A First Timers View of Cozumel- The Good and the Bad

[ggunn]

Went fishin' there, wife caught a marlin.

I liked TROLLING!

GOT YA!

The wife did hook a marlin. All that the other three of us got ahold of was mahi mahi. We were trollin' with cigar minnows. The boat Captain went nuts on the radio when the marlin was hooked.

And I love the diving there.

Hope to see you some time down there Gordon, would like to dive with ya.

We went fishing, too. In three days we caught 7 sailfish, 10 dorado (mahi mahi), a big barracuda, and a small blackfin tuna. Six of the sailfish were on the same day, and two of them were on at the same time. I caught one on a left handed spinning rig with 20 pound test. It was great!

 

[sharky60]

Gee, from reading this; ‘Coz’ sunk off the possibly interesting places to go list.

1000'S of us divers visit Cozumel every year and love it, sure it has it's ups and downs, name one place that doesn't. If you love diving and want to see some of the best in the world go and draw your own conclusions on food, lodging, shopping and all the top side stuff.

If your a real picky eater, sure, your going to have some problems with the food, your in Mexico and although the quality of raw product they get there has vastly improved over the years, it's still not the US, and I suspect most of us really wouldn't want it to be. We love Mexico for what it is. It cracks me up when people say "we didn't find any REAL mexican food down there" when actually they have never had REAL mexican food HERE! Tex-Mex and Santa Fe-Mex are not mexican! By the way, your right next to the ocean...eat seafood!!

Lodging, you can go cheap and no-frills or pricey and all the frills, it's up to you and your budget. I've heard of B&B's as low as $25/night on up to El Presidente and the Occidental Grand which I would highly recommend for and AI.

...sorry, just felt like ranting, thanks for listening.

I just wouldn't let someone else's opinion steer me away from some of the best diving in the world.

 

[zinmaker]

Hello Herman,

A few words of warning don't go to Cabo San Lucas and hang out on a public beach you can't see the water with the people in front of you trying to sell everything and anything. Ok, so I had a few beers and got a tattoo (the Tasmanian devil washed off in a week). Had the same experience but a little less in Acapulco. Haven’t been to a public beach in Coz or PDC or Cancun. The kids trying to sell the Chiclettes are the worst, the parents make them do it, and they really should be in school learning how to read and write. If you need a travel guide I'm available.
I've been to Coz several times and if you need an experienced diver as a buddy I'm almost finished with my divemaster class. Your dive times sound great, if you want to take pictures great, please don't touch the coral, I'll just hang at the leeward end of the coral head and look for seahorses, or small interesting things. I would like to find a seahorse on my own someday my eyes aren’t bad and can usually find a scorpion fish, 9 are the most on a single dive (it must have been mating season).
I can be a shore sherpa and can fend off any vender as well, I like Gordon’s response, "What do I look like a tourist!". For the timeshare people, my response is. "I only buy foreclosures." I'm not picky as where to stay, a place with a hammock is a five star for me, and as for food, I am not picky either, I'm in Cozumel for the diving. I speak a little Spanish, don't like to be in a hurry, and know a lot of the side streets in Coz.

 

[Christi]

1000'S of us divers visit Cozumel every year and love it, sure it has it's ups and downs, name one place that doesn't. If you love diving and want to see some of the best in the world go and draw your own conclusions on food, lodging, shopping and all the top side stuff.

If your a real picky eater, sure, your going to have some problems with the food, your in Mexico and although the quality of raw product they get there has vastly improved over the years, it's still not the US, and I suspect most of us really wouldn't want it to be. We love Mexico for what it is. It cracks me up when people say "we didn't find any REAL mexican food down there" when actually they have never had REAL mexican food HERE! Tex-Mex and Santa Fe-Mex are not mexican! By the way, your right next to the ocean...eat seafood!!

Lodging, you can go cheap and no-frills or pricey and all the frills, it's up to you and your budget. I've heard of B&B's as low as $25/night on up to El Presidente and the Occidental Grand which I would highly recommend for and AI.

...sorry, just felt like ranting, thanks for listening.

I just wouldn't let someone else's opinion steer me away from some of the best diving in the world.

Well said Sharky!!!! I too have to chuckle when people say they can't get good or real Mexican food here...haha! This IS real Mexican food...Taco Bell, Chuy's, Papacitos, and Mexican estaurants in the US are TEX-MEX or Americanized Mexican food...haha! Don't get me wrong, I love the Tex-Mex too...but it is an entirely differnet kind of food in reality.

