Cozumel - Christmas 2019 Trip Report

Wow! What an adventure. Great weather, crystal clear waters, mouthwatering local cuisine, refreshing drinks, friendly and hospitable locals, amazing diving and breath-taking ocean/shore excursions – a great recipe for an incredible Christmas week in Mexico with family and friends.

Today’s trip report is focused on the highlights of our underwater adventure and “surface interval” in Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera, specifically Cenote Dos Ojos and the Tulum Mayan Ruins.

Getting there & around – while some opted to fly directly into Cozumel, many of us took the more cost advantageous route of flying into Cancun, taking a private shuttle to Playa del Carmen and the Ferry over to Cozumel. My friend Mauricio owns Best Rentals and provided us with a spacious mini-van for the week, adventurous and unconstrained Bob rented a scooter and when needed, we used the local taxi service which is relatively cheap, clean, safe and reliable.

Accommodations – Cozumel has all sorts of options for accommodations. From all-inclusive resorts to the budget minded Dive Hostel and everything in between. I have traveled to Cozumel 13 times and have tried just about everything. This year, our group opted for comfort, spectacular ocean views and mesmerizing Sunsets that ushered in each evening. We booked Casa Phillip, a condo in the Peninsula Grand, with Enjoy Cozumel and were not disappointed.

Food & Beverages – no shortage of food and drinks on Cozumel. We started our vacay with a trip to Mega Mart, a large grocery/department store much like Wally-World. There are others like Chedraui but this was convenient and always a fun time translating our English grocery list to Spanish. Best to have your phone translator app handy if you do not speak the language!!! For a more local flair, and I wish I could list them all, we frequented The Thirsty Cougar & Woody’s (great live music), Quatro Tacos (lunch), and capped our last night off at Kinta Mexican Bistro – amazing!!!!

Scuba Diving – I have dove with many dive outfits on Cozumel over the past 25 years and while most are pretty good, Aldora Divers, centrally located downtown and a block from the pier, is by far the best, in my very qualified opinion!!! Memo, one of the owners, Denise - Operations/Office manager, Sharif - Instructor/Guide and a host of other amazing attentive staff make choosing Aldora a choice you will not regret. For this operation, the trip is about you and your group – you dictate the itinerary (weather and sea conditions permitting), you dictate your profile and bottom times – in short, you ask and they will do everything they can to accommodate your request – and we had many! Aldora has a fleet of boats that can accommodate groups of any size, uses steel tanks, is one of the islands only operators that pulls together trips to the wild East side when the weather cooperates and does a great job with a beach surface interval where you can walk the beach, grab a refreshing beverage, snack, light lunch or sway in the breeze on a hammock.

While Punta Sur, Palancar, Columbia, Cedral and other popular sites are absolutely amazing, the true highlight of this dive week was a special trip Memo arranged for our group on the last day. We traveled to the far North side where we found schools of eagle rays, sharks, turtles and a kaleidoscope of coral and fish welcoming us to this little-known underwater gem. During our surface interval, a local fisherman that was diving with us prepared the most amazing ceviche we have ever tasted – fresh from the sea!!! I cannot tell a lie, I must return to this spot – Soon – it is calling out to me!!!!

Separate, but easily coordinated with office manager, Matt, Villa Aldora is a very nice property with great ocean view accommodations, shore diving if a guest and weather permitting, Aldora dive boats can even pick you up at the villa. I would not hesitate to recommend Aldora Divers and Villa Aldora for your next dive adventure.

Mainland – Playa del Carmen is a hub of bustling activity where you pick-up the ferry to Cozumel. If you have time, check out 5th avenue where there is an endless street of shops and restaurants – beautifully decorated for the holidays and extremely busy with locals and tourists after the sun sets. Have luggage/dive gear? – no problem. There are guys waiting at the ferry/taxi stand with cycle rickshaws to take your gear for a small fee – well worth it!

The Ruins of Tulum – what can I say about Tulum, other than absolutely breath taking and somewhat mysterious!!! A review would not do it justice, it is a must-see archaeological site to visit. Situated on the coast just North of the small bohemian town of Tulum, with every visit, I find myself sitting on the beach just admiring the architecture of the various buildings, the historical significance of this time period and just imagining what an amazing dynasty the Mayan’s must have been. The conservationist in me is always appreciative of the efforts to preserve.

Cenote Dos Ojos – A staple water source for the Mayan people of their time, these magnificent limestone sink holes that lead to endless caverns and cave systems are absolutely magnificent – especially the ones with a light source penetrating the jungle canopy, refracting as the light travels and dances to depth. We chose Dos Ojos for this trip based on the experience of our group. Jeff & Cesar, our dive guides, took us on an amazing tour of this underwater world to see stalagmites and stalactites and various other formations as we weaved through the underwater cavern system. Always within sight of a light source, navigating the crystal-clear waters literally compares to floating through space. For the less adventurous/non-divers, you can snorkel these cenotes and still share an amazing experience!

Cozumel Day Excursions - On the one day that we had to putt around and explore, we opted for a self driving tour of the island. First heading to the lighthouse in Punta Sur Ecological Park then finding a nearly deserted beach on the undeveloped East side for a little sun and R&R and then taking in the splendors of the holiday's as we closed out the day.

Catamaran Dinner Cruise – One of the highlights of our trip and a unique and special way to celebrate Christmas in Mexico with family and friends. We boarded Grand Cozumel’s 42 foot Moonshine Cat for a quick snorkel, a Passion Island beach excursion, sunset cruise and exquisite dinner with the hopes of catching Santa and his Marlin-driven Sleigh. Steve (the owner) and the Catamaran crew did a great job making us feel like the boat was our personal craft for the afternoon. Notable mention goes to the chef!!! What an amazing display of lobster and mouthwatering filet mignon, fish and filling sides to compliment the endless refreshments served throughout our Christmas adventure. Oh and the Sunset – once again, breathtaking!!!!

Look - I could go on and on about this trip but, instead, I will leave you to your imagination and hopefully desire to put Cozumel/Mayan Riviera high up on your bucket list to return or experience for the first time. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to spend seven days with family and friends from our local dive club and old/new friends from Canada and Mexico – we were right where we were supposed to be on this segment of our journey that we call life!

Brothers from another Mother - Memo & Mike

As Memo so eloquently proclaims – “Life is diving, everything else is a long surface interval”.

Thanks Memo and friends of Mexico for providing a great adventure - above and below water! See ya again soon!