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GoCozumel Vacation Rental Villas and
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GoCozumel Monthly Newsletter, May 2009
Our newsletter is a personal look at the island, written by an American who moved to Cozumel in May 2000.
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Sacred Mayan Journey
On Fri. May 22, wooden boats left Xcaret on the mainland about 5am and headed
across the Yucatan channel for Cozumel where they arrived around 12 noon at
Playa Casitas, the beach just north of downtown. Then, at 8pm Friday night there
was a ceremony at Chankanaab Park. The canoes left Chankanaab Park at 6am
Saturday morning, May 23, voyaging to Xamanhá, which is now called Playa del
Carmen.
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These reenactments of the
Mayan voyages from the mainland to Cozumel began in 2007 because of a
desire to revive interest in the Mayan culture that thrived from the
11th to the 16th centuries. The Mayan people traditionally journeyed to
Cozumel to worship the Goddess Ixchel.
The round trip is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) and
takes from 6-7 hours of free paddling each way across the Yucatan
channel. With a current that ranges from 2-4 knots, this trip takes
great physical effort for the 4-6 rowers that are in each canoe.
Participants come from Cozumel, Xcaret and Playa del Carmen.
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| I was at Playa Casitas (the beach just north
of the downtown area) at noon on Friday, May 22 which
is where I took these photos. There was quite a crowd to welcome the boats.
There were about 25 of the handmade 26 foot canoes that were prepared
like those the Mayans traditionally used. |
Continuing to grow
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Kinta has been my favorite restaurant on Cozumel since I first went there
more than a year ago. They began very small, and as demand grew they opened a lovely garden area in the back. They expanded their garden several months ago and now they have expanded a bit again, adding one extra room inside.
Their prices are extremely reasonable for the high quality, the presentation is beautiful, and the
food is delicious.
They change their menu from time to time offering new treats and often
they have specials. |
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They have a variety of choices on the menu that include fish, shrimp, chicken and they now have added back their delicious pork tenderloin.
They normally also have a vegetarian entrée. I’d recommend always calling
for a reservation.
The local number is 869-0544. |
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| They are closed on Monday but open each evening from 6pm to 11pm Tuesday through Sunday. You can eat inside if you’d like – it is air conditioned – or you can eat at one of the tables in the delightful garden in back. |
Salsa Lessons
If you’d like to learn to dance the salsa, or would just like a chance to practice and polish up your moves, there are salsa classes every Monday evening from 8-10pm. They are held on the terrace at the Cozumel Museum. The museum is north of the passenger ferry pier and is on the main waterfront street at the corner of Calle 6.
Whether you are a beginner or advanced, you’re invited to join. Salsa instructors are Bernanrdo Alvarez and Alma Lopez. The cost is $10 U.S. per person. |
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Le Bistro
I have not had lunch or dinner at Le Bistro, but I’ve had breakfast there a couple of times. The breakfasts have been excellent, and for the quality they offer a very reasonable price.
The first time I had an omelette with corned beef and cheese and the next time I had poached eggs with cheddar, swiss cheese and corned beef. The cost of these were 59 pesos (at the current exchange rate only about $4.50 U.S.) |
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The next time I want to try the poached egg with salmon on a bagel with horseradish cream sauce. I believe that was a bit more…I think 69 pesos. Juice and coffee is extra.
Le Bistro is at the corner of Ave. 5 and Calle 7 and it’s in the building that used to be Lobsteria. |
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A true fish story…really!
We thought this was fascinating when friends told us about their recent adventure while scuba
diving. And this "fish story" came with the photo to prove it. We asked if we could pass it on in our
newsletter and they kindly agreed and emailed us the photo and
report. I've included their report here plus additional information I learned
about lionfish. |
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“A dive on the wreck lead to the discovery and capture of one of the lionfish that have been the subject of concern lately. One of our group saw an unfamiliar fish near a coral head and alerted our dive master, who summoned all five of us over. He indicated he wanted us to stay there while he surfaced. Cozumel Park authorities have told all the dive masters that they are obligated to call them to the scene when one of these fish is spotted. By the time we finished our dive 15 minutes later, the Guardia del Parque boat was next to ours, with a park diver ready to return to the lionfish with our dive master. They dove back to the small coral head and with the latest in high tech capture equipment (a mesh dive bag) they scooped up the small lion fish and returned to the surface. Once back on the boat, the park police passed the bucket over so we would all take photos and informed us that the fish would be taken in for further studies.” |
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This underwater photo is of the lionfish they spotted on a recent dive off
Cozumel, and it is courtesy of Sue Zavalko. She took this photo before the park authorities arrived to capture
the fish.
The report above is courtesy of her husband, Glenn Zavalko. |
| Lionfish are native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but they are
an invasive species and have recently been spotted in the Atlantic and even now in the Caribbean. We have been told that this was the 5th lionfish captured off Cozumel. Lionfish are often found in aquariums, and those recently found in the waters of the Caribbean are thought to have come from an aquarium in southern Florida that was destroyed by a hurricane. DNA from a number of lionfish captured in areas
where they are not normally found has shown that they all originated from the same six or seven fish.
Lionfish are very venomous and their dorsal spines, loaded with venom are normally used purely for defense.
Although not ordinarily fatal for humans, the sting of a lionfish is extremely painful and can cause everything from headaches to vomiting and even breathing difficulties. If you are a scuba diver and you spot one of these lionfish while diving off Cozumel, we urge you to be very careful, do
not try to touch it or capture it. Please call it to the attention of your divemaster and have them immediately contact the marine park authorities so that it can be captured. |
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EXCHANGE RATE
During May, the exchange rate that we saw at the money exchanges and the banks when changing dollars into pesos on Cozumel varied from
12.55 to 13.3 pesos to the U.S. dollar.
Gracias y hasta luego,
Kathy at GoCozumel.com
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