Cozumel 2023

This might be my favorite photo.
These are just very common Bermuda Chub
but the photo composition of color and light
represents the feel of being there.

One of these days I'm going to start editing the photos and writing the blog during vacation so that it doesn't come out so much later than the actual event. One of the good things about being slow to putting this together is that I get to revisit the fun and beauty all over again while working on the story.

The video is long this year. Jenny and I are getting better at taking the underwater photos and this year there were so many things to photograph. But I get ahead of myself.

There were more guests this year for the week after Thanksgiving. Jenny B., JT, Ellen, and Dave M. joined me. Jenny stayed another few days of the second week before I finished out the second week by myself.

It was more humid this year than I remember this time of year. For those that don't know, I have a timeshare at Coral Princess on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. Coral Princess has been around for a long, long time. The accommodations are not top-of-the-line but I enjoy it. There is a kitchen, living room, massive bedroom and stunning balcony. Dave had his own room and JT and Ellen their own suite.

But the best part is the Coral Princess staff. The same staff have been here for years, and they always treat me and my guests with such care. There is so much laughter.

The snorkeling this year was amazing. Even though I've been going to Cozumel for years, I still see things that are new to me. This year we saw Southern Sting Ray, Scorpion Fish, Porcupine Puffer Fish, and Jenny saw an Octopus! The water was crazy clear though a few days there were tiny jellyfish that gave little stings.

On land we saw and interacted with Mapachi, a small raccoon.

We went to our usual restaurants - Pancho's Backyard, The Mission, Guido's, and, of course, Casa Dennis. We also did more "homecooking" which made it feel even more comfy cozy.

It kind of goes without saying, but I look forward to this trip every year. It is a good way to hang on to summer before diving into a Minnesota winter. It is also a great way to spend time with friends.

Click here to watch the video. It is 8 minutes long (there were LOTS of fish 😊) and best viewed in landscape.

Cozumel Thanksgiving

Going to make this kinda short because the video is kinda long. Please take a serene few minutes to watch the video recap of the trip here.

Two weeks in Cozumel over Thanksgiving and the week after. Jenny Batten flew down with me and stayed 10 days.

Jill Rendall joined us after Thanksgiving and stayed until our departure on December 3rd.

This was a totally stress-free vacation. We didn't rent a car and mostly stayed at the Coral Princess where the snorkeling was off the charts good. Water was crystal clear. When it rained, it rained over night or briefly. I got in several runs and even had Jenny running with me a few times. And she gave me swimming pointers.

We went to a new-for-us beach club, Buccanos, that was so fantastic. The food was amazing and the beach and water were crazy nice.

We hit our favorite spots...Hotel B, Casa Denis, key lime pie store, Casa Mission, Guido's, and Pancho's Backyard.

Jill and I took a snorkel sailing excursion with an amazing group of women. The photos and some videos of jib flying are here.

Cozumel March 2022

 

After boasting about getting these posts and videos out faster, I've procrastinated on this one. 

Cozumel with friends Bud and Dave. Also got to meet up with friends Adrienne and Shirley. And all the people I've met over the years (decades) of visiting the island of Cozumel.

This video does really cover this trip, click here. Best viewed landscape.

And the underwater photos are with my little Olympus Tough digital camera.

Cozumel, Whale Sharks and Hurricane Grace

 

I won't write too much here as the video will describe most of what happened on this trip.

In an attempt to miss one hurricane, Fred, heading to Florida, we changed flights to go through Dallas only to be delayed by severe weather in DFW. We did make it to Cozumel in one day but it was a long day.

And then we got to experience another hurricane, Grace, head on. Originally forecast to follow Fred, Grace decided to make a straight line to Cozumel. It did eventually move to just south of the island but you'll see that we had to shelter in the hotel and take precautions nonetheless.

The main purpose of the trip was to swim with whale sharks! Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean. Are members of the shark family but feed on plankton so are filter feeders.

They congregate off the coasts of Mexico and Belize in the Caribbean Sea in the months May - September. Dave did all the work finding a tour company and making arrangements It turned out to be fantastic. Highly recommend Blue H2O Cozumel. Cozumel Scuba and Whale Shark Tour Experts - Blue H2o Cozumel

The video is about 12 minutes long. There are lots of video clips included. Click here for the video of the trip. 

Cozumel Spring

I do not use my blog site very much anymore but I do like to post my travels here still.

I got back on Wednesday from a wonderful trip to Cozumel. I know. I know. I go to Cozumel a lot. There is a reason...actually several.

There are wonderful people on the island of Cozumel. The smiles. The friendliness. The warmth of everyone you meet, is infectious...in the best possible way.

It is also the people that I travel with. This trips including two friends I have known for a long, long time. Jenny, who hadn't been in 11 years! And Dave, who goes with me or I with him at least once a year. The amount of laughter cannot be accounted.

And this year for the second year in a row, the trip to Cozumel overlapped with another dear friend, Shirley Venard. The story of Shirley on the island is a blog post all its own some day.

I did not get any good underwater photos this year. The stupid Sony camera I bought last year takes horrible photos and I couldn't get my Olympus Tough that I have had forever to work for more than few seconds.

I did get dry land photos with my iPhone and Jenny and Dave got a ton of underwater photos.

I also took a couple of videos. One I will share here that captures something of what makes the island special. This was shot with my iPhone in portrait mode.
Video


As for my photos, they can be viewed on my OneDrive storage site...Cozumel March 2020 Photos

Cozumel vacation

Here are some more photos from this year's Cozumel vacation.

