OK, I'll bite. What is your definition of a beggar? Mine is someone who approaches me with the idea that I should give them money just because they ask for it. In over 30 years of going to Cozumel, I have encountered that about three times. Here in Austin, it happened to me at least three times yesterday. By my definition, there is far less begging in the streets in San Miguel on Cozumel than there is in a typical city in the US.
Be that as it may, we cannot blame the hustlers and hawkers on Cozumel for their behavior; we made them what they are. There are wide ranging opinions on that, too; once I asked a friend of my mom's how he liked Cozumel. His reply was essentially that Mexico would be a lovely place if it weren't for all them Messkins what lives there. Dang ol' dang ol' furriners!
Since it seems I have raised some hackles with my description of our trip, I will give you the "Diversmith Sliding Scale of Bottomdwellers"
"Bum"...those that live on the streets pretty much bothering nobody and rummaging thru trash making a living off of recyclables and getting most of there food at shelters and churches.
"Panhandlers"...Those that sit at busy areas with their hand out trying to get "donations".
"Beggars"...those that accost other people voraciously either to get food, money or coerce you into buying their products, and continuing to be aggresive about it after you firmly decline.
"Huslter"...Those that try to knowingly sell you bogus goods or overpriced goods and services.
I hope this helps clear things up. We were very upset that the PR would allow vendors onsite that would aggressively go after guests continuing to bother them after they decline interest in their obviously fake Cuban cigars and crappy jewelry. We were not happy constantly being hit up while downtown for more fake Cubans, when walking by restaurants, souvineer stores and bars. It is not relaxing, not funny and not enjoyable in the least bit. Once down at the Grand, the vendors there were very respectful and never bothered us one bit after just one "no thanks".
My wife and I obviously think pretty much alike (wonder why we got married
) and I am sure there are many people on this board that also are looking for something similar when spending a chunk of change for a "nice" vacation. Notice I didn't say "extravagant" vacation! We weren't looking for a pampered Four Seasons vacation with the associated price tag, but a middle-of-the-road experience. For the money we spent at PR, we were very, very bummed out. Had we been able to book at the Grand as originally planned for just 700.00 more than PR was charging, we would have been as happy as pigs in **** for the entire vacation. We just wanted to put our review of our resorts and diving up here so those that have similar expectations can make an informed decision and have the best vacation possible with little or no let-downs. As far as the boats and dive ops, I am also pretty sure there are quite a few guys with wives or girlfriends that are just getting into diving and are not as comfortable in the water as most of us. I grew up by the beach surfing, scuba diving and waterskiing my brains out. I learned to dive doing surf entries in the cold winter waters of southern california when I was 14 years old. My wife grew up in upstate NY and is a good swimmer, but not doing any water sports and needed to get slowly broken into the ocean and diving thing. The last thing she needs is to get thrown on a crappy crowded boat and be expected to have fun. I bought her very nice comfortable gear and worked with her slowly in the pool letting her have fun and not allowing her to get cold, tired or frustrated. She is a great swimmer and is a smart gal, so the skills came easy....getting her comfortable and confident in the ocean was another. I NEVER pushed her past her limits and now we have had 2 very enjoyable dive trips together and she is now building up her dive log with great memories of us U/W together and me as her instructor. Pretty neat huh?????
As I stated in my original post, I was not trying to slam anyone or their preferences. If you would rather go diving on a shoestring to be able to make more trips each year, all the power to ya! If small wooden boats and back rolls are what you prefer, good deal! I went out on some pretty crappy wooden boats in Sharm el Sheik back in '89 and loved every minute of it diving the Straits of Tiran. It was incredible! But, I was single and wasn't trying to "break in" a new diver at the same time.
And as for DandyDon saying I was overeacting to the peacocks....let's see you try to sleep in with those little bastards hanging around:mooner: Being a fireman on 24 hour shifts and getting very little or no sleep at all while at work, I value my sleep and getting away on vacation means catching up on rest and sleeping thru the night
I am sure there are also plenty of people here on SB that have stressful jobs, younger kids or do shift work that value a peaceful stay at a quiet resort.
