Day 13: Cozumel

Cozumel:  Located 6.2 miles off the mainland Yucatán peninsula, Cozumel is Mexico's largest island - 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.  For a tropical island, Cozumel experiences relatively extreme weather conditions.  Winds from the north blow through during the winter, causing temperatures to drop, although typically not below 65 degrees.  At the other end of the spectrum, summers can be extremely hot and humid.   The language is Spanish with English spoken widely.  The currency is Mexican Peso (MXN) while the US Dollar is widely accepted.

We are the second ship to arrive into Cozumel shortly after 7am.  Today, there will be a total of five (5) ships in port with us.  Two will be at the International Pier and the other three will be at Puerta Maya Pier.  We are the first to dock at 8am in the Puerta Maya pier.   It’s a warm and sunny morning and we are looking forward to a new adventure and another “first” on this island.  We’ve been to Cozumel a few times and feel comfortable going on our own.

We wait for the initial rush to get off the ship.  Around 9am we are ready to leave and head down to Deck 4 and we come to a complete standstill.  The ship was stopping all passengers from leaving as another ship is entering port and docking next to us.  We wait for 15 minutes before they let us off the ship.  I can’t imagine how long our fellow cruisers were waiting before we arrived.  Wow!  Our pier is very crowded with lots of cruisers:


We head into the terminal shop (to tease our shopping senses) and have to go through a baggage check area.  The pier personnel are looking for food being brought off the ships.  There are trained dogs sniffing our bags and once we are given the okay, we head out of the terminal area looking for a taxi.

The taxi fares are regulated in Cozumel.  Meaning they are set fares going to various places and are posted:


The $11 taxi ride takes us 15 minutes south of the cruise port and we end up at the Money Bar Beach Club where we will be snorkeling along the Dzul Ha Reef.  Wow!  What a beautiful place.  We enter an area that looks to be a water sport shack and chat with Tiger.  I tell him we want to get two loungers and snorkel.  He tells us there is no entrance fee and we are free to choose a lounger.  If we are hungry we can grab something to eat and drink from the Money Bar restaurant (additional $).  Tiger warns us no to go pass the white buoys as the catamarans and boats travel on the other side.  We have access to hammocks, showers, and bathrooms.  No problem.  What a deal!

Looking back towards the entrance of Tiger’s water sports shack:


Looking to the left where Money Bar Restaurant is located:


Looking to the right where the hammocks and more loungers are available to use.  This is also our entry way into the water:


We locate two loungers in the front and near the water.  We walk around to find the other entry points into the water.  Money Bar has a small beach area that is surrounded by a short stone wall.  Every now and then, the small waves would hit and splash the wall.  There are two main entry paths that go into the water:  one in front of the MB restaurant and the other in front of the water sports shack.


The water is so clear here:


This turns out to be our best snorkeling adventure!