Cozumel – Day One

I’m being a tad lax in posting on the blog. While I enjoy blogging, it can be a bit time-consuming and when you’re trying to have fun on a vacation, it can eat into that time.  So that’s my excuse for being late.  I’ll just do a post on my first day in Cozumel…my first time there.  I honestly didn’t know what to expect, so I had an open mind.  It didn’t start out well, however, with an awful ferry ride from Playa del Carmen.  I am used to the UltraMar ferries to Isla Mujeres that are air-conditioned inside, but you have the option of sitting on top in the open air…which I usually did.  This ferry didn’t have that option.  I went on board and found a seat while thinking, “Man, it’s HOT in here!”  I thought that maybe it’s like plane rides in which they don’t turn on the air conditioning until the plane actually starts moving.  I was certainly hoping that was the case, but it wasn’t.  We were packed in there like sardines as it was a full boat, and it was hotter than…well, you know what.  And it didn’t get any better.  I was fanning myself with my printed out Booking.com room confirmations almost the whole time.

So when we got to Cozumel, it was pouring down rain so everybody waited for it to pass..which it did in about 10 minutes.  I grabbed a taxi to take me to my hotel so that I could dump my suitcase and do some exploring.  I stayed at the Villas El Encanto which I found on-line.  I booked this trip at the last minute so I had to work with what I could find that was available during the busy time of the year.  I lucked out on this one, because it was a charmer.

Here’s my room…

I loved the doors that opened out to a little patio.

The bathroom and shower…

They had shared kitchens which were fully equipped…

The grounds were very lush and they had two pools.  And one of the room had its own private pool.

I would highly recommend this hotel.  The owners and staff are extremely friendly and helpful, and it was a quiet and peaceful location. It’s a little bit of hike to the downtown area, but it’s do-able.  If you hail a cab, it’s about 60 pesos.

El Centro is right on the water, but there’s no beach area.  There is a malecon that runs along the shoreline, and you can walk down to the water, but there are no “toes-in-the-sand” restaurants.

I walked around town right away, and grabbed some chips and pico de gallo at Palmera’s.  This is as close to the water you’re going to get downtown.

Here are some pictures around El Centro…

 

All the streets are filled with vendors begging you to come in their store.  It seems like they all sell the same things.  I wonder how well they do?

A few of them had more artistic items, but they were pretty pricey.

The zocalo was all decorated for the holidays…

As you can see in the picture above, there are cruise ships here.  At least one was docked at the pier during the time I was here.  The one pictured below is small compared to the ones that were docked further down the island.

I also took a walk in the neighborhood where my hotel was.  It’s a nice area and very quiet.

This house for sale is across the street from the hotel.

If you click on the picture below to enlarge it, you’ll see that those are mallard ducks in the windows.  That’s a first for me.

Some neighborhood murals…

And a funny one…ha!

And some pretty flowers…

The Bougainvillea are so lush and beautiful in Mexico.

Family love…

Here’s my view at breakfast the next morning…

I had the “Poblano Eggs,” although I don’t know why they were called that since I didn’t see any poblano peppers in it.  I can just about here the comments from everyone when you see this picture of them.  They do look pretty awful.  That’s mole sauce over the eggs.  I always like to try something new, but I think I’ll pass on this one in the future.  I like mole sauce, but not especially on eggs.

Obligatory toes-in-the-sand picture in Cozumel.