OH...I wanted to add something about the service in Mexico that many people are unaware of.

In this culture, it is considered RUDE for the waiters to bother you while you are eating and they do not bring the check until you specifically ask for it. They take your order, bring your food, and do not approach the table unless they are asked to. It is not customary for them to check on your every few minutes or even once during your meal until prompted by you. Keep in mind that the local culture/customs enjoy long relaxing meals and the midday meal "almuerzo" is their main meal of the day. You may notice many things closed between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00, this is custom so that people can enjoy the main meal of the day with their families and/or friends.

I'm not knocking anyone, but it is important to understand and respect the customs/cultures of a country when visiting and not to expect them to adapt to you because you a foreigner. As the old saying goes..."When in Rome...."

As for the pushy salesmen...this is how they make their living. It is annoying, especially when you live here and pass by the same people everyday and they STILL don't catch on that you live here and are not a tourist...but tey are just trying to make a living. As others have mentioned, walk on the ocean side of the street, stay away from the cruise ship targeted areas, and/or stay off the main drag on weekdays between 9:00am and 7:00pm.

As much as I don't like the volume of cruise ships we have coming here now, they HAVE in fact improved the overall economy in Cozumel by providing more jobs to the locals with all of the dedicated tour excursions for ship passengers. This in turn employs more people, raising the disposable income for many local families and therefore contributing to the GNP/GDP. We have more products readily available and slowly improving services and updates in modern technology as a result.

 

[CALI68]

Well said Sharky!!!! I too have to chuckle when people say they can't get good or real Mexican food here...haha! This IS real Mexican food...Taco Bell, Chuy's, Papacitos, and Mexican estaurants in the US are TEX-MEX or Americanized Mexican food...haha! Don't get me wrong, I love the Tex-Mex too...but it is an entirely differnet kind of food in reality.

Taco Bell isn't REAL mexican food??? Say it aint so :11:

..by the way 7 more painful days.

 

[Christi]

Taco Bell isn't REAL mexican food??? Say it aint so :11:

..by the way 7 more painful days.

I may be shot for admitting this...but I LOVE and MISS Taco Bell...haha! However, since I have cut out all "white stuff" from my diet (bread, sugar, rice, potatoes, tortillas, cheese, oils, butter, mayo)...I can't even have REAL tacos here

The closest I get to a taco these days is an egg white omelette filled with veggies...haha!

 

[Cozoholic]

.. I can get much better food and service in any Mexican restaurant here in Raleigh than at any place I ate in Cozumel. .

Just HAD to comment ....One of the funniest, most ridiculous things I've heard in a long time ! Like saying the pizza is better at Pizza Hut then in Italy..HA HA HA HA :flame:

Maybe I should cancel my August trip, and go to Raleigh instead ! :lol:

 

[CALI68]

I may be shot for admitting this...but I LOVE and MISS Taco Bell...haha! However, since I have cut out all "white stuff" from my diet (bread, sugar, rice, potatoes, tortillas, cheese, oils, butter, mayo)...I can't even have REAL tacos here

The closest I get to a taco these days is an egg white omelette filled with veggies...haha!

Your gonna get along great with my wife! She has us trying that same "diet" she even bought this weird bread that has no flour. :11:
Someone shoot me. It tastes so good!

HOWEVER...we are gonna be on vacation and we are not bringing the diet along

-Chris

 

[Cozoholic]

I may be shot for admitting this...but I LOVE and MISS Taco Bell...haha! However, since I have cut out all "white stuff" from my diet (bread, sugar, rice, potatoes, tortillas, cheese, oils, butter, mayo)...I can't even have REAL tacos here

QUOTE]


Don't worry, I'll bring you some NY Pizza -you'll never crave Taco Bell again . good thing is - you NY isn't easily accessible from COZ..

 

[Swarth]

As for kids being in school rather than out hawking goods, thats great and I agree. On the other side of the coin though is that in Mexico public education only goes to 3rd grade if I remember correctly, after that the parents must pay. I doubt many of the poorer families can afford this expense no matter how necessary it seems.

Living in Alto California we have great Mexican food. The local places here are as good or better than most of the places we ate in Mexico, but not cheaper. This doesn't apply to across the board however, because most of the bigger places are "mexican like" food,adding their own spin, some are good, really good, but others? We went out last night for a friends birthday party, nice place, great upscale location, mediocre Mexican food, oh well.