Annual Cozumel Adventure

The video (best viewed landscape) is 7:30 minutes long.

My annual trip to Cozumel, Mexico was a week later than normal this year. Earlier in the year when I was booking this trip, I could not find ANY flights from Minneapolis to Cozumel even with connections. Our local air carrier, Sun Country, scheduled direct flights starting Saturday, December 7 and when I found out that worked for my travel companion, Jenny, then the deal was done.

It was Sun Country's season inaugural flight not that they did anything special. But two really nice things were it is direct flight, and it wasn't full, so we had plenty of room.

Jenny and I arrived on Saturday before check-in time so headed to the pool/beach for a welcome to Cozumel beverage. No need to go into any details because we pretty much did our usual stuff.... snorkeled every day, ate delicious food, relaxed, worked crossword puzzles, and did I say we snorkeled every day(?).

The one new adventure as renting bikes for the week. We went to actual bike rental place in town instead of using the hotel bikes. These were way more comfortable and cheaper! We rented from Monday to Friday for $60 each! For reference we rented from Best Bikes Cozumel. The business is owned and run by a guy from Canada. While the website says your bike needs a license plate and his has them, apparently you do not and his don't 🫤

Cozumel is very bike friendly. There are marked bike lanes on most of the streets and a dedicated separate bike lane south of downtown. We had anticipated riding to the east side of the island but it was very windy most days and decided we didn't want the extra effort. We did take advantage of the bikes and only took a cab on the days we didn't have them. We also biked to a two nice beach clubs for snorkeling adventures.

Money Bar Beach Club

Mazatlán 2024

Back for a second year to Mazatlán, Mexico. The sunsets here are spectacular. This year's condo location as Las Gavias Grand which has a truly grand heated pool - probably the largest pool I've ever seen.

This year we were able to play pickleball at a set of courts right across the street. I went for one nice run on the blue path though this year the path was torn up with construction.

The highlight of the trip this year was a visit to the brand-new Mazatlán aquarium. The displays are fantastic. The map of the site is not so fantastic. Granted our Spanish is not great, but the map was absolutely undecipherable. We did manage to visit most of the exhibits...we think.

The enormous main "tank" with sharks and groupers and thousands of fish.

The eel display was especially fun.

There are several bird exhibits as well.

I did manage to get into the ocean a couple of times. The area is not conducive to swimming as there are hidden rocks and the waves can be rough. I'm not a fan of swimming where I can't see what is below me. I enjoyed walking along the beach.

Here is a link to last year's Mazatlán visit post.

A Week in Mazatlán

The sunsets never failed to amaze.

I was very fortunate to have the chance to spend a week in Mazatlán, Mexico. I have never been unlike a lot of people I've talked to that said they were there 30 years ago.

Mazatlán is a very large city on the Pacific coast. There are so many high-rise condos which seem to be filled with Canadian, American, and Mexican citizens on vacation and full-time owners. There are also a crazy number of construction projects.

The colonial downtown is beautifully restored. There are even lights in the sidewalks to highlight the architecture.

We ventured to Observatorio 1873 for the sunset, drinks, funicular, and animal exhibits. We took wild rides in open-air pulmonia taxis. We also took advantage of the super cheap bus system.

We walked the beach. Played in the Pacific Ocean. Saw dolphins and even whales from the 12th balcony of the condo.

Big thanks to Susan, Bud, and our hosts Pam and Samantha.

Here is a video montage of photos (the photos are in chronological order).