2008 - Mexico

I needed a quick getaway between semesters of grad school. So we planned for the week after all the holiday travel, January 5-11th. We discovered that this is a great week to travel and we got great prices on airfare and accommodations.  We stayed at Fiesta Americana Diver Resort in Cozumel and the price was ridiculously low. I think we paid less than $75 a night. This hotel was nothing fancy but it was clean, well kept and the staff was friendly. I loved the smaller pool that was across the street on the beach side. It was right up against the beach and you could easily walk from the pool to the sandy beaches. Mike spent a lot of time in the water snorkeling which it was nice that you could enter and snorkel right off the hotel grounds.

We ate one meal at the resort, but the food left much to be desired. So we did most of our eating in the little town.  While in the town we took the time to meet people and talk with them. We had some good conversations with our cab drivers.  Mike stopped at a little cigar shop on a side street that was run out of someone’s home. While he went inside to get his cigar I stayed outside and talked to the woman and their son who had a new puppy. It was King’s Day so everyone was walking around with these boxes that looked like pizzas and inside was the baked bread. The woman didn’t speak much English but she motioned and invited me to sit with them and eat some of their King’s Day bread. It was so neat to be included and we each had a piece and looked for the baby Jesus. If your piece of bread contained the baby Jesus you had to host a party in February.

Most of our time was just spent at the beaches snorkeling or by the pool reading which is what I really needed at the time.  We did take a day trip to the mainland via the ferry. We rented a car when we got there, you won’t have any trouble finding a car rental company. They bombard you as you walk off the ferry. We drove to Chichen Itza and made a stop for lunch at the same restaurant I had visited 5 years earlier in my high school trip to Mexico.  We didn’t hire a personal guide at Chichen Itza because I had one when I was there in high school. Between my memory from the last time and the information signs I was able to fill Mike in on the history of the place. If it is your first time I definitely suggest the personal tour guide, they do a great job.