids swimming and horseplaying right where all the boats come in to dock. The divers and snorkelers carrying their several hundred pounds of gear just had to step over them. Hey --- Sunday is definitely their day! We ended up eating dinner at La Mission again and I got to order the coconut shrimp. Terry had this fantastic grilled seafood platter with huge chunks of lobster, fish, and shrimp on it. And their margaritas are WHOA!

Monday

After a breakfast of fantastic omelets, we went walking down into the older part of San Miguel (I think)...the town we always refer to as "Cozumel town". We didn't realize the population is as big as it is --- 70,000...and on a busy cruise ship day the population can double! That is so amazing...Saw some nice homes, pretty park, and church we had never seen before. We left Cozumel on the noon ferry and headed back to Playa. Went to the main avenida in Playa and grabbed a bite to eat along with the 2 FOR 1 Beer Special. When we got our check it was the most expensive meal we had eaten! That was after they added 10% to our bill for something called "M&S". They said "taxes" of which there aren't any. And the beers brought to us as 2 FOR 1 just meant twice the rip-off! We aren't really meaning to complain, but it didn't leave a good taste in our mouth for the one, small experience in Playa. And, we thought we were better at picking our places than that. Oh Well! Guess we just got caught up in the moment. We walked the 8-9 blocks to the bus station and waited for our 3:30 bus back to Merida. Wow - they are so efficient and show up and leave with absolutely no fanfare..and always on time. Got back to Merida and walked the 5-6 blocks back to the house. Thank goodness for traveling with backpacks and light packing!