Carnaval in Cozumel

Crowning of the Cozumel Carnaval new King and Queen will take place February 15th, but already the town is gearing up. Deanna Campbell of Two D's Diving and Tour Adventures took a slew of great photos along what is known as the malecon of Cozumel ... the main beach street downtown. Here are some of my favorites.

Festivities will run through Feb 22nd. For a full schedule, please click here.

And if you would like more information on Two D's Diving and Tour Adventures, feel free to contact them. There was a great article written up about them on Dive News Network's Cozumel, MX: A Holiday on Holiday.

Cozumel: A Day in the Life

Parking lot in Cozumel with great paint colors outside

I have lived in Cozumel for over 11 years. I love Cozumel. It is not only a great cruise ship port; it is a place with a large ex-pat community, friendly locals, clear crystal waters and great diving. It is a laid back place where flip flops and jeans are our formal wear. Barefoot is our casual wear.

Saturday, I snapped a few photos as I went about my daily routine. The parking lot in the photo above is across the street from where I usually park. It is next to one of my favorite island dogs, who is always happy to give a greeting.

Local dog and very friendly

Favorite parking lot attendant

The parking lot where I park each day also serves as a carpentry shop and the storage of the Nando hot dog carts. Nando's hot dogs are island famous and delicious .... you can have an especial with mayo, mustard, onion, bacon and cheese wrapped around the dog. But the Nando's locations, like all the hot dog places, are only open at night. We eat our main meal during the afternoon and a lighter meal at night.

Nando's hot dog storage carts during the day

Girasoles Restaurant 

Giraoles Restaurant is around the corner and also owned by the same family as the large parking lot where I usually park my car. It is a great place to have breakfast or lunch. I especially like the club sandwich served with fries. It is located between 10 and 5 on Calle 3 South.

Sol beer truck

A beer delivery was going on while I walked around taking photos. It was close to one of my favorite benches in Cozumel! Sit down and rest a spell. That is what Cozumel is all about.

Mosaic bench outside Deep Blue dive shop

Deep Blue Dive Shop

Deep Blue Dive Shop is  located at the corner of Rosado Salas and 10. It is a highly recommended dive shop in Cozumel. If you would like to know more about them, click here

A Desk: Like a Life

Desk with two computers

Tonight I cleaned my office. I have resigned myself to the fact that I believe I need two desktop computers together on my desk.  A few months back, when I first set up my new computer, I put the two computers, a printer and two telephones all on my desk. The old black computer with Windows Vista had the big tower that no longer comes with newer computers. I shoved it in the back of the left side of the desk. The new white computer, that is slim line and has a lovely monitor with the computer built-in, has Windows 7. I pushed it in the front and the keyboard for the black computer sat in front of the printer on the far right side of the desk. The two phones, one a local line and the other for US calls, I shoved between. The lamp ended up sort of in the middle. As I moved things around, I didn’t disconnect them so the wires traipsed all over my desk and were in the way. My goal was to take off all the data and give my old computer away as a gift to relatives whose computer had died. But a multitude of problems came up with this. My Smart Draw program that had expired for updates was on that computer. The mail service I love was on that computer and no longer available.

Every day I would think about when I would give the computer away and have more room on my desk. I operated like that for two months, planning the day when the computer would leave. A few weeks ago, I finally realized that I didn’t want to give the old computer up.  I mean, I need it for the movies that I download and burn. It has all my old data on it that I won’t need to wade through and decide if I want to keep files or not, and it has my windows mail. I had gotten my website guy to put Outlook on my new laptop, but honestly, I don’t really like it and it was going to cost me almost $200 usd once the trial period ended.  I had already given a different gift to the relatives that I was going to give the computer to, so the only thing left was to figure out how these 2 computers and I could coexist in my crowded office.

So tonight, I bravely went where I’ve never gone before. I separated the two computers. I put my new one on the right side, which is where I like to work anyway. I put the old black computer on the left. The lamp stayed in the middle. I took the filing cabinet that I had delivered to my house last week and moved it from near the entry door to the right side of my desk, and placed my printer on there.

Printer on new file cabinet

Now I no longer have to search for the phones. I no longer need to move the old black computer every time I want to load paper in my printer. And to top it off, when I get around to it, I will even be able to get the filing off my bed and in to the new filing cabinet.  Added bonus!

