By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises
The island of Cozumel is located in the Caribbean Sea along the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
Mexico’s largest Caribbean island sits about 12 miles or 19 kilometers off the mainland; ferry service zips back and forth to Playa del Carmen.
Cozumel has a back story as a former Mayan outpost and a place of religious pilgrimage for women, and it includes several sites and structures from the ancients.
Between Mayan times and 30 or 40 years ago, it was a backwater dependent upon fishing.
Today it exists almost entirely as a destination aimed at fishing dollars, euros, pounds, and pesos out of the pockets of tourists: about two million per year.
The cruise port at San Miguel is quite busy as well. During high season, which runs from November to April, there are usually 20 to 30 ships in port per week, more than a few of them party boats on 4- or 5-day party cruises from Miami and New Orleans. You can spot their guests easily: they are wobbling even before they make it to the margarita bars along the malecon.
Tourism, diving and charter fishing comprise the majority of the island’s economy. There are more than 300 restaurants on the island and many hotels.
And there are beaches all around, some of them quite crowded and some nearly empty if you go out of your way to find them.
We spent the morning walking along the malecon, the seaside promenade. You have to look very carefully to spot vestiges of old Cozumel, sandwiched in between Senor Frog’s and Hooters and Diamonds International.
And we had to politely resist the near constant pitches of taxi drivers and vendors every few yards. We escaped with our wallets intact, and some colorful pictures of an island in the sun.
The lovely Silver Wind, nestled alongside another cruise ship at Cozumel, like a guppy in the shade of a whale. And our neighbor here is merely a large ship, not a megaship.
Vestiges of old Cozumel, more or less in plain sight amongst modern tourist attractions.
Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.
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