Amy and I had a great time not doing very much. It was hot and humid with lots of mosquitos and rain sometimes. But nothing ever prevented us from enjoying the beautiful water, food, drink and people.

We had to trade hats

A type of hydrangea perhaps

Not a trick of the camera lens. This rainbow just appeared.

Shimmering pool tiles

One of many amazing sunrises

A mural off the beaten path

Sailing away

Cozumel snorkeling

Here are the snorkeling photos for this year. My old Olympus Tough was working this year. Yay! It takes much better photos than the Sony underwater camera that I bought at Costco last year.

The new Olympus Toughs are expensive but I am sure better than the cheap Sony camera.

Most of these are right off from the Coral Princess where I stay. Some of the fish photos are from The Westin up the road. The Westin is a beautiful new property. It has a walk in beach area and long pier that you can jump in from.

Cozumel vacation in photos (2) swimming with fish

We only snorkeled off the hotel but it is all we needed to see big and small fish, coral and amazing sponges.

One of my favorites - angel fish.

Jill swimming with the fish.

A pair of green moray eels.

A very large snail eating a starfish.

A man-made reef.

The 'wall'. So many different colored sponges.

Jill swimming with fish.

A tube sponge.

Cozumel vacation in photos (1)

Another great post-Thanksgiving vacation in Cozumel, Mexico. The weather was fantastic. My vacation mate, Jill, and I relaxed, ate, drank, snorkeled, walked (and Jill shopped).

My amazing friend, Jill, and I photo-bombed by an iguana.

Beautiful weather.

Sailing is a new option at Coral Princess. We didn't.

Super moon over the Caribbean.

Took some time but captured this photo of sparrow-sized yellow bird.

Cozumel Ironman. This guy is the leader and eventual pro male winner.

Drama

So much fun with crosswords.

I did get stung by two fire ants. Just two but very painful and lasted all week!

Various things

Catching up on being back from vacation. I realize that my trips to Cozumel have become more about seeing the friendly faces of the people I have met on the island.

Snorkeling, swimming and eating fresh fish are still fun and important but I have met some really nice people in Cozumel and I enjoy seeing them. Granted nearly everyone I interact with is a staff of a restaurant or hotel but I am always greeted with a smile and asked how I am doing.

One thing about traveling that gets me though is how people dress while flying. I understand that people want to be comfortable but wearing pajamas, baggy sweat pants and looking unkempt go beyond comfort. People should put a little effort into looking like they care what others have to deal with.

Here are a few photos I either didn't have time to post or were on a device I didn't have access to.

The main plaza construction is complete. There is a very fancy fountain in the middle now.

I finally got a new mask. The scuba store had a mask that still fit my prescription lenses from 30 some years ago! 

I didn't have a chance to post the photo of the giant Thanksgiving cactus that started blooming on Thanksgiving.

Cozumel, rainy days

First off. Dave is doing much much better. The medicine the digestive specialist prescribed has been working. We are now back in the states at Charlotte airport waiting for flight to MSP.

It rained a good part of each day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but we made the most of it.

Thursday we went into town and had late breakfast at the museum restaurant overlooking the ocean. Our waiter was very cute. He put the Santa hat on me.

We then went shopping before the rain started up in the afternoon.

Thursday evening we ate at a new place for us, La Perlita. They serve lion fish which is an invasive species in the Caribbean . There are promotions to encourage the consumption of lion fish to encourage fishermen to kill them. It is a very good tasting white fish.

Friday we rented a car and went to east coast where it was sunny and hot.

On the way back to west coast we stopped in El Cedral, a place I have never been. It is kind of a suburb of San Miguel and has a Mayan ruin. I paid $5 to get my photo taken with this handsome man in Mayan warrior costume.

The town is kind of eerie with lovely homes that don't appear to have any inhabitants

Friday night we ate at Casa Mission. One of our favorite places.


El Cedral ruin. There is just the one building.

Casa Mission Christmas tree

Cozumel Urgent Care

I figured the title would get people's attention. I was wondering what I would do yesterday, Wednesday, when the decision was made for me.

Dave had not been feeling well since Monday evening during dinner. He was having abdominal pain and not the intestinal kind that you generally associate with Mexico. Turns out my AT&T service plan applies in Mexico so I had him call his health insurance and nurse hotline. It was decided he should see a doctor and the insurance company recommended a clinic on the island.

We checked with the hotel concierge who call the hotel doctor. Dr. Piccolo (great name) said to meet him at the same clinic the insurance had recommended.

To make the story short, Dave had blood taken, an ultra sound, an x-ray and met with a digestive specialist along with Dr. Piccolo. Appendicitis was ruled out after the ultra sound. White blood cell count was high which indicated infection.

The specialist has prescribed some medications to help and said Dave should start feeling better nearly right away. As of this morning, he is a lot perkier. Will keep everyone posted but he seems to be on the mend. Dr. Piccolo and the staff at the urgent care were wonderful. There is lots more to the story to tell.

Meanwhile, I did go snorkeling on Tuesday afternoon. After drifting quite a ways up shore, I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to swim back against the current. Once I finally got close to shore I finally made progress. Ended up having quite the workout.

Happier times.

Jellyfish are fascinating.

This is the life.

Sunset under the umbrellas.