I tell you all this as I realized tonight my desk is kind of like my life. I believe I need way more than I do to survive, and sometimes I make my life pretty miserable and complicated - holding on to things I don’t really need. Other times, I make a rational decision that what I have, I want to keep and just have to figure out a way to make that happen. I have to untangle the cords, replug, adjust and move things around. All the right stuff was already in my life. I just needed to find out where to put it.

My life is surrounded by a sense of calm and accomplishment tonight.  My desk is clean and in order. Everything is where it needs to be for right now. Today is good! 

Cozumel: A Favorite Port of Royal Caribbean

Mayor Aurelio Joaquin Gonzalez with Michael Ronan of RCCL

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines names Cozumel one of their favorite destinations. There was an article on Royal Caribbean's blog that outlined why they love our island so much. I will repost a bit of it here.


"Royal Caribbean's Vice President of Latin American Relations, Michael Ronan, met with Cozumel, Mexico's Mayor Aurelio Joaquin Gonzalez, where Royal Caribbean continues to be impressed by Cozumel's incomparable natural beauty, high safety standards and hospitality offered by the island as well as having one of the best worldwide port infrastructure, which facilitates the operation of mega ships."


For the rest of the blog post, please click here. We already knew Cozumel was a gem. Glad they do too!

Christmas Charity from Dive Choice Mexico

Karen Bloemhoff and Ricardo Garcia buy new toys all year from the money they make from selling donated items. They work tirelessly so the less fortunate children of Cozumel each have a new toy for the holiday season. From the above You Tube video, you can see just how appreciative the children are. Karen and Ricardo run Dive Choice Mexico, a dive operation. For more information on their personalized dive services, click on Dive Choice Mexico.

Karen also runs a very successful property management service and works for one of the local real estate companies. They are married and also have a baby. Just thinking of all they do makes me tired! They are an inspiration to us all here. Hailing from The Netherlands, Karen is a warm and kind hardworking entrepreneur.  Thanks, Karen and Ricardo, for all you do for these children.

Happy New Year! We know a bunch of children in Cozumel will be celebrating 2012 with their spanking new toys!

Christmas Cozumel Style

Cozumel the island of the Golondrinas, or swallows

Dinner with friends on Christmas Eve was a great event, the food fabulous and the company even better. Sorrisi's offered two menus ... one a fixed price of $49 usd and the other $39 usd. The more expensive option included surf and turf, a lobster ravioli and tuna tartare and dessert. We were a party of 5. I don't eat desserts but everybody, especially the guys, loved both desserts, lovingly made by the owner from family recipes from Sicily. I was the only taker of the less expensive option, as I really wanted the cabrese salad with tomato and fresh mozzarella. They drizzle a dressing over the cheese that is amazing, and their fresh mozzarella is really fresh and tasty. It also came with a pasta of spinach with a red sauce. The sauce was extremely good. I couldn't really appreciate the chicken with mushroom sauce and potatoes, as after eating the rest, I was just too full. Great night with great friends, new and not so new! We had a wonderful time. The owner happens to be a really charming guy from Sicily and always goes out of his way to give me great service with a smile. Many thanks!

Christmas tree on Melgar at Cozumel

The photos are all compliments of This is Cozumel. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Taken at Cozumel Museum

Cozumel clock tower decorated for Christmas

The Meaning of Christmas in Cozumel

Artwork by Sarah Williams Pritchett

Cozumel is a small town. We have a group of people, both Mexican and foreigner, who look out for and care about each other. There is a flurry of activity now. The tourists have begun to arrive. For us locals, that is a mixed blessing. The roads become more congested and a lot of people who have no idea how to drive here are on the roads. But business is up. People are selling. Diamonds are being purchased, along with souvenirs and booze. 

Through the car window on east side of Cozumel

The weather is amazing, and I thank God every day that I live in such a beautiful place. It isn't perfect. We know that. Unfortunately petty crime tends to go up this time of year. As the island grows, we get the warts that go along with being just a little bigger small town.


I am looking forward to dinner with friends for Christmas Eve, brunch with a group of ladies I know for Christmas morning ... and dinner with more friends Christmas evening. Thank you to all of you who have come in to my life here in Cozumel. Thank you to my husband, this Christmas season.


I feel a sense of gratitude. Business is picking up and we all have the Humane Society Christmas party to look forward to on the 28th. Don't forget to buy tickets and head on down to the Money Bar! More information on the Humane Society in Cozumel can be found here. You can also find them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/HumaneCozumel

Photo courtesy of Humane Society of Cozumel Island

Merry Christmas, Cozumel!