ISLA COZUMEL - MEXICO

Isla Cozumel is an Island just off Player del Carmen and has a population of 73,200. The Maya's settled her from AD300. During the post- Classic period it flourished as a trade centre and also is a great ceremonial site. It was expected for every women of the Yucatan Peninsula to make a pilgrim here to pay tribute to Ixchel, the goddess of fertility and the moon at the temple which was erected for her honor. When the island was first discovered by the Spanish in 1518 it was thought to have 32 Maya building groups.

Smallpox which was introduced by the Spanish, wiped out half of the 8000 Maya and of the survivors, only about 200 escaped genocidal attacks by conquistadors in the late 1540s.

Within the 17th century the Island was virtually deserted, which created a sanctuary for several notorious pirates, including that of Jean Lafitte and Henry Morgan.

In 1848 indigenous people moved to Cozumel while fleeing the War of Castes. In the 20th Century the islands population grew due the craze of chewing gum. The locals harvested the gum on the island and as it was a port of call to the chicle export route allowing it to be exported. During world war II the US created an air base here keeping the economy going. Then in 1961 tourists began to arrive to sustain the economy.

Now we thought the best way to explore this interesting Island was to rent a car....so thats what we did!

After we got our sweet ride we headed over to the east side of the island where the beaches where far more beautiful than the west. The beaches on the East most of the tourists never discovered as many of the tourists in Cozumel are on large American Cruise ships. On this side of the island we went to some lovely little restaurant/bars (shown Below) in their stunning positions on the coast. The beaches on the east coast also have large currents so its rougher seas make it a bit more difficult to go for a relaxing swim, especially as a few of the Beach's are very Rockey!

Although our little beetle had a few problems on our trip around the island, we made it back to the main town San Miguel...well just about! It was a great way to explore the islands more remote parts.

One thing that Cozumel is famous for is its diving and snorkeling. It is said to be second to the barrier reef, unfortunately I did ent agree with this. I went on a snorkel trip and felt that the reef had been hugely damaged by the tourists and was hideously unimpressed when my snorkel guide picked up a struggling turtle and brought it to the surface. Personally I felt that it had poor snorkeling and have seen much better in other parts of the world. It defiantly did ent life up to its hype.

Cozumel is defiantly worth a visit although I did feel that tourism is ruining it, and it needs to be better taken care off.