After our cruise ship arrived in Cozumel and we disembarked, Erin and I dodged past the shop keepers trying to hock their cheap tourist merchandise. We found our way out of the port shopping area and immediately ran into a salesman who could help us get a moped so we could tour around the island at our own pace.
His price was more than I wanted to pay but I accepted the offer as I felt my time was more valuable than trying to negotiate or find another person. He sent me to talk to another man who showed me a map of the island, explaining all of the places to shop and other such tourist areas. When he was done with his speech I asked him where it was that he went swimming. He showed me on the map. That beach became my main destination for the afternoon.
After making a phone call, the first man pointed to yet another man who was across the street waving at us. We needed to speak with him to get our ride. We crossed the street and went into his office, a podium stuck in an alley. After filling out some paperwork and getting a quick rundown on the operation of the bike, we were on our way.
I have read bad things about riding mopeds in Cozumel but I figured that we were leaving early enough in the day that traffic wouldn’t be much of a problem. By the time we were 10 minutes down the road, we were bouncing over rough roads and dodging potholes big enough to bury the entire front wheel of our scooter. It wasn’t the traffic I needed to worry about, it was the road! Eventually we made it to our first stop, Punta Sur, a beach at the southernmost point of the island. We parked our ride and headed down to the water.
The waves crashed against the sandy beach. I have never seen surf quite like this, so I had to strip down to my shorts and get in and play. I was surprised by how warm the water was. When I was in Aruba a year before the water always seemed cold. Maybe it was because I was already wet and cold from the short rain shower I drove through on the way. I spent a few minutes jumping through the waves and trying to swim into shore with them before getting out to move further down the road.
We drove along about 22 kilometers of beaches, all just as beautiful as the last until we reached an area where the road began to head back across the island towards San Miguel. I had missed the beach I was looking for but we decided to stop for lunch. We sat down at the bar and ordered chicken fajitas. A little while later the bartender came out of the kitchen with two plates steaming to the ceiling, pico de gallo and guacamole. Lunch was served. Not surprisingly, the meal was very good.
Seemingly out of nowhere a Siamese cat perched itself on the stool next to me, looking longingly at me and my food. Ever so slightly it would reach out its paw and touch my leg and then sit there staring up at me with its bright blue eyes. It didn’t take long for me to give in and share a few pieces of my chicken.
After we finished our lunch we paid our bill and headed out, in search of our beach. Maybe halfway between Punta Sur and the restaurant we found the beach and it did not disappoint. When we arrived, there was hardly anyone around. The few people that were around where further up the beach at a restaurant leaving this stretch of sand to the two of us. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area and wading in the water.
I crawled around the huge coral rocks that surrounded the beach and found enclosed pools of water where there were hundreds of tropical fishes swimming around. It was beautiful. As I walked back towards the shore I felt something bump against the back of my leg. I turned around not knowing what to expect. In Aruba, the fish would nibble at your toes or eat from your hand so I expected to see a small fish looking for a meal but when I turned around it was a white stingray. I have never seen anything like this before and was quite surprised. It was about the size of a dinner plate and pure white. I followed it around for a while, watching it swim near the bottom. Then, as quick as it entered my life, it was gone.
We packed our bag and hit the road back into town (after having to go back to find my glasses, which I had left on the beach.) We returned the moped and walked back to the tourist area to get ready to get back on this cruise ship. Before we did, we decided to look around and try to figure out what all of the attraction was to this sort of place. There were a lot of shops and a couple of bars but nothing stuck out. I took some photos of tourists laying (almost literally) in the shadow of the cruise ship. As we were getting ready to head back to the boat, a stone carving of a Mayan figure caught my eye. After talking to the vendor for a few minutes, we decided to buy it.
Before leaving, I asked him what he thought about 2012 being the end of the world, and of course he thought it was silly and that it was just a way for people to make money. “Hollywood,” I said. He smiled and replied, “Yes, Hollywood